Wolf in the Dark

Chapter One: Blood Moon

"Filthy motherless trash!" A jolt of pain shoots through my arm as I am pushed to the ground by someone much larger than I am. I hear laughter from everyone who witnessed the fall, but I don't dare look up to look at the face of my assailant. To be honest, it doesn't really matter who they are anyway. Everyone in my pack outranks me. If I dared to stare him directly in the eyes, I know that the punishment of doing so would be painful and humiliating. I flinch and wait for more pain from the person who pushed me, but surprisingly, it never comes.

"I suggest you leave her alone before I have to step in and get violent." A familiar voice hisses, as strong arms reach down and help me to my feet. This is a face that I can look into. When I do, I see concern in the set of dark gray eyes staring back at me. My best friend, Rudy, is our pack Alpha's son. The majority of people in our pack wouldn't dare cross him or treat him with disrespect, because they would face a horrible backlash from his father. Not that Rudy can't take care of himself, though. He stands over 6 feet tall and could likely inflict some major damage on anyone who tries to cause him harm. He started working out when we were seniors in high school and is probably more muscular than any of the other young men in our pack. Once he meets his wolf, he will undoubtedly be one of our strongest pack members. "I'm not going to apologize, Rudy. This b**** stepped on my new shoes and got her filth all over them." I finally glance at the face connected to the voice and see without surprise that it belongs to Ulf, one of the most entitled kids in our pack. I say "kids" lightly: we are all on the cusp of our first blood moon as adults, when we will shift and meet our wolves for the first time. It was three short days away. I never considered turning twenty as being an adult, but it has always been this way for all wolves for as long as anyone knew. Ulf's father doesn't outrank Rudy's, and Rudy is quick to point that out. "I'm sure you can clean them off easily, Ulf. If not, maybe your daddy can get you a new pair. I really don't want to bring this up at my dinner table tonight with my father, so let's avoid punishment this time and you just apologize and leave my girl alone." Rudy says with disdain. Ulf and his family are incredibly wealthy, but none of that is a result of anything Ulf has done. I don't think he has worked a day in his life and since he is set to inherit his father's rank in the pack when he is of age I doubt he will truly ever understand how hard it is to have to work to earn your keep.

"It's ok, Rudy. Don't make him apologize." I say quietly, wiping the dirt off of my knees...which I now notice are scraped and raw. I wince at the thought of having to clean them when I get home. Since I haven't shifted yet, I still heal faster than humans do but nowhere near as fast as a full grown wolf. I also likely won't be a strong wolf, considering my low ranking status. As a general rule of thumb I try to avoid injury at all cost, which isn't usually possible since I am the local punching bag to anyone who outranks me. Rudy takes in my appearance, his face turning red with anger when he sees the blood on my knees. He turns to Ulf and with a deadly calm voice says, "It seems that Ada here is wanting to spare you the humiliation of being called out for the little b**** you are at the shift this weekend, so you should remember that the next time you try to put your hands on a female." With that, he grabs my arm and pulls me away. I feel Rudy tense up as Ulf mutters under his breath to his friends,"His girl? I wonder how Alpha Stephen would feel knowing his son called such low ranking trash his girl?" He and his friends laugh and I walk away faster, afraid that Rudy will turn around and I will be the reason he gets in trouble with his dad once again. Alpha Stephen isn't super fond of me, and he definitely isn't fond of the friendship that his son has with an adopted orphaned wolf like myself. In wolf culture, an abandoned orphaned wolf can be almost as bad as a rogue wolf. If my parents had died protecting the pack I would be raised by equally ranked pack members and would likely have a much better life. But sadly I was found as a baby, wrapped in dirty rags under a tree. Nobody knows where I came from, even though they searched surrounding packs for weeks. I was unwanted and alone...which is basically how I have been ever since. I live in a worker's shack that was hardly bigger than a bedroom and doesn't even have an indoor bathroom. It had always been a fantasy of mine that when I meet my wolf I will be strong enough to run away and join another pack. I'd love to start a new life and maybe have a chance at some form of happiness. Sadly, all of my earnings from babysitting the wolf pups in the pack went directly back to the community so I had no savings. There really isn't much hope for the future, other than finally being able to run fast enough to escape when thugs like Ulf try to torture me. Right now I find small comfort in Rudy's friendship...but I know that as the son of an Alpha he will likely find his mate soon after shifting and I will be forgotten and alone again. I sigh and Rudy wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Cheer up, buttercup." he says with a smile. Rudy has always been so kind to me, ever since we were tiny pups and he first caught some of the other kids holding me down and trying to force me to eat dirt. "You know I hate that nickname." I say with an eyeroll, even though secretly it is one of the only things that makes me feel like I belong. He laughs and gives me another squeeze, "That's a goddamn lie and we both know it. You love the nickname, little softy." I snort and roll my eyes, but I finally start to relax a little bit now that we are alone and walking back home. "I can't wait until we shift so I can heal a little faster from this s***." I say, glancing down at my battered knees. Rudy lets out a low growl and I realize that I probably shouldn't have pointed out the scrapes again. "Ulf is such a privileged little prick," he says, stopping on the dirt path we are walking on and reaching into the backpack he always wears when he is on hikes. "Hold on a second Buttercup, I have some wipes in my pack. We should get you cleaned up before those knees get infected." I begin to say no when he scoops me up and places me on a tree branch that is way too high for my comfort levels. "What the hell, Rudy!?!" I shout, displeased. He just chuckles and ignores me, finding the wipes he was looking for and gently wiping my knees. It stings. I let out a high pitched whine and he laughs even harder. "How do you expect to support your mate when you can't even handle a little scrape?" He says, almost done scrubbing my now even more irritated knees. As he lowers me from the tree branch I give him my most intimidating scowl. "You and I both know I likely will never find a mate," I say. "Plus, if I do, the likelihood that I will be rejected immediately is pretty high." I start walking towards home again, not looking back to see if Rudy is following me because I know he will be right next to me in a few seconds anyway. "Don't say that," he says. Rudy hates it when I talk so lowly of myself. "Any male stupid enough to reject you will have to deal with me." He sounds deadly serious. I look over at him and give a weak smile. "I'll be fine without a mate, Rudy. I've done pretty well the last twenty years." I say. He shakes his head at me, his dark hair falling across his eyes. "I hate it that you think so poorly of yourself, kiddo. Your mate, whoever he is, will be lucky to have you. I just hope he doesn't mind sharing your time with your best friend. Especially because he is so goddamn sexy." He laughs, but now it was my turn to growl. "I am the same age as you, Rudy. Don't call me kiddo" I say, irritated. He flashes a megawatt smile and starts to jog towards our homes. "Fine, Buttercup!" he shouts over his shoulder. "If you're such a grown up then race you home!" he is already paces ahead of me, but I accept the challenge. "No fair! You got a headstart, cheater!" I laugh and sprint after him, the pain in my knees almost entirely gone after Rudy cleaned them up. I would really miss my best friend once he finds his mate, but for now I was going to enjoy the only tiny bit of normalcy that I have, so I race towards Rudy and the only home I've ever known.