One of Runts

Chapter Three

Everyone goes silent and turns towards the main entrance of the room as a powerful aura surrounds us. There, standing beside my Alpha, is the king of wolves. Surrounding him is his Guard, the top warriors of the King's pack and the wolves the king himself trusts most. They're dressed in expensive-looking armor that is dyed to match the kingdom's colors. Milky coffee, forest green, and white.

Even my armor doesn't have much color despite me being a Second. The amount of dye on a wolf's armor tends to display their power in the wolf world, and from what I'm seeing, these wolves are powerful.

I am one of many to slide out of my seat and kneel before our king. I rest on one knee with my right arm splayed over my chest, my head tilted down and to the side to show my submission to the powerful wolves. It barely takes five seconds until every wolf in the main hall, save for the powerful group standing near the doors, are keeling.

It is instinct for us to do so. Our old Alpha had driven it into us to show respect immediately to those who deserve it, and despite it being over a decade, those feelings still remain. I can tell that Alpha Quill is irked that we all still do this as he has been trying to get us to stop showing our respect so profoundly. But it is just something that will not go away so easily.

I follow the group via my ears as they head through the center of the room between my table and the third table beside me. My breath is caught in my throat as I strain myself to not shift into my wolf to properly show my submission to the Alpha of Alphas as he passes by. I hear many of the runts and Omegas do so, however, not strong enough to ignore the urge to submit.

I lift my head an inch as a strong scent enters the air. It smells like a forest of evergreens, fresh mountain air, and the morning after a particularly strong rainstorm. The scent of the King's pack also tags along with it, though it's much more muted than the other wolves' scents for some reason. It's odd considering a wolf's pack is the first scent you pick up and then their personal scent. But I've picked up the personal scent before the pack scent.

How odd...

Black boots fill my vision as the entourage passes by me and I shift down a fraction at the powerful auras. The fresh forest and mountain scent becomes stronger, and despite myself, I let out a barely-audible purr at it. Immediately, a blush fills my cheeks. Damn you, heat, I blame my biology.

The footsteps stop before the whooshing sound of the King's Guard spinning around stiffly. “All rise,” Alpha Quill's voice echoes around the room. I immediately follow Alpha Quill's orders, standing beside my seat as those who shifted shift back and stand beside their own seats. “Be seated.” I do as told, as does everyone else.

“Tonight, we have been graced with the presence of our king,” Alpha Quill booms throughout the already silent room “He has approached us in askance that we help him in a wolf hunt. Our kingdom is in need of warrior and tracker wolves to help track down this rogue and his pack before he continues his attacks.”

Murmurs flood through the general mindlink and there are so many voices that I can barely make out what anybody is saying. Most people just seem worried about the rogue and the fact that he's formed a pack powerful enough to take down civilized packs. We've all heard rumors about various smaller packs being attacked, but most wrote it off as just a rumor. It appears that we were wrong if the King's asking for help.

Alpha Quill nods towards the Alpha King and the powerful wolf steps forward. “I ask you for your help in defending not only our kingdom, but your home,” he shouts out in a boom of power. “This rogue wolf is strong and he is threatening us and our homes. You all have a right to defend your kingdom and I have come here in askance that you help the kingdom. That you help me.

“There will be a boxed stationed outside where anyone is welcome to enter their name if they are interested. All you have to do is write your name, age, position, and rank on a piece of paper and place it in the box. All slips will be removed and added to an official list tomorrow night, so make sure to enter your name beforehand,” the King continues. “An event will take place the morning after tomorrow will display who will be joining me on the way back to my pack after everyone's been reviewed. For those of you who are going, I'd suggest you pack and say your goodbyes tomorrow night. More information will be given on the way to my pack. That is all.” He steps back after ending his speech, handing the reins back over to my Alpha.

“I'd suggest you all take all day tomorrow to think about your decision,” he advises us. “Such an opportunity is not to be taken lightly. Tracking down these larger packs will not be easy and most, if not all of you, will be experiencing more action than most wolves will ever see in their lifetime.

“I will support all of you in your decision, whether you determine if you stay or if you go. My only limit on this is that you will be no younger than eighteen years of age and that you must have at least three months experience on the job outside of training.”

I feel a roll of disappointment roll across the mindlink from those who are either still in training or are fresh out of it. I won't need to worry about that since I'm twenty-two and have had over four years of experience. If I decide to join, that is.

“Now,” Alpha Quill starts. “This is a time of celebration for I have been once again graced by the Moon Goddess and your Luna is pregnant!” Cheers rain across the main hall as we hear this. Alpha Quill and Luna Emery have two pups of their own so far, one boy and one girl. They're nine and five years old and they're always a pleasure to be around since Luna Emery's been having a hard time conceiving. Usually, Alpha pairs have up to ten pups of their own, but for some reason, my Alphas have been having trouble. It's amazing that they're having another pup.

I join in on the cheering as the group of powerful wolves take their seats. I hadn't noticed before, but Luna Emery had been with the two Alphas and the King's Guard, and she is barely even starting to show. They must have decided to wait for the perfect opportunity, I think to myself as the cheering quiets down.

The whole pack waits as the King and our Alpha pair take the first bites of the meal. It is custom that the Alpha or Alpha pair take the first bite of the meal before anyone else downs so as a sign of respect. Once the three swallow their bite of food, we begin to fill up our plates. The food had been on the tables before we all walked in and I assume that is to save the Omegas the hard work of serving all of the tables before they can eat themselves like it usually is when the Alpha has a meeting. Usually during dinner, there is no rank system for eating and first come is first serve. It was hard to learn to eat by that system since ranks were a heavy part when my old Alpha was ruling.

I still wait for Mack to fill his plate before doing so myself. I can tell that he easily sees what I'm doing when I do this but I can't find it in me to care. He holds superiority over me and this is my way of showing my respect for him. It would be rude for him to ignore or challenge such respect.

“You're thinking of joining, aren't you?” Leah asks me. I freeze as I lift my fork to my mouth.

“Whether or not I'm joining is something that you can help,” I remind the she-wolf, knowing that she doesn't want me to attempt such a journey. She's worried about me, not just because I'm a runt, but because she's my friend. I find it odd that she thinks of me that way, but I suppose it's true. The fact that I am a runt probably have her maternal instincts coming out, too.

“I know,” she mentally sighs as I chew on a piece of potato. “Just, be careful, okay? I know that you trackers are used to looking over your shoulders and such, but also I know that you guys tend to see more action than the average warrior.”

“You don't have to worry so much,” I tell her. “I may be a runt and I may not be stronger than everyone else, but I still know how to get out of trouble when it's needed.” During tracking training, all runts and some of the smaller females and males are required to take a certain course that teens do since they're smaller than the average wolf. It's useful to get out of certain holds in both forms and it also shows us how to evade a wolf if we're being chased, though we didn't go so in-depth with that part since us smaller wolves tend to be faster than the average wolf.

“That doesn't reassure me,” she mutters to herself. I just grin even though she can't see me and she can feel my faint amusement.

“It should, though, since you know how fast I am,” I tease her. We occasionally train together and sometimes we'll chase the other. She's never had a chance at catching me and it always took me less than ten minutes to catch her. Three minutes is my record.

Leah doesn't reply.

“Do you plan on joining in?” I question Mack out of boredom. I'm surprised when he shakes his head. “How come?”

“I'm too old,” he says, confusing me. He's in his late thirties to early forties. He's still in his prime and can outrun the trainees at any rate. He chuckles at my confusion. “I may have the experience, but I'm just not cut out for such long-distance running and the constant movement you will be doing. And besides, I'm a Squadron Leader. I'm going to have to be here to lead either a new squadron or whoever stays.”

“Makes sense,” I tell him.

“You plan on entering, don't you?” Mack tells me, not really caring to make it sound like a question. It catches me by surprise and he chuckles, causing me to tilt my head to the side in confusion. “You're a natural-born tracker and I can tell that while we are doing different things every day, that our small set-up bores you. The pack is simply too small for you and you don't seem to enjoy it as the other trackers do. You don't enjoy it as much as you used to.”

“You know why it's not so fun anymore,” I say quietly as I butter a dinner roll. “It has nothing to do tracking, either.”

“I beg to differ,” he replies. I send a sharp look his way and he drops it. My shoulders slump as a sigh passes my lips.

“I'm sorry,” I apologize. He shakes his head.

“No, I'm sorry,” he tells, dropping his utensils and looking towards me. I stop what I'm doing. “I shouldn't have brought it up. I know that it's still a sore subject, even after all of these years.” I nod my head.

“I know you meant nothing malicious about it, Mack,” I tell him, looking him straight in the eyes. “And I don't think that the sting will ever disappear. No matter how much time goes past. I will never forget what happened and I will never lose the pain it causes me.” He just nods his head, not responding. I remove my eyes from his, breathing in a deep breath as the emotional pain makes my heart clench.

This will be a new opportunity, I think to myself, looking all around me, thinking about how many of the pack will be leaving with the King in two days time. This time, hopefully, I won't be the one left behind like when my father went out on battles or my mother went out on a hunt. This time, I'm the one that's leaving. And no matter how loyal I am to this pack, I cannot help the excitement that builds in my chest.

I can't wait.