One of Runts

Chapter Two

I reluctantly turn off my shower, sighing as the hot water comes to a stop. Today's been a long day, and even if I've been conditioned to run hours on end, my legs are a little sore. The aches will be gone within a day or two, but they're going to bother me all night unless I find a way to soothe them. It doesn't help that I've been feeling a little hot recently.

I'm going to have to get a refill, I think to myself after grabbing the empty bottle of Seasonal Heat from the cupboard. I shake my head and toss the bottle in the garbage before heading into my room, locking the bathroom door behind me.

Since I share a bathroom with the room on the other side of the bathroom, I have to lock my door unless I want my bathroom buddy to get an eyeful. That is if I had anything to show off, I think to myself dryly, unwrapping the towel from my body to dry it. I make sure to towel-dry my hair, too, not really caring if the black curls frizz up at the rough treatment.

I toss my brown and green tracking leathers into my laundry basket before pulling on a pair of undergarments to cover my privates, just in case my bathroom buddy picks the lock on my door. Again.

Recalling how the Alpha informed everyone of dinner, I make sure to dress nice. The only reason that Alpha Quill would know when dinner was ready is if he's joining us today. Everyone always dresses nicely for our Alpha. It's a way to show our respect for him, and not to mention that our previous Alpha literally beat it into us that we were to either be the most submissive wolves in the pack, or we would not be a part of the pack. It's safe to say that those notions are still with us even though Alpha Quill has never laid a hand on someone.

I shake the thoughts from my mind as I toss on a black skirt, a pretty dark green blouse, and the only fancy shoes I have—flats. I'm just pulling over my blouse when the doorknob on my bathroom jiggles before opening. The hem of my blouse falls but not before Leah sees the dark purple bruise on my ribs.

“What happened?” she asks, her face becoming serious. Leah tends to become overprotective of anyone weaker than her, therefore me since I'm a runt and Omegas since our old Alpha absolutely despised Omegas and her mother is one.

I just roll my eyes at her stony exterior. The blonde is way too protective. “Got my ribs pressed into a rock, that's all,” I tell her, tucking the bottom of my blouse into my skirt. A quick look over of the tall dirty blonde shows that she's dressed in a rather flattering maroon dress that shows a bit of cleavage, as well as some black pumps.

Flattening down my skirt, I begin the frustrating event of brushing out my damp curls. “You were hunting that rogue, weren't you?” Leah asks even though it sounds more like a statement than a question. I nod my head as I rip the brush through my curls, making sure to start at the bottom and move to the top, just like my mother showed me when I was little.

“You went out in no man's man when you're in heat!?” Leah practically yells at me, her voice coated thickly with worry. A blush threatens me. I thought I had hidden my heat and she obviously sees my surprise. “And yes, I know you're in heat! You threw the empty bottle of pills in the trash.”

I sigh as I fix my hair, looking at her through the mirror. “One,” I hold up a finger, “I had the squadron with me and two,” I hold up another finger to compliment the first one, “I used those rare extra-strong heat pills to make sure no one would scent me.” Leah still looks upset and I turn around, my hair presentable.

“But that doesn't matter to you, does it?” I question her. “It's not even really about my heat. It's about the fact that you're worried about me tracking outside the pack borders since I'm weaker than the other wolves.” She looks sheepish at my statement and at me easily seeing the true feelings under the surface. “You're just using my heat as an excuse.”

She purses her lips for a moment before dropping her eyes. “Of course, I'm worried,” she says. “I don't want you to get hurt.” I soften my stern look and walk up to the tall she-wolf, resting a hand on her shoulder. Since her mother was an Omega, Leah was also designated one even though she wasn't born with the rank. This led to her getting beat on with the Alpha like the runt and Omega pups were.

Most Omegas in the are female since they are the only one that can pass on the gene and males rarely get the trait. It's an odd occasion where a female pup born of the Omega rank is a regular pack wolf, though it does happen, just like when males are born Omegas. And Leah's proof of that. I guess it didn't really matter to our old Alpha, though, since all females born of an Omega were classed as Omegas. Thus, leaving them as easy prey to him and a few of the other corrupted members of the pack. She used to hate the rank since it caused her and her mother pain, but she doesn't worry about that anymore. She's a warrior wolf, though she does tend to be a little overprotective of the younger and weaker wolves.

“Getting hurt comes with the job,” I tell Leah. “And I love tracking. It's a part of me. Literally. You know that runts are a natural at tracking and that's why they say some trackers have runt blood in them.” She chuckles at my poor excuse of a joke.

“You're right,” she says, bumping me with her hip. “Let's go to dinner. We don't want to miss out.” Just as we start towards the door, a voice echoes throughout our mindlink. I wince at the power in it.

“Dinner will take place in the main hall,” Alpha Quill says into the pack's minds. “An important guest will be visiting to dress well and be on your best behavior.” And as suddenly as it appeared, the pressure in my mind fades.

Leah and I share a look but she is the first to ask the question that is surely in everyone's minds. “Do you know who the guest is when you two spoke earlier?” Leah asks me, knowing that I would have presented the captured rogue to the Alpha since he actually killed a pack member.

I shake my head. “No idea, but we may find out if we actually get to the main hall,” I tell her. We never dine in the main hall. It must be some guest that Alpha Quill wants to impress.

Leah and I are immediately thrown into the throng of wolves as we head to the exit of the packhouse bedrooms. They're more like dorm rooms at some colleges hosted in the human kingdom and we have to go outside to get to the actual part of the pack house. We won't be going there, however, since the main hall is across the street.

Only important events take place in the main hall. Such as when other Alphas visit, when the annual mating ball rolls around, when a couple gets blessed by Goddess as mates, when the announcement of the Alpha's offspring happens, and other similar events. Essentially, the main hall is an auditorium of sorts. Just much fancier and big enough to fit three decent sized packs in. Packs tend to be between three and five hundred wolves apiece. My pack has a little over four hundred.

Goosebumps spread on my arms as I enter the chilly air. Winter's coming along, and while some of the snow has melted, the air feels like it's going to snow again. The scent of the nearby pine and fir trees flow through the air as Leah and I make our way to the main hall. All four entrances seem to be in use but there seems to be some sort of blockade happening, meaning that Leah and I are going to be standing out here for a few minutes.

Everyone seems to be speaking at once when we near the man hall's entrance. “I wonder why everyone insists in speaking aloud when that doesn't happen when speaking through direct mindlinks,” I muse to Leah. She sends an amused glance down at my five-foot-three height as the half-warm air of the main hall blows around me. I take a moment to glance at the stars through the dome ceiling before heading to the second long table.

The main hall has four long tables set vertically and everyone will be placed by rank. Leah follows after me, though she's placed about forty or so wolves away from me. She's in a pretty regular warrior regime, so me being a Second in one of the pack's top squadrons leads me to being a higher rank than her.

We share a final glance as I pass by her, heading further up the table about a fifth of the way before the end. I'm shocked to see Mack, my squadron leader, when I head towards where my squadron's seated. “What are you doing here, sir?” I question him. He had gotten injured when we were tracking one of the more annoying rogues in a bear trap a week ago.

Mack stands as he sees me and pulls out my chair for me. I'm relieved when he doesn't seem to scent my heat, though it shouldn't matter since he's mated and has three children of his own. A runt's heat is believed to be much stronger than the average wolf's so that we have a better chance of mating. That also means that my scent is much much stronger than the average wolf's. He replies as he pushes me in and I notice how he's avoiding putting too much pressure on his left leg—which is the one he injured.

“This is a mandatory dinner and only those on their deathbed couldn't come,” he tells me, taking a seat. I look down at his left leg. He lifts up the pant leg to his dress pants and I raise my eyebrows at the bloody bandage.

“That doesn't look healed,” I whisper to him. We'll probably switch to mindlinking once more wolves take their seats. He just snorts with the shake of his head.

“It don't feel healed,” he says. Despite not wanting to, a smile pulls on my lips. “I heard that you had a fun trip earlier today.” I become serious and sit up straight in my seat as I prepare to give my report.

“You probably already know, but when James got attacked by the rogue, our squadron was sent out,” I inform him. He nods and I continue, also completely serious. “It took us three hours to catch up to him and we were all ready to prepare an ambush when Conner stepped on a stick and alerted the rogue—who thought he had lost us, by the way—that he did not, in fact, lose us.”

“Were any of you hurt?” Mack says, switching to speaking through mindlink as the squadron joins us. They will each give their own report of what happened later. I shake my head and watch as Conner takes a seat out of the corner of my eye.

“Other than me getting my ribs pressed into a rock from getting rolled on, no one else was harmed,” I tell him, then adding as an afterthought, “Unless you considered Conner's bruised and battered ego an injury.” As expected, Mack chuckles at the joke.

“You were 'bout ready to tear 'im a new one, I reckon?” he asks me. I smile slightly.

“That wolf is just about at his last straw,” I tell him. “What are you planning as a punishment?” Mack raises an eyebrow at me and doesn't speak. We stare at each other for a few moments before it dawns on me. “Wait, you want me to choose the punishment?”

He nods his head. “Yes,” he says. “You've been with the squadron in the past week. You've been watching over them so you should have a good idea as to what that boy needs. What are you thinking?”

I speak slowly, still unsure if he truly wants my advice or opinion. “He was panting pretty bad by the time we made it back, so extra endurance training for a few weeks wouldn't be bad,” I tell him. He gestures for me to continue. “And perhaps a refresher course on how to travel through a forest without giving yourself away. He needs it since his footsteps are the loudest.”

Mack's quiet as he thinks over my words. He nods slowly. “Yes, I noticed that too,” he tells me, referring to Conner's not so silent footsteps. “More training wouldn't be amiss.” I smile.

Our attention is drawn from our discussion as Alpha Quill calls for silence. Mack and I share a glance before Alpha Quill begins.