The Runaway Rogue

Death. That’s what awaited me if father caught me. The sting of his latest beating still burned across my back as I slipped through the tight passageway. I didn’t know much of the world that laid beyond our pack but surely every corner could not be as cruel as this pitiful excuse of a home. Not that I knew much of what a home should be. I’d be eighteen tomorrow and foolishly believed that meant the end of my pain. Even without a wolf I would be an adult in the eyes of Wolven Law and allowed to travel freely outside my pack where I could find a mate or other pack to take me in. A pipe dream. Wolfless b*tches didn’t get mates my father had growled at me. Only good for breeding because of my pure Alpha blood. I was to be sent away that morning to Alpha Leon as his personal breeder. While I didn’t know much outside the pack I was never allowed to leave, one thing was apparent from the occasional rumors and eavesdropping I’d gotten wind of. Alpha Leon was a monster, not unlike my father, but yet worse. Where my father was known to be a ruthless war leader and an aggressive Alpha, his true nature was not public knowledge. Among a majority of the Wolven community he was known as an honored Elder of the Council. I suspected much of the pack knew of his treatment of myself and potentially had experienced his wrath themselves. However, none would dare speak out against their Alpha. Leon, on the other hand, was a monster in every sense of the word. A strong and powerful Alpha, he’d conquered many packs through brute strength, but most through ruthless dominance. He was known to have ranked the overtaken packs so that his loyalists lived as royalty and those forced into the pack lived in practical poverty as slaves. He’d had many a mate, usually multiple at once, and had lost many to mysterious “rogue attacks”, that harmed none but them. I’d spent my life being battered and manipulated, I would not submit myself to another devil who would take all I had left of me. So I ran. It wasn’t the first time I’d considered it and had a plan, a path ready for the taking. The fear of the unknown, or of being caught and returned to my father kept me from taking my leave earlier. Today, the unknown was far less frightening than the known future awaiting me. I was in the woods now, creeping low and slow through the small riverbed that passed through our lands. Crickets called through the lively wood, a toad occasionally joining the chorus of the forest. My heart thudded wildly in my chest, but I felt more alive than ever, the sounds of the forest animals feeling like a cheer leading me to freedom. A crunch of twigs ahead set that feeling cold as I quickly crawled behind brush to cover. My eyes scanned the darkness seeking the threat. This was the time that having a wolf would have been helpful. The day my father truly became irredeemable to me was when my sixteenth birthday came and went without my wolf making an appearance. He’d never been a good man, always verbally and often physically abusive, but that day, I was no longer his daughter. To him I was no longer anything but a disgrace, a burden, a human. He’d dipped his pack brand (from an outdated and archaic ritual), in wolfsbane that next night and seared it into my flesh. The brand still marred my right ribs, just out of sight to others but never out of my mind. I suspected I was not wolfless, I could feel her there, like a whisper on the wind in my mind. Not far away but not reachable either. Whether she hid out of self-preservation or out of weakness from my abuse I didn’t know, but I didn’t blame her either. Another crack sounded from the wood ahead and I spotted a large brown wolf with reddish tips emerge from the tree line down to the river where they began to drink. I recognized the wolf as Travis, one of my father’s new soldiers, only a year older than myself. He must be on the patrol but was running behind the schedule I’d memorized. Which meant if he continued on his route, he’d walk right by the brush I currently hid behind. For the first time that night the cold air began to seep into my body spreading like liquid from my heart, the mud beneath my hands and knees felt like ice. I tried to suppress my shivering as my breath came quicker, almost a pant. This could not be the end. My fear paralyzed me and muddled my mind as I tried frantically think a solution but only came up with panic and desolation. A shiver finally forced it’s way from my skin, causing a rush of air from my lips that resounded through the wood. An ear twitch and pause from Travis. He’d heard me, it was over. I tried to convince my body to make a run for it, go down fighting at the least, but still found myself frozen to the ground. He stood and slowly began walking towards me on the bank above, only a few more steps and I’d be visible. Unable to do anything else I slowly sank my body to the ground, making myself as small as I could. I was no fool though, wolf sight was best at night and my presence would be apparent, but in the moment the idea made me feel safer if only for comfort. Step. Step. Stop. He was above me now I knew from the sound. Sniff. A whimper? I was shivering openly now, terrified for the howl in the distance that meant others were on their way to help drag me back. Silence. Not even the crickets dared chirp as if they also sat silent in suspense of my capture. Another sniff, closer this time. Silence. Here it comes. A huff. No howl, just a gruff blow of air. Steps, walking away now on the continued path. A pause. Continued steps echoing quieter and quieter until I was once again blanketed in quiet. Slowly a cricket began chirruping, one, then another, until the forest again became alight with the sounds of nature. My face still pressed tightly to my arms below contorted, deep sobs threatening to bust free. I resisted and sucked in one powerful breath before launching from my hiding spot and sprinting towards my exit. The moon shone brightly through the trees now, highlighting the path leading to the edge of our pack border. Fear and hope drove me forward at speeds I’d not reached before. I didn’t have a moment to dwell on the strange encounter with Travis, only send up a gracious prayer to the moon goddess for her protection and continue my race forward. The pack border lingered before me only feet away, this was it, this was. . .freedom. I’d crossed the line that ended our packlands and the treacherous guards that lingered within. A few more miles and I’d be free of our territory, no howls sounded in the distance, no footsteps in the wood. I was free. My sprinting did not slow, I simply raised my head to the moon, kissed my fingers, and held them to the sky whispering thank you. A raindrop fell to my cheek, followed by a thousand more as the sky opened up and let down a warm drizzle. I smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in years knowing this was also a gift from the Goddess. Her rainfall covered any tracks or scent of my escape, so when morning came and my absence was discovered, I’d be untraceable.