A Prequel [Book 8] in Her Destiny Series ||| ❝His family was blinded by greed and he lost everything in the crossfire.❞
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Everyone knew his family was a twisted one, they slaughtered packs for power. He was trapped, unable to escape t...
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He didn't really know how it happened.
One day, he was running from his past and he had no thought for the future. When he woke the next day, he was leading someone. Then, there were three that followed him. It just happened, like all things had a habit of doing in life, and he never saw himself as an Alpha.
He thought of himself as unworthy of... everything. He supposed that was the aftermath of a traumatic childhood, he was always questioning himself. Glancing over his shoulder. Wary of others. He didn't really know how to trust yet but Fox didn't leave him alone.
Fox was more of a lingering presence that hovered over his shoulder. Not in a bad way. As of currently, he had crossed the creek and Fox was quick to flank him. The two black wolves tilted their heads slightly, watching, and then they moved to follow. There wasn't an inch of hostility between them.
It continued to lightly snow, a few tiny snowflakes drifted from above to kiss his nose, to which he sneezed a few times. Fox gave him an amused look and he whipped his tail across Fox's snout before continuing on whatever path his heart desired.
He believed they had made it to Canada, at long last, and now he was searching. For a place, somewhere to finally stop his run, and Fox seemed to understand that without words ever spoken between them.
The two black wolves trailed at a safe distance, curious and cautious, but he paid them no mind. He wasn't worried about them anymore because they all realized they shared common ground, and that went a lot further than stolen respect. He knew what it was like to fear someone because they would pummel the life out of him, and he would never be like that.
He wasn't his father. He never would be. That much drove him to do this Alpha thing right because his father had taught him how it should never be done. Sadly, most Alpha's followed the same sadistic, power-thirsty way of control. He had seen it over and over again.
When daylight faded beneath ghostly white snowflakes, he found an overhanging ledge to rest beneath for the night. It would keep them dry and Fox was the first to shift in order to build a small fire. He headed out to hunt and one of the black wolves followed him. He noticed it was the one who was usually leading, a nasty scar crossing his face.
He nodded to the wolf and they worked together to hunt food for their tiny pack before the darkness fell. They were lucky, scoring a medium-sized doe and a few rabbits. He discovered the wolf was exceptionally talented with hunting, and he even noticed a warrior pattern. He was curious about their new friends and when they returned to the others, he shifted.
He settled on one side of the fire with Fox at his side and the two black wolves laid down on the other side. After they had eaten their fill and tossed the bones aside, which the black wolves enjoyed chewing on, they looked at each other.
"Are you guys able to shift?" He spoke first, addressing the two black wolves.
The one who had gone out with him earlier sighed, looking at the other, and then shook his head in response. He accepted this form of communication. Who knew how long these two were out here, perhaps they had permanently lost the ability to shift from living in their fur.
"Is this your territory?"
A slow blink from the first wolf and then the other black wolf shrugged. He shared a look with Fox.
"Do you have names?"
Another head shake that meant they didn't.
He mused for a second, glancing between the two black wolves. They had a distinction between them. The first was obviously a little more dominant, and the second just seemed to follow whatever the first decided. Kind of like a loyal friend.
"General," The first black wolf perked his ears and he smiled, "That can be your name." For a moment, the wolf stared at him, contemplating the new name, and then the rigid lines of his scar eased and he accepted with a wolfish grin.
He looked at the second wolf, "Amigo, my friend." Instantly, the second wolf perked up and gave a slow tail wag that cleared a berth of snow behind him. Once again, he smiled. These brutes had lived in the wild with no names for who knows how long and they looked so happy receiving some kind of identity, it was nearly heartwarming, and he was happy he could give them something.
Fox leaned closer to him and whispered, "Perhaps you could mind-link with them. If they see you as an Alpha, they'll accept it."
He nodded, looking at General and Amigo, they waited for his next words. He hadn't really formed a mind-link with anyone besides the universal pack link at Conquistador. It felt personal to him but he looked back at Fox, "How do I do that?"
"You've never formed a mind-link with someone?" Fox eyed him incredulously.
"Obviously not, so teach me."
Fox rubbed the back of his neck, "Okay, well, we can try forming one. Just think of it like a thought and you're trying to send it to my brain."
He snorted, "Graphic."
"I've never taught anyone before, cut me some slack man," Fox rolled his eyes, "You try explaining talking in someone's mind, it's not even possible with humans."
"Alright," He closed his eyes and he focused on a single thought that he wanted Fox to hear. He felt something in the back of his mind, it was almost like a tickle, and then he said, 'Hello?'
There was silence. He almost thought it hadn't worked and then someone said, directly in his mind as if it was his own thought, 'Boo!'
He jumped from the unexpected response, eyes flying open, and Fox immediately bent over laughing. When Fox could breathe, he pointed and gasped, "You shoulda seen your face! I'll never forget that one."
"So it worked?" He asked, annoyed with Fox's childishness.
Fox chuckled, "Yeah, buddy, congratulations."
"Great," He ignored Fox and fixed his eyes upon General and Amigo across the crackling fire. They perked their ears once more, they were seriously attentive to him, and then he focused on doing the same thing. 'Can you hear me?' He reached out to them.
'Yes, Alpha.' They responded in unison. Their voices were quiet, deep, and rough from years of disuse. It almost gave them more personality as wild wolves. Still, those words sent a shock through his system. Alpha, they addressed him as such.
'No, I am your friend above all else,' He said firmly, 'I am not better than you.'
General gazed at him, 'Brother, then.'
He found himself nodding, glancing at Amigo, 'Brothers.'
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I love these guys. They are cute.
I had almost totally forgotten that Joel can talk to his Betas... so this scene was precious and there will be more conversations between them in the future! Though I still love all the unspoken moments between them and they just understand each other (:
