The Stinky Life I've Accepted

Chapter 6: Pack Land

Ryker

After a bit of arguing in front of my cage, and then out in the hall, the shifters have decided to shoot some type of dart at me. They did so quickly and efficiently, due to the urgency of having to open the cage door whilst keeping me from escaping. 

What is it with people and sharp things?! 

A few minutes after, my body goes limp, and I collapse, twitching. "Just enough to transport him, Alpha." The tracker who shot the dart at me mutters as the "doc" gently pulls me out. 

The Alpha, who I sense a horrifying connection to, takes me from the "doc," and I lie limp in his large cupped hands. 

"Would you like to hold him for the drive, or put him in one of the transport cages?" One of the girls asks, but at this point everything is very faint. 

All sound leaves me, and I black out. 

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Maxon

I softly rub my finger against the skinny thing's head, who is sleeping in my arms. My mate. I smile, my heart full of love for him already. 

"The pack is going to go wild when they learn that we have found an omega. Even more so when they learn that the omega is our future Luna." Liv says with a small smile as she drives, glancing at my mate every once in a while. 

"Maxon, he's so small and fragile." One of our best trackers, Sam, mutters as he touches my mate on the head lightly. 

I bear in my growl, conscious of the  certitude that none of my pack mates will intentionally hurt or steal my mate away from me. Even if I wasn't their Alpha, mates are solidities in the supernatural world. Even without the need to mark down any law resounding around the concept, mates are an unspoken code that is not to be tampered with. 

"Agreed. I will make sure he packs on some pounds these next few weeks. Among other things. A real bed. A bath." I mumble, thinking hard. 

"Libby will demand to check him out as soon as possible. And how do you want him handled? He's feral. He probably hasn't been in human form since he was a normal rogue. We have no idea of his age... we've never come across a feral like him before. All the feral shifters we've dealt with before were so near to Absolution, there was next to nothing we could do for them. It may be the case for him." My sister rants, hushed. I grimace at the words. 

This little thing is truly something else. 

Rogues are shifters with no packs, and they become such in three ways. One being the most simple reason; therefore, by forceful dismissal and thus abandonment of their pack. The second approach is when the participant willingly chooses to leave their pack of their own free will. And the nastiest of the three is when they are given no choice. Through birth in the rogue life. 

But feral individuals have it much worse. It takes years for rogues to transmute into becoming a  feral...one of the lowest stages a shifter can become. They go mad after years and years of solitude, their human counterparts fading bit by bit, day by day. When their human counterpart fades out completely, their death soundly accompanies. The feral would shift into Absolution, and at that point, there is nothing that can be done for them but to allow them to live out their days as the wild animal they are. 

They no longer have a human soul, and thus, no human body to shift into. Most ferals we've received in the nearly last decade have already been dragged into the first steps of Absolution.  The ones we were able to save from a painless death run amok our territory with the wild-born animals we have relocated.

I shudder at the thought of my mate being an absolute. If he has even an ounce of human left in him, there could be a chance for rehabilitation. 

It'll be long and painful, full of obstacles and problems, but it is a chance. If he is an absolute...I blink away my tears at the thought. 

"Hey, I'm sorry. It's okay. He can't be an absolute. He's your mate. We'll figure it out." Liv says with a small smile, patting me on the shoulder. 

I nod, giving her a grimace back. "I will choose to believe you." I murmur as we pull up to our pack land. At the strong smell of my mate, doors immediately open, and members spill out as they desperately attempt to track the sweet scent of the omega among them. 

"Oh, here we go." Abberon, another one of our best trackers, mutters as he pulls the car into the parking lot and turns it off. 

Taking a deep breath, I get out of the car, clutching my mate close to my chest. He stays sweetly oblivious to the world.

Nearly the whole pack circles around me, gaping and struggling to get a good look. I clear my throat. "Everyone, this is my mate. Your future Luna. Hopefully." I gently say, wincing at the somewhat composed excited squeals and cheers from them. 

"But I need Libby." I break the mood instantly, everyone gasping and trying to get closer. "Apparently, this little guy was the reason why there have been so many rodents found in town. He's a feral...an absolute or not, we don't know. We have no idea how long he has been one, or what his story is." I finish up and they pale and murmur. 

Libby walks up then, holding her hands out. "And the poor thing does not need any publicity. Everyone will leave him be when he's under my temporary care. I don't want anyone but The Alpha and his Inner Circle within an even seven feet of my infirmary. Anyone who is caught closer than that will be immediately hauled away." She orders, and everyone disperses, knowing she's being serious. 

"Thanks Libby." I mutter as I hand her my mate, hideously begrudgingly, into her hands. She smiles. "Of course. Now let's see who we're working with." She mutters before turning around and leading us to her infirmary.