The Moonlit Path

Chapter 3: No Way Home

Jeongguk didn't remember how long he had run until he finally deemed it safe to take a break. The only thing he knew was that he was hungry, sleepy, and in miserable pain. The last time he felt this immense pain was 9 years ago, when his parents died, leaving him and his sister all alone to survive. His dear sister, that now, too, was gone and would never come back to him. She would never scold him again, would never hug him again, and would never cook for him again. He suddenly realized that he would never see her again. Jeongguk cursed the skies, the holy gods, and the moon goddess herself. Hasn't he lost enough already? Did he really have to suffer more? He thought he and Hyujin were finally able to rest and live their lives peacefully. But no. Someone took his last bit of happiness away, leaving him lonely and homeless.

Hiding in a dark cave, far away from his old home in a part of the forest the young wolf had never encountered before, Jeongguk didn't know what to do next. Should he just stay there? No, that would be as if he was waiting for death to finally get to him. Then what? Leaving the cave was the only other option he had. He was terrified of doing so, but he had no other choice. Would he actually be able to survive on his own? Until now, his sister was always watching and protecting him. He was wondering whether he even stood a chance on his own when he wasn't even strong enough to protect his sister. Maybe it would have been better to just stay there and let the rogues finish their job. Then he wouldn't be alone with his grief now. He wouldn't have to run away anymore or fight for his survival. But... If he actually stayed and died in his old house, right next to his sister, his parents and Hyujin would have died for nothing. All of them wanted to save and protect him; they wanted him to live. So, dying wasn't an option for Jeongguk anymore: He had to continue living with the burden of his family having died because of him to keep his family's moment and their memory alive.

With a small whimper, the young wolf got himself up on his paws, hurting from his long journey, and carefully checked his surroundings. The rogues seemed to have been gone. With quiet and slow steps, Jeongguk left the cave and began to travel farther away from his old life. Staying for too long in one place would be something he couldn't do from now on, as this would increase the danger of the rogues returning and finding him. His next stop could only be on safe grounds. So he took turns and walked unknown routes, resulting in him getting lost in the forest. This was new to Jeongguk, as he always found his way back home. But now, with no home to return to, he lost all of his orientation and continued to wander through the thickening forest. But he didn't really care: He was feeling numb, and turning back was no option anyway. The only path he could take was straight.

When the sun was starting to set and Jeongguk was feeling as if his limbs were burning, he spotted some weird-looking huts in the distance. He had no idea what these huts were since they were far taller than his old hut, but he decided to check them out. Taking his very last reserves of energy, he trotted his way over to the unknown land, hoping for some kind of food or even shelter for the time being. As he came closer to the huts, he noticed a lot of people wandering through the streets. Jeongguk had never seen as many people before and was amazed by the density of the population. The next thing he noticed was that there were no wolves, only human beings that even smelled differently. There was no typical scent to them, as he knew from his family. That could only mean... He had entered human territory. Now, don't get Jeongguk wrong; he wasn't particularly scared of this weird species. However, he always found the stories about him his parents had told him a tiny bit strange and unsettling. Plus, he didn't need many people around him. Just his dear ones. Just when he was about to turn around and look for another place to hide and take his rest, he felt like he was being watched. He rapidly turned around, but the only thing he spotted was a bright full moon shining down on him. He stared at it for quite some time before snapping out of it and turning back towards the human territory. Where else should he go?

Having turned back into his human form, he was naked. And he, of course, didn't bring any clothes with him. The only way he could think of getting clothes was to borrow (read as steal) some other person's clothes. Settled with this plan, he slowly made his way over to the humans' gardens, located just outside the density of high glass huts. Luckily, he was able to grab some garments that actually fit him, so now he could explore this new land. He wandered the streets, looking here, sniffing there, being stared at sometimes for taking too long to look at something seemingly ordinary. One particular building, however, caught his eye. He didn't know why, but he strangely felt a strong pull towards it and couldn't help himself but get near it. Just when he was about to enter, two young men came out of it. And that's when he smelled it: A sweet scent, as he was used to it from his mother and his sister. One of the men was an Omega. Another fellow wolf inside this dense human community. Even though he was a bit scared of him being a rogue, too, Jeongguk was delighted to meet someone of his kind in this unknown place. The man in question seemed to have noticed his scent as well, as he stopped in his tracks and looked for the unfamiliar scent. When he found Jeongguk's eyes, they just looked at each other. Jeongguk wanted to go over and greet the wolf, but two things stopped him from doing so: First, there was a human just beside the wolf. Did this human know about wolves? Was Jeongguk safe to talk to the other wolf, or would the human react in a weird or even dangerous way? Second, his head started to hurt badly before everything was spinning. Jeongguk didn't know what was happening to him. The last thing he remembers, before he hit the ground, was the wolf and the human, too, running toward him.