The Alpha's Runt

Chapter 2- A Whole New World

With my heart pounding in my chest, I quickly walk out of the dusty motel lobby and out into the crisp fall air. Looking down the deserted road, I can see a town in the distance. That must be the right way to go, might as well wing this. Pulling the blue hoodie over my head, I start on my way to this whole new world. 

After what feels like hours of walking, my sore feet groaning underneath me, I finally make it to the outside of the town. I look over and read the old, faded sign, "Dufur Oregon Welcomes You!" Oregon? How did I end up here? Whatever, I must keep walking if I'm ever going to get to this place...9983 forest rain drive...

People stare at me as I walk down the streets aligned with small shops and flashy diners. I remove my hood from over my head and look down at the ground, trying to ignore their obvious stares. They must not get new visitors very often... I walk quickly with my head still low, not paying attention to where I am going, causing me to crash into someone. I fall to the ground on my butt, but they remain still in their stance. Red alert, my wolf whines. 

"I'm sorry..." I begin to mutter, looking up at them. A tall man glares down at me, his hair is dark and his eyes darker. He crosses his arms over his chest, causing my wolf to cower back. "I...I..." I try to explain.

"Be quiet." He cuts me off, his voice booming. He appears to be around my age, but yet I still feel a powerful fear towards him. I lower my eyes as my wolf whimpers within me, I know I need to get out of here. "What are you doing here?" He demands, his eyes burning into the side of my head. 

"I just need directions, that's all." Looking back up at him he nods, uncrossing his arms over his chest and reaching out a hand to me, silently. I hesitantly take his hand in mine and he pulls me up off the ground.  

His facial expression softens, "Where are you trying to go?"

"9983 forest rain drive. Do you happen to know where that is?" I look down at the dirt on my pants and brush my hands against them in attempt to get clean. When I look back up at the stranger, he's walking away. "Hey wait! Can't you help me?!" I run to catch up with him, slightly irritated with his rudeness. 

The stranger chuckles quietly and looks over at me, this is the first time I've seen him actually smile, "Yeah, where do you think we're going?" He shakes his head as he chuckles, before going back to his silent state. I keep quiet as well and walk beside him, people still staring intensely at not only me now, but him, too. I nudge my shoulder against him and he looks down at me, raising an eyebrow, "What?"

Keeping my voice low, I mumble uncomfortably, "Why are they all staring at me. Ever since I stepped foot in this town, I've had all eyes on me. Don't tell me there's something on my face." My hands go to my cheeks and I rub, laughing softly. 

"You really don't know why?" He questions, furrowing his eyebrows and looking down at me. I stop rubbing my cheeks and shake my head silently, looking back at the curious townspeople. There's no way this is a pack, I would've been killed by now. This town seems far to small to hold a pack that stands a chance against others. My father never told me about any other pack near by, besides the constant threat of being attacked by the Silent Night Pack, which faced us north. I've gone south though. 

We continue to walk in a now uncomfortable silence until we turn onto a street marked "Forest Rain". My spirits are lifted and I grin up at him, "We made it! I mean, I made it! With a little help...But still! I can't believe I'm here! I made i-" My rambling is cut short when I take in my surroundings. The street is long and aligned with tall trees, their orange and red leaves slowly beginning to fall to the ground. On each side of the street is a small house, identical to the one across from it. At the end of the street is the largest house I've ever seen. It's exterior tells me that it's been there for quite awhile, and it stands proudly.(Picture above!) Kids and teenagers scurry about freely, laughing and screaming as they play, on the mansion's large front lawn. Adults stand by, chatting and laughing as they watch. It looks like a big family reunion to me. 

"9983 is the house on the right, closest to the Pack Hous- I mean, closest to that big house at the end of the street." Before I can thank him, or ask his name, he's gone. I turn around in a circle, but he's no where in sight. Weird... 

The staring continues. Of course, I don't think I expected it to stop, but it still is bothering me. Timidly, I walk with my head down once again until I'm at the end of the street in front of the big gate outside of the mansion. All the laughter has stopped and the chatter is now at a quiet whisper as people watch me carefully. Turning to my right, I look at the small white and blue house. I feel a welcoming pull towards it.

9983 Forest Rain drive...I'm here. Gravel crunches under my feet as I walk up the path to the old wooden porch. Walking up the steps to the porch, my heart slams against my chest. Bringing a shaky hand up, I knock three times. Knock, knock, knock.

The door creaks open and a fair haired lady, in her mid-40's stands at my height, smiling warmly. "Hi, what can I do for you?" She adjusts her thin rimmed glasses and pulls at the collar of her white coat. I take in her appearance for a second, noticing the strong resemblance she has with my mother. Her warm eyes and soft voice feel like home, and the smell coming from inside the house smells like home. I find myself breathless as my heart races in my chest.

"I...I...I was sent here. I don't know by who, but I was sent here." I manage to spit out, keeping my eyes locked on hers. Her smile slowly drops and she steps aside, motioning for me to come inside. Warm air embraces me as I step into the main room. It looks a lot like a waiting room, with chairs lining two of the walls and a small circular coffee table in the middle, magazines sloppily covering it. She takes a seat on one of the couches and I sit on one of the others. 

She speaks in a small whisper, sorrow in her voice, "Are you...Ava?". I silently nod, curious as to how she knew that. Before I have the chance to ask, she continues. "I'm Diana, your mother is my sister, making me your Aunt."

"My mom told me she was an only child, I don't have an aunt." I examine her face as she smiles sadly, leaning back against the soft couch.

"Yeah, I figured she wouldn't tell you about me. I'm her younger sister, born 2 years after her, born a runt. At 17 I was kicked out of the same pack you were, the same exact way, too. She must have been the one who led you to me, since no one else in that pack has had contact with me ever since I left." She shakes her head, then looks over at me and smiles. "None the less, you were led to the right place. Welcome to the Moon-Light Pack! I'm actually the Pack doctor, and this is my office and home. You are more than welcome to stay with me, unless you'd rather leave." 

Placing my hands on my head, I try to take in all the information she just gave me. "Wait, slow down, please. So you're my aunt, who's also a runt, who was also kicked out...What?!" I stand up quickly and turn around, facing away from her. "This is insane. There's no way any of that is true." The wooden floor creaks as she stands up and places a hand on my shoulder, her touch is warm and soothing. 

"I'm sorry, I know this all sounds crazy. But I assure you, it's all true. With time you'll come to accept this, and until you do, you can stay here. You're a rogue, Ava, it's not safe for you to be out there. You got lucky this time, but there's such an evil force out in the rogue world, an evil you wouldn't believe." 

Turning around to face her, I look into her light eyes. "That's why people have been staring at me since I've gotten into town...I'm a rogue." She nods sadly, and wraps her arms around me, pulling me to her. "Are you sure it's okay for me to stay here? Won't it put you in danger?" She steps away from me and shakes her head quickly. 

"There is no danger in this pack, nothing can hurt us. Well...Except you. I know you don't plan to hurt anyone, but the rest of our pack members don't know that. Stay here, be my guest."

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Boom, first update in years! Sorry if it felt rushed at any parts, I will for sure be going back and making changes as the story progresses. Thank you to the people who have been so loyal, I hope you liked this chapter! May there be many more to come. Leave a vote or a comment to let me know if you liked it! <3

~Jess