Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 6

The one guy gaped at me, clearly surprised. "You're a girl."

I blinked slowly at his shocked greeting, although the way the previous man had pinned me, they probably had just assumed that I was male like most rogues.

He turned bright red in embarrassment at his slip of the tongue and my silent wary stare. He looked to be in his early twenties and was a bit slimmer than the other three guys. He shuffled his feet as he mumbled, "Uh, sorry about that. It just took me by surprise..."

I nodded slowly in acceptance of his apology, my senses told me that it had been sincere. The fourth guy stepped forward, and I turned to face him. He was the one with Beta bloodlines.

I shifted my weight uneasily, and he cleared his throat before he spoke, "Please accept my apologies for what happened. We thought that you were an orphaned pup. None of us has seen a runt before and the possibility didn't cross our minds. We truly did not intend to harm you."

All of my senses told me that he was telling me the truth. I relaxed a bit and nodded again. I was curious though, and asked, "Why would you think a young pup in the middle of no man's land would have to be an orphan?"

He gestured to the east. "Last night, we heard a bunch of howling and arrived just in time to help a pack fight off a dozen ferals. We caught a whiff of smoke from the west and came out to ensure that no one else had been injured. We came across a camp, although we didn't see anyone around. We checked the area, but came up empty. On the way back, we caught a glimpse of you and thought that you were a pup. We waited to see if you were calling your parents or group in. When no one showed up after so long, we thought that they may have been caught by the ferals which would have left you as an orphan. We decided to catch you and make sure that you got adopted into a pack."

The guy who had pinned me shrugged as he added his own explanation. "It didn't seem right in our minds to leave a pup all alone in no man's land. We just didn't realize that you weren't a pup. Sorry about pinning you like that, but I have to say in my defense that you have extremely sharp claws..."

He looked amused, and I grinned slightly in response as I regarded the dozens of minor lacerations on his wrist and forearm. They weren't serious and would heal by this evening, but it did look like he had grabbed a wild barn cat by the tail. I sharpened my claws a bit so I could climb tree branches easier, but I wasn't about to tell them that.

I commented idly, "You could have tried talking while you waited or before you started digging. It would have saved you a lot of trouble."

It would have been much easier for me as well. They obviously were not used to dealing with rogues. He made a wry face. "I will keep that in mind for next time."

His friends had walked over to stand by him so they were no longer surrounding me. I appreciated it, as a runt and rogue, I was more cautious than most. Being surrounded made me uneasy, even if they claimed to mean me no harm.

One of the others inquired, "What are you doing all the way out here anyway?"

I was pretty sure the speaker was the black wolf. I shrugged as I said, "Most packs will not adopt a runt because it makes them look weak."

He looked surprised. "I never thought of that. How do you manage to survive out here?"

I replied, "Mostly hunting and gathering for my own needs, and occasionally trading for things I can't make on my own."

The one with Beta blood looked intrigued as he inquired, "What do you trade?"

"Usually, whatever I can find that they want. Berries, mushrooms, occasionally precious stones, and some other things."