Chase (Chasing Tails Rewritten)

Seven - Demon

 Heart pounding in her chest, Julie paces in her room while she waits for her twin brothers to finish getting ready. It's Friday night and it feels like she doesn't have enough time in the world to prepare herself for what might happen. Soon, her brothers will have to leave her. They will have to fight to belong to either Ollie's or Dresden's packs and she's terrified of the chance they might be split up. At least, together, she'll know they'll be okay but if they were separated, there's a chance they'll have to face each other as enemies one day because of pack affiliations alone. She's sure Zach won't let that happen. He'd rather stay a rogue than to fight family. Andy too. He'd follow his brother's example, no matter the consequences but Julie doesn't want to see her brothers treated like criminals and she doesn't want to see Zach have a hard time after finding his mate in Trisha.

She's nervous. She doesn't like the chances of it. She doesn't like being split from them either. After tonight, she'll be facing James all on her own like she originally planned only she's not nearly okay with it as she thought she'd be. She shakes at just the idea of returning home alone tonight. Her brothers will be safe in their new packs and Julie will return to find James waiting for her. She's not even fully recovered from the last beating.

"Worried already?"

Andy sits on her bed, watching her with a calm gaze as she continues to pace. Julie shakes her head, attempting to look brave but she can't lie as well to Andy as she can to Zach. He notices things too clearly.

"Don't worry. You'll make it fine."

Julie frowns. "They won't want me, Andy. I'm not going to belong to either pack."

Andy rolls his eyes. "They'll want you, Juls. You're just as good as the rest of us, even if you don't have your wolf anymore. You're still Were."

Julie doesn't reply to him, letting him believe what he wants. She knows the truth. She's damaged and if she were to join a pack, she'd be ranked omega, practically useless. No Alpha would fight or so easily accept another omega joining their pack.

"Ready?" Zach appears, looking more excited than anything. When his siblings nod their heads, he smiles. "Then let's go."

Julie isn't sure if she's invited or not but she's not going to just sit at home and wait to hear what happens. So she grabs a jacket and slips it on before making sure her hair is properly placed. Andy helps her adjust the bobby pins and then takes her under his arm to follow Zach. The three of them walk out the back door and begin at a steady pace through the woods.

Andy and Zach seem calm as they get closer and closer to the valley but Julie's heart won't stop pounding away and she can feel her knees shaking beneath her. When they break through the trees, many Were face them expectantly, each split off to stand around their own Alpha. Zach and Andy pause, their eyes roaming over all of them carefully before continuing forward with Julie, keeping her close at their sides. The two Alphas meet them in the middle and Julie can sense a darker tension rising between the two of them that wasn't there before.

"Let's get started." Dresden states impatiently, his eyes roaming over Julie hungrily. Andy presses Julie closer to his side and she welcomes his protection, biting her lip with anticipation.

She knew she shouldn't have come.

Her brothers take a step away from her and shift into their wolves. Their gray and black wolves settle closer to her, each taking their time to comfort her before following both Ollie and Dresden away. She stands off to the side, closer to where the trees break off and grips her hands nervously.

Pack sorting is a violent method for rogues. If a rogue wants to join a pack, they'll have to face off with the Alpha. The Alpha is the only person who decides if they can join or not. If the Alpha doesn't want them, they could kill the rogue for merely trying or simply trespassing. In order for them to join the pack, the Alpha will have to mark them but marking is an extremely prideful thing for a wolf. It's a form of submission of will. Instinctively, the rogue will fight back and try his hardest to prevent that from happening. So they fight. Once the Alpha does claim him as his pack member, the rogue's ability to fight will help the Alpha decide where to place him or what his duties will be. That can always cause tension in the packs, especially ones where there are Were who are proud of their rankings.