The King's Rogue

Ch 7 The Queen's Decree

It was odd, watching the other wolves settle into a loose circle around Brother. It looked like about eight or nine other wolves. Brother stood in the moonlit field, telling them of his micro-nation, offering to come, in time, to any pack that wanted or needed his help. He didn't make demands.

He told them his laws, laws I had broken. No killing, no kidnapping, no abuse; and most importantly, no biting anyone that did not desire the life of a wolf.

Three out of the four I had broken. I helped kidnap Michael, I had slapped the omega Luke for no good reason, and most importantly, I had bitten Michael without his permission. I had not killed the guard who had been goaded into challenging me at the old alpha's behest; though I had gotten sick at the damage I'd ended up doing to him.

Brother spoke of how some packs had operated, old beliefs that caused pain and suffering. I had witnessed such things first hand, heard the madness those ways had caused in my old alpha. Brother offered a better way. A few wolves shifted, walking up to him on two legs, getting the information he offered, asking for help. He spoke to them for awhile while I laid in the field nearby.

My brow furrowed as I realized this was the first time I was really out in the wild, past concrete roads and manicured lawns. My eyes followed a beetle, and I was up following it without thought. I put my nose to work then, trying to identify the different smells. I found myself tracing the path of some of the other wolves, stalking them as I got close. I'd pounce, swatting at them when I found them, bounding away, only to get distracted following a different trail.

It wasn't until I pounced, wrapping my paws around Brother's ankle, that I stopped to think about what I was doing. He squatted down, his fingers around my ears. I could only crouch down below his hand.

"Little Brother, you have so little control. I will teach you, if you will let me. In the meantime," he looked up, "Lobo, will you do the honor of teaching this young one what you can for a bit?"

I resented that he said I had little control. I was the best shifter in Max's pack! To prove it, I rose, shifting to two feet faster than anyone else there besides Brother himself. I don't need a babysitter, I wanted to yell at him, but words didn't come, only a growl.

The yellow wolf rose from the grass in front of me, matching my shifting. He was sporting a grin. He said something in a language I didn't know. Brother nodded at the small brown man, saying something back at him. Before I knew it, the brown man was shifting rapidly back to wolf. He leaped, knocking me down, and sprinted away. He was out of sight in seconds, not even a rustle of grass disclosing where he went.

"Well go find him, Little Brother. Lobo is the best tracker I know, across the wild or within cities. You can learn much from him."

I swallowed down my flash of anger, keeping my resentment at bay. With a snarl I shifted back to four feet. I took off with my nose to the ground. I got like three feet before I was spinning around in confusion. I got knocked down again, catching a glimpse of yellow fur. I took off after him, clamoring out my frustration. I heard one of the men Brother was talking to ask if the yellow wolf would be ok. Brother just laughed reassuringly, moving off to finish their conversation.

By the time the yellow wolf was leaving a trail I could follow, the grey wolf was running across from me. Brother came out of nowhere, visible in an open area, disappearing again, his black fur blending with the shadows. I stood still, struck by how awkwardly I moved compared to them. My ears were useless, for they made no sound. My eyes were unsure of what they saw, shapes that could be wolves being revealed to be nothing but simple shadows, or tree branches. Even my nose, what I considered my strongest wolf attribute, was confused by the myriad of outdoor scents I couldn't identify.