One of Runts

Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Chosen

        My eyes widen and my breath hitches in my throat as my name is the last to be called. "Oh my Gods," I project to Leah and Mac. I feel their surprise run down the mind-link, but I am surprised when I feel pride mixed in.

        The only people that I have ever received pride from was from my mother, father, and Alpha. It feels foreign to feel the pride in these wolves.

         The Alpha King, now finished with his listing, rolls up the two pieces of parchment and puts it in his jacket. He waves his hand towards us and my Alpha steps forward.

         "Those of you who have been selected have tonight to decide whether or not you are to join the Alpha King," he states formally with warmth in his tone. "I know for a fact that many of you will decide to stay in our pack and I don't hold it against you if you wish to stay with your mate and children. I am proud of you for making the tough decision on staying with your family.

         "For all of you who have been called and will be going, I am proud of you," my Alpha looks at me as he says this, making me feel warm in pride. "I am proud to be your Alpha and I wish you all luck on your journey. For those who I may never see again, I am proud to have been in your lives."

         The whole pack is somber and silent as he says this. The two groups before the Alpha and the rest of the pack that stands to the sides of us. We all know that some of us will not return. There are rogues out there, they fight dirty and some will be stronger than us. We all just hope that we will stay safe and try to make it out alive.

        "On a lighter note, those of you who decide to go will be leaving first thing in the morning. Ten o'clock. The whole pack will gather to wish you all off," my Alpha says, his voice strong. "You will have the rest of the night and the morning to pack and say farewells to those you care about.

        "Everyone is dismissed." The whole training field of wolves erupts in chatter, those leaving saying how proud they are to be chosen to their friends and family.

        I step away from the group of tracker wolves and stick my nose in the air, searching for Leah. I will say my goodbyes to my parents in the morning before I leave. They're usually up by seven.

        As I catch Leah's earthy and sweet fruit-like scent, I ignore the numerous glares and stares from the non-chosen tracker wolves. "They're just jealous that a runt like yourself was chosen by the King instead of them," Leah says as I step next to her. She sees the glares, too.

        I look up at her with a small grin on my lips. "I didn't think that I would have been chosen," I tell her honestly as we head to our combined rooms. Since she came out of my room she will be entering that way too. Her door is locked and she forgot the key.

        Leah stops in the center of the non-crowded hallway, the rest of the pack outside talking to one another. I am surprised when she looks at me with a serious face.

        "Of course you would have been chosen, Ever. You're an amazing tracker wolf, one of the top ones. I'm surprised you haven't been made Squadron Leader, yet," she tells me, her voice serious with hints of anger. "Just because you are a runt doesn't mean that you deserve to be chosen any less."

        I look at her, surprised at her words. I know that Leah is open-minded, but I didn't expect her to think so highly of me. Despite Runts making up a little less than a third of the trackers, none of us have been made Squadron Leader. Hell, it was a surprise when I was appointed Second-In-Command.

        I open and close my mouth, at a loss of what to say. Leah continues staring at me, that stern look on her face. "You... You truly think that I am that valuable?" I ask her, not truly knowing what to say.

        Leah's face softens as she looks at me. "Of course I do, Ever. You're my best friend. And not to mention that you are in the top twenty tracking wolves." I frown in confusion.

        "What do you mean that I am in the top twenty? I check that list once a week after training and I have never seen my name on it." I have been training hard since I became a tracker, not a trainee, wanting to get in the top twenty.

        It is Leah's turn to have a look of confusion before a look of realization covers her face. "I have a copy of the list in my room," her voice is hard and I have a feeling that it has to do with some of the trackers.

       I follow Leah to my room. I toss her the key as she tries to open her door. She snatches it out of the air, opens my door, and bolts to our shared bathroom. I follow her through the two doors as she turns her light on.

        I stand in the middle of the room, looking around it. There are two large bookshelves full of books on both sides of her bed. She has a large desk next to her door and it has books on it as well. "I didn't take you for a reader," I tell her as she looks through a few drawers in her small side table.

        She turns to me and rolls her eyes. "Of course I'm a reader, I quote books daily." My mouth opens in an "oh". She nods with an obvious "yeah" face and goes back to looking in her drawer.

        I watch her in curiosity. Other than the books in her rooms, there is basically stuff everywhere. There are knickknacks on her desk, side table, and bookshelves, and there are dirty training clothes in a large basket and around it. Her bed is unmade and on her desk are also a lot of papers.

        She shoves the drawer that she was looking in closes and opens the other one. I've never really seen a messy room before, my room is all in order as well as my parents' house.

         I see her grab something from the drawer, close the drawer, hold the piece of paper up and yell, "Ah ha! I found it!"

        She swiftly walks over to me and shoves the paper in my hands. She shoved the paper so hard in my hands that it's a mystery how I didn't get a paper cut.

        I smooth the paper out on her desk and look at it. It says"Top Twenty Tracker Wolves of Whisper Howl" on the top of it. I stare at the names on the paper.

        My eyes stop on one name. My name. Evergreen Raverik. My name is under Mac's beside number 13. I snap my head up at her, "How?" I question her. How is my name on this paper? Why is it on this paper? Why wasn't it on the name list at the training hall?

        "I don't know," she tells me. "But I have a feeling it has to do with some of the other tracker wolves." Realization dawns on me as I look at the paper.

        "I've always seen this one group of wolves by the message board twice a week. Once when the list gets posted on the board on Monday, and the following day after," I tell her. "They must have taken a picture of the list on Monday and made a new copy without my name on it."

        She nods her head at me. I can practically feel the anger coming off her. Leah's a very loyal wolf and an even more loyal friend. I know she cares about me as I've seen her defend me when other wolves try to poke fun at my being a runt.

        "It's fine, Leah. It's all over and done with and now I know," I tell her, my voice calm. She stares at me, her eyes hard in fury.

        "How is it fine?" she tells me. "They deliberately made you feel invaluable as a tracker wolf. They know that you were trying to get into the top twenty and they took that hope from you!" She's right, though. It did make me feel invaluable.

         I let out a heavy sigh. "But I know now. Now I know that I did get into the top twenty and now I don't have to be disappointed anymore if I don't see my name on that list when I get back." I stare hard at Leah, trying to make her let it go.

         She stares into my challenging gaze before looking away. "Fine," she tells me. "But, I'll get back at them for you." She has a mischievous look in her eyes. I ignore it, she does want to defend me, after all.

         A smile lights up on her face. "C'mon," she tells me, walking into my room. "You need to pack." I stare after her for a few seconds before running after her. She'll make a mess of my room!