An enslaved pack ruled by a merciless dictator. A pack of assassins out for blood and revenge.
A lone wolf who can't find his place among any of it.
Through betrayal, binding pacts, and revolutionary acts, with more shadows looming between the tree...
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The yard between the Wolf House and the Compound was busy as always at the end of the school day, the wolf and Hunter children out together and backpacks thrown haphazardly into the grass.
Two boys stood facing another pair. A boy with dark hair bared his teeth at the girl and boy before him, his brown gaze turning gold. "You'll never beat us," he stated like a fact.
"Oh shut up, Jesse!" The girl broke her stance a little to roll her eyes. "Can we just spar already?"
The boy at Jesse's side raised a little crossbow made of pencils and rubber bands. "You asked for it!" he announced and stood back behind Jesse as he fired a wadded ball of paper.
The dark haired girl turned her head as it went flying past her and raised her eyebrows. "That was weak, Mick," Charlie told him.
"But a good distraction!" Jesse yelled and tackled Charlie to the ground.
The Hunter boy launched more paper balls, pulling them out of his pockets to assault Charlie. The other Hunter who sided with the young wolf was armed with erasers, and held them like daggers as he raced in to defend his partner.
Laughter and taunts were shared among the four of them as they pretended to spar like the real Hunter and Wolf pairs that filled the Compound and defended their homes. More students came out into the yard from the younger grades, a pair of twins among them.
"Hey look!" the girl exclaimed and grabbed her brother's hand as she pointed at the four. "They started without us!"
Her brother didn't seem the least bit interested. "Macie..." he mumbled but his sister was off. She shed her backpack followed by her sweater and shifted with such ease. She landed as a pure golden wolf and darted for the four older kids, kicking up grass behind her.
Charlie pinned Jesse and growled at him, her teeth and eyes in a partial shift. She looked up as the golden wolf joined her and laughed. "You're outnumbered now," she declared.
"Yeah, but you only half count, half-breed!" Jesse kicked her off again, but Charlie barely seemed phased by the insult.
"At least I don't think I'm strong just because my mom is Alpha!" she countered and launched back in.
Macie pounced back in as well with a loud bark. Jesse's Hunter friend targeted her with paper balls next, but she dodged each of them. Her brother simply watched from the sideline, heaving a sigh as he held onto his backpack straps.
The doors opened again and a younger group of girls walked out with their own packs. The girl in the middle paused beside Graham and gave him a smile. "Hi!" she greeted. The girl looked out at the playing wolves and a wider grin broke out across her face.
"Oh, hi Grace," Graham said. He flicked his gaze from the little girl to his sister and her friends. "Thinking about joining too?"
She fiddled with the straps on her bag and her smile faded. "Oh, they won't let me. Last time they called me a baby. And babies can't fight."
