Wynter's Bane

Chapter 5

Edited with Grammarly: 4/26/2020

I only get as far as the library. If I run out of here now, then I'll basically be giving up, and that's not what I want to do. So I wander the stacks for the rest of the lunch hour then go to my next class. It isn't one I have with Kalista, so I won't have to bear her looks for another hour, just everyone else's.

It's one thing to be snubbed by family, then by your Pack, but then by humans who don't know what the hell's even going on? It just goes to show how petty they can be. People are always willing to hate something they don't understand, so much easier than trying to take the time to even try to understand it.

Not giving any of them the time of day can only backfire later, but that's all I can do right now. My next classes I'm in and out of without going near Kalista, which hurts, but less than if she tried making a scene of trying to get away from me. I've been through that before, it's not something I care to repeat.

Never did find my locker today, that'll just have to wait till tomorrow when I get here earlier. Right now I just leave quickly, staying out of everyone's way as much as possible. Actually isn't that hard, at least not on the wolf end of things, the human end is a different story.

If I were an Omega, the other wolves of a Pack would step in at some point, if for no other reason than to show that they aren't weak as a whole. Runts though, we have to be glad we even have a home within the walls we're born in. Werewolves are a lot different than humans, and many think it harsh, and it is in some ways, but it has to be.

Wolves as a whole are too powerful to be kept unchecked. Rules are needed, and just like in the wilds, the weak are weeded out and left to die. The only reason I've made it this far is because I'm stubborn, and that isn't going to stop now.

I'm pointed and laughed at as I leave, but I stiffen my spine and hold my head high. I may not be a big, he-man wolf, but I'm still stronger than any normal human, and I still have the Pride of a Lupus in me. I'm still alive.

I stop outside my house, looking up at the structure. Instead of going in, I go around, keeping my bag with me as I take my hike into the woods. When running last night I'd seen a rocky outcropping, so that's what I head for now.

Reaching it sometime later, I now know where the local wolf Pack got their name; Grotto Falls Pack. The outcropping itself leads to several pools that lead out and down, almost waterfall-like. Soft green moss-covered stone make them look inviting, and the pools are crystal clear where they aren't frothing from being cascaded into.

The trees in this area are huge. Not just tall but wide and carrying many branches that intertwine with its neighbors. Sunbeams make the water sparkle even as a riot of color from flower blossoms reach for the sun.

The birds calling to one another has me closing my eyes, peace settling into me. I inhale deeply, filling my lungs with the clean air filled with everything that has your brain saying green. On my exhale the urge to howl is so strong, but I swallow it down, not wanting to call attention to where I am.

I'm quite a ways away from the house, but not quite a mile. Climbing up to the highest dry rock, I sit and look out over its ledge. Where my Pack had come from, we didn't have any areas like this, to do our Survival Training, we had to take a several hour drive to a mountain that was a forest preserve.

Here...Here there are no city fences blocking the way. No limited space to run and no worry of having to duck and hide in fear of being shot. Well, I suppose that's always a worry, but out here, it just seems less so because there's so much more space.

"Careful, I doubt you can fly."

I jump up so fast that my footing would try to say otherwise. Strong arms pull me in off the ledge, causing me to fall into a warm body who's heart is thundering just about as loud and as fast as mine is. I'm pulled further away, lifted off my feet and bodily moved, which doesn't sit well with me at all.

My book bag had swung around in the scuffle, so it's obscuring my visual at the moment, as well as my nose since it's pressed into the polyester blend. It really doesn't smell pleasant, not when it's shoved into my nostrils so hard I feel like I have a serious pig oinker going on.

Squirming for everything I'm worth and pushing against the warm body holding onto me, I'm finally set down none too gently. Whipping the bag off my face succeeds in my scratching myself, but my senses are no longer restricted. What greets me pulls me up short, the tongue lashing at the ready stuttering as I damn near babble incoherently.

"Markus?"