A Pack of Misfits

Chapter 17

I looked around, before quickly spreading my wings and lifting myself off the ground. I landed on the roof and shifted into my human form, taking a seat.

I let out a sigh, staring at the sky. I watched the stars as they twinkled and danced. I clenched my hand I top of my shirt, wincing as I felt my heart throbbing.

Our bond is extremely weak... I don't know how much longer we have before it completely breaks.

My wolf let out a soft whine as blue slowly crept into our mind.

I wish they fricken told us where the holy land is. Would've been a lot more convenient.

My wolf let out a scoff.

Yeah yeah yeah. I realize that a hunter could follow us there and kill everyone. And I know that our pack would get blamed and that we'd be hunted down by both the hunters and our own kind. And I also know that I–we'd be shunned by our own family. I-I just wished they had more faith in us.

I brushed away the tears forming form my eyes and took a deep breath.

I shouldn't cry because of such a dumb reason. Only a weakling does that! I'm sure they had their reasons. And plus, knowing me, I'd probably tell everyone that secret! So yeah! I think it's better for them to not tell me. And let's think optimistically! I'm sure they have their reasons for not coming after me! It's not like they would abandon me?!

I shook my head before gently slapping myself on the cheek.

"Okay! All better now!" I exclaimed as I jumped up.

I jumped around as I hear a loud thumping noise coming from behind me.

"Oh... Heeeeeeey. Didn't expect you to be up here too." Jacob said sheepishly as he lifted himself onto the roof. "Did you come to admire the stars too?"

I shrugged. "I guess so."

"Mind if I sit here?" He asked, taking a seat once I shook my head.

"I like coming up here. Watching the stars and just thinking about life. No one can bother you or judge you here." He spoke softly, turning his head to look at me before staring back at the stars. "So, what brings you up here? Like, what's the actual reason you came up here?"

I sat down, folding my legs to my chest.

Letting out a sigh, I answered, "It's nothing much. I-I just really miss my pack. I miss my family. A-And I miss my Mommy..."

I wiped the tears from my eyes, sniffling as quietly as I could. Jacob said nothin as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me towards him.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't be crying over something dumb like this. I'm such a crybaby." I sniffled, lowering my ears.

I wiped at my eye repeatedly, struggling to stop the tears from flowing.

"It's fine. There's no need to apologize. It's perfectly fine for a kid to cry after what you've been through." He whispered softly, petting my head.

"B-B-But I don't ev-even remember what happened to me! A-And p-p-plus, other pups h-have g-gone through worse! I-I, we-well... I d-don't d-deserve to c-cry!" I stammered, crying even harder as I buried my face into my hands.

He hugged me tightly, not saying a word as he gently nuzzled my head.

"What makes you say that? What makes your experiences any less traumatizing than the other pups? Why don't you deserve to cry? Regardless of whether or not you remembered it, your wolf remembers. And it just so happens to be that your wolf is part of you. She is you."

"Um, w-well... I-I, it's just t-that—"

"See. You don't even know why. Now, cry all you want. No one will judge you here. You'll be safe."

"B-B-But Mommy s-said t-that—"

"Well your mother isn't here right now. Look, I don't want to come off as rude but, we're in rogue territory now. Whatever authority she had at your pack is useless here. Things are a lot different. So cry. Cry as much as you want."

And so I did.

I cried long and hard, staying in Jacob's arms even when I squeezed every last tear out. I buried my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Have you finished crying now? Or do you still want to cry?" Jacob asked, petting my head some more.

"Mhm." I nodded my head. "I think I'm done."

"So, do you want to eat dinner now? Marvin just finished making fried rice and beef skewers." Jacob said as he sniffed the air.

"C-Can we stay up here for a few minutes? My eyes hurt from all that crying and I don't want to worry Marvin."

"Sure."

~~~~

I sat at the table, shoving a large spoonful of rice into my mouth.

I slowly chewed the rice, wincing as I felt a weird texture. I widened my eyes as I realized what it was. I immediately got up and ran to the nearest trash can.

A light red flashed across my mind repeatedly, like a warning siren. I could feel my wolf rising to the surface, ready to get into attack mode.

Fricking hate onions! Almost forgot I can't eat them.

I gagged, spitting out everything before gagging again.

I turned around to see everyone staring at me.

I smiled sheepishly before explaining. "Heh... did I forget to mention that I can't have onions? Whoopsies."

Marvin face palmed, whispering to himself. "I can't fricking believe I forgot they're werewolves... not only that, but she more wolf than human. How do I still have my licenses?"

"It's fine! You don't have to beat yourself over it! It's my fault for not telling you!" I exclaimed, trying to reassure him.

"It's not fine. Do you know how dangerous onions are for wolves if the consume it? It breaks down your red blood cells! Now tell me what else you can't eat so that I'll know what to avoid?"

"Um, well. I can't eat grapes and obviously onions and garlic. Though, a little garlic won't hurt. I think. I don't really care, garlic bread is fricken amazing! I also can't really eat cinnamon. But that doesn't stop me from eating a few bites of cinnamon rolls. Sure I got sick that one time, but it was totally worth it. And SURPRISINGLY I can eat chocolate. I honestly don't know how I can, but yeah."

Marvin stared at me in silence; I could tell that he was judging me.

"We're definitely going to have to have a very long talk in why you shouldn't eat literal POISON! Not even if it taste good!"