“Torin, Kal, Koko! Step in front of me.” I said with a small smile, their eyes widening before they then puffed out their chests and walked up to me with serious looks on their faces.

 “Since I’ve seen how you guys work and that you two are in favor with both groups. I am proud to announce that y’ all are the first members of the new Council.” I said proudly, both of them bowing their heads with a ‘Thank you’ as the rest of the crowd erupted in cheers and congratulations to the trio.

With the Council now officially formed, I was quick to order everyone in the village to pack their belongings while Koko, Torin, Kal and I went into my tent to decide on where to move. 

“So...any ideas as to where we’re moving to?” I whined, Torin stroking his chin in thought while Koko kept silent in thought.

 “I have an idea,” Koko suddenly proposed. 

“When my pack and I were still under the rule of our former Beta, we had passed by an area where it had open fields for miles around, a nearby forest teeming with different types of prey and a lake not too far from it.” He said, a sigh leaving me as I shook my head. 

“That would be a perfect place to live but it won’t do us any good if we don’t know where it is,” I said. 

“There is a special landmark near it.” He continued. 

My ears perked in interest.

 “A tree that burns bright with flames of blue, though...some say it is cursed,” Koko whined. 

“I don’t believe in curses.” I scoffed. 

“You should with this...the tree holds the corpse of a Panther.”

I raised a brow, a panther? Like those totally black wild cats? I don’t know if it was because he was a wolf or what but...I found it to be complete baloney.

 “A panther’s just a big cat, it’s completely fine!” I laughed. 

“Besides, you said it was dead right?” I chuckled, Koko’s eyes widening slightly before his tail began to wag slowly. 

“Yes.” He nodded. 

“Then that settles it! Though I am worried if there are any rival groups there...” 

“I can send scouts ahead of us.” Torin suddenly jumped in before I nodded, thus concluding the meeting. 

]Once word had gotten around the village that we were moving to somewhere better, it wasn’t long before I had started seeing goblins mount nearby Sabre-Wolves and soon walking up towards me, Torin riding Koko while Kal rode the she-wolf. 

“Alright, everyone! Let’s get this show on the road!” I laughed, Koko, letting out a deep howl before he suddenly took off running with, leaving to rush after him with the entire village right behind us.

As we all ran together, the sounds of excited people cheering and barking wolves making me grin to myself like the idiot I was, we all had soon found ourselves in a dense forest. The sights of the sunlight pouring in through the tree leaves and wild animals rushing to move out of our way giving me the same excited and adventurous feeling I first felt when I left the cave. 

‘Wish everyone back home could see it though.’ I thought to myself, closing my eyes momentarily before I quickly opened them back up. 

“You alright?” Torin said suddenly. 

“I’m fine! Just thinkin’ a bit.” I laughed as I stuck my tongue out playfully, Koko giving me a quick unconvinced glance. 

“You are our Beta, if you are not well then the rest will not be well,” Koko said.

 “...I’ll be fine you two, I’m seriously just thinkin’!” I chuckled as I decided to quicken my pace, thus ending the short conversation.

 As the day slowly turned into night, I was quick to decide that it was best to take a breather for the night instead of forcing everyone to walk until their paws or feet fell off.

“Christ...my paws are killing me!” I cried out as I fell onto my side, my paws immediately feeling relief as I relaxed on the soft, cool grass. 

“Don’t be so dramatic Lady Eos or else the entire village will worry!” Kal chuckled as I watched him, Torin and a few others carry over from wood in order to help start some campfires. 

“Says the one who’s been riding on the back of a Sabre-Wolf the entire time.” I huffed, rolling onto my stomach as I began to look around, the sight of Sabre-Wolves cuddling up next to their riders making me smile gently to myself. 

“Huh...” 

“There is something wrong,” Koko said suddenly as he sat next to me, the she-wolf whom I finally remembered was named Caisha laying right beside him. 

“No there isn’t, can’t a dog sigh a little?” I laughed. “I’m just tired from running all day like everyone else is!” I snickered, Koko, giving me the same unconvinced look from earlier.

“...There is no reason to lie.” He whined. 

“You are...different, strange, you do not talk nor sound like any of us.” 

I went quiet, was it really that obvious? And here I was actually trying to somewhat copy their way of talking to hide the fact I was different! Guess my terrible acting skills is the reason why I never got any roles in the school plays. 

I chuckled. “It was that obvious?” I said, Caisha nodding her head almost immediately. 

“It was, do you not feel comfortable enough to talk about your problems?” I shook my head. 

“N-No...I do! I just-” I gulped a little but sighed, it wasn’t me to be nervous. 

“It’s just...talking about it brings up some heavy memories.” I sighed, Koko suddenly walking to the other side of me and laying down while Caisha scooted closer to me.

“Sabre-Wolf packs do not hide anything from one another,” Caisha whined, her voice smooth and gentle while her silky soft beige fur gave me a nice place to rest my head against. 

“When one of our own has a problem, we all face it together.” She said, her tongue hanging out of her mouth before her lips curved into a wolf-like grin.

 With one more nervous gulp and a small sigh, I had finally admitted it but...of course, it was in my own way.

 “I-I don’t want to reveal all the details because some of them are too sensitive to remember.” I started out. 

“But I will say this, just know that my homeland is called America. I was born and raised there in a state called Texas.” 

The wolves widened their eyes, completely perplexed and though I saw hints of doubt here and there, I mean...who wouldn't be? I was a dog for crying out loud! They probably expected me to say that I was from a darn alleyway, got tested on by some loony wizard and boom here I am. Though, the doubts were quickly erased once they saw no sign of amusement from me. 

“America?” 

“Texas...?” 

“Yep.” I chuckled lightly.

“What is it like?” Caisha gasped. 

“It’s...nice," I said, somewhat lying. 

"But pretty flawed like any other place,” I said with a light chuckle, Koko soon nudging me with the tip of his nose. 

“Do you feel comfortable talking about your family?” Koko asked gently, a sad smile coming onto my face before I slowly nodded. 

“They were the best.” I sighed, my tail thumping slowly to the memories of them. 

“My Mom, Diana Becker, she was from a country called Germany and had the best cookin’ ever!” I laughed. 

“Not to mention, she was soft-spoken, kind and warm...the complete opposite of me and my Dad.” I smiled, the pair tilting their heads to the mention of my Dad. 

“Oh! My Dad was almost like my twin in terms of personality...he was a risk-taker, virtuous and was the type to always be blunt.” 

As we continued to talk about my old life, tears threatening to fall down my face more and more, it wasn’t long before Koko and Caisha had left me to sleep.

“Finally...” I whined as I let my head fall onto my paws. 

It was nice to know that my new friends cared about me...but seriously, they really needed to learn when I didn’t want to talk about stuff. I was pretty happy but even I had my own demons to deal with. But even still...everyone in the village believed in me and without a sliver of doubt at that. That kind of dedication and care was extremely rare, especially where I came from, where most people except the ones closest to you would doubt you unless you showed them that you were worthy of being believed in! And even then, they would still have some doubts about you. But...nonetheless, the amount of admiration and dedication this village had in me was just another reason why I absolutely loved this new life of mine. I had a stronger body than I did back then, I was free from my past mistakes and given a chance to start anew. No longer having to use the words ‘What if’.

Not to mention, I had friends, not singular but plural! I had more genuine friends here than I did back then, this world was providing me a lot of things I wish I had previously. A lot of things that could’ve stopped me from wishing I could live in a different world but...all things came with a price, however. 

‘My family, humanity and my freedom...' I thought as I turned my head to face the crackling fire not too far away from me, everyone still talking amongst themselves freely.

 Freedom...wish I could have that truly, instead I'm stuck with a pretty bow collar with an ugly truth hidden behind it, constantly teasing and torturing me with the fact that I had a mistress who thought of me nothing more than a dog and that I needed to obey her like one unless I wanted to face some harsh consequences.

 “-Beta,” Koko said to me, snapping me out of my thoughts. 

“Yeah?” I said, blinking my eyes twice as I looked up at him. 

“Would you care to howl with us? It is a full moon tonight.” He offered, his tail beginning to wag as a grin immediately crossed my features.

“Sure!” I laughed as I got up and walked towards the already gathered circle of goblins and wolves. 

After everyone was settled, it wasn’t long before I had started the howl, a large bellowing noise erupting from my stomach and towards the beautiful, star-covered sky as the rest of the village, goblin and wolf alike, howled along with me. Howling like a wolf, surrounded by people besides two who knew nothing of my past and still cared for me regardless? This was...somewhat the life, I could've done without the whole slave to a darn bird part however but...I still had a dim light of hope within me that constantly told that life would only get better as time moved on.