The trees that surrounded this clearing were provided with some dead leaves, their trunks were encircled with thick bushes. On the ground there were some buds that had perished under the harsh seasons. No sign of life was present in this forest, no small stream flowed through this desolate landscape. In the middle of this vast space was a wooden house falling gradually into ruins. The story told was that this house had been burned by hunters, to have fun without thinking of the people who had lost their lives but there was a second part to this legend.
The owners of this house were werewolves that hunters eliminated by creating a fire, trapping women and children. The perpetrators of this crime had been punished but it had failed to scare away the sinister and cold aura that haunted this house. No birds were singing, the weather wasn't that great and the movements around the old building were more agitated. Only the sound of my footsteps betrayed the silence that had been installed for some time already. I walked, zigzagging through the trees, taking my time. My eyes were lost in the vagueness, my conscience choosing the path to take.
The scratches that the branches made on my legs were healing as quickly as they appeared. My heart squeezed at every step in that direction. The aura I felt already gave me chills, I could feel my whole body tense, my hands became sweaty the closer that I got there. The pressure in this place was overwhelming. Finally out of the shelter of the trees, I stopped at about ten meters from the entrance pavilion where the five people I was waiting for were already here.
Leaning against one of the pillars on the left, a young man with dark brown hair in battle had his blue eyes on me. Sitting on one of the stairs, a teenager with black hair and amber eyes had turned his head when I arrived. Arriving from behind the house, a man with long jet black hair came to stand beside a young man with medium length brown hair whose black eyes frightened anyone. My gaze finally turned to the person in the center of this painting, it was a man with dark hair who was three years older than me at most. He sat royally on a chair, his black eyes fixed on me. He looked calm, something that surprised me strongly and that didn't leave anything good for the next events.
"It's rare to see you come here without me asking you... What are you doing here?" Asked the one who sat like a king.
"I'm coming to tell you that tomorrow I would start classes in high school again." I replied without leaving his eyes to show him how serious I was.
He let out a hoarse laugh before getting up, it wasn't a good sign but I didn't flinch. My eyes kept staring at him, my body remained motionless. I tried to let no emotion filter even if I had a mad desire to make him swallow his mockery.
"It's only been two weeks since you joined us and you're already making such important decisions? I think there is one thing that you still haven't understood. The person who tells you whether or not you can go back, it's me. And here I am telling you that you will not go." Said the leader.
"I don't need your permission to continue my school life, Raven." I replied, growling.
The growl didn't seem to please him because his tone became more hoarse, more aggressive. His eyes went from black to blood red. I should have kept my bad mood deep in my throat but I wasn't able to. I walked back, I didn't seek the confrontation, I knew I shouldn't look for it. He had just walked toward me, his look warned me not to move, not to speak, to do nothing. He stood in front of me, taking my chin between his fingers to force me to look up at him.
"Don't forget who you're talking to, honey." Whispered the Alpha to my ear. "Don't forget either that a frail little wolf like you has no chance against the weight of five over trained males.
"I'm not your 'honey'." I retorted as dryly as possible.
I had disobeyed, I shouldn't have said a word and now I just had said something to the pack leader. I felt his gaze consume me from inside before I looked away at the four other wolves that had walked toward us, looking just as threatening as the Alpha. A hand rested on my waist, Raven was behind me. He had moved so fast that I wasn't able to follow his move. His hot lips pressed against my neck, I didn't understand his gesture, he didn't have to touch me like that. I didn't like it. My hand whistled through the air before being stopped by the leader's palm. I turned around so he wouldn't be out of my sight.
"What are you doing, Raven?" I asked, letting out a slight groan from the back of my throat. "Have you ever been taught to respect the personal boundaries of others?"
"I see that this deceased Andy didn't take everything after all..." He said, a strange smile on his face. "He should have started from the very beginning with you, everything would have been much easier for him and for the rest of the events."
I choose to not take into account the word 'deceased' that had just been used by the leader of the pack. I couldn't imagine such a thing and I also knew he was testing me, he wanted to know how far he could go before I would explode or blow up.
"Explain yourself." I said brusquely.
"Don't give me orders!" He exclaimed in a hoarse voice.
"Excuse me... Could you explain that to me, please?" I asked, swallowing my pride and my anger.
"I prefer that." Said the Alpha, putting a hand on my cheek. "The gestures of the wolf toward each other, whether it's a touch, a caress, a kiss in a pack, it represents a single thing: the tactile need of the animal that lives in us. One of these contacts may mean a simple hello but it can also be an order. Wolves are very tactile animals, a simple touch can be enough to calm them down. You don't have this need yet because no one has ever informed you and, for the moment, your wolf certainly didn't see the usefulness since you were with Andy but don't tell me that you had never noticed this behavior between the wolves of your old pack?" He asked, watching my reactions.
"I had noticed but I never really paid attention." I said, stepping away and letting his hand fall into the void. "But I would prefer to avoid any kind of contact to be honest."
"Don't worry, soon, you won't be able to live without contact. Your body and your wolf will ask for more simply because the animal that inhabits you is a group predator." Raven continued, stopping to touch me.
"I don't believe such a thing is possible. Now if 'my lord' allows it, I will retire." I ended up saying, turning away from him.
"If I see you in high school tomorrow, you better expect the worse, little cub." He finished, still watching me.
I turned around, walking in the opposite direction to this house that gave me chills in my back. I walked without an exact destination in mind to try to find something that could distract me, that could change the dark thoughts that passed in my head these last few days. I knew that I needed tactile touch, my feeling of abandonment that had started since I turned away from the red Alpha had been stronger than ever. I didn't like to feel vulnerable to individuals and that was what was currently happening.
I continued my walk without paying attention to the path I took. Yet, I had to stop at this limit, my feet were on the brink of crossing the territory that was once mine. My gaze drifted instinctively to the exact spot where I had seen Andy crumble. I had left him without knowing what had become of him, I had abandoned him to his fate. I still didn't know if he had survived or if he had lost his life. If that was the case, it would be my fault and I didn't know if I would be able to recover from it. I couldn't convince myself of what I could feel for him. Now, my wolf didn't help me anymore, too bruised by previous events. He needed time to recover.
I closed my eyes, I sincerely hoped he was still alive. I was just about to start walking again when a crunch of twigs came quite far behind me. A smell came to tickle my nostrils and what my nose smelled made me froze. What was he doing here? Why was he here? I took a few minutes before turning toward this person. He was standing in front of me, his rifle hung on his shoulder and his usual hunting clothes on. A slight smile was hanging on his face, he gave me a small wave of his hand as a hello. I simply replied with a miserable stretching of the lips that showed very well my current state of mind.
"Ethan, what are you doing here at this time?" Asked the hunter.
"I'm not allowed to go out now, Jeremy?" I asked back.
"Yes but you are far away in the forest at the moment." He countered. "It's unusual for you... And then, these woods aren't safe." He quickly added.
"I needed to think on my current situation and as I was lost in my thoughts, I didn't really pay attention where I was going." I replied naturally. "And how are the woods unsafe? I don't see any danger at that moment."
"I see, it's because of your current situation that you don't come to high school anymore?" He asked me. "There are all kind of ferocious beasts here... Especially wolves."
"That's right but I will be back tomorrow." I said with a grimace, thinking back to Raven's ban that I was going to do anyway. "Wolves? Stop being delirious, there has not been one for over a hundred of years."
"Not simple wolves, these are much bigger, faster, more ferocious, more..."
"Stop it, I've heard enough about it!" I cut him. "Now, I'll leave you with your wolfs and I will go home. See you tomorrow."
"Hold on! I'm going to accompany you, it's safer." Said Jeremy.
I couldn't really reply and then, someone normal wouldn't hurt me. Moreover I could ask him some questions that had been in my head for some time already. He was standing next to me, touching me for a moment. I felt him glancing at me for a moment and I knew that he was restraining himself from taking my hand into his. I was glad he was holding back because, otherwise, mine would have quickly slipped out of his palm.
"Tell me, are there any news at school?" I asked, glancing at him.
"New?" He repeated.
"Yes like newcomers, absences, exclusions, changes..."
"Oh, well there are two new ones in our class now. One is pretty weird and he doesn't want to do any fighting sports and the other one is very shy." He replied.
"I see... What about absentees? Or exclusions?" I insisted.
"Well there's no exclusions but there is an absent for almost two weeks. It's Andy. I don't know what he has but, to be honest, it's not a great loss if he doesn't come anymore. It will be less risky for everyone else." Jeremy concluded by lowering his voice.
I remained speechless, my eyes became veiled with unshed tears. Fortunately, the hunter didn't notice it and I managed to repress them after a little while. I was still worried. Was he dead?
"In fact, I recruited a team of hunters to spend good times from time to time. Would you be interested in joining us?" He finally asked.
"A team? That's great for you." I said, falsely excited. "So, you are a group of how many people now?"
"We are five now, six if you join us!" He exclaimed.
"Oh... I'm sorry Jeremy but I don't like hunting so it will be without me. We've arrived. I'll leave you here and see you tomorrow in high school anyway." I concluded.
I hurried to the inside of my home. I had seen the disappointed face that Jeremy had shown but I hadn't really paid attention to it. He was starting to hope a little too much and I felt guilty. Guilty of not telling him that he was getting his hopes up for nothing. When I entered, I turned on the lights and put, without any gentleness, my jacket on the couch. I didn't live with my parents anymore since the incident that made me leave Andy's pack and deny my family. For me, it was now impossible to stay with traitors and cowards, it had become something simply impossible. I poured myself a glass of water and the moment I lifted my head at the top of the kitchen sink where was a small mirror, my drink escaped my hands.
I turned around quickly but there was nothing, absolutely nothing. I was hallucinating. His smell wasn't even present in the room, he didn't even know where I lived. I was beginning to lose my head. I turned to the mirror again, I was expecting to see his eyes and face again but nothing. This time he had disappeared. The head of my beautiful wolf had appeared a few moments ago as a reflect of my imagination, reminding me that he was still inked in me while I tried somehow to forget it, to drive him out of my life and out of my spirit. I shook my head, trying desperately to forget what had just happened.
I lowered myself to pick up the glass that had broken in contact with the ground. My eyes then turned to my fingers, I turned them from right to left. It was no longer nails that I had but claws, what was happening? I was not, however, transforming myself. I put two fingers on my pulse, it was beating at a frantic pace... Surely due to the surplus feeling that had assaulted me. I got up to take a look at the mirror, my eyes had become a little bigger and my fangs had suddenly grown.
I didn't control myself anymore, I went toward the calendar. The full moon happened to be Thursday, of course the only day our class finished at seven pm. I had to start controlling myself, I couldn't lose control. I began to breath slowly, hoping that it would calm the impulses that assaulted my body. After long minutes of waiting, it was finally the case. This time it worked but I wondered if it would work every time. The full moon approached and I hoped that my behavior and my wolf instincts wouldn't take over me.
I finished picking up the glass and throwing it in the trash and then left to get ready for bed. I put cold water on my face to clear my mind. Once that was the case, I was finally able to move to go to bed and spend the night. I dreaded the return to school. What if I saw Andy and his pack? How would they react? Surely badly. I had betrayed them, abandoned them. I had better pay attention to myself. Still, I was happy. I was finally going to see Andy. Well if he was still alive...
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