Sixteen years of age. The magical time when one becomes more independent of their parents. Unfortunately, that is not the way that all families work. In some, it is the age that one is supposed to choose who they are going to live their lives with. The same is true with my family.
"I refuse to choose from them!" I shout as I once again watch my mother lead a group of females into the room, all of them wearing either a bathing towel or just their bathing suits.
"But honey. You must choose before the day is out! If you have not chosen by the time your father gets back…" My mother shudders at the thought of just what will happen if I put my choosing off till a later time.
"Well, you both knew that I wasn't going to choose today, yet you brought all these purebred females to the den. Not to mention that I AM GAY!" I shout the last part in an attempt to get it through her head. I mean, it's not like it's that big of a deal. In my society, it is completely natural that someone ends up being gay…unfortunately, my parents aren't on the same social status as those that look over such things. For you see, my father is the…wait a moment, it seems that I have forgotten to add in one little detail. I am a werewolf, and to make matters worse, my father is the alpha of the pack. Yeah, talk about irony. So here I am, the gay child of the alpha of the pack, refusing to choose from the 'fine' bitches in front of me.
"Oh honey. You know that it's below you to say such a thing! What would your brother think?" My mother says, looking at me with the unmistakable look that says she's trying to guilt me into doing something.
"My brother would understand that I am NOT going to mate with a female bitch that only wants me for my title!" I shout before turning, and stalking out of the den, only to be followed by the 'guard' that my father has following me most of the time. I sigh as I turn to face him. "You know, you don't have to follow me..." I say, looking at him with a look that clearly says that he needs to bug off.
"I must, young one. It is not right to allow the future alpha to wonder around outside of the den without someone being there with him." The guard says, looking at me with pitiful eyes. I turn to him, baring my fangs.
"If you do not back off NOW I shall resort to force in order to get you to return!" I shout, growling at him while he watches me with wide, uncertain eyes.
"I shall not return without you." The guard says in a sure voice. I snort as I stand up to my full height, all four feet of it, and begin to stalk toward him. He flinches away a moment before I launch myself at him, biting down on his left shoulder. I let go when I hear him yelp in pain, and turn away from him.
"If you follow me, I will kill you this time." I say as I run into the forest. I smile as I feel the wind running through my fur. I stop at a stream just out of sight of my den, leaning down, and drinking some of the water. I collapse on the bank of the river as soon as I finish drinking, intent on laying there for a while.
I flinch awake as I hear a huge BOOM from somewhere nearby. As soon as I get to my feet, I raise my nose into the air and sniff in an attempt to figure out what's going on. What I smell makes my eyes widen as I run back toward my den. Once there, I skid to a halt when I see the smoke rising out of my den. I slowly crawl toward the den on my stomach, whimpers escaping my throat as my instincts kick in and I realize what had just happened. As soon as I reach the den, my eyes fill with tears as I see all the dead, skinned bodies of my pack. I run into the den, looking around desperately for anyone that could have survived.
"Mother….Father…please." I whimper as I lay down next to their dead bodies. Tears leak down my face as I lay there, intent on merely crying before joining them where they have gone. My head shoots up when I hear something. I look around, desperate to find the source of the noise. What I find makes my heart clench.
"Mamma! Please Mamma! Please wake up!" One of the pups of the pack cries, looking at one of the wolves that are lying around the den. I slowly approach the pup, only to have it yelp as it sees me, and run into what I can only guess was one of the nests that the mother wolves made for their young until they're old enough to wander around the den without anyone constantly watching them.
"It is all right, young one. I shall not hurt you." I whisper, crouching down on my stomach to seem less threatening to the pup. I watch as it slowly looks out of the nest.
"You not hurt Zeke?" The pup asks, looking at me with confused eyes. I shake my head before watching as the pup slowly makes its way out of the nest, and cautiously walks up to me. I lay my head on the ground in an even harder attempt at not scaring the pup back into hiding. "You not the one that hurt Mamma?" The pup asks, looking down at me as it stands in front of me. A tear rolls down my face as I shake my head.
"I did not harm our pack, little one. Someone else has done wrong against those we care about." I say as I slowly stand up before touching the pup on the nose in a comforting gesture. "Come, little one. We cannot stay here…" I say with a sad note to my voice. The pup looks up at me with horror in its eyes.
"Zeke cannot leave Mamma here! Zeke is not allowed to go anywhere without Mamma!" The pup shouts, taking a few steps back with its tail tucked between its legs.
"Zeke…is that your name? Is that why you keep saying it?" I ask, looking at him with interest. He looks up at me with saddened happiness.
"I am Zeke. Son of Melli." Zeke says, looking toward the female wolf lying not far off.
"I'm sorry, little one. If I had been here, this might not have happened." I say, looking around once again with sad eyes. I sigh as I bend my head down, and pick the pup up by the scruff of the neck, causing him to yelp in surprise. I was toward the exit of the cave, only for Zeke to start fighting me as soon as he realizes just where we're going.
"NO! Put Zeke down! Zeke must not leave the den!" Zeke shouts, wiggling in a determined attempt to escape.
"Hey! I found another one!" A male voice shouts from nearby. I spin around, only to see about five or so humans with blood covered fur walking toward us. My eyes widen as I see a familiar pelt. My eyes narrow as I growl at the strangers, baring my fangs the best I can around Zeke's neck.
"Hey! This one has a pup with it!" Another one of the disgusting THINGS says, pointing toward Zeke, who's cowering closer to me.
"Don't let them get away! I want that wolf's pelt on my wall by tomorrow!" The third human that I assume is the leader says as he comes around the corner. I spin around before dashing into the forest.
"Zeke is scared." Zeke says as I carefully put him on the ground after I had run for quite a distance. I stand there panting for a moment before collapsing on my side, completely exhausted. "Are you okay, big brother? Was Zeke too heavy for big brother to carry?" Zeke asks, walking up to my before he begins to sniff at my ear.
"No…I merely need to rest for a short time. I am not used to running that far in such a short amount of time." I say, nuzzling his ear in an attempt to console him. He lies down next to me, curling up against me.
"Okay, big brother. Zeke shall keep watch!" Zeke says, looking toward one of the bushes intently for around ten minutes before his eyes begin to droop. Within twenty minutes, he's out. I chuckle as I lay my head on the ground next to him while curling my tail around him.
"Sleep well, little one." I say as my eyes droop as well. I sigh as I feel sleep take over me.