Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Alpha and Omega, I just own my O/C's

Alpha and Omega: The Zenith Prologue

A wolf all alone traveled through the forest, gazing at the trees, bushes and other foliage as he traveled back to his home, eager to see his friends, family and, most importantly, his crush. He smiled at the thought of seeing him again but he always seemed to have the fellow wolf on his mind. Right now, he was just smiling because he was thinking about walking through this very foliage with Ciel, his damaged goods. Thoughts of the fun they could have had ran through his head as he recalled the events of the party that he had just been at not three days ago.

However, that was all behind him as he ventured up the ridge that hid his packs territory, the freshly fallen snow was nipping at his paws slightly but the thoughts of seeing everyone again kept him warm. It always seemed to be snowing here no matter the season was, not that it bothered Barron much. When it was cold he often got certain requests from Ciel.

Heaving his muscular body to the top of the ridge, he peered down at the valley below him and caught sight of his home. The entire territory was hidden away within the top of this rather large mountain. The sudden drop off just a few feet ahead of Barron was surely a death sentence for any creature that had not been paying attention. While Barron himself found it hard to believe that anyone could be so oblivious, he had seen his fair share of deer, boar and the like fall off of the ridge and serve to be food for the pack- what was left of them anyway. Had they known of the few safe places to descend into the territory, they still might have fell victim to the plethora of wolves down there. All that lived in this valley were wolves and the birds, bugs and other small critters that wouldn't sate their hunger.

"Home" Barron muttered, gazing at all of the dark specs in the distance that were undoubtedly his packmates, going about their daily business.

'One of them might be Ciel' He thought happily as he began his descent down the deceptively steep trail that he knew well but stilled traveled down with caution and then disappointedly: 'Or Roark.' His mood was ruined with the thoughts of Ciel's father, every step a painful reminder that he would most likely be in trouble with the fact that he spent too long away from the pack. A few days more than everyone else to be precise.

But even then, while everyone else knew this little fact, they welcomed him back with nuzzles and smiles. It might have been that he was the most liked wolf here or that he was one of the most successful hunters, second to Ciel himself; but he found no ill favored greeting from any of the wolves he walked by in order to get to his Alpha's den, yet. His worries, however, were for nothing. He walked to his Alpha's den, a hollowed tree with an opening inside big enough for around three wolves to live comfortably inside, the tree above his head was overwhelmingly big, it made Barron afraid that it might snap at anytime and kill whoever was inside. The tree truck was deceptively strong however and barely swayed in the cold breeze that was mostly blocked by the surrounding walls of rock that encompassed the whole pack's domain.

Cautiously, he announced that he was right outside and, when no response was given, he stepped in to find that indeed no one was in. Just a bunch of hanging roots from the ceiling that gave the den its eerie feeling. He stayed where he was at the entrance and turned his back to the dark den to gaze out at the view, waiting patiently for his Alpha to come back and give him his lecture. Barron found himself checking his posture should Roark come back or, more importantly, Ciel. As soon as the possibility of Ciel seeing him first popped up in his head, Barron found himself using the non-dirty side of his paw to gently go through his fur, effectively matting it down to look presentable.

As luck would have it, his precautionary cleaning bared fruit when out of the brush came Ciel. Barron smelled him first, straightening out himself even more and double checking his posture when the wind carried with it the identifiable smell of the tree he was standing in front of and of rich dark soil and the grass that he often liked to nap in, the hint of mint was what gave it away. But once he stepped out into the opening was when Barron gained a smile that he desperately tried to contain to avoid a skeptic look. His eyes were what Barron took notice of first, they seemed to shine sky blue before they even hit the light and once again Barron's tail wagged at their luster, although the wolf they belonged to held a vacant expression. He approached Barron with the same emotionless face that he always had, he was unreadable. Barron couldn't seem to identify if Ciel was mad or happy that he was here again.

"You're back" Ciel said, simply walking past Barron and into his den where he took a seat.

"Yes, I am" Barron paused before sticking his head into the den, "May I come in?"

Ciel took a moment, as if to register the question, and then nodded his approval, scooting over to make space for the much bigger wolf. Not that it was needed in a den this big.

"Pardon me" Barron uttered as he stepped into the den and sat opposite of Ciel, happy that it was just the two of them, if even for a moment.

"You're late, Roark won't be happy" Ciel informed, his tail swaying to and fro.

He wouldn't be. That much Barron knew. But, while it wasn't a minor problem for him to be gone so long, his punishment will be easier for him rather than if Ciel had been days late. Barron looked at the scars that littered Ciel's body, he had a lot more than the wolf he met at the party and he might have gotten three or more had Ciel been with him at the party.

"It was my fault," Barron replied, "I choose to stay of my own accord"

"Did you at least enjoy your time away?" Ciel asked, his nonsensical look not changing.

Barron looked up at the fellow male and smiled before giving a nod. Most wolves wouldn't notice it about Ciel but he did, there was a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Well then at least it wasn't a fruitless endeavor." Ciel concluded before laying down, seeming to contemplate for a second before his eyes met Barron's, "Barron, I'm cold."

The other male nodded yet again, knowing what Ciel wanted and going over to the smaller male. He tried to contain his happiness as he laid down next to the other wolf, their skin touching beneath their fur and their heat being shared between the two. Barron didn't personally find it to be cold but he wasn't about to complain with Ciel, who exhaled and proceeded to put his head on his paws, calmed. Barron stayed where he was, although his right paw was aching to wrap around the smaller wolf and see if it could pull him any closer. Instead of that, he simply watched the wolf and smiled at his qualities, his dark grey fur with darker, almost charcoal, patches down his back, tail, forehead and ears. Barron wished the wolf wasn't littered with the unsightly scar tissue to see what he would look like, but sadly Barron couldn't imagine Ciel without them. The missing patches of fur was also likely the reason that Ciel was cold a lot.

"Is this better?" Barron asked after a while.

"Yes" Ciel replied, his eyes not opening to look at Barron for the response.

"Have you been cold a lot since I left?" Barron questioned, his curiosity peaking when he thought of Ciel having to cuddle next to other males to receive their warmth.

"Yes, but no one would share with me" Ciel replied, sounding irritated at the fact, "not that it would have mattered, no one is warmer than you"

Barron flushed and his tail twitched in an attempt to wag at the compliment that he had wanted to hear for a long time. Most wolves were weirded out by his requests. However, given Barron's affliction towards him, he eagerly accepted when he first asked if Barron could provide Ciel warmth on the first winter when he and his father came to the pack. Since then, Barron had be his crush's source of heat. As he watched Ciel relax and waited for his father to catch them in the act yet again, Barron reflected on what it was like to see Ciel for the first time.

It was a very bad day for many of them. The whole pack gathered when the two newcomers came by and Duro, Barron's alpha at the time, was challenged by the oldest of the two. That wolf, was Roark. When Barron got to the then Alpha's den, he was surprised to find that the fight had already begun and nearly everyone was surrounding the spectacle. Duro was a well-liked leader but he was older than most and hadn't been challenged to a fight in a long time. Barron made his way to the crowd and attempted to peer over heads to see what was going on. He heard faint growls over the roar of the crowd and when he finally made it to the front where he saw his Alpha, Duro, being flung by his scruff across the dirt and stay where he landed.

The stranger he was fighting approached the older wolf, panting with his blood stained muzzle. He approached the Alpha with a mixture of blood and saliva dripping from his exposed and hanging tongue. Everyone was ecstatic at watching the show, moving around and yelling. Only Barron and another wolf were quiet and still at the showing. Barron had heard that there were two wolves that ventured into our pack but it was only when he saw him that he was reminded of that fact. He stood completely still, unwavering as he watched his companion fight, the voices quieted around Barron as he gazed at the man.

He was scarred, horribly so, there wasn't half a foot's distance between each one, leaving him with almost as much scared tissue as fur. He looked estranged, emotionless and Barron was curious as to how he looked like he did. His eyes were unnaturally blue, so much so that Barron could see them from even where he stood then. Barron turned his attention from the strange looking wolf to his Alpha who had yet to get up. Duro had lost the fight, and with it, his title as Alpha. His life was quickly ended when the newcomer took his throat in his muzzle and with a quick snap everyone went silent as his lifeless body fell to the ground, never to rise again.

Murmurs were on everyone's tongue as the wolf stared down at Duro and Barron himself was still silent. Barron gauged everyone's reaction and found them to be apprehensive, albeit naturally. Duro had been their Alpha for a very long time, Barron grew up with Duro guiding the pack as many others had and to see him so brutally disposed of put everyone on edge. There were hateful stares as well as scared ones but everyone was watching him.

"Well now…" The wolf began after a while, only then did he lift his head and look around at the crowd, scanning us all. "Is there any objection to what I am now?"

No one spoke, the murmurs stopped. The new Alpha gazed at Barron, the biggest wolf he could see, wondering if he would challenge him now. But Barron stared back, unflinching as the others did when he looked at them. 'He might be some trouble' the older wolf thought and with an exhale began circling the body of Duro.

As he began to introduce himself as Roark, a wolf who wandered the lands. Barron lost interest and turned his attention back to the scarred wolf, he found that his gaze also met Barron's. The two looked at each other, sizing the other up. After Roark was done with his speech, to which Barron couldn't remember what he was talking about. He was lost in looking at the strange wolf. All he knew was that a lot of his fellow pack mates left that same day. Barron, however, didn't. He had his family here and he didn't see the point in leaving his place of birth that had always been abundant with opportunity. Also, he was curious to see what these two new wolves would do with his beloved pack. It wasn't until a few days later that he and Ciel would meet again.

Barron found himself surrounded by his friends and longtime associates, all Alphas. He listened to them complain about the new Alpha and how he started running things. Barron, however, couldn't care less. He was tired of hearing everyone complain about something that they couldn't change. Duro had killed the last Alpha to take control of this pack and he had many challengers in his time until Roark came and actually won. Barron huffed as they continued, to him, it didn't make much sense to start complaining about the one time that it happened.

"Excuse me"

Barron and the others turned from their whispers and looked upon their Alpha's companion. He stood there just peering at the hunting party as the group looked back at him. Everyone's eyes fell to his numerous scars that adorned his pelt, everyone that is, except Barron. Said wolf was looking at the scarred wolf in front of him, more specifically, at his hollowed eyes. They were glazed over and Barron was curious as to how they lost all of their luster. It was obvious to Barron that they at one point had the color of someone alive.

"Roark orders that I join the hunting party, is that everyone here?" The scarred wolf asked, his eyes going over each of the hunting party members and judging them.

It took but a moment of the wolf's presence to hit some of the other's nerves. At first, one of the bigger males left without saying a word while the others watched on. Then, after the second left to join him, the rest quickly followed. All that was left of the original hunting party was Barron as he still gazed at the wolf before him, who then looked back up at the biggest wolf.

"Are you not going to join them too?" He asked

Barron shook his head and replied,

"No, I have no intention of leaving the others hungry for the sake of expressing my discontent concerning recent affairs"

"Was that their intention?" The smaller of the two asked, "I had no idea."

"I believe it to be that." Barron answered, then snapping out of his daze and putting a smile on his face, "My apologies, I've yet to have given my name, I'm Barron"

The scarred wolf looked at him with mostly the same blank expression but with a slight tilt of his head. Barron wanted to ask what he found so curious but he wasn't sure that it was the proper thing to ask at the moment.

"Ciel" He exchanged, then turning around towards the trail that left up and out of the pack's crevice.

"I see, you have quite a nice name" Barron replied, then turning to the path as they began to make the trek up together, side by side.

While Barron was considered to be the best hunter in the pack, he found himself doubting if he and Ciel could take down a decent sized animal by themselves. He found that the magic number for hunting was around five, sometimes it could be stretched to four but Barron had never seen a successful hunt done by two wolves.

"Thank you, your name is kind of nice too" Ciel replied.

Barron continued to gaze at the wolf before him, following beside the wolf and examining all of the scars he had adorned on his pelt. The was something about him that was interesting and it wasn't the scars. His fur wasn't anything different to inspire a curious look. The fur he had, or what he had left that is, was a very dark gray color with shades of black in sorted places. What was so intriguing about him Barron had to wonder.

"Please excuse me if I sound rude, but may I ask a question?" Barron asked, looking at the male.

"Depends, will you regret it later?" Ciel answered, looking to the taller man.

Barron thought that he might but he shook his head anyway.

"Then go ahead and ask away" Ciel said, turning his attention back to the road that he barely knew and yet his ears were pointed towards his companion to show that he was paying attention to him.

"I was wondering if it was okay to ask where all of those scars came from?"

Ciel stopped dead in his tracks, making Barron nearly trip over the other male at the sudden stop. Ciel looked back at Barron with a slightly worried face, the first sign of emotion that he had seen from the male. But he instantly felt regret for asking. Ciel came off to be such a cool headed individual but there was something wrong with him now.

"Sorry…" Barron apologized immediately, his ears going down to show that he was sincere.

"Its no problem, just a harmless question" Ciel replied, taking note of his now changed attitude and taking a few seconds to compose himself, "But if you must know, it was from my father. Our Alpha"

Barron reflected on the memory of see his Alpha for the first and only time so far. The way that Roark looked at Barron like he did none of the others in our pack. Looking at his son, was this how he treated people he loved? Then if so, Barron wondered what he treated his enemies like. With that in mind, then if the look he received a while ago by Roark was any indication as to how he viewed Barron, then he wasn't well liked by his new Alpha.

"Your Dad did that to you?!"

Ciel nodded but flinched at the unexpected harshness of his fellow wolf's words. Ciel had an assumption that Barron was a gentlemen and the sudden change in tone it kind of was off-putting. Fortunately, though Barron caught this and changed back to his regular self, straightening up his posture and clearing his throat.

"I apologize for that, it was really rude of me to have an outburst like that" he apologized, lowering his head out of respect.

"As I said earlier, it's not a problem" Ciel replied, shaking his head and then continuing on with their trek. "Stop apologizing for everything."

It sounded more like a suggestion than an order. But considering that Ciel was the Alpha's son Barron took it as an order and informed the smaller wolf that he would attempt to stop.

They continued on with their walk in awkward silence. Well, it was for Barron anyway. He wasn't entirely sure if Ciel was feeling awkward at all about their current situation. He seemed kind of aloof and unfeeling about everything except for when he brought up his scars. It was a touchy subject indeed but he still couldn't imagine what would bring a father to do that to his son. Barron wondered what his Alpha would do to his packmates if he did this to his son.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the usual hunting spot to which Barron had to show Ciel where it was. They laid down together, simply watching the herd of elk and trying to pick out a target. Ciel had his eyes glued to the herd, scanning over each and every one as they moved around and fed, searching for an injury of some sort or perhaps a detrimental deformity. Barron, however, at first was looking at the herd but found his eyes wandering to the wolf by his side. His long muzzle was nicely shaped and other than the scars there was no sign of a hindrance in his appearance. He was kind of perfect. Sleek fur, perked ears, nice colored eyes and sharp, well kempt, claws. He might've been attractive to females had it not been for his need of an attitude adjustment.

"You're starring again" Ciel informed. "Is there a reason as to why you find me so interesting?"

Barron grew flushed at being caught and looked down at his paws.

"My apol-" Barron stopped when he received a look from Ciel that made him remember to stop apologizing "I didn't mean to do it. I just kind of got lost in thought"

"Well then you've been doing it a lot, is it the scars? I know wolves find them to be distracting." Ciel replied.

"I-I…I won't lie, that is part of it. But please forgive my rudeness, I promise that it wasn't just the scars I was looking at!"

Ciel raised an eyebrow at the wolf and tilted his head, asking: "Then what was it that you were looking at?"

Barron laid there without an answer for a while, wondering what he really was looking at. The answer was actually quite simple, he was looking at all of him, admiring him. But he'd rather die than tell him that Ciel was basically checking him out as some of the other guys would say. He wanted to lie but finding a conceivable one that Ciel could believe was difficult. Unfortunately, Barron took too long to answer.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine." Ciel informed, turning his attention to the herd once again.

Barron once again felt the need to apologize but feared that he would anger Ciel if he attempted to do so again. So, not knowing how else to respond, he chose to stay silent. He looked at the herd just as Ciel had done when the smaller wolf chose a target and urged Barron to follow him. Although the bigger wolf still had his doubts that the two of them could take down an elk, even if it had a limp. An elk, after all, could kill one of them in a single kick or at least give them a very serious injury that could potentially be crippling.

Yet Ciel carried on and Barron followed, if only curious to see how he was going to manage this with only Barron at his side. They patiently waited in the brush, watching the elk that Ciel had picked out and waiting for him to separate from the rest of the herd. He looked older than the majority of the herd and his senses weren't as they used to be. With those factors, he hardly noticed that the others were moving on just a few yards away. The old elk hardly noticed them as he had his head bowed to graze at the abundant patch he had found, not wanting to move his head away lest another of his herd take this opportunity. In his age, he had seen wolves try to take him down before but their success rate in taking any elk down was rather low. While he had seen some elk of his own social circles fall to their fangs and to hunter's guns, he was confident in his own luck and strength that he believed he still maintained from his youth.

So much that his cautiousness was almost absent, leading the two wolves hiding in the brush an easy opportunity to get in close. By the time he heard the snap of the twig from Ciel's misstep, it was too late. Barron, looked to his companion as he stepped on some snow and the snap of a twig sounded from beneath the white, Ciel growled lightly and then the two of them looked at the elk as he looked at them. Seeing no other option, Ciel and Barron both leapt at the him. Ciel, the lighter and more experienced of the two, leapt forward and onto the elk's back, burying his fangs into its shoulder. Meanwhile, Barron, the bigger wolf, ran to stay between the older elk and the rest of his herd; he growled and snarled at the elk as he reared up and attempted to buck Ciel off.

Ciel, with his fangs and claws finding the flesh of the elk, slowly moved his fangs up the way from its shoulder to its neck, quickly sinking them in. However, after he found his mark in sinking his fangs into the right side of his neck he let his claws leave the elk and with only his fangs holding him onto the elk he started to not resist the bucking. The elk, moving his head left and right, along with Ciel's fangs in his throat, caused him to move from the right of his neck to the left, slitting his throat. As soon as he made his way to the other side of the elk's throat, he let go and landed next to Barron. Ciel proceeded to spit out the strip of flesh on the ground, the snow now stained crimson. His face was covered in the elk's blood, still wet and soaking in his fur; yet, he didn't flinch or seem to care that it was all over him and dripping off his muzzle. Ciel simply turned to the elk as it fell to the ground and gasped for air that it couldn't get.

Barron looked at the elk and then at its herd as they began to run off and away from the wolves. Barron sighed, he felt rather useless during this hunt, doing nothing more than barking while Ciel brought down the beast by himself. However, when he turned to Ciel, glistening red, he saw that the smaller wolf hadn't budged from where he landed. Ciel simply sat there and stared at the elk as it attempted to bring itself back up onto its feet, the weight of his body and lack of air bringing him down once again. It was a morbid sight, Barron thought. A wolf watching its prey fall to the ground and look into its eyes as it laid there, struggling for breath while a horrible wheezing sound came from the wound along with the last bit of air bubbles disturbing the fall of blood. Ciel didn't seem to mind it though, he watched.

It was an unspoken rule between hunters of any pack to put their prey out of mercy as quickly as possible. So, with Barron seeing this, he stepped up to quickly end the macabre scene. Ciel turned to Barron though and questioned his motive.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Ending it." Barron replied, bringing the elk's neck in his jaws, the taste of blood almost sending his muzzle driving into the beast to taste his meat but he remembered to resist the temptation so the others could have their fill.

"Please don't!"

Turning his head to meet his companion's eyes, Barron still had the elk in his jaws when he did so. Ciel looked back at Barron, his blue eyes shining in stark contrast to the red that surrounded them, making them stand out even more.

"Why shouldn't I? It's suffering, it wouldn't be right to let it go on any longer."

"I wouldn't deny him this." Ciel answered, looking down to meet the elk's eyes as they began to fade, "You feel alive the most just before the spark ceases"

Hearing Ciel's words but not paying them any heed, Barron made quick work and snapped the dying elk's neck with a sickening crunch. Ciel jerked forward to stop him when he saw his hunting companion initiate the movements but stopped when he heard the snap of it's neck. Barron let the elk's head drop to the ground and didn't attempt to look his partner in the eyes. He knew that Ciel would be upset but chose to go with his own ideals of not letting the elk suffer any longer. Slowly, he grasped the elk's haunches the best he could before starting to pull it back to the pack, jerk by jerk. It was a while before Ciel joined him in quietly pulling their catch back, not speaking a word to the other.

It took quite a while for the pair to make it up the hill and down into the crevice where they dropped the meal. Ciel took to eating his fill while Barron walked off to their Alpha's den, informing everyone that he saw along the way that they had a meal waiting for them. Roark was there at the entrance, waiting for most likely his son, when Barron stepped up and out of the brush.

"Pardon me, Sir. We managed to take down an elk for everyone. If you would like to have some of it, then I would hurry" Barron informed, bowing his head before turning to take his leave, only to be stopped.

"Who is "we"?" He questioned.

Barron stopped in his tracks, if their new Alpha knew that more than half of the hunting party walked off from their duties then there was no telling what their punishment would be.

"The Hunting Party, Sir" Barron replied, turning back around to face his Alpha.

"I see, and did my son go with you as he was told?"

"Ciel was there, yes" Barron answered, nodding to his Alpha.

Roark looked at his subordinate for a bit before nodding back, confirming that he did indeed trust his word. Or so that is what Barron was lead to believe. The well-mannered wolf found it somewhat difficult to read his new Alpha, he had no idea what he was thinking or the meaning behind his actions, he now realized that Ciel had been the same way. Perhaps, he thought, that was the reason that he found Ciel so interesting to look at, perhaps he was intrigued by the fact that he couldn't read him.

Barron gave his report and specifically left out Ciel's incident with the stick in the snow. Roark seemed intent on finding any mistakes that Ciel might have committed. Out of fear for the wolf and with the remembrance of the scars that he adorned, he kept it to himself.

It was a few days later when he saw Ciel again. He hadn't seen Ciel around the territory which he found odd as he was specifically looking for him. When Barron asked around to see if anyone had spotted him recently, they all confirmed that they too hadn't seen the son of the Alpha. It made Barron nervous, Ciel wasn't all that pleased with what happen during the hunting trip and Barron sought to try and straighten things out. However, things weren't that lucky.

While strolling through the pack after a patrol, Barron found whom he had been looking for. The snow from a few days ago had mostly melted and the signs of life in this forest were starting to spring from the ground. One part in particular was what made Barron notice Ciel. The flowers that tended to grow here were a beautiful sight. They would make any couple gleam at the chance to frolic in the foliage together. However, there was no couple in the flower bed that day. Ciel laid there with his head on his paws and his eyes closed; his distinctive scarred fur pattern giving him away. A sort of jewel in the midst of omnipresent sand, Barron thought as he looked at the wolf.

He approached his fellow canine carefully, looking to his paws to make sure they didn't make a movement that would give him away. Barron's eyes darted between the ground where his paws met soil to where Ciel slept, slowly closing the gap between himself and his target. Once he got to Ciel, and found him to still be asleep, he smiled to himself at his success and laid there beside the wolf just mere inches away.

Barron had no reasoning as to why he chose to do this. He just wanted to, he looked to his companion as he too set his head on his paws. Barron felt the need to talk to Ciel, to question him as to what happened and to try and straighten things out concerning the elk they killed together. But right now, he felt content with staring at Ciel and analyzing him. What was it that he found so enthralling? His eyes, Barron thought when he found himself thinking of the wolf the previous night. It had to have been his unnatural eyes, so unearthly blue. However, Barron found that to be false as he was still examining the wolf even though he couldn't see his eyes.

His scars? Barron thought. No, while they were fascinating, he didn't really like them with the knowledge of their origin. Roark hurt Ciel and that was the reason he didn't like his Alpha, nothing else. The wind gently wafted through the area and caused the flowers to sway harmoniously and so too did Ciel's fur. Maybe it was his fur that interested him, what was left of it that is.

It was a while before Ciel woke up and when he did his eyes slowly opened and then turned to Barron. He didn't jump like Barron thought he would just simply stared at the other male as he looked back at him. Barron once again looked into his eyes and found that they again had little to no luster in them. It was almost like looking into the eyes of someone dead. They had no light in them.

"I'm not used to having someone stare at me like that," Ciel informed, "and quite frankly, you're kind of creeping me out."

"Please, except my apologies. I wanted to be here when you woke up but I couldn't think of a better thing to do while waiting. So I came to the conclusion to rest a bit, I hope you don't mind" Barron replied, his head down.

"Like I said, you were creeping me out, but I don't really mind all that much. Want to tell me why you were waiting for me to wake up? Barron was it?"

"Yes, it is. Thank you for remembering it." Barron thanked, looking down at his paws, "As for my reason on being here, I wanted to talk about that elk"

Ciel raised an eyebrow at Barron's reason. Ciel had a tendency to not look back at the past. The past was something that couldn't be changed to him and therefore it was worthless to talk about it except in the event that it was time for reminiscing. Conversations concerning what might be or could've been are useless to Ciel. The past was a pointless conversation so hearing Barron ask about the elk felt like a waste of time to Ciel.

"What about it?" Ciel asked, putting his head on his paws with the intention of not listening to the wolf. If he were to start giving a monologue, then Ciel planned to tune the big wolf out.

"I didn't want to leave on the terms that we did that day" Barron answered, his ears going down and moving closer to Ciel out of instinct and to emphasize how serious he was.

"Now," Barron started, clearing his throat. "I didn't want to let that thing suffer. Because, if it were me with my throat spilled all over the floor, then I would hope for someone to end me quickly too"

Ciel found it hard to ignore the wolf. He was different from the others, kind of annoying, but interesting at the same time. A weird feat to accomplish. Nevertheless, his plan of ignoring Barron failed.

"I wouldn't" Ciel informed, looking at the bigger wolf.

Unbeknownst to them, Barron and Ciel were actually a lot closer than they thought. Their pelts were nearly touching and their faces weren't even a foot apart as they gazed at each other. Barron, even while not knowing this, had a small blush on his cheeks.

"I don't really feel anything" Ciel continued, looking at the flowers, "I feel a lot farther from everything that I probably should. The only thing that makes me feel anything is when I'm hurt…"

Barron looked at the wolf as he was deadly serious. Ciel was broken and then molded by his father from a young age Ciel explained to him. He didn't know his mother and was told she died not long after giving birth to Ciel and his siblings. After a long winter, Ciel was the only one who made it. He started to be trained how to perform his duties and every time he screwed something up he got a scar. A lesson to never be forgotten. He lost all of his feelings because he was molded to not have any and to be as efficient as possible.

The only thing he would feel is the cuts.

Barron felt anger at Roark. He didn't care about the way he was running his pack. But the way he treated his son was inexcusable. The wolf in front of him wasn't suffering but he wasn't feeling anything either. He was broken and made to be that way. But for what? Barron asked himself. He was an amazing hunter, Barron knew that and he was probably the most talented hunter he had ever seen. Nevertheless, he was made to be that way and in doing so he lost what made him feel…alive.

"I'm sorry" Barron apologized upon hearing the ending of his story.

"Don't be" Ciel replied, snapping his head to his companion, "I'm a good hunter and I can provide food for the hungry, I just want to do my job"

"But don't you want something else? To have fun? To meet someone?"

Ciel raised an eyebrow at the older wolf. Meet someone? Like romantically? He never thought about that, even when his father told him that he would have to mate with a girl one of these days and soon. He was of age now to mate so perhaps he should start looking for a girl to settle down with and have pups to provide for. Easier said than done. Ciel couldn't comfortably talk to anyone except for his father and well, as of now, Barron.

Fun? He asked himself. No, that was for Omegas. Ciel considered hunting somewhat fun and sleeping as well. He liked taking naps and just thinking and imagining what things could be like. Not once did his imaginations lead to anything fun. They were just alternative universes to Ciel, just curious adventures.

"I don't think I want to" Ciel said out loud, "Meeting someone… I can't imagine doing it for the sake of a relationship. Maybe to have some pups but other than that, no."

"Forgive me if this sounds rude, but…Is that you talking or your Dad?" Barron questioned.

"Probably both" Ciel admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, "My thoughts kind of don't feel like my own. Like, every time I do something I have to check in with my Dad's voice in my head and make sure he would approve. If I don't think he would approve, I don't do it."

Barron stared at Ciel for a bit and the two stayed silent for the majority of their time hereafter. However, Barron took the time to inform Ciel a little about himself; he told Ciel about his parents who were the pack healers and about the one scar that Ciel found on Barron's body. The sad thing was that Ciel, upon seeing the scar on his chest with three straight diagonal cuts from right to left, asked if Barron's father did that to him. He told him no and that it was actually a bear that took a swipe at him when he was out on his first hunt. The scar was very faint then, mostly because it wasn't a deep cut in the first place, but Ciel seemed hesitant either way. When it came time for Ciel to go back, Barron made him promise to come back here tomorrow so they could converse some more. Ciel agree, and even though he held a straight face and dull voice while he agreed, Barron could almost feel a tinge of happiness from the wolf.

Hey there! Its been a while and I hope none of you forgot my stories, although I don't blame you if you did. This is a little preview of the last part of The Outcast Series. The Zenith though, is a working title that I might change. This is the first part of the prologue to the aforementioned story to give some insight into the three up and coming characters that will meet Armstrong, Sirius and the group. I hope you guys enjoy because I love Ciel and Baron as characters that I'm writing. Please leave a review and as I always say…

Until Next Time!