Chapter 4: Campfire (written on November 10th, 2019)

Rocky shivered like mad. Spring was not far, but the winter still had a firm grip. The snow was thick enough to find its way into every crevice of his toes for every step he took. He didn't know where he was going. He just wanted to be away from his parents. He wanted to be away from the reminders that his entire life was never supposed to happen. It seemed from his parents' conversation that he was some accident from Kate's past. His parents were going to have pups together, but fate had other plans.

He was furious because, for his entire life, he was fed a lie, that he was a full Western, that he was meant to be. From the looks of it, Humphrey didn't give two tails about him, and any resemblance of care merely existed to ease his mother's mind. If his pseudo father thought he was nothing, why would Rocky think of anything more of himself?

He had to escape and escape he did. In a random direction, he went. It didn't matter. His parents were high-level Alphas of the Western Pack, part of the top tier of Western society who represented everyone else. If they didn't accept him, the Western Pack was no good to him. He didn't know where the mysterious half of his genetics came from, but since it came from a 'disgusting criminal,' he couldn't depend on it to boost his credentials. He was nobody, he believed. It seemed even the weather was scorning him. The howling winds were testing his patience.

"SON OF A BITCH!" he screamed before swinging one of his forelimbs into a tree. "Ahh... fuck..." The bark was unusually sharp. The blood already began to freeze along his arm. It became numb and was as unpleasant as being stabbed by icicles. The freezing of his tears was already bad enough. Was there any hope?

Indeed there was. In the distance, warmth could be felt. A welcoming glow greeted him from the blurry horizon, wavering gracefully. It couldn't be what he thought it was, could it? How could warmth persist? Around the flames a group of wolves encircled.

"What do you make of him, June?" said the male Alpha of the group, an unkempt white wolf whose own eyes didn't share the same color. He looked at his companion beside him after they saw the unknown wolf approaching.

"Another so-called lost one I bet. This winter's tough. Creates a lot of hopelessness and tempts wolves into making their environment match their emotions, so they can attract attention and unnecessary sympathy," she scoffed. She was another white wolf but had patches of brown scattered around her body.

"Be nice," he replied. "Even whiners are individuals. Everybody craves a mind at rest. We're even willing to suffer to get it."

"No doubt this one will brood. They all do eventually."

"Here he comes."

"Hi," Rocky greeted.

"Afternoon," said June.

"Umm... I'm sorry to intrude. It's just uhh... you know..."

"Cut the shit," said the Alpha. "I'm Jack, and that's my little Omega sister, June."

"Shut the fuck up. I'm not little," June chided.

"Geez, who pulled your tail, sis?" He turned back to the newcomer. "Excuse her. Sisters, am I right? Anyway, we welcome all those who feel lost no matter how trivial the reason. There's no amount of surface area the fire can't shine."

"Is that what this is?" Rocky replied. "A fire?"

"How old are you?" he asked.

"About a year."

"Parents make you mad?"

"Somewhat." The young wolf tilted his head to one side.

"Here. Sit." The male Alpha and his female companion scooched over. Rocky sat down on the drenched grass from the melted snow and enjoyed the dancing light show in front of him. "Now tell me what's on your mind, kiddo. I assume you didn't come here to distribute meat, though that would be nice. You're gonna tell us how you're feeling anyway, so just please spill it to skip over the tedium clichés."

"Well... I'm a mistake."

"Aren't we all?" said Jack.

"No, I mean mistake mistake. I just found out that my father isn't really my father. My mom, I believe, was... made unclean, so to speak." The two white wolves were shocked. It was not the kind of backstory they were expecting.

"Oh... yeah, that's something else," Jack said with a dumbfounded and worrisome look.

"And they expect me to become pack leader now! I don't even belong to the pack. I am nature's footnote."

"Pack leader? Are you royalty?" said June.

"I guess," said Rocky.

"Who are you?" asked Jack.

"I'm Rocky."

"Wait! You're one of Kate and Humphrey's pups!"

"How do you know that?"

"You're in the Northern Pack," replied June. "Everybody here knows about you."

"Why?" said Rocky

"Because," said the Alpha, "our pack leader held your mom hostage when we faced a famine. Your dad was an Omega who tried to get her back. Their relationship impressed Matt."

"Oh, that. I've heard too many times about how my parents fell in love. Honestly wouldn't surprise me if it's dramatized. You know, they would tell me I was created out of that love. What bullshit!"

"So what are you going to do now?" asked June.

"I don't know. I'm not going back to Westen Pack. That's for sure."

"Well, we're pretty down-to-Earth wolves, wouldn't you say, June?" Jack admitted. "If I was in your paws, I would take being pack leader in a heartbeat. Especially for the North, I would make some changes 'round here, maybe share more of the meat supply to the lower class. But I'm not you, and the only thing I would say about your situation is: be yourself. You're just about old enough to control your own destiny. You don't even need to listen to me. Do what your heart tells you to do. Trust me. Doubt can stymie happiness."

"Thanks," said Rocky. "For the record, I am listening to you."

"Ha, ha! I'll take it," Jack laughed.

"However," Rocky continued, "I'm not going to be pack leader. I'm going to go as far away as possible. How does one escape the Valley?"

"Beyond the Valley? You're not serious, are you? It's lawless out there. Rogues everywhere."

"What are Rogues?"

"Savages from Banff National Park. They come from far south and take whatever they want and kill whatever they want. They raid the Valley constantly 'cause their leader and founder was banished from the Eastern Pack long ago. No one knows his real name, but they simply call him 'King.' Please don't be insane and leave the protection of the packs."

"What happened to following my heart?"

"I want you to live too, son."

"Well, at least the Rouges are living their best life getting everything they want. Seems nice."

"Envying the Rouges? Accepting that as a quality is not for the faint of heart."

"I'm letting my heart speak, Jack. Consider it my expression of gratitude for advising me to do so."

"Fine. Fine. Heh, heh. If you wanna kill yourself."

"Now tell me. How do I get out of here?"

"I know a wolf. His name is Shadow. Black and red fur. Scar over one of his eyes. You can find him at Shadow Forest. He's like the local leader of the area. He's had quite a past, so he has some connections. He's the only wolf I know who could help you exit the Valley safely."

"Thank you, Jack. Can you take me to him? I don't know where Shadow Forest is."

"It's on the fringes of the Western Pack, far away from ninety-nine percent of the population. I'm a Northerner; I can't just walk into Western territory. Same with June. But that she-wolf over there..." The white Alpha pointed to a wolf who was sitting on the other side of the flames. "She's a Western. She could help." Rocky stood up and looked around the fire to see her facing away from the heat. He looked at her back and recognized her. He gasped.

"If I turn around," she growled, "and see that it's actually you... pray I don't rip your dick off..."

"Holy, shit!" Rocky exclaimed. "Dani..."

Credit: Jack and June are OCs by Itsmario123 a.k.a. ThatGuyNamedGuy. I have permission to use his OCs, but all rights are reserved for him.

PM me if you want to submit an OC for this collaboration story. It's still not too late.