Chapter 6: Consequences Part 1 (written from December 7th to December 13th, 2019)

He heard her screaming. It continued to echo in the cave. His position in the cave's misshapen interior only allowed him to see shadows move across the wall. The action was around the corner, near the mouth of the den, among the orange light of the dusk. The pup quivered in his dark space of relapsing, wincing at every blow he could hear. The adults were arguing, but it was clear that the male dominated. He would strike her with his forepaws. He would let his claws severely mark her skin. Similar to the pup, she would regress into a lower position, attempting to display the most generous subordination, one that would finally satisfy her unyielding mate. But even the pup knew that satisfaction would come on the same day that it would snow in summer, as though keeping her face bleeding was a fetish.

Whenever the pup's mother failed his father, it continued a ritual of shrieks and crying, of fast-paced hearts and paramount fear. The pup grew a habit of nibbling his claws as he watched the shadows dance multiple times a day and the color of red spatter. Unfortunately, she was not alone. His father was not dumb nor deaf. Often, after applying the finishing touches on his bloody artwork, his attention would shift to the little weeps in the depths of the cave. He would travel there, carrying a purposeful smirk. By the time his father would come, the pup would nearly faint. Each thunderous step toward the little one would strike like lightning.

If his beatings were longer, he would've died young, not from the beating itself but from the adrenaline that would slam his puny heart into submission. It would beat faster than his lungs could tolerate. His father had so much dominance he could practically suck out all the air in one breath just to toy with his son. Among the bone-breaking thrashing and forced masturbation, the pup should've died just like his mother eventually did.

"But I didn't. Apparently, the stars wanted me to live," said Alabaan.

"What happened?" said Rocky.

"He disappeared. One day he never came back. For days I starved in that den, thinking this was some kind of prank. But no... He was gone! Woosh! I just shrugged my shoulders and left the den. Been on my own since."

"Alabaan... I... I don't know what to say. I don't know what's worse than that."

"Ehh, it's nothing," Alabaan replied indifferently. "He didn't break the bone in my dick, and that's all that matters to me." The Alpha lay down on his back and stretched his legs nonchalantly.

"You mean the baculum?"

"The what?

"The baculum."

"Boy, I hope you know I only speak wolfish."

"Never mind," said Rocky. He sat across from Alabaan. Shadow was snoring outside next to his butchering stone. It had been a week since Rocky met these peculiar wolves, but he was only interested in his new companion, for his knowledge of packless life was the most vast of any individual wolf. His apparent destitution and unkemptness showed a life that had erratic value. In a strange way, Rocky admired it, especially since the Alpha responded to the worst parts of his life with steadfast apathy. It was unheard-of behavior. "I just can't believe you're as nice as you are."

"I'm not that nice," he said with a chuckle. "You just haven't given me a reason to be mean."

"Heh, heh. I see. It seems you almost have all your strength."

"No, I'm healed. We're going to leave in the morning."

"Healed? Didn't you have a broken bone?"

"It was cracked, not broken," the Alpha corrected. "Besides, we can't waste time."

"Why are you in a hurry to help me?" asked Rocky.

"Ya' ever wondered how I ended up with a busted leg?"

"You said you fell."

"Yes, but I was pushed, away from my den. Some idiots came and robbed me of my home and my girlfriend, Vyni. Before I help you escape the Valley, I must reclaim my belongings. That has been my original plan. Those wolves were barbarians! For all we know, my Vyni could've been raped!"

"I'll help you!"

"You will?"

"You deserve compensation. You deserve respect. A wolf like you deserves no bullies."

"Are you sure you're up for the task? Wolves won't hesitate to kill you on the fringes of the Valley."

"Where do you live?"

"In the mountains, southwest from here," he answered.

"Oh, you live up there! That explains why you know so much. What's it like?"

"Cold, but if you have a Vyni like me, it's a warm paradise 'cause you're alone with her and no one can bother you—normally anyway. Do you have a Vyni?" the older wolf asked.

"No. I had a girlfriend in Alpha School, but it didn't work out." The Alpha scooched closer.

"Tell me about her. You have nothin' to fear."

"Assuming you're heterosexual, it's not really something you would be interested in."

"What? Is she gay or somethin'? That's fine."

"No. She just umm... she has a baculum, her own baculum."

"What? Stop with the gibber-jabber. What is it?" he questioned. Rocky then made a paw gesture, moving his arm up and down to a rhythm. Alabaan got it instantly. "Oh! That's... very interesting. Never heard of someone like that. Are you sure it's a she?"

"It is in every other aspect. You won't notice anything odd if you keep your head up."

"You should bring this she-wolf along. The amount of fun we could have with her is immeasurable."

"Nah. She kinda' hates my guts."

"What did you do?" The Alpha tilted his head in curiosity.

"I denounced her in front of our friends. I called her a bitch and a freak."

"Is she a bitch?"

"Well, if she wasn't then, she is now."

"The bitchy ones are the best... as long as you can control them, of course, otherwise they're the kind to push you off mountains," he grumbled.

Meanwhile...

In their den, Kate and Humphrey were lying down, unable to get sleep. They were dead silent until Kate suddenly burst in tears. Her mate knew why. She missed her offspring. Rocky had run far away and Jenny decided to live on her own on the other side of the pack. In many ways, she felt like her father before he passed. What she was feeling was similar to Winston's depression after the disappearance of Lilly. Her family was falling apart. All she had was her mother who was slowly fading away and her mate who was becoming more and more distant. They had numerous arguments during the last seven days, including some that got particularly heated. After their son and daughter stormed off, they had different opinions on how to respond. Kate wanted to profoundly apologize and reignite their relationship, but Humphrey was convinced that the best course of action was to let them go. Although she begrudgingly allowed his policy, it was beginning to take its toll on her. It wasn't until Humphrey said something inappropriate in his latest attempt to comfort her that she snapped.

"Honey, honey. It's okay. It's okay," Humphrey reassured. "This isn't what we planned at all, but let's take the good with the bad. They may be gone, but they're smart. They can live on their own."

"We know where Jenny is. But we don't know where Rocky is," she replied sadly.

"We talked about this. Let me remind you from a broader view that even the pups themselves weren't planned. I know they're important, but are they that important?"

"I don't feel comfortable talking about them like that."

"Our comfortability about the subject doesn't matter. Kate, I love you. You know that. Let's be honest with ourselves. Are they our future? Let's think about what we want together. Are they the future we want? Are they the only legacy we want to leave behind? We took care of them. We put enough energy for them to be successful. Is it such a crazy idea that we should leave them be, these pups that were never supposed to exist? Shouldn't we let them, as wolves born only from sin, decide their entire fate? They should forget us, for we're just reminders of their terrible beginnings. If they forget and dismiss us, their own offspring won't have to think about their blackened bloodline."

"They're still family, Humphrey."

"So is the rapist when you think about it," he replied. "He's the father of the heir. That gives him a high status. Technically, he's family. Think about what's best for us. The rapist and his pups are as 'family' as a benign tumor is to a body. They didn't really harm us physically, but we need to cut them off for the sake of definite happiness and our reputation. I don't want wolves feeling bad for us anymore. We need to move on. Let's have the family we really want, what we were supposed to have."

"I don't know..."

"Come on, Kate..." Humphrey nudged her. In response, she stood up before yawning. Her mate went to the space behind her and placed his arms around her waist. Their hind legs fitted together with his knees behind hers. He nudged her tail away so he could get better access while his tail waged excitedly.

"This isn't right," said Kate. Humphrey ignored her. His sheath doubled in size.

"Ugh, I can't believe we've known each other forever, and I'm still a virgin."

"Humphrey... Please..."

"Come on, Kate. Let's make a litter for us... our one and only litter... a litter we can be proud of..."

"No!" she snapped and removed her body from his grip before his pink member could emerge. Humphrey was astonished.

"Kate?" She peered out the mouth of the den.

"I'm gonna look for him," she said firmly.

"Kate, you can't be serious." Without a reply, the tan she-wolf headed out into the cold. "Kate? Kate!" Humphrey yelled. "Oh, no," he whispered. "She's grown attached... No... I can't let her find him! What do I do?" He thought for a second. "There's only one wolf I can think of that could help: Matt..."