Chapter 14: New Plans (written on April 23rd, 2020)

That night...

Rocky could hear the crickets outside chirping. He couldn't sleep. All he could think about was his stupid mother. Kate told him he had to finish Alpha training. He groaned over and over again. He didn't want to be a part of the Western Pack. The first time he ran away, months ago, he wanted independence. The second time, a week ago, he wanted to escape the past, and he came across the fact that his taste for independence was still alive. Alabaan let him choose his life. The Western Pack didn't.

Because Rocky called his own mother a "bitch," she forced him to stay in the old family den. It was essentially prison. He had been sentenced to a lifetime of duties and responsibilities among other things that came with being a pack leader. The second-in-command, Hutch, was guarding the entrance to the den, and as always, he took his job seriously. He was told to keep Rocky from running away, so Hutch closely watched him as he rolled around on a pelt, trying to sleep.

Soon footsteps could be heard outside. Hutch turned around to see a tan she-wolf with blue eyes.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Dani. I heard that Rocky was here. May I speak with him?" Hutch allowed Dani to enter the den. Rocky was surprised to see her. She was the last wolf he thought he'd see at this time. "Hi."

"Hi," he replied. "I figured you wouldn't want to see me again."

"Well... my parents are dead."

"What?" She then nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Are you... are you okay?"

"Umm... I don't know... I'm angry at myself. I should be bawling... but I can't cry. I forgot about them while I was away. I lost my attachment to them... and now they're gone."

"I'm so sorry, Dani." The she-wolf reached in her mouth with her paw and brought out a small bone that held text on its surface. "What is that?" Rocky asked.

"A memory." She held it up to where Rocky could only see a certain part of the text. It read:

Sincerely, Danielle

P.S. I have a mate now. We love each other dearly.

"Am I the 'mate'?"

"Yes," said Dani. "Rocky... You're all I have left now. You're the only one who ever cared about me. Like ever. You're my only home. I can't leave you..."

"Are you asking me out?" Dani responded with silence. "Look, let me tell you the truth. I hurt you when we were maintaining a new pack because I wanted you to hate me so much that you would never come back. Why? Well, because I can't mate with you. I want someone I can mate with. I'm not being discriminatory. It's just a matter of what I want, a matter of preferences. In hindsight, I should've broken up with you better than that. Back then, I was different. I didn't care about how it affected you. But I still love you. I just can't... be with you."

"...I understand..." Dani stared at the ground forlornly. Rocky came closer and lifted her head with his snout. Before long they kissed.

"I'm sorry," Rocky whispered.

"Why did I have to be born this way?" she replied rhetorically.

"And why did I have to be the heir?" he added.

"I don't understand. You're gonna have the whole pack at your paws. Why would you not want that?"

"It's not really worth it... You have to do things. You have to take care of the pack. That's not me."

"Who says you have to take care of them?" said Dani.

"What? Everyone says that!"

"Think about it. If you're pack leader, there's no one who can tell you what to do. The sky is the limit. Fuck whoever says you have to do something. Just let the second-in-command do everything important while you do what you want."

"Huh... I never thought about it that way... But I still don't wanna be pack leader. It still would be too much restriction."

"Hm. What if I sort of became pack leader?"

"What?"

"Yeah. You should become pack leader then basically give all your power to me. You'll become a figurehead just like I was in Briana's pack. You can stay in a den far away from the Western Pack, and I can send you any amount of she-wolves you want, she-wolves you can actually mate with. I know you want to leave the Valley entirely, so if you don't like the idea, it's fine."

"Actually—" Rocky was then interrupted by a thud.

Hutch was flat on the ground, knocked out. On top of him was a light grey wolf. "Alabaan!"

"Come on, Rocky! I'm getting you out of here!"

"Alabaan! Hey, umm..."

"Who's this?" asked Dani.

"That's Alabaan. I met him at Shadow Forest. We've been living together for the past week. He's a nomad." Alabaan looked in between Dani's legs.

"Oh, so this is the Dani you've been talking about! Hello!"

"Hi," she greeted back.

"Wow, you sure are a specimen," said Alabaan. "I wonder how big your cumshots are." Dani blushed and looked down.

"Umm, she's not that open about it," said Rocky.

"Oh, sorry! Where are my manners? I'm sorry, Dani."

"It's fine," Dani replied.

"Anyway, c'mon, Rocky, let's go. You can bring her too."

"Actually, Alabaan. I'm staying..."

"What?!" Dani looked up again and smiled. "Why?! I thought you hated this place?"

"I do. But Dani and I have found a way to make it better. You should join us! We'll have unlimited power."

"I can't believe you, Rocky!" Alabaan exclaimed. "I thought we were close!"

"What's wrong? Don't you want to join us? You'll get any she-wolf you want! You might even get Dani."

"As fucking great as that sounds... I... I can't be in a pack. I go where I wanna go. You may have found a compromise that works for you, but I can't accept it."

"Oh... I see... I guess this is where we part ways then..."

"I can't believe you, Rocky. I came here to get you out because I thought you were like me. We had so much fun together. These past few days were the best I've ever had. We were inseparable. But then you suddenly decided to do what you told me a thousand times you would never do! You told me you would never become pack leader, that you would never return to your pack!"

"I'm sorry, Alabaan... You're welcome to visit any time you want..."

"No, you can keep your shitty Western females! I'm outta' here." Alabaan stormed out of the den, walking past Hutch. Rocky turned to Dani.

"I don't understand... Why wouldn't he join us?" Dani gave Rocky another kiss.

"Who knows."

"I hope I didn't hurt him. He's my friend."

"Real friends are supposed to accept you no matter what you do," said Dani. "Alabaan denounced you."

"I guess it makes sense that you would know that."

"Yeah..."

Unexpectedly, a group of muscular male wolves entered the den all at once. The determined look on their faces let Dani know that they were ready to cause trouble. She got in front of Rocky and growled. "Who are you guys?"

"Move!" one of them yelled. Dani went to attack the leader, but one of them grabbed her by the scruff and threw her into the wall. The impact caused part of the den wall to crumble, and pieces of the earth fell down and immobilized her. Dani cried in pain. She was too weak to stand and break herself free. The wolves that just came were undoubtedly Alphas.

"Rocky!" Dani screamed. Rocky was horrified. He knew he had no chance with experienced Alphas, so he lowered himself as much as possible.

"Stand up!" said the leader. "You're coming with us!"

"What's going on?" Rocky asked meekly.

"We're not waiting for your mom. You're becoming pack leader before dawn! And you are going to listen to us 'til the day you die!"

Meanwhile...

Along the border between the North and West, an Alpha from the Northern Pack walked casually. He was an experienced border patrol. He knew his route extremely well. If anything was off on that route, he would know.

"Oof! Holy shit..." A horrid smell swiftly entered his nostrils. He scanned his surroundings and saw nothing. Then he felt a warm sensation on one of his paw pads. It was stained red... His eyeballs followed the long stream until they came across the source. It was covered somewhat in leaves and twigs, but it was clear what it was: a she-wolf... But it wasn't just a she-wolf...