"Please. Don't do this. She needs me. I can teach her." a warm voice pleaded as it began to break into small sobs.

"Silence! You know the law! One more word and I'll make sure the rest join their dear little sister." a cold and soulless voice replied with a sadistic laugh. The mother lowered her ears and tucked her tail between her legs. She could only watch helplessly as this disgusting obea took her daughter away from her.

The brownish pup squirmed as the cold hearted obea picked her up by the scruff. Where had the warmth of her brothers and sisters gone? Why had the scent of her mother vanished? What was happening?

"Forgive me." the mother said as she wept. Lulu squirmed harder in the obea's paws and cried out.

"MOTHER! MOTHER WHERE ARE YOU?"

Lulu jumped as she opened her eyes. Another cursed nightmare. When would these horrific visions end? The room was still dark, but sunshine peaked through the window. Trail was still on her side sound asleep, and unaware that her roommate was awake this early.

"Well another early start." she sighed and sluggishly put her thin sweater over her flannel pajama top. All the dorms were silent aside from small snores. Quietly, and carefully, Lulu opened the window and jumped down from the fifth floor, onto the colorless and grassless ground with a thud.

"Huh, not a scratch on me." she brushed herself off and walked alongside the fence. The only thing that stood in her way of this prison, and the real world where life prevailed.

"Maybe just maybe they haven't turned it on yet." she grabbed hold of the fence through the openings, and began to climb it. No one tried to climb the fence, they were too afraid, and some of the wolves acting as though they were moon blinked whenever the subject of climbing the fence was brought up.

Just as she about to reach the very top, the taste and smell of the real world on the outside filled her. She never wanted anything this bad before. Without warning, she felt a power rise within her. It seemed to spark her and she became excited, and waged her tail, but she felt her grip loosen from the fence.

With a loud thud, she hit the gray ground below her. She heard a sadistic laugh behind her. Clover.

'How can this morning get any worse?' Lulu began to tremble. This particular obea brought the small and helpless pup this compound to spend the rest of her life.

"No one will ever miss you. Your mothers wont even notice your absence. If you were to die the same day as your birth, no one would think anything of it." those piercing words still taunted Lulu. The first words anyone ever told her and the other malcadhs when they were brought fourth to the compound.

"I thought little pups weren't allowed out by themselves. And let alone allowed to climb such a big, big fence." Clover smirked and picked Lulu up by her scruff.

"I heard about your little stunt you pulled last night. Try some more funny business, and I'll take care of you myself." she tossed Lulu back to the ground and kicked her.

"You worthless little piece of scat. You think your special? Do you think you're Lupus herself? ANSWER ME!" Lulu's nose began to bleed as she struggled to get up from under Clover.

"Clover what have I done to you?" she asked hoarsely as she wiped her bloody nose with the back of her paw. The females' heads both turned toward the main gate that creaked. Two figures were outlined through the heavy morning fog. Clover gasped and lowered her body to the dirt below her.

"Who is it?" Clover pulled Lulu down beside her fiercely and made her bow her head.

"The chieftain you idiot! He comes here once a month for an inspection to make sure you unholy beasts from the Dim World do as your told." Lulu let out a low growl and mumbled,

"If I'm an unholy beast, what does that make you?" she asked as she smirked. Before Clover could smack her on the muzzle, the two figures were standing right above Clover and Lulu.

"Rise sister Clover. What is your business here?" a gruff voice said from above. Clover slowly arose from the ground, brushing he dirt off into Lulu's eyes.

"I noticed as I was passing by to speak to you about your daughter, that this little troublemaker was trying to escape. Can't have that now can we?" she grabbed Lulu by her ears and pulled her upright. She looked into the piercing blue eyes of the almighty chieftain Tony. He was a thick-boned, muscled giant compared to her. One hard blow to her fragile chest, and she would be no more.

"Very well then. But lets leave those duties to the enforcers. We have much to discuss." The tall female by the name of Sheo stared down at Lulu. Her heart ached. How she wished she could just reach out and tell her the truth. She followed her mate alongside of Clover and headed to the base of the compound.

Within Lulu, something began to stir. Where had she seen Tony's mate Sheo before? Her dreams perhaps? She hadn't seen her in the compound before either. It was just probably the loss of sleep that was making her feel so odd about the silliest of things.

Trails rushed to her side and helped her up from the wet ground. Thunder boomed from the mountains, and clouds gathered together, blocking out and shunning the sun. Before too long, the trees swayed like helpless ghost along with the heavy winds. Lulu sighed as she sat at her school desk and watched the rain droplets dance among the wind.

Meanwhile…

Faolan was sitting carving into another gnaw bone. It was raining loudly outside, and the wind and droplets of rain leaked into Faolan's old bedroom. He didn't mind it. He kept a bucket under the source of the leak, and sealed the windows with small cloths.

With his perfectly sharp teeth, he carved what happened the previous evening. How he stumbled across the compound, met Lulu, and was now feeling stirrings on the inside he never felt before. He had to see her again. Tonight. But what if he were to get caught? His clan despised him enough because of his splayed paw. He stop carving and looked down at his paw.

"What does it mean?" he whispered to himself. Just then, Heep walked in with a girl under his arm. She was giggling about some cheesy little joke he cracked outside.

"Hey who let him in?" the female replied as she pointed to Faolan.

"Um I live here too you know." he said blandly with a bit of attitude on the tip of his tongue. Heep rolled his eyes and bent over to whisper into Faolan's ear.

"Look I need the room for the night. We're guna' have a us a little party." he smiled lustfully towards the young female that stood in the doorway. Faolan screwed his face up in disgust at the thought. Heep was nothing more than a fellow gnaw wolf as was Faolan. As far as he knew, gnaw wolves weren't allowed to mate with regular members of the pack.

But nonetheless, Faolan left the room. Heep would get caught and he'd have no one to blame but himself. The rain has calmed down to a small drizzle, and the sky was slowly turning a faint orange. Even a few stars and constellations were visible. He smiled up at the sky and put his paws in his pockets.

"I know you're with me mother." he whispered to the bear constellation that seemed to shine the brightest in the night. Leaves flew like little ghost in the small breeze that toyed with the night. He smiled when he found the huge compound with the very tall and wide guard tower and main base. Lulu was already sitting on the gray ground reading a book.

"Hi." Faolan said as he sat across from her. Lulu looked up at him with her sad eyes and managed to pull off a smile.

"Hello. I'm glad you came back. I've been needing to talk to you." lulu closed her book and hung her head low. Faolan sensed her sadness and anger.

"Well talk to me then. You look upset. Did something happen?" he reached through the fence and offered her his paw to hold onto. She squeezed it and sat closer to him.

"I was humiliated in front of the chieftain Tony and his mate today. Clover is right. I'm of equal value as a piece of scat." her ears lowered and oily tears leaked from her sparkling eyes. "And- sshe's right. Tthey're right. I'm a freak." she said as her voice broke down into sobs.

"No you're not. Come on don't cry please." Faolan squeezed her paw and licked her tears away. Even though they hadn't known each other for long, they felt a connection. They had so much I common. Both were expected to die, but they survived. Everyone told them that no one loved them, yet they were loved.

"If it makes you feel any better, my pack doesn't really care for me much." he held up his splayed paw with the star-like symbol. Lulu pulled it closer making the fence rattle, and Faolan pressing against it.

"Which blows my mind. Like I said before, I think its pretty." Faolan examined the young she-wolf from the corner of his eye. Her eyes that sparkled like the stars above. Her beautiful coat of fur. And she had the most warm and reassuring voice.

'You're the pretty one.' he thought to himself. Lulu released Faolan's paw and stared at her paws in her lap.

"Sometimes I wish I were never born. It'd be so much easier you know?" she looked up at the stars the gleamed and shined through the navy blue blanket. "If we're so hated, why did Lupus create us? Create me? Does he want me to suffer?" Faolan felt his heart ache alongside Lulu's. True, he wasn't confined to live in a compound, but still no one would ever fully accept him because of something as silly as his paw.

"I know how you feel. But you're not alone." he pressed his cheek beside hers through the cold fence. But Lulu felt nothing. Only Faolan's presence and someone besides her sister Trails loved her.

They sat there in silence for hours. Lulu dosed off and nuzzled Faolan's cheek. He stuck his hand through the largest opening in the fence, and wrapped his arm around her.

"Goodnight Lulu." he whispered and licked her cheek. He wanted to say he loved her, but all in good time.