Chapter III

It had been a few months since I had began to help out at the Silver Talons pack. I was completely used to being round the kids - who had all recently celebrated their tenth birthday - and I was being accepted by the rest of the pack.

Rowan’s initiation of becoming pack alpha was the tomorrow night. The entire household was bustling, trying to get things ready. As it was a full moon, the surrounding packs were invited; including the Red Wing. I was nervous - scared, even - of seeing my brothers again, but knowing that I had the support of Rowan and his pack made me feel a little more at ease. I was starting to notice that every time Rowan touched me, talked to me or even looked at me, my heart rate would rapidly increase and I would grow flustered. My reactions were beginning to get on my nerves, but there wasn’t much I could do about them; it was just instinct.

The party would be much like the one where Rowan and I met. There would be a bonfire, alcohol and people just having a good time. Since this was special, the alphas of each pack would each take their own time to welcome Rowan as a new leader.

When the time of the party eventually came, I wore a pair of red skinny jeans, a grey hoodie over a black t-shirt and my converse boots. After all, I wanted to at least try to look a little nice for the special occasion. Rowan and I walked to the clearing where the gathering would be held just in time to see the fire being lit.

Different packs arrived at different times, and Red Wing were last to arrive. Whenever one of the members came near me, I would suddenly be too busy with a heated discussion with one of my new pack members to pay attention to my siblings or their friends.

I did want to talk with Raven, though. She had been a massive help throughout my entire life, and I really wanted to thank her for it. But I couldn’t find her.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Rowan for a couple of hours either. This was getting scary. My only hope of backup when facing my brothers had gone missing.

“Hey, Runt,” my brother Kite greeted from behind me. “Did you miss us?”

I flinched at the sound and felt all colour drain from my already pale face.

“I hear you’re doing well at the new pack.” Cole appeared next to his beta. I turned around to face the both of them.

“Not so fast, Runt.” Swift and Perry were suddenly behind me. “You haven’t said ‘hello’ to any of us yet. That’s bad manners, you know.”

As if they had they had the experience to be lecturing me about manners. I would have talked back if Rowan - or even Raven - were here watching over. But the weren’t, and my brothers had me practically surrounded.

Kite stretched his hand out and grabbed the bridge of my glasses, and slowly slid them off of my face.

The world went blurry. I couldn’t see. I reached out in front of me to try and grab them back, but Kite wasn’t where he had been. I felt someone push me from behind, causing me to stumble forward blindly.

Someone caught me. “Woah, are you okay there?” Kite’s voice asked.

“This isn’t funny,” I said. “Can I have my glasses back please?”

“I don’t have your glasses.” Not good. He’d passed them on to one of my other brothers.

I pushed away from him to try and reach the closest person to me, but Kite had a tight hold on one of my wrists. I tried to pry his hand away, only to have my other hand encased in his strong hold. It seemed that the more I struggled, the tighter his grip would get.

Kite smirked, I could hear it in his voice. “Take a guess. Who has your glasses?”

I whimpered and struggled again, before sighing and trying to regain my senses. I could hear my other brothers’ laughter. I could smell each one of them. The one who smelled slightly different than normal should be the one holding my own scent. I sniffed the air again. “Give them back, Swift.”

“Bzzt!” Kite made the sound of an ‘incorrect’ buzzer. “Try again.” He pushed me, only to let me be caught by what smelt like Perry.

“Should we stop, guys?” Perry asked. “He got it right.” He sounded as if he really didn’t want to participate in this game, but his hold on me wasn’t getting any lighter.

One of the others made a chicken call at him. “At least one more round,” I heard Swift reason.

This time I was lifted off the ground. “Take a guess, Runt. Who has your glasses?”

My eyes were starting to hurt from the strain of trying to see. I sniffed the air again, but couldn’t smell any changes in their scents. “Guys? What have you done with my glasses?”

The four men laughed. “You’re good at this, aren’t you?” Cole, the one who was holding me said. “It’s not just us playing now. Someone else at this party has your precious glasses, and I told them to pass them on to someone else. Let’s see how good that nose of yours is.” He laughed.

“Put me down, Cole!” I cried, hitting Cole in the back. Tears started to well up in my eyes and I sniffed.

“That’s ‘Alpha’ to you.” Cole corrected.

“I’m not part of your pack anymore!” I retorted angrily. “Now put me down!”

Cole did as I said, but I soon realised that the fact that he had dropped me was bad. Now I was alone, vulnerable and unable to see.

I rubbed my eyes, dulling the ache and wiping away their dampness. Now wasn’t the time to panic. My breathing grew more rapid, but I didn’t move for fear that I would wander away from the other people at the party. Their had to be a way that I could move around while trying to find my glasses. I could hear the howling of wolves around me, but I couldn’t tell if they were of my kind or actual animals.

An idea suddenly formed in my head. I could use my wolf form to find Rowan. He could help me, and I would be able to see somewhat clearly. I quickly stripped then shifted, thankful for the sudden regaining of my sight.

Looking around, it was evident that my brothers had indeed abandoned me. I weaved through the party guests until I found Rowan and Raven together, both looking slightly flustered and disheveled. I ran to Rowan, jumping up at him and whining.

“Runt! Why are you in wolf form?” He asked, eyebrows knitting together.

How could I explain this to him? I sat back on my haunches and gestured to my eye with one of my paws.

“I can’t understand what you’re trying to say,” Rowan stated apologetically.

I whined and looked around for anything to use in my act of charades, but I couldn’t see anything, or anyone, that would help me explain my plight.

“Well, you’re quite the smart thinker, aren’t you, Runt?” I heard Cole’s voice and immediately turned around, snarling at him and letting the fur on my back stand up. Cole scoffed. “Easy, Runt. I can take you on without even having to shift.”

At this, I backed down, although still directed my death glare straight at him.

Rowan noticed my unease. “What did you do to him?” He asked, also glaring at my older brother.

Cole shrugged. “I was merely testing his skills,” he said as he held my glasses up. “Although it is hilarious when he panics, the runt deserves to know what it’s like to have to make quick decisions.” He chucked the glasses to Rowan. “Although in a battle situation, there’s a little more on the line.” As Cole turned around to leave, he roughly and purposefully stepped on my paw, making me yelp loudly.

My left paw hurt. Really hurt. I picked it up so I wouldn’t have to put weight on it and began to whimper again. I started to lick at where it hurt, hoping that perhaps a rock just cut it, but my tongue didn’t make my paw feel better. The pain was inside, deep under my skin.

“He went way too far,” Raven said, seemingly frozen in shock.

Rowan chewed his lip and ran a hand through his hair. He reached for my paw to get a better look at it, but as soon as his fingers brushed my hand, I growled and snapped my teeth at him, grazing the skin of his palm just enough to draw blood.

I immediately regretted doing it, but I didn’t want anyone touching me at the moment. My wolf instincts just told me to keep licking, and maybe it will get better eventually; so I did.

“We have to get him to the pack doctor.” I heard Rowan say. The shock was making me tired. Too tired, in fact, to fight back when I was lifted up and carried through the forest back towards the pack’s main house.

I don’t know how long it took for the three of us to get back to the house, and I don’t know how long it took for the doctor to arrive. I do know, however, that my paw was broken. I had a choice to either spend the healing time in wolf form or in human form, and I chose the latter. After a healthy dose of anesthesia, my hand was bound in a cast and I was ready to fall into a drug-induced sleep.

“Have they always done that to him?” Rowan asked my sister just as I was drifting into slumber.

Raven nodded. “Yes and no. This is the first time any of them have done something this serious.”

I wanted to roll my eyes. ‘Any of us’ would have been more accurate. She was playing innocent in front of Rowan. I guess I should start addressing him as ‘Alpha’ now. After all, I was part of his pack; and he was my new leader.