Chapter Ninety-Seven – The boy.
Jaden’s POV
Stars came out, under me as I laid there, passed out, at the mercy of rogues and animals, tired out by my own wolf.
A groan left my lips as I pushed myself up. The bruises were gone but there was still slight pain.
I forced myself to leap to my feet. There was no energy I felt for miles away, just a subtle one. Probably from a low ranked wolf.
I exhaled, tracking it. “One reason a lower rank wolf will have a subtle energy is if it was dying.”
Or it was a child. I sighed, staring down at the small pup I met just by taking few steps. What’s he doing far away from wherever he was from?
“Mister?” he called me with a pouty face. “Where am I?”
My hands went to my hips. “Around Black Rose.” I looked around. “… I think. Who are you? What pack are you from?”
He looked down, mumbling some words.
I pointed ahead. “If you had kept coming, you’d have met some scary warriors that could shoot you down before knowing you are a kid.”
His eyes dimmed. “Because I’m a rogue, right?”
I nodded. At least, he knew what that meant. I tried coming closer to him but he backed away.
“Fine, what’s your name? Again, what pack are you from? And why did you leave?” my hands dropped from my hips.
“My mom calls me Hunter, because I was hunting when she found me. I’m from Silver Pack and I don’t know why I’m here.” He muttered.
Silver Pack? How did he come all the way from there? Was I close to Silver Pack?
He took a step back when I walked towards him again, I paused. “Care to add what you’re doing here?”
“I think I… I shifted. But I’m eight so I’m not sure. Am I supposed to?” he rubbed his neck.
I smiled, stooping low to the ground. “No, you’re not supposed to, but if you did, it meant you’ll grow to be a special wolf. That’s all.”
His face brightened up. “I thought I was weird. Everyone thinks I’m weird. My Alpha hates me. If I’m weird, she’d throw me out.”
The amount of excitement he showed for not being weird made me believe he was truly disliked by people around him.
But wasn’t Rihanna the Alpha he was speaking of? My head tilted. “I know your Alpha, she doesn’t hate you…”
“You know her? She hates me. Even my mom told me I worry her and I’ve seen what she does when someone worries her.”
“What?” I asked, humored and curious.
He slid a finger past his neck. “Kill them. I found a dead horse in her stables once and she said it was because it worried her.”
That sounded familiar. Perhaps the possessed horse. I chuckled, shaking my head. The young man was either amusing or truly scared.
“Will you pass the night at my pack, Black Rose? I’d take you to your Alpha tomorrow and make her apologize to you.”
His eyes widened and he waved his hands. “Don’t tell her that I said she hates me. She’d hate me more.”
I gestured for him to come closer. “Nah, don’t worry, C’mon.” He stared at me before taking careful steps towards me.
We walked back, chatting about how first shifts were scary. He explained that he was taking his newly acquired wolf on a run when he got lost.
Sounded a lot like my own story, where my wolf had taken full control without me conscious.
The border warriors had stunned looks seeing me with returning with a child in the middle of the night.
“He got lost. Any wolf that comes to ask of him, if they get his pack and name right, then let them in, okay?” I passed instructions.
The border warriors nodded, still staring at the boy. We left them, climbing the stairs to the building.
The boy, Hunter, looked around, probably comparing the size of our main building to that of Silver Pack.
Ours was five times grander and because it was over a century old. The adornments were still intact because they were built well.
He left me and begin running up the stairs, Passing the confused guards and running into the courtroom.
“He’s a lost boy I found in the forest.” I felt the need to explain to the guards as well.
Closing the door behind me, I found Hunter on my throne, smiling and snuggling inside. Not like it was the only attractive thing there.
“Who seats here?” he chirped. “It’s so soft.”
“The Alpha of my pack seats there. Come, let’s get you a room to stay in. Do you have bedtime? It’s late already?”
He jumped down from the throne, hopping to me. “Does the Alpha have kids? Can I make friends before I leave? I have no friends.”
I stared at his face, the pouty expression returning. Kids, ‘my Alpha’ didn’t have one. He didn’t even have a Luna.
Hunter might have read my own expression as he looked down sadly, but his eyes lit up again when he saw the monumental shield behind me.
The same one that the lead hunter used to check his abs. “One of our Alphas used it to fight a war that saved Black Rose from slavery.”
He touched the edge of the shield. “It looks sharp. The edge can cut through a person if the right force is used.” He laughed.
Why was that funny? I pulled him to me. “C’mon, let’s find a room for you…”
The door flung opened and someone ran in. I sighed, turning. It was Jake. He paused, seeing the boy but ran to me nevertheless.
“You just walked though the border, right?” he held my arm.
I nodded, holding unto him, he looked like he’d fall. “What happened?!”
“The border warriors, all that were there just now. They’ve been killed. Their blood spilled everywhere.” Jake shrieked.
Hunter snapped his head at Jake. My hands fell from him. They were dead? We just passed by there now.