**MATURE CONTENT 18+**
**MATURE CONTENT 18+**
I ran, I didn’t face my tormentors. I can’t face them, I never can. They push and growl. Telling me that I am worth nothing and I never will be. It’s not anything new. I know all this. I am told this all the time. Day in and day out. So I ran.
I wind up in a field high in the mountain behind the pack house, that no one else really ever uses. I hear the chirps of birds. The scurrying of bunnies and squirrels. The rustle of the wind in the trees. Nothing alarming until I hear the snap of a twig.
I was laying on the ground staring at the sky lost in my own thoughts that I never considered that someone might find me out here. The tall flowers surrounding me, but not blocking me from sight. Did they follow me? Follow my scent. What are they going to do to me now? They never follow me. Panic floods my body.
I know it is too late but I try to make myself smaller closer to the ground. It’s no use, I can sense them getting closer. A shadow falls over me, I can tell even though my eyes are closed. I scent a wolf, but I can’t point out who it is at the moment. It doesn’t really seem familiar. Maybe that’s a good thing.
“What are you doing?” It sounds like a young boy. He almost sounds like he finds it funny.
I take a peek at him, by opening one eye. He has his head cocked to the side and he is smiling at me. He doesn’t look much older than me. Maybe nine to my eight. He has dark hair and green eyes. He looks a little taller than me, which is tall because I am tall for my age. “Who are you?” I was shocked that he would even be here.
He kneels down. “I asked first.”
“I am hiding.” I speak softly. I don’t know who this boy is but I don’t want to upset him.
He laughs a little. “Well, you aren’t doing a very good job of it.” He moves to sit next to me. “I am going away for training next week. I could come back and teach you some stuff. Maybe how to hide better.” He looks down at me. “What are you hiding from? Did someone bother you?”
“No more than usual. I just hide sometimes. It makes it easier.” He lays his head next to me. Then he takes my hand.
“You have nothing to be scared of. You can be strong.”
“How do you know?” I don’t even know who this boy is, he just appeared out of nowhere, but still he is the nicest that anyone has ever been to me. It is comforting the way he holds my hand and tells me things that I want to hear, even if I highly doubt them myself.
“I can sense it. You are strong. You just need to feel it inside. Maybe train a little. Then they will see how strong you are.” He gives me a little squeeze on the hand.
“That is the nicest thing I think anyone ever said to me.” I blush, I don’t like to admit this to a perfect stranger even if he is a nice boy.
“Your parents don’t say nice things to you?” He sounds shocked.
I blush again. “My parents died, years ago.”
“Then do you live in the pack orphanage?” He squeezes my hand a little tighter. I think he does it to try to comfort me. Only I already feel so comfortable since he isn’t trying to hurt me.
“No, I live with my aunt and uncle. Oh, my cousins too. They don’t like me much.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. How about when I come back I will take you away from your aunt and uncle so you can live with me?” He seems happy with the idea.
“How long are you going to be gone?”
He uses his other hand to scratch his head. “I don’t know. My dad said for a while, but it can’t be that long. As soon as I come back I will find you. I promise.”
“Will you train me when you come back?”
“Yeah, I am sure I will know all kinds of cool stuff. My dad said it is the best place to train in the world. Then you can show those other wolves how strong you are.”
“I don’t think I am all that strong.” I am embarrassed again.
“You are tough. Don’t let those other wolves think that you are any less than you are. One of these days you will be stronger than all of them. I just know it.”
“Thank you. You are being very nice to me.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? My dad always said to be nice to every wolf you meet. You never know what they will be to you in the future.”
“Your dad sounds like a good man. I wish my dad was still here.” I stifle a sniffle towards the end. I really do miss my parents, this would never have happened to me if they were still alive.
“He is, just not in the way you want. He watches over you. At least that was what my dad said when my grandpa died. I am sure it is the same for you.”
“I feel much better now.”
“Good then I did my job.” He seems really pleased with himself.