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Jack is the one who answers me. "My other senses work better than that of a seeing wolf."
"Nice meeting you, Jack," I extend a hand for a shake but the muscular wolf doesn't take it.
"Those are Fena and Brena," Grindelvi says, pointing to the pink-haired female wolves. "And no, they’re not twins."
Fena and Brena wave to me at the same time. Then they drop their hands, eyes still carefully watching me.
"Is this the whole camp?" I inquire.
It is disappointing enough that I’d stayed in the woods naked to meet four wolves. I’d been expecting a full pack. Maybe warrior wolves. People who are ready to beat the daylight out of the High Ridge wolves.
"No." Grindelvi leads me into the tent.
That's it? No further response? Maybe the tent is a magical portal into the actual camp full of wolves.
But I'm met with another disappointment. The tent is empty, save for four beds, a wooden chair, hunting weapons and some clothes.
"We’re at the mouth of the camp," Grindelvi says, settling in the wooden chair. "You have to accept our rules and reveal your true identity before you meet the rest of the group."
"I told you everything about me. What else do you want to know?"
Grindelvi smiles. "Why don't we start from the beginning, Luke?"
* * *
They embrace me. Every one of them.
For the first time in five years, I'm part of a family—the Blood Born Pack.
It almost brings me to tears. The love. The smiles. The strong connection building inside me.
"Welcome, Luke," the pack leader, Arthur, says to me.
He's the last to hug me. A gray-haired six-foot wolf who watched his own pack suffer and die at the hands of the High Ridge wolves. As the Alpha, he’d been away on a mission to seek new grounds for his pack when they were attacked.
"The High Ridge Pack have been invading other packs for years. They don't care about anyone. They don't respect pack ties. They’re only greedy for our lands. We’ve been able to gather as many affected wolves as we could. This is everyone for now."
I see men and women who have lost their homes, cubs separated from their parents, warriors who are battling the guilt of not being able to fight back. The sight is heartbreaking. It squeezes my heart until I have no strength to hide my pain. Like being pushed against a wall by a reality that doesn't want to let me go.
As soon as the pack leader gathers the camp for dinner, I dash out of the area and into the woods, running until I lose track of time.
The pain trails me. It’s the silent footsteps in the woods, drowned out by the sound of my own. I can sense it gaining on me. Reaching for my sanity. Awakening my bottled-up emotions.
When pain does catch up, I fall to my knees, releasing an agonizing howl that reverberates through the woods. Every hurtful memory unites in one heart-wrenching inferno, consuming me until it steals the howl from my throat. I fold at the waist and drop my hands to the ground. My body rakes with spasms as I try to catch my breath.
"Have you let it all out?"
I spin around to see one of the pink-haired female wolves standing behind me. I don't know who it is. Fena? Brena?
She walks toward me, a half-smile playing across her lips. The studs on her nose and lips glint under the light of the half-moon. Wait, it's already dark? How long have I been running?
"We all feel what you feel," the female wolf says.
I'm not sure they do. My tears can't erase the pain. My howls can't contain the ache. I'm the only one living this and the Blood Born Pack are just wolves who share the same sad story.
"Which one are you?"
"Fena."
