#hhimh

I try to shake his body to try and wake him up.

“Please,” I whisper to myself. “I’m sorry. I-I wasn’t fast enough. It’s all my fault. Just, please. Please wake up.” I shake the body more. It’s cold. So cold. My hands. “I couldn’t protect you. I promised I would, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry, please wake up. Wake up.”

They’re not going to wake up.

Yes he will.

You’re already too late.

No, I can still do something.

The past is already set.

“ELIAS, PLEASE!”

I look down at the body of a young boy. Covered in snow. Cold, like my hands. I-

“Arlo,” I look down at Arlo's body. I put my snout on his neck, feeling for a pulse. His heart is still beating. I take a large sigh of relief. My own heart finally starts to calm down. My vision finally returns to me as I’m finally snapped back to the present.

I take a deep breath.

“Ethan, I need help.” I call out to Ethan’s mind.

“Where are you?” He replies in my mind.

“Deep in the forest. Closer to Arlo’s house.”

“I’m on my way.”

…

I’m curled up next to Arlo’s unconscious body. I can hear his heartbeat and breathing. It is calm and steady and that’s all I can ask for. But I need to get him back home. To his dad.

“Wayne.” I hear Ethan call to me.

“I’m here.” I perk my head up to be easier to see, but I already know he knows exactly where I am.

I see him run over already in his wolf form. He looks down at Arlo. Then I see his nose twitch when he looks toward the other wolf I killed.

“I need help to carry him to Dalmund.” Even though he’s young, since he’s an alpha he’s naturally larger compared to me. He nods and opens his maw and picks up his arm. I help him put Arlo onto his back.

Once Arlo is secured, we start moving back to Arlo’s house. He moves carefully to make sure Arlo isn’t disturbed. I stay close to his side.

We walk by the corpse. It lays there unmoving.

“Rogues?” He asks. Of course he already figures out the situation.

“Ya. They attacked Arlo, I ran to save him. Well, more like help him.” Even as a wolf, I can tell he is curious.

“You telling me, he was putting up a fight with a wolf?”.

“Mhmm, he used some fire magic…” I consider telling him what happened to me, but I’m not even sure if it was real.

“Alright, well in any case, once we get Arlo back I’ll have a search in case there were more rogues.”

“Okay.”

I rather he’d stay, but he’s right.

…

After a while, we arrive at the back of Arlo’s house. It’s the middle of the night so we aren’t surprised there's no lights on. Besides…

“Of course Dan is still up.” Because she would.

“So, what’s the plan?” Ethan asks me.

“Huh?” I tilt my head.

“I mean, how are we gonna get Arlo inside.”

That’s a good question. We can’t use the door. Window maybe, but the only one open is Arlo’s and that’s on the second floor. We also can’t shift back as Dalmund told us he was the only one to know about us…

I got it.

I look up at Dan’s window. Hopefully she doesn’t have her earbuds in.

“DAN!! DANNNN!!!!!!!! WAAAAAAA!!!!” I bark at the window. I run towards the door and start scratching at it. I run around in circles trying to make as much noise as I can. Ethan stands off to the side with an unamused look. “DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA?!!” I snap at him. He rolls his eyes and shortly after starts barking with me.

“What the hell?!” I hear a familiar voice yell out from the window. I turn to see that she’s very confused, scared, and tired. “Arlo?!” Her eyes widen as she sees her brother on top of the large wolf. She runs off.

We move closer to the door waiting to be opened by her. However, I hear more than a single pair of footsteps.

The door swings open revealing Dan and Arlo’s mom to be there. Uh oh.

“What the hell?” She questions what she's even looking at. Her son, who should have been in bed, is unconscious being carried on the back of a wolf. Her heartbeat too is at an alarming rate. He’s gonna be in so much trouble after this.

“I think they’re friendly,” Dan speaks first. “Maybe something to do with their witch stuff. Like familiars or something.” Should I be offended that I'm being compared to a familiar? I look towards Ethan and he gives a look to just play along. I bark in response to Dan’s comment. “Oh, see they understand us too.” I lower my head to try to ease the very panicked looking mother. This seems to have worked.

“If they’re sent from Dalmund it should be fine,” She turns to me and Ethan. “Can you two come in and bring Arlo to the couch?”. I bark once to signal we understood her. I turn to Ethan and he nods.

We follow them deeper into the house until we reach the living room. They help get Arlo off Ethan and put him on the couch. 

“I’m going to call your father. He left earlier for something. Can you get the first aid kit from the kitchen?” She asks before going to another room.

“Pack meeting.” I hear Ethan tell me as Dan leaves us with Arlo.

“What for? Why is my father there?” I ask him.

He just shrugs or at least implies it. If it was actually a pack meeting, wouldn’t me and my mom need to be there too? Even if not us, Ethan at least should be there, being next in line as alpha.

Why do you even care?

“Okay, got the first aid kit,” Dan walks back into the room with a small case in hand. She kneels next to the couch and opens the case on the floor. She examines Arlo’s body, but doesn’t seem to find anything too strange. Just dirty. “Do you guys know if Arlo got any injuries?” She asks the two wolves in her living room. Honestly, not surprised she's taking this so well.

I think for a bit trying to remember what happened. There was one close call, but I grabbed them before they could. Of course there was that small time frame where I wasn’t there.

My legs spring up as I hop on top of Arlo. The sudden movement shocks Dan for a second. Oh, so she’s still freaking out on the inside, good to know.

When we were carrying Arlo back, neither Ethan or I could find any external injuries. Maybe internal, but I highly doubt that to be the case. There’s only one thing that comes to mind on what could be wrong. I move closer towards his face. I can feel him slowly breathing out and sure if he was awake he would feel my hot breath. I tilt my head downwards and close the gap. I place my foreheadon his.

“What the fuck is happening?” Dan says confused but with a slight chuckle. I would probably find this funny too if I were in her shoes.

Ethan makes a low growl hoping no one could hear his jealousy. I could.

I feel the heat of our bodies intermingle, but something is wrong. I lift my head and bark at Dan.

“Huh, what’s wrong?” She asks.

I point to his forehead. She must have gotten the message as she moves towards Arlo and puts the back of her hand on his head.

“Oh shit, he has a fever.” She gets up and heads to the kitchen and fetches a wet cloth to put on his head.

“Your father will be here soon. Did you figure out what’s wrong?” Kora returns and takes a seat next to Arlo.

“I think he passed out from a fever.” She answers.

“What was he doing outside this late with a fever?”

Dan just shrugs causing her mother to sigh. “I’ll go grab a glass of water.”

…

It’s been about 15 minutes.

We waited for Dalmund to return home. Ethan said he’d stay till at least he gets back. I told him it was alright and it would probably be better to investigate before the trail runs cold, but he insisted. We cuddled up on the floor next to the couch. Dan sat next to us while her mother kept checking up on Arlo.

My ears perk up at the rustling of keys outside. The door swings open and Dalmund bursts in looking out of breath. He looks around and his eyes lock with mine. Then he turns to his son on the couch before rushing over.

“Dalmund you have a lot of explaining to do!” Kora scolds him.

“I know, I do, and I will. But first let’s make sure Arlo is ok.” He replaces the wet cloth on Arlo’s head with his hand. “Magic fever.”

Dan perks up at the word magic. “Magic fever? What makes it different from a regular fever?” “It’s caused by an overuse of magic. It’s mostly common in beginner witches, however it can happen to anyone.” He explains. “Some also call it mana sickness. More practiced witches would know their limit to avoid this. Its symptoms are similar to a normal fever and it can be taken care of with the same methods.”

“Can you do anything to cure it?” Kora asks him.

“If this was a regular fever I could probably alter his body temperature, but this is caused by his body speeding up his magic recovery and basically going into overdrive. There’s nothing we can do besides let him rest.” He answers. It doesn’t exactly ease her mind, but she accepts it nonetheless.

“How long will he be like this?” She asks.

“Normally a day, but considering it’s his first time, his body won’t be used to mana sickness and the whiplash of excessive use of magic might take longer for him to recover from.” 

After a moment that looks like contemplation from her, she finally sighs, her shoulders finally resting. “Alright. I’m trusting you with this sweetie.” She walks over to Dan, who looks like she's about to ask a million questions. “C’mon, you still have school tomorrow.” Dan snaps out of her magic infested trance and reluctantly heads back upstairs to her room. “We’ll talk about your dogs in the morning. And just so we’re clear, no we can’t keep them. You know my mother’s deathly allergic to them.” She glares at me and Ethan one more time before heading to bed. Dalmund could only sheepishly nod. Scary.

Dalmand does one more check on Arlo before coming over to me and Ethan who’s been waiting at the side. As per usual, he places a hand on each of our heads to link us to him. “Alright, give me the rundown.” He looks expectantly at Ethan assuming he would know more. But it was me who called Ethan, which we disclose by just turning his head to me. “Waaaayne…”

…

“I see.” He responded after I explained the encounter. 

“If it’s alright with both of you, I would like to scout the area just in case there’s any more rogues” Ethan speaks out as I finish explaining everything.

“Yes, of course Ethan. Just be safe.” Ethan puffs some air before turning away.

Before he does however, he turns to me. He tilts my head down to place his forehead on mine. He keeps it there for but a second before dashing out. Silly.

“Our little alpha really has a liking to you, doesn’t he?” Dalmund asks.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” I ask back.

“You’ll find out when you're older.” He pets my head gently, much to my confusion. He gently touches the flower still tucked behind my ear. Honestly after everything that happened, I almost forgot it was still there. “Oh, Arlo finally gave you your flower back?”

Huh? Wait, was this the same flower Kane gave me a few years back? That’s… I probably should store this somewhere better when I get back.

Dalmund kneels in front of me cupping my face. He lifts my head slightly up. “I forgot to ask, but are you alright?” The question made me realize how tired I actually was. 

The whole thing has been a rush of emotions and energy that it seemed to have finally caught up to me. My knees bend as I fall to the floor, catching myself.

“Hey, take it easy now.” He comforts me as I feel his warmth surround me.

“I’m fine, you should be worrying about your son.” I say as I feel my energy slowly recovering thanks to his magic.

“As far as I’m concerned,you’re my son too.” He turns to look back at Arlo who’s lying there, but looking much better for wear than before. “You really care about my son, don’t you?”

“Of course-I mean…” I bark out without even thinking.

Dalmund laughs at my embarrassment. “It’s alright. I’m honored really, thankful even. I’m just glad my son has someone like you in his life.”

“I-” Do I really mean that much to him? “I should be the one that’s grateful. He means…alot to me.” But what exactly does he mean to me? “It makes me happy to even have him be in my eyes.” Is this a normal feeling? “...I-I think I love Arlo.”

..I think I love Arlo.

---

“ARLO WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” My mother burst into the room following the smell of smoke. She tries to grab me, which sends a shock through my body as the flames roared. She drags me out of my room and runs to get the emergency fire extinguisher our father insisted we have. Just in case.

When she returned with the fire extinguisher in hand, she kicked the door down to see that there was no longer a fire. All that was left were  the remains of the burned paper I used as a catalyst, which would not help my case.

When the immediate danger was gone, she relaxed a bit, which meant next is my turn to get scorched.

“ARLO WHAT WERE YOU DOING?! WHY DID YOU JUST WATCH IT?!” 

I lied. She wasn’t relaxed.

I flinched, unsure how to answer.

My father told us that he wanted the fact that we were witches to be a secret, at least for now. Honestly we weren’t allowed to use magic in the house at all. But unlike him, I needed to practice. Because I was…

Weak. Broken. Nothing.

still trying.

She must have seen the answer in my face because she fell in front of me, holding my shoulders tightly. “Y-You could’ve been- I-I thought you weren’t supposed to-”

I don’t know what she was talking about. She was looking into my eyes. But she wasn’t looking at me.

A sniffle. A breath. “I’m so sorry baby, I just smelled smoke. I’m so sorry for yelling.” She hugged me tightly. I hugged her back.

I'm so sorry mom.

After she confirmed everything was alright she went back to what she was doing. I closed the door and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Close one.

She already took away the burnt paper. It's weird because she never asked how I started the fire. And just as I said not a single thing left behind to indicate it was ever there.

I go over to my desk. Forget-me-not. It's been 2 years since my father returned home with it. He said they liked the gift but said I should give it to Wayne “properly”- whatever that's supposed to mean. Since then I've been keeping it in a small glass of water. Waiting. For its wolf.

…

My father set the kitchen on fire. Kinda.

That was the second sign for them.

It was a rare occasion. It was the weekend, and my mom and sister were out. Even then we normally never used magic in the house. So honestly we just got really unlucky.

“I think the stove’s broken.” I told my father while I was trying to cook us lunch. He was in the room, again normally my parents are pretty responsible. My father wasn’t the best at cooking, so me and my sister had to learn quick, lest we starve.

He gets up from the table and comes to check it out. I showed him the heat was set to high and was on, yet no heat emanated from the stove. He rests his chin on his knuckles thinking. “We’re probably gonna have it checked out.” He tsked though. “But, I don’t really wanna pay that right now.” He thinks about it more.

He takes my hand in his. “Arlo, why don’t we just fix it ourselves?”

“Huh, I didn’t know you were a handyman. Plus I don’t know the first thing on how to fix this.” I told him.

“Nah, I’m not much of a handyman. Besides,” I feel his magic flowing through my hands. “I have a better idea.” My hands start getting warm as a small spark appears between them.

“I don’t think we should. We’re in the house.” I worry.

“They’re not home right now, so I don’t see the issue. Besides, if it doesn’t work I’ll just call a technician. No need to push it. Just think of it as our usual father-son bonding.” He compromised.

I roll my eyes and reluctantly agree. I need the practice anyway.

I follow his instructions. I followed what I practiced. I followed what I did before, even if it was just an illusion. The magic between us flows into my body. The magic in the very oxygen we breathe flows into my lungs. The vase of asters my father bought my mother 2 years ago flows into my hands. 

The small spark turns into a red pyre on the stove. My father clasped his hands on my shoulder. “Nice job, Arlo!” He made me blush. I was actually improving. The practice has been paying off. I’m-

Weak. Broken. Nothing.

losing focus. The flames roared, quickly losing control. And this time, it isn’t an illusion. My fingertips get burned. I winced and quickly pulled away my hands. At the same time father is already pulling me away from the stove.

“Crap!” He yells out. 

He raises his hands and the flames follow his movement. The flames bundle up in between his hands into a ball. Then, he sends his hands to his sides outwards, as the flames extinguish in front of him. He took deep breaths and sighs out of relief. He comes over to me and looks at my hands.

“Arlo, are you alright?”

“Ya, just burnt my hands.” I wince at his touch.

“It’s ok. It’s ok. I got you.” His hands glowed blue and got colder. Like snow. He wrapped his hands around mine. It helped. 

I finally looked up behind my father’s shoulder. My pupils grew wide as I stared back. He must have noticed this.

“Hmm, what’s wrong Arlo? Is it too cold?” He asked before realizing I was looking behind him. He turned around.

 We could hear the crows laughing at us from outside.

“Dalmund?” My mother in a nervous voice speaks out first.

“H-Honey, it’s- I-” My father struggles to speak out.

“No! Dalmund, I can’t pretend anymore. You have to explain everything now,” My mother demands. “To both of us.” That’s when I noticed my sister watching. Unlike my mother who has fear in her eyes, she looks at us in awe.

“YOU GUYS CAN DO MAGIC!?” She finally exclaims.

This was why we didn’t use magic in the house.

…

He explained everything.

Even when he didn’t want to. When he tried to put aside any topics, my mother wouldn’t have it and demanded he explain no matter how little relevance it had.

Before this she helped bandage my fingers and got me an ice pack. She also told me that no matter what she still loved both of us, but she wanted answers.

While my mother asked my father questions, I had to deal with my sister, whose questions were probably the worst.

“So…you guys are witches? I thought only girls were witches.”

“I remember asking father that, he said that it was a myth as back in the day during witch hunts it was actually specifically female witches being targeted. Something about sexism or along those lines. But that spread the misinformation that witches were only female.”

“Ok, that makes sense. So were you like, born a witch? Or did you learn? Can I learn magic?”

Yikes. This is gonna take a while.

…

I explained as much as I could. Everything else I told her to ask father. 

She was disappointed she wouldn’t be able to perform magic, but father offered to learn potion making as anyone could do it if they knew what they were doing. Mother was reluctant at first. She said that her and father were gonna have to talk about some “rules” for all of us.

At night I was trying to sleep as I was exhausted after today, but that was until mother knocked on my door and came in. She sat on the edge of my bed and I sat up to meet her eye.

I got my growth spurt this year so I was taller than her now. My father was still the tallest though. My sister also got hers which made her taller than mother as well, but not me.

“Hey baby, you doing alright?” She whispered.

“Ya, just tired after today.” I noticed she was looking at where I once accidentally set fire to my room. “I’m sorry we never told you.”

She looks back into my eyes. “It’s alright, I don’t blame you Arlo. I’m more mad at your father.”

Makes sense. “Please don't stay mad for too long. He never told me why but he probably did it to keep us safe.”

She snickered, “No promises.” Welp dad, you’re on your own. “Arlo,” She says my name and puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’re amazing, alright. You are my beautiful son. And I love you so much. We love you so much. Don’t ever think otherwise, okay?”

I nod. No, that's not enough. “Okay.”

She kisses me on the forehead and wishes me goodnight before closing the door behind her.

I love you too.

…

One of the rules, which was very much targeted to me and my sister, was that we couldn’t do anything magic without my father. Guess that’s fair considering I set my room on fire last time.

Another rule is that this was a secret we would all keep. This one was definitely targeted to my sister, considering me and father have been following this rule…ignore yesterday.

My father taught all of us about potions. Mother wasn't really interested in potion making, but wanted to see what we were doing. My sister though. I don’t know, maybe one of her descendants was a witch because she was really good at it. Way better than me on my first day. Better than me now.

Normally we would have our scheduled father-son bonding time, but he asked if mother and sister wanted to join us today. My sister, as always, was enthusiastic and mother joined just to watch.

The crows watched us curiously that afternoon.

Father was definitely showing off. Hell, I've never seen this spectacle. He was using all sorts of colourful spells. He made flowers for mother and she was amazed. He showed my sister the movement and proper position and posture for casting spells. Even though she could never use magic she was excited.

“Can you do stuff like that, bro?” She asked me as we sat on a fallen tree.

“No, my magic is…

Weak. Broken. Nothing.

not as good”

“I’m sure you’ll get there eventually.”

“Probably not,” Weak. Broken. Nothing. “I was born with very little magic.”

“Really? It doesn’t seem like that to me. Besides, coming from someone who has no magic, I would be happy with even a small amount.”

“You think?”

“Ya, maybe it may not be as colourful as dad’s, but I’m sure someone like you would do amazing things with it.”

Amazing.

“T-Thanks, I needed that.”

…

“Arlo, how the fuck did you do that?!” Kai complained after I beat him in a fighting game.

“It’s simply a skill issue.” I teased. I actually just got lucky. But I don’t win often against Dan so I’ll take what I can get.

He sets the controller down and leans back against his bed frame.

“Excited for highschool?” He suddenly brings up.

“That’s in 2 years, isn’t it a bit too early?”

“Ya, but think about all the hot chicks we’ll see.”

Honestly, I’m offended for the ladies in our class. “What’s wrong with the ones now?”

“They’re fine, but like, not really my type.”

“Oh, ya? And what is your type?”

“Dan.”

I want to set him on fire. I shove a pillow in his face. 

“I was joking!” He surrendered.

“Fuck you.”

He laughed. I pouted.

“So, what about you?” He asked.

“What about me?”

“C’mon, anyone catch your eye? I won’t tell anyone.”

“No, now go away.” I turn away.

“You’ve been hanging out with Wayne alot.”

“He’s a guy- You know what, I’ve noticed you’ve been hanging out with Mark alot.”

Now it was his turn to shove a pillow in my face. He deserved it though.

…

We have a routine now.

Everyday after school, all of us would walk home. Ethan would split off, then Kai, then Mark. Wayne would ask me if I wanted to hang out at my secret hideout. Normally I would go back home to let father know, considering the first time I did this, but my sister started to just tell me she’d do it.

So, it became routine to hop the fence, drop our bags. Sometimes we raced there, other times we just walked and talked. We laid in the shade, climbed the tree, ran around, played in the river, looked at our reflections.

Red and Yellow.

“Yo, Arlo,” Wayne leaned over me as I laid in the shade today. “You were spacing out again.”

“Oh, sorry.” I came to realize I did that often. “Did you say something?”

“It…nah it wasn’t important.” He fell back against the tree.

“C’mon, don’t be like that.” I sat up and sat across from him.

“F-Fine.” His face blushed from embarrassment. “I just wanted to say I really, like the white flowers your dad gave us. He said it was your idea.” He confessed.

Oh.

“Wasn’t that 2 years ago?” I teased.

“S-Shut up, sorry I’m late, jeez.” He looks away pouting. Puppy.

“It’s fine, I was just teasing you.” I got up and sat beside him. Our shoulders touching. “They’re called alpine forget-me-nots. You told me snow reminded you of home. Those flowers favor cold environments, so I thought you might like them.” Now it was my turn to feel embarrassed.

“I do!” He exclaimed, which caught me by surprise. “I-I mean-”

No, now would be the perfect time.

I move on top of him. “Wayne, can you sneak out tonight?”

“W-Wha- Why?”

“I need to give you something.”

“O-Okay, sure I’m down.”

“Cool.”

“Then it’s a date.”

“No.”

I really hate Kai right now.

---

…

“I’ll let you two catch up. I forgot to get our lunch. Your bag is the yellow one right? Ok, be right back.” Mark said quickly before closing the door to the rooftop.

It was just me and Ethan now.

An Alpha and an Omega.

“Hey-” I try to speak before I’m pulled into him.

His arms wrap around my body as if he’s holding on for dear life. His head in my neck as he tries to get my scent. He smells like storms.

We stayed like that for what felt like the 2 years I hadn't seen him before he finally pulled away.

“Nice to see you too Ethan.” I say with some blush on my face.

He pets my head. “Good to see you too, Wayne.”

“Sorry, I’m so late.”

“I would have waited a million years for you, pup.” He winks at me.

My face glows red. “P-Please don’t say that.”

“Which part?”

“Both.”

“Nah.”

“Fuck you.”

“Language.”

“You taught me it!”

“Pretty sure that was Mark.”

We laughed. We laughed.

…

“Good to see you again Edgar.” A wolf greets my dad at the front door.

“Good to see you too Alpha. Please come in.” My dad invites the alpha into our home. The alpha is followed by who I assume to be his wife and a familiar storm. Ethan notices my head peeking from the staircase, because of course he does.

Our new pack alpha and his family will be coming over for dinner before the pack meeting, so you’ll be on your best behavior if you know what’s good for you. The words of my father echo through my mind. I fell into just hiding until I’m needed. 

“So, you must be Wayne.” The alpha calls out to me. Stupid alphas and their enhanced noses. I walk out of my hiding spot. My dad’s eyes glare daggers at me, telling me to not mess up. “Ethan talks a lot about you. To be honest, he’s the one who convinced me to even let your family join our pack.” He says to me, but sounds more like an attack on my dad. He doesn’t flinch. Because he knows why. I know why. Omega. I practically hear the alpha seethe between each word.

I laugh. I laughed.

Dinner was awkward.

…

I offered Ethan to transform in my room if he wanted to. I would go to the washroom. I don’t know how, but he kicked himself out of my room to change in the washroom.

“Ethan? You ready?” I knock on the washroom door.

He growled. Looks like he is.

I opened the door to be greeted by a large orange wolf. My dad and mom were bigger, but we were young. Still he was much bigger than any wolf my age. He walks by me to exit the washroom, but not before briefly putting his snout in my palm. I pick up his neat pile of clothes and bring them to my bed.

We've only seen each other's wolf once at summer camp. It was a necessity. There were 2 other werewolves at summer camp with us. As the alpha among us, he took charge and he organized a meeting so we could safely shift on the full moon without being caught. 

I was gonna start stripping when I realized the wolf followed me into my room.

“Ethan, I can’t transform with you watching me.”

“...”

“I’m not gonna take off my clothes with you here.”

“...”

“Ethan!”

The wolf rolled his eyes and turned his back to me. I swear, I’ve never met a more overprotective wolf.

After putting my own clothes in a pile next to Ethan’s, I start groaning and growling as I shift. I think he noticed my loud heartbeat, because the orange wolf turned around towards me. He pressed his forehead against mine. Storms.

“You good?” I hear his voice echo in my head.

“Ya. I’m still not used to it yet.” I reply in his mind.

“You’ll get used to it eventually.” He licks my snout. Forgot how gross that feels. “I missed you.”

“It hasn’t even been a day.” I use my paw to swat him.

“I was talking about your wolf.”

“I don’t look much different.”

“You smell different.”

“I do?”

“Just kidding.”

“I’m tuning you out.” I would never.

He faked whining.

…

“First, order of business. I would like everyone to welcome Edgar and his family to the pack.” The alpha’s wolf looked just like Ethan’s, but way bigger. The difference was obvious especially considering he was standing right now to his dad. Yellow eyes.

The wolves howled, welcoming my dad and mom. The pack was much smaller than my old one. A little more than 20 wolves, I’m pretty sure. To be fair, everyone in town was part of the pack. It didn’t help that we lived past the human border. Or alliance border or something. I probably should pay attention in geography and history class.

Welcome. Greetings. Pack.

Omega.

Weak.

That’s all I’ve ever known. That’s all I ever hear. I hated packs.

“Welcome to the pack. Now, next on the list is…” I don’t care.

They continue on with their meeting. Updates on territory. Meetings with other packs. Assigning jobs and tasks. Upcoming full moon. Elders from the council visiting soon. And some other stuff I couldn’t give a shit about.

“And- where’s Dalmund?” The alpha looks around the pack.

Witch? Magic? Pack?

The alpha howled when he couldn’t be found.

“THE FUCK ARE YOU WITCH!?” He sounded like my dad.

“I’m here, I'm here. Quit your howling. I can’t even understand you yet.” I watch as this man comes out of the woods with a pack of crows behind him in the trees. He was human. So human. But so much more. He was filled with magic. Almost blinding. He was a witch. I thought Arlo was a witch. But he didn’t have this much. Is this normal? Did this man just have a lot? Or does Arlo just not have any. But he reminded me of Arlo. I wonder what he smells like. No. Bad Wayne.

He comes to the alpha’s side before briefly patting his head. The alpha didn’t growl like I expected him to. “Sorry, I was late. I had to get some stuff. Y’know, witch business.” He says with a smirk and shows off a plastic bag.

“So, any update on your son?” The alpha asked the man.

His heart beats.

“He doesn’t seem to be improving.”

“We need you to have an heir.”

“I know.”

“The elders won’t be happy. Wolves and witches.”

“I’ll figure it out. I’ve been teaching him potion brewing so he could still help out.”

“That won’t be good enough.”

“That's all we got.”

The alpha scoffed. The ever stoic orange wolf next to him frowns. First emotion he showed this whole time.

They continue on with they’re meeting.

…

Most of the pack has left to go do their tasks or home to rest. My mom and dad went to do border patrol. The alpha and his wife were speaking with Dalmund. He touched her head briefly too.

“I worry for Arlo.” Ethan comes to my side and speaks to me.

“Arlo? What does he have anything to do with this?”

“He’s our witch's son. He was supposed to become our witch too. But you saw him didn’t you?”

“Saw what?”

“His magic. Or lack thereof.”

“He has magic.”

“Not enough.”

I hated this.

“Well sorry he wasn’t born extraordinarily powerful like Dalmund.”

“Dalmund isn’t the exception. Arlo is.”

I hated everything.

The sound of footsteps alert our attention as we turn to the devil.

“Evening, little Alpha.” Dalmund greets the orange before ruffling this head. “And evening to you too, little wolf.” He reached out to me. I growled and backed away. I don’t like being petted by humans. Well, except for…

“Wayne! Don’t be rude.” The orange wolf growled at me.

“It’s alright Ethan. I’m a stranger, he doesn’t trust me yet.” He calmed the young alpha down.

The man kneeled down in front of me. “It’s alright. I won’t hurt you. You’re Wayne right?” He reaches into the plastic bag and pulls out a flower. It’s white like snow. He puts it behind my ear and then gently pets me. “Sorry, if the flower’s not to your liking. Arlo was the one who suggested it.”

When he touched me it felt like a pathway was revealed to his mind. Can I mindlink to him? What should I say? I feel like there’s a million thoughts right now in my head. It’s overwhelming. I need to relax.

“Arlo’s amazing.” I tell his father.

The man standing there in front of me was shocked. His eyes widened, not expecting me to say that. Hell, even I wasn’t. I don’t know what came over me. But I meant it.

“He is.” He answers. Smiling.

…

“The spell I used required the user to make contact so you can mindlink to me. Non-werewolves normally can’t be mind linked to.” Dalmund explained.

“That explains why when you petted me I felt connected to your mind.” I conclude.

Ethan yawned.

We were walking in the forest. With my mind more clear, me and Dalmund start talking about all sorts of things. He's the first witch I've been able to talk about witch stuff about, so he had to deal with my curiosity. But he never seemed bothered by it. The orange wolf followed us of course, not having much to do anyways. It reminded me of back when us and Mark hung out. Me and Mark would talk about all sorts of things while Ethan just listened. Of course, we wouldn't just let him so we would bother him too.

“Where does magic come from anyway?” I asked.

“From the heart.” He says with a very heroic look. I just blankly stare at him, unamused. “I’m serious. Witches are born with magic inside of them. You can think of it as from their soul. We use this magic to create simple spells. But to use more complex spells we need to use the magic in the earth. Thankfully, this magic is naturally attracted to witches' magic. Of course witches still need practice to do these spells.” He exposition. “Think of it as the soul’s magic as the script and the earth’s magic as the program.”

“Wow.” I look at him in awe.

“You have no idea what he’s talking about do you?” Ethan tease.

“Ya huh!”

“I probably should have used an example you kids would understand.” He admits.

“Probably, but it’s ok I understood how you explained it.”

“Sure you did kid- OW!” Ethan tried teasing again before I bit his leg. “Oh that’s it! Come here!” He tackles me into the ground.

We wrestle and bite each other in the dirt. He was stronger and bigger. But I was faster and smaller. I ran circles around him.

“I seriously can never tell if you wolves are playing or fighting.” Dalmund watches on.

“We’re just playing.” Ethan says.

“Speak for yourself! I’m going for blood!” I exclaim as I chomp on his maw.

He yelps. I snicker.

“Ethan!” A bark comes from the woods. We all knew who it was. I let him go and he got off me.

The larger wolf looks over us in disappointment before speaking. “Ethan, I need to speak to you. In private.”

Ethan lowered his head.

“Sounds like our cue to head back. I’ll walk you back pup.” Dalmund offered.

I don’t fight it.

…

The walk back was quiet. I would love to continue asking him about magic, but I just wasn’t in the mood anymore.

We arrived at the backdoor. Almost out of habit I was going to shift back to open the door, but that’s when I remembered Dalmund was here. I turn to him to see he’s already turned around, as if he was used to this already, which he probably was hanging around with a bunch of werewolves. Still I don’t exactly feel comfortable.

I go up to him and nudge his hand.

“Hmm, what’s up buddy? Don’t worry I don’t plan on peeking, just do what you gotta do.” He reassures me. I feel a bit assured, but not enough.

I nudge his hand again to follow me. I go up to a rock and flip it over revealing the spare key. At this point he seemed to understand and reached for it to open the backdoor. I go in first with him following me closely behind. I just wanted to quickly put on some clothes so I ran upstairs on all fours. The man stays in the dining room looking at an empty vase on the table.

I closed the door behind me and shifted quickly putting on my clothes not really paying attention. Now clothed, I head down to see Dalmund putting a bouquet of the same white flower behind my ear, which I just remembered was still there, into the vase.

“Looks good?” He asked me.

“Pretty.” I look at the field of flowers.

“Good,” He walks over to me and looks me over, thinking. He gets on one knee to meet me at eye level and picks the flower from behind my ear. I was a bit sad he was taking it away, but was too nervous to do anything. He must have noticed my worry. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it back eventually.” He walks away towards the backdoor. “It was nice to meet you, Wayne. And thanks for being Arlo’s friend.” He says before waving and closing the door.

What a weird guy.

Friend.

…

My parents were still out, so I decided to do some writing in my journal, when I heard something hitting my window. I get up from my desk to investigate when I see a small pebble hit the window. I open it and look to see a naked Ethan down below. My face instantly flushed and I backed away from the window.

“Ethan! What the fuck are you doing?” I yell out.

“You have my clothes, idiot.” He yelled back.

Not even caring, I went over to the pile of clothes on my bed and threw them out the window. I didn’t hear anything for a while.

“Wayne, your clothes won’t fit me.” With me still flustered and rushing earlier I realized I had accidentally put on Ethan’s clothes. Dumbass.

The clothes I sent out came flying back through the window. Confused, I was going to check on Ethan before an orange wolf tackled me. I was underneath the wolf which embarrassed me a bit. He of course didn’t care and quickly licked my face before getting off.

I get up and pick up my clothes. “I’ll be right back.” and left for the washroom to change. I returned to my room and let him know I left his clothes in there.

I sat on the edge of my bed waiting for him to return.

“If you wanted my clothes you could have just asked.” He says walking in. “I wouldn't mind, but I kinda need them to go home.”

“Shut up, and go already.” I say bashfully.

He smirks and ruffles my hair. “I’ll see you later.” He waved before closing my door.

Stupid alpha

---

Note: https://open.spotify.com/track/4WgViu9gw3qYOr3iF9OuLG?si=2e5de3476e4948fe heres the song where the lyrics at the start came from

I shoved breakfast into my mouth and ran. Heck I even cheated a little and used some magic to make me a bit faster. I'm drenched in sweat and panting in front of Dan's desk.

“W-Why didn't you w-wake me up!?” I yell at her out of breath. 

“I ain't responsible for you. Plus it's your fault for sneaking out late at night to go into the forest.” She rolls her eyes at me as she went back to doodling.

I wipe off sweat and chug my water. Three people walked in from behind me. Why do I feel eyes on me?

“Wow, you actually made it before lunch ended.” I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see Kai as the other two walk by.

“I'm too exhausted for this.” I say in defeat. I slouch over my sister's desk. That's when I noticed the yellow eyes staring at me. In the back of the class, I see a white wolf stare at me. The person next to him, I believe his name is Mark, is talking to him, but his full attention seems to be in my direction.

Yellow…

“Are you still drawing your fursona or whatever?” Kai's voice snaps me out of my daze.

“Warrior Cats oc you idiot.”

“Did you guys say Warrior Cats?!” The boy at the back, Mark, jumps out his chair, scaring everyone including the boy next to him, which thankfully made him stop staring. He picks up the other boy and drags him towards us. Dan tilts her head giving them a confused look.

“..Ya?”

“Is that your Warrior cat oc?” He leans over her shoulder looking at her doodles. “What's their name?”

“Buttonpaw. He's part of the thunder clan.” She answers, still a bit weary.

“OMG MINE TOO!” He exclaims before running to his desk and rummaging through his mess. He comes back with some paper. “His name is Cloudclaw, he’s also a part of the Thunder Clan.” He points to the gray cat, which kinda looks like a raccoon, before pointing to the pure white cat with some black markings on his face. “And this one’s his, Moonfang. He’s part of the Shadow Clan.” Referring to the other boy.

Kai rolls his eyes. Dan looks in awe. The other boy whispers to Mark.

“You kept it?”

“Of course I did.” He grins at the boy before petting his head. He turned his attention back to us. “So what about you two?”

“Oh, I don’t-” Kai answers before Dan interrupts.

“Here, I have their sheets here.”

“YOU WHAT!?”

“Stop screaming Kai.” Our teacher hit the top of Kai’s head with a book when she walked back in indicating lunch was over. “Also, glad you could join us Arlo.” She glares before I could hide.

I’m gonna kill my sister.

“Red…” I hear the boy whisper to himself.

…

I took my seat and tried to pay attention to class, but I could constantly feel eyes glaring at the back of my head. And I have a pretty good idea where those eye sockets lie. I turn around every so often, but he would all of the sudden find the outside window to be so much more interesting than whatever the teacher was talking about.

…

The bell rang as the school day was over. I was packing my things, but I could feel his eyes still on me. Ok, what’s this guy's problem? I get up and approach him. He tried looking out the window.

“You got a problem?” I confront the boy, whose name I realize I didn’t even know. Not that I cared.

“I-” He stuttered, surprised I was actually confronting him probably.

“Oi!” Mark stood in between us and pushed me back. “If you’re looking to pick a fight, you gotta go through me first.” He growled.

I don’t often get into fights, but I wasn’t afraid to. That’s when the boy grabbed Mark’s shoulder. “No, Mark. It’s fine.” Mark glared at me before backing off and stepping aside. Not too far though. Kai has already come up from behind me, ready to back me up.

“Sorry about him. My name is Wayne. I moved here a couple days ago. I like your red eyes.” His mouth ran before shutting at the last part looking traumatized after saying that.

My…eyes? No one’s ever really complimented my eyes before. I’m not really used to this.

“Umm…I like your yellow eyes. I guess.” It wasn't a lie, but I would have never thought to say it out loud.

“T-Thanks.” He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.

“Are you guys flirting or fighting?” My sister snuck up behind us, her question making me and Wayne blush and Kai and Mark laugh.

Thankfully they didn't get a chance to talk more about Warrior Cats or whatever as we needed to head home. We finished packing up and headed towards the main door. Leaning against the wall was a tall orange wolf. I think his name was Ethan. He was a year older than us. Mark and Wayne went up to him. They spoke a bit. The stern boy had a little smirk and ruffled the two boys' hair before they came back to us. Mark introduced him to us and we returned the favor.

We all walked back home together. We all talked in a small little group. Mark, Dan and Kai talked the most. Ethan contained his stern demeanor. Wayne stared at me. I tried to get used to it.

Ethan was the first to split off, then Kai, and finally Mark, reluctantly but his mom chased him because he was trying to sneak over to Wayne's house. We arrive at our house first. Dan said her goodbyes to Wayne and left, I was about to do the same before he grabbed my hand. I gave him a confused look and he just had a flushed face on him.

“Ya?” I ask him.

“I-I-” He stuttered.

“If you have nothing to say, can you let go?” I tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let me.

“Wait,” His mouth was agape as if the words he wanted to say were at the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them. “I wanted to ask if you wanted to take a walk in the forest with me.”

“Huh?” I give him a confused look. “You aren't gonna murder me are you?”

“I'm 10…” He rolled his eyes, offended I even thought about it.

“Had to ask. Ok, sure I guess.” His face lit up and he smiled. Like, a genuine smile.

He dragged over to the fence and threw his bag over. I followed him. Normally I would go home and drop my things before going into the forest so I wasn't used to it, but even if my magic was weak, I knew I was pretty strong. He looked at me amazed when I came back over. He offered to help me over the fence. I rolled my eyes at him. As if this wasn't my first rodeo. I easily vaulted over the fence, not exactly necessary but I wanted to prove him wrong. Again with that amazed look. Almost as if he thought I was doing magic. Which I wasn't of course. After, he vaulted himself over copying me. I was actually kinda impressed. He looked at me hoping for praise. What a puppy. I looked away with a small smirk, which seemed to be enough for him.

We decided to put our bags behind a tree to pick up later. We walked. It was… awkward. He was quiet. I wasn't used to this. Having another presence, besides the crows, be so quiet when strolling through the forest. Sigh. Guess it's up to me.

“Was—”

“You—”

“Oh.” We both say.

“...”

This is terrible. He gestured towards me telling me to go first.

“Was there a specific reason you wanted me to walk with you?” I asked.

“Oh…umm,” He hesitates. “I like your sme—I mean I like your company.” He looks away nervously.

“...You know we just met today?”

“Huh? No, we met…I mean ya haha.”

I give him a confused look.

“Uhhh, what I mean to say is. For some reason. I feel comfortable around you. I mean I feel comfortable around Mark and Ethan, but that’s because I knew them before.”

“So, why am I different?”

“You…” He takes a gulp. “Remind me of home.” There’s some redness in his cheeks.

“Oh really, how so?”

“Umm…”

“It’s how I smell, isn’t it?”

“Nuh uh…ok maybe.” He chuckles. Cute.

“So I smell?”

“No, it’s like a…signature that I-we...nevermind…” He tries to drop the subject. But now I’m curious.

“Nah, I wanna know what I smell like now.” I tease him.

“Noo.” He pouts at me, crossing his arms and turning away.

“If you tell me…I’ll show you my secret forest spot.”

“Is that what it's called?” He teases.

“Shut up.” Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. “Do you want to know or not?”

“Alright alright.” He agrees. He stops walking which also makes me stop. What he—OH! He puts his hand behind my neck and pulls me in close.

“W-Wayne?” I say nervously.

“You wanted to know what you smelled like, so I’m getting a sniff.” He says with a serious look.

“I hate you.”

He just giggles, before burying his nose into my neck. It feels weird. His white fur is all up in my face and the sensation of his nose against my neck sends a shiver throughout my body. Not that I wanted to, but I happened to get a whiff of Wayne. I closed my eyes trying to take it in. He smelled like…dog. He lifted his head with a satisfied look and stepped back to return my space.

“So what’s the verdict?” I ask.

“Like snow.”

“Snow?”

“Well there’s more, but that’s kinda the only thing I can put into words. There’s a feeling in the scent, I think. I don’t know, you’re the first person I felt such a strong connection to their scent.”

“So you are saying I stink.”

“Sure.”

I punch his shoulder. He laughs. I laugh. Dogs, I swear.

“Ok, well a deal’s a deal.” I walk ahead of him gesturing to him to keep up. He runs up next to me and gives me a cheeky grin.

…

He was a lot more talkative after that. We talked about anything and everything that two 10 year olds could think of. He told me he lived up north where it snowed almost all year round. I had no idea someone could live like that. I told him that. He told me some couldn’t. He didn’t talk much about where he came from after that.

We arrive at a clearing. It was about a 30 meter circle. There was a single tree near the center. The sun passed through the surrounding trees, illuminating the green grass. The sound of a small river that flowed a short walk away could be heard if you tried hard enough. It looked like it’s been untouched for years. But I’ve touched it. The grass. The trees. The river. And I don’t think I would mind if Wayne did. I wouldn’t tell him, but for some reason I also feel more comfortable around him.

He looks at the sights in awe, but doesn’t move a step even when I do. Almost as if he didn’t want to take what was mine. I roll my eyes with a smile. I grab his hand. He looks down at it, shocked at what I did, but I don't really care as I pull him into the light.

I honestly expect him to start disintegrating or something by how nervous he looks. He doesn’t, unfortunately. I let go of his hand when we were halfway to the tree. He looks nervous, but thankfully doesn’t become a statue. He follows me slowly. I sit under the shade of the tree. He walks up to me and just stands there. Did I have to do everything? I pat the spot next to me. He sits there.

“So?” I ask.

“It’s nice. Are you sure it’s ok for me to be here?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Isn’t this your secret though?”

“I don’t mind sharing it with you. But you’re not allowed to share it.”

“Sounds about right…but are you sure? I could just forget about it and never come here-”

“Wayne,” I grab his maw and close it shut. “It’s ok. I want you here.”

He nods slightly, eyes widen as if I’m going to kill him. I might if he keeps talking like that. I let him go.

“Okay?”

“Ya.”

“Good.”

…

“I feel like I should give you more though. I don’t think telling you how you smell is an equal trade…” His voice surprises me as we are laying on our backs in the shade for an hour maybe, I couldn’t tell, in silence.

“It’s fine. I’m the one who offered. I wouldn’t have if I didn’t want to.”

“I’m gonna get you something. I don’t know what yet but I will eventually. And no you can’t do anything about it.” He exclaims as he pushes me back down when I try to retort. Fine.

“Fine.”

The crows have been quiet all day.

…

We returned to our bags and said our goodbyes. 

When I got home, my father pretty much ran to the door to pick me up in his arms.

“Where the heck have you been?”

“I was hanging out with my friend.”

“Wayne?” My sister asked from the kitchen. 

“Wayne? They don’t happen to be the son of the family that just moved in?” My father asked.

I nodded. He put me down. I could see he had a bit of nervousness in his eyes. He noticed my own worry.

“I was just thinking I should give them a welcoming gift.” He totally just made that up. “What do you think, Arlo?”

Let's see, he likes Warrior Cats, my red eyes, and snow…

“Alpine forget-me-nots.”

“Forget who now?” My sister asked.

“It’s a flower that grows in snowy climates. I think they grow from where he’s from.”

“Oh ya, and how do you know this?”

“Uhhhh…books.”

“Books?”

“Ya I got him some botany books recently.” My father joined.

Not a lie, but he’s been trying to teach me how to make some potions.

“I don’t think we have any so I’ll be sure to get some at the flower shop.” My father says as he grabs his coat. “Be good you two.” He opens the door to a surprised mother halfway about to put her key in the door. “Oh, hi, honey.”

“Hi, sweetie. Heading out?” She says putting her keys back in her back.

“Yup. Need to go buy some stuff. Won’t take long.” He kisses her on the cheek. Me and my sister roll our eyes. He continues to tease all of us. My mother giggling to his kisses, and me and my sister telling him to go already before we barf. “You’ll both understand one day.” He says before he leaves.

I hope not.

---

…

“Ha, look at this faggot.” A large kid shoved me to the ground. Him and his two friends laughed at me. My broken nose bled onto the pavement. My jaw hurt like hell. There were scraps on my knee. My body could barely stand.

I just got back from a summer camp from far away. It was the first time I’ve ever been out of town. It was kinda scary to be so far away alone, but I made my first two friends. They lived far away, but we promised we would find each other. Those were the happiest couple of weeks of my life. It changed me.

They didn’t like my change. They didn’t like how I got to leave town. They didn’t like that I got to meet different kinds of people. They didn’t like how I smelled.

I think they insulted me more, but I couldn’t really hear them over my body being driven by adrenaline as I jumped onto the larger kid. I took him down and I was on top of him. He was too shocked to do anything about me smashing his face in with my fist. The other two didn’t do anything but run away. Pussies.

I was 8 when I decided I wasn’t gonna take shit.

…

“What did you think you were doing?!” He hit me the way he always has. Which is to say he hit me hard.

We moved recently. We used to live deep up north, where a lot of those similar to us were. I've lived there since I was born. We had to move. I’m still not entirely sure why. My mom told me it is because of dad’s work. I didn’t really get it. But it didn’t matter. Because the next thing I know we’re living at a house at the edge of a forest. Compared to where we used to live in the forest. Our neighbors were way too close for my comfort. And finally it smelled of bird shit. 

My dad was big. He was tall. He had black fur with white undercoat. His eyes were yellow like mine. He had scars. Too many to count. He was one of the strongest. My mom was smaller. Taller than me, but she assured me I would be taller than her eventually. She was beautiful. Her fur was mostly white, but had some black patches across her body. Her eyes were yellow. She didn’t have any scars. She wasn’t a fighter like my dad. But she’s still the best.

“I-I wanted to check out the forest.” I stuttered on the floor, huddling into the corner of the room. My right cheek burned where he hit me. Blood dripped from my arm from where I tried to protect myself from his belt. 

I didn’t cry. I cried tears. But I didn’t cry. 

We moved in yesterday. Most of our things were already here when I arrived. For the past couple days I had to live in a hollow shell of the house I grew up in. It was near the end of summer. I made some memories with the friends I had there before I left. I promised them I would keep in contact. I don’t know who I was kidding.

When the car arrived at my new home, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the colour of the roof. I didn’t like the size of my new room. I didn’t like how it didn’t smell like home. I liked the backyard. Right over the fence was the forest. I asked my mom if I could go play there, but she said her and dad wanted to scout out the area first. I didn’t see why, not like there were any other wolves out here.

After the sunset, my dad was busy in his office making calls or something and mom was sleeping. I took this chance to sneak out. I snuck out of my room and down the stairs. I crept by dad’s office, which was thankfully closed, and exited through the back door. Probably gonna need to come up with a better plan in case he leaves the door open. Maybe I could jump out the window.

After hopping the fence, I strip off my clothes, really hoping no one can see me. I fold them and put them in a pile behind the fence. I take a deep breath and look to the sky above. The stars twinkled against the dark backdrop. Waning crescent, my personal favorite phase of the moon.

“Here we go.” I say to myself.

They said it’ll hurt. It’ll hurt till I get used to it, they said. I groan. I groan loudly as my bones bend and break and reform and snap into place. I growl, feeling my muscles move around my body to take on a new shape. I hear more, I smell more, I feel different. I haven’t gotten used to it.

I start running. I love the feeling. I love this feeling.

It felt like hours. Maybe it was. No idea where I was, but I was happy. My tail would wag. I would pant. I smelled a rabbit. I was hungry.

I chased. I hunted. I almost tasted it.

I saw him.

My paws dig into the ground. I stand there. In shock? Awe? Desire? Not sure. He must have noticed me staring. He's looking around. That’s when I noticed the air felt different. His ears are filled with magic. Demons and witches were the only known creatures with them. I’ve heard about witches before. One of the few things supposed to be hidden from the normal eyes. 

He’s wearing a simple tee and cargo shorts. He’s kinda short and scrawny. Could definitely tackle him and he would just fall over. Then I would taste him all over. Surrounded with the scent of his blood…what the fuck am I thinking?

I try to shake away those thoughts, but that’s when I notice the magic gone. He’s just a boy now. He’s looking around. Wait, did he notice me? That’s when the bush moves. Or maybe someone else. I get closer. Maybe it was dangerous, but if it was, I can’t just leave him even if he is a witch.

I go from 30 meters to 10 meters quickly and silently. Then he screams. It was kinda pathetic. A rabbit hops out of the bush before dashing off. Ah man, that was my meal. The crows around us laugh. Rude. Jokes on them, they also just lost their meal. I sit down, trying to calm myself from all the excitement. Not that I wasn’t already trying, but I was told I need to control my actions when I’m a wolf. It can be tiring holding back.

He turns. Ever so slowly. He looks at me. Right into my eyes. The eyes of a wolf. Yellow eyes. Like my dad. Like my mom. His eyes are a dark gray. So it wasn’t blue or yellow. I can’t tell what colour it is. I’m kinda tempted to shift back right now to see. But that’s kinda stupid.

Maybe I can see them later. I sat up from my position. He looks about the same age as me. I take a step forward. Wonder if I’ll go to his school. I take another step. Probably. I heard there’s only one elementary school in town. I sniff the air around him. I hope we can be friends. I reach him.

Wait. What?

I don’t know what happened, but for some reason I found him right in front of me. I look up at him. He looks down at me. He reaches out his hand. He flinches when I curl my face into it. I rarely get pets anymore. I forgot what it felt like. My tail wags. I purr. I feel happy for what felt like the first time.

I must be dreaming.

“WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!” I hear a howl rang throughout the forest. The crows’ caws echo throughout the forest.

Shit. I thought I had more time. I-I have to get home. But I want to taste him. I lick him and he tastes salty. But I want to see him more. I stole a second of my life to have him in my eyes. But I want to know him. He smells like home.

“Bullshit!” He hit me again. I wanted to go home. I looked at my mom. She had a burning cheek like mine when dad slapped her. She was quiet. Because she tried. “What makes you think you can just sneak out at night? What would have happened if you got caught?” I don’t know, probably bite them. I've learned how to bite hard. Wolf or not. I'm not weak.

“You’re weak.” Maybe. “That's who you are.” I don't like who I am. “That's all you'll ever be.” Because of who I am. “You need to remember that,” I want to go home.

Omega.

…

This is stupid. 

“Hey, I'm Wayne. I moved in a couple days ago. I hope we can all be friends.” I try putting on a smile facing a class I couldn’t really care about right now.

There was a seat near the back. Good thing I had pretty good eyesight so at least I won't struggle there.

I walked down the rows of desks passing by the stares as I kept my head high but I couldn't dare look at them back. A hand grabbed me by the arm. I looked back and the look on my face was priceless, is what he would tell me after.

I was 8 when I decided I wasn't gonna take shit.

They didn't know who I was, but there were these kids that bullied me at summer camp. I was far away from home. I knew no one. No one knew me. He didn’t know me. But he protected me.

“Wayne!” he practically pounced at me into a hug at lunch time when most people left. I hugged back of course. The people who were left just gave us a confused look, but left when Mark practically growled at them. They just rolled their eyes and went back to doing their own thing. as if this was just a normal day.

“Mark, what the hell are you doing here?” I asked, excitement in my voice. It had been two years. Even though our promise was childish, I just had a feeling that we would somehow be able to keep it.

“I should be asking you that dufus!” he ruffled my fur, playing with my ears. He always used to do that.

Mark was human. He had rich tan skin and his hair was light brown and was short. He once told me he wanted to shave his hair. I told him he’d look stupid. He said he was tired of dealing with my hair. His eyes were emerald green and I hate to admit it, but they were very pretty to look at. I used to get caught staring at his eyes and he would tease me for it.

“I missed you.” I felt his hot breath in my ear.

I tightened my grip on him. I was back. And I wasn't planning on letting go. “Me too, Mark.”

He pulled away to face me. He had his smile that went all the way to his cheeks.

“Ah we have so much to catch up on. Like how have you been? Where do you live? You think I could come over and hang? Have you read the new Warrior Cats book? Have you read the new Warrior Cats book yet? Did you keep that bracelet I gave you? I kept mine just in case you were wondering. And…”

He continued to bombard me with questions. I answered as best as I could. It was nice to have him back.

“Wait till Ethan hears about this.”

I stop. My eyes widen. Mouth agape from what I just heard.

“Oh right, I promised I was gonna meet him on the rooftop. Silly me.” He grabbed my wrist and led me out of the class.

“Ethan?” My voice was shaken. “He's here too?” A hint of guilt can be heard in my voice. I was last.

“Oh ya, he actually moved here last year. Isn't it crazy we're all here together now!”

It was. It is.

Mark protected me. But that didn’t mean they stopped. Ethan made them.

We arrived at the rooftop. He laid there taking in the breeze. His orange wavy fur and white undertone went with the flow. He was tall. He was a year older than us but, even then he felt tall. He must have sensed us because he sat up when he got closer. His face was stern. There was a small piece of his ear missing. He had yellow eyes. Like me. Like my dad. He wasn’t anything like me.

Alpha.

---

“What do you mean, Arlo? You already know crows lived in the forest.” Dalmund, my father answers. He continues leading me into the forest. That's all we really did. Take a nice stroll down the forest. We would talk. Well mostly him, he liked to talk a lot. Actually, my whole family is a family of talkers. Except for me. I was more on the quiet side. They were loud. Louder than the crows, which I liked. 

“Ya, but they never get this close…and loud.” The crows caw, almost sounding offended as if they understood me.

“Hmm, they sure are.” He hums.

Me and my sister liked to tease them. We cawed back at them. We thought about maybe throwing rocks, but decided that was a bit too cruel. Still wanted to though.

We arrive at a fallen tree. He lifts me up, placing me on top of the tree. He sits next to me. I am 6. I am a bit shorter than other kids my age. My parents told me I'd grow, but I never really mind being on the shorter end. My sister teased me though. Despite her being the same age and still shorter than me.

A cold breeze passes through the trees. I shiver to the touch.

“Do you wanna practice what I taught you?” He asks.

I just nod.

“Ok, remember it comes from your soul first. Then from the earth. So focus on yourself first.”

I hold my hand out in front of me and stare at my palm. I try to focus everything into my palm. The crows scream at me.

Weak. Broken. Nothing.

I let out my breath that I didn't know I was holding. I fail.

“That's alright,” My father takes my hand, leaning over me. Telling me he'll protect me. I can't hear the crows anymore. “Here let me help you.”

His hands are warm. Not just from his soul, but his own body heat. It’s comforting. I try it again. I can feel my soul throughout my body. I focus on my palm. It glows. It’s warm.

“There we go,” He lets go of my hand and ruffles my hair. “See I told you. Magic takes patience.” My curly hair moves to his touch. His fingers would sometimes get stuck to my woven braids. Compared to my father, mine was also curly but with more short twists. I used to have something similar, but I saw someone with dreads and fell in love with it.

The crows coo.

“Would y’all shut up already!” He creates a small ember into his hands and throws it at a crow, scaring it again. The other crows laughed. My father just sighs in defeat.

“You know, crows are known to be connected to the spirit world.” 

“Like ghosts?”

“Kinda I guess, but they're more of a different thing. I'll tell you another day.” He leans back, looking up to the starry sky. “It's more like our ancestors watching us through the birds' eyes.”

“All the time?” I ask, a bit concerned about my privacy.

“Probably not, they must be hella bored watching us 24/7.” He teases the crows.

“Are they watching us now?”

He stays silent before looking at his small boy.

“They'll always be loud.” He rests his hand on my head. I liked it when he did that. “They'll say awful things, things that you might think are true. They're not. But they won't leave you. They'll attack you, berate you, and try to steal your shinies.” He shows off the ring on his finger. His second ring. The crows caw angrily. He laughs at them.

My mother died giving birth to me. My father wanted her to get an abortion when he learned I would kill her. The elders said that they wouldn't allow it. Said that I must be powerful, too powerful for my mother to live after giving birth to me. My father didn't care and wanted to run away with her. But she said no. She wanted to have me, even if it would kill her. My father respected her wishes and she died. I was weak. So weak. I had little to no magic in me. Could almost pass as a regular human. They hated me. But not my father. I don't blame him though for wanting me dead.

For two years he raised me alone, until he met Kora. Her husband abandoned her shortly after giving birth to Dan, my sister. Kora and Dalmund got married a little while after meeting. He loved her, he loved us. And I loved him, all of them. The elders hated us. Kora and my sister weren't witches like us. They looked down on them. On me.

Their skin was cool tan while me and fathers were rich brown. Our eyes were red and theirs were dark brown. All of our hair was black, but their hair was straight compared to our curly hair. My father was the tallest out of all of us. Not like it was that hard considering two of the competitions were literal children. They were a bit chubby. I was kinda skinny. My father was decently built. Me and my father were humans. Witches, but humans nonetheless. They were demons. They had horns protruding out their skulls. Mother’s horns were bright red. Kinda like our eyes. Dan’s were a light purple at the tip that faded into white. Besides the obvious age difference, this was one of the only discerning features between them. In conclusion, we were very different from each other. And that’s what we loved about each other.

His red eyes stare into mine, like he's looking at his own reflection. I wonder what he sees.

“You can try to block them out, and you might. But it won't be possible forever, so I'll be here to help you. Drown out their words with my own.” His face saddens for a moment before giving me a comforting smile. “Even if not me. You'll find someone who'll drown out their words for you. Keep them close ok.”

“Ok.” I say. I don't often give verbal confirmation, usually leaving it to a simple nod, but I think he needs it. “Can I speak to the crows?”

“Why would you ever want to do that?”

“Tell them to shut up myself.”

He chuckles.

“Unfortunately no, but don't let me stop you.”

“What about wolves?”

“What about them?”

“Can I speak to them?”

He said, “I don't see why not.” He looked behind me, thinking. “Tell you what, when you turn 18, I'll show you how.”

…

My father died when I was 17.

…

When I started elementary school it didn’t feel too much different than kindergarten. Except instead we had to be in school for way longer. And no more nap times. It sucked.

“What’s with those crows?” Some boy sat next to me during recess as he stared at the crows at the edge of the playground. He was half-human, half-beastman. He could very easily pass for human, if not for his ears poking out of his head, and fluffy tail. It was on the longer side and curled upwards a bit. He only had fur on those mentioned parts. It was dark brown with white undercoat. His dark brown wavy hair matches his fur and his ocean blue eyes contrast his warm beige skin.

“I don’t know, but they really like Arlo.” my sister teased.

“I hate them.” I retorted.

“Wanna throw rocks at them?” the boy suggested.

“I was thinking the same thing. But the teacher would probably yell at us.” I answered.

“And it’s kinda cruel.” my sister added.

“I’m starting to not care.”

“Let me know when you do, I’ll join you.” The boy placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

His name was Kai.

…

I was 10 when I met my first wolf.

I went out to the forest alone. I liked to sneak out. Not to do anything malicious, but I started to enjoy taking a stroll in the forest. I couldn’t wait for my father and mine bonding time. Our house had three bedrooms so I had a room to myself. I lived on the second floor, but there were enough ledges to make it down safely. After opening the window I climbed down, hopped the fence and away I was.

I walked down, the only thing lighting the way was the moon and stars.

Weak. Broken. Nothing.

Oh right, the crows. I put my hands over my ears and I feel my soul flow through my body. To my hands. Then covering my ears. I moved my hands away and everything sounded muffled.

I continued my now silent walk through the forest. Sometimes I would run jumping over fallen branches or climbing trees. I would often return home with a few scratches. I would just tell them I got them from school.

It was a night like any other night, but there was something different in the forest. I could feel a pair of eyes glaring at me. It wasn’t the crows I know, I’ve long gotten used to their breach of privacy. I scanned the area looking. At first I saw nothing. I turned off the magic blocking my hearing. Then almost on cue I heard a crunch. I snapped my head to the sound. There was a bush. I moved slightly. It wasn’t a windy night so there was something or someone there.

I’m smart. I’ve gotten good grades all my life. My father said that while the spells were a bit weak, I could grasp the basics better than most witches and other magic users. I was proud, but always humble about it. Well a bit less humble considering I’m saying I’m humble, but still. 

Yet tonight, I did the dumbest thing anyone could do in this situation. I approached the bush.

“AHHHHH-” I screamed out as a rabbit jumped out of the bush.

Well I looked stupid. Good thing there’s no one else here. Except for the crows. I think they were laughing

I took a sigh of relief thinking that’s all that was. It wasn’t. I realize I could still feel glaring eyes on me. I looked around again. Trying to stay calm, but I was kinda freaking out just a bit. 

That’s when I saw it.

A pair of yellow glowing eyes stared at me. Its colour separated them from the rest of the dark forest. I stared back in shock, body unmoving. The pair of yellow eyes were attached to a wolf's body.

The wolf sat straight as it watched me. Its fur was white as snow. I’ve seen pictures and videos of wolves and I could tell it was on the shorter end. Must be a young wolf, which means its parent may be nearby. I don’t know if it was the same for wolves but, I remember mother bears were very protective over their cubs.

I wanted to run. To scream. To cry. But I didn’t. That’s when I noticed, I couldn’t hear the crows.

When I was with my father the crows were a lot louder as I realized we both had our own pack of crows following us. But when he was close to me, they were muffled. When he was touching me, I couldn’t hear them at all.

The wolf was 10 meters away from me and yet I heard not a single sound from the crows.

The wolf sat up and approached me. Its ears were perked up as it moved ever so slowly towards me. It didn’t growl or snarl. Do I run? Approach? Play dead? No. I just stood there until it reached me.

His eyes looked up to me. I looked down at it. I don’t know what came over me. I reached out my hand. At first it flinched to my movement, but when it noticed my hand the wolf snuggled into it. Its eyes softened to my touch, rubbing its soft fur into my hand. Its tail wagged from side to side. It purred. The first sound I heard it make.

I must be dreaming.

A howl rang throughout the forest. The crows’ caws echoed throughout the forest.

The wolf ears perked up again and growled at the sudden noise. It backed away from me, not before giving my hand a quick lick. It whimpered as it looked back at me before it ran. It was fast. Barely noticed where it went. But it was gone.

I snapped out of whatever daze I was in. I realized how tired I was and went home. I look back to where the wolf once was.

I definitely want to talk to wolves.

---