Chapter 4 | Drought

As the birds began to sing in the new day, I awoke. It sounded like a lovely and nice way to wake up in novels and fairytale books, but birds start singing at an alarmingly early hour, snapping me awake in exasperation. The sun had not yet risen. This was one of the reasons I preferred the rabbit burrow; I could sleep until daybreak if I wanted to – no bird sound to wake me up. I shook my head and yawned. I scratched my ear before jumping down and moving in a stealthy manner towards the smoker. Before I could nibble daintily on a piece of smoked mutton, I smelled the surroundings for any traces of the feral wolves. After finishing the cooked mutton, I returned to the tree, followed the forest highway through the branches, and waited for the sun to fully rise.

Hours later, I didn't see any movement at this time of day, but I couldn't trust scents this high in the trees because the light breeze was whisking away the smells of anything below. I shifted to my human form and returned to the forest highway to check on the smoker.

I never walked on the ground beneath my tree penthouse for fear of drawing attention to myself, so I waited until I was back at the smoker before carefully scanning the ground and climbing down. It's tedious to secure the premise of no man's land, but it's become a routine to know that I'm safe. Having no one to protect you stinks, but I can't force myself into a pack anymore. I'm useless to them, as the packs who turned me down said.

I grabbed a handful of willow leaves from a shrub and lightly rubbed them on my arms and clothing before venturing into another day of scavenging dead animals, possibly hunting one, harvesting edible plants, and in the hopes of finding rubies as well. I did the same thing with pine needles last night. I alternated between plants so that my scent didn't smell too strongly of any one of them. This is how a rogue runt like me survives in no man's land. I unintentionally smacked the pouch hanging from my belt, causing it to fall to the ground. When it hit the ground, it made a low, jingling sound. And just as I was about to pick up the pouch, I heard a twig break nearby, and its crunch echoed in my ears. My breathing became constricted as I twisted my head to inspect the area. Except for trees and shrubs, I didn't see anything. It could have been a rabbit or any of a dozen other creatures common in this area, but I wasn't about to take any chances. To be safe, I ducked down and shifted before scooting beneath a small bramble bush.

My blue pupils narrowed to a thin line. I perked up my ears and swiveled them back and forth, listening for any sounds of a breathing creature. I couldn't hear anything, which concerned me much. The small songbirds had stopped singing. Harmless creatures in no man's land have always ignored my human presence and runty wolf form, but they've fled this time... implying that another predator is nearby.

I sat for a long time, peering out from under the bramble bush. I didn't hear anything or smell anything else. I stayed in my hiding spot for a long time before the birds began to sing again, indicating that the predator had most likely left the area. I heaved out a sigh, relief to feel safe again.

I was thirsty and exhausted from being on high alert for so long. Maybe I should go check on the nearby pack and ask how the fight between the guards and feral wolves ended. I wanted to know if any of the feral wolves had escaped.

I crept out from under the shrub and trotted past it. A flash of dashing brown and tan fur from the corner of my eye stopped me dead in my tracks. I swung my head in the direction I'd seen the creature chasing me, but I couldn't see it any longer. My heart began to beat faster; that color was similar to a cougar. I'm one dead meat.

I pricked my ears and tilted my head in concentration; it had been a long time since I decided to use my Omega abilities. I may no longer be an Omega in a pack, but my limited abilities remained. This was my last option, so I activated my Omega senses. Wolves, those pursuing me are wolves. They didn't have the aura or smell that the feral wolves did, so they were just another pack of werewolves. I took a deep breath and counted the number of wolves chasing me. They were arranged in a half-circle facing me. At this point, they were unable to see me, although the tan one in front of me had gotten a glimpse of me and had likely alerted the others through their mindlink.

The wind shifted, and I finally smelled them. My pupils dilated with nervousness. It was a pack scent - and it wasn't one I'd ever scented before. It was stronger because these were high-ranking wolves. Pack rules didn't really apply in no man's land, and some packs were well known for attacking rogues for fighting practice even when the rogues had done nothing wrong. My Omega senses informed me that they were focused on me and trying to locate me, despite the fact that they couldn't detect me because I had hidden my wolf scent when I rub leaves on my human body.

I took a few slow steps back as my heart rate increased and my breathing became shallow; this was not a good situation. I couldn't climb a tree fast enough to avoid full-grown wolves, and they could easily transform into humans in pursuit of me. In either case, their endurance would outlast mine. I wasn't near any large bramble bushes, and even a small one wouldn't protect me from four determined wolves.

But the fact that they had remained hidden for at least a half-hour while waiting for me to emerge was not a good sign. And now the question was, do they intend to harm me? Will they come after me if I run away? Most friendly rogues or pack members would shift into human form and call out. So, I assumed that these wolves seek only trouble and waited in ambush.

The scents were all male, and my Omega senses told me they were tough fighters. This worried me a lot. I almost wished a feral had gotten away from the other pack and found these full-grown wolves before they found me.

As a dark brown shape skulked in the long grass, my eyes darted to the side. As he crept forward, his belly almost touched the ground as he tried to stay out of sight. His eyes met mine and widened as he realized I had noticed his presence. I spun around and ran as fast as my small feet could carry me in the opposite direction. My heart sank as I heard four sets of footsteps close behind. Damn this, not another chase.

I used strategies that many small animals used, such as trying to go where larger creatures couldn't. I dashed under a few small bramble bushes and continued out the other side. They had to take a detour to reach me under the bushes, so it was an advantage, given that I am slow and would pause for a second to catch my breath. As I tried to stay alive during this chase, my heart was racing faster than my feet.

My steps slowed as I realized two of the wolves had sped ahead on a larger circuit and were waiting to catch up with me. I launched towards a tree and ricocheted off at a ninety-degree angle without slowing down.

One of the wolves trailing me was able to easily correct his sight towards my new direction and gain speed. His other companion had been right on my tail and was moving too fast for me to change direction so quickly. He'd take a moment to catch up, but the tan one was closing in. Damn this wolf, his pursuit of me caused me to panic and almost lose my balance.

There were no larger bramble bushes to hide under in this area, nor did there appear to be any other type of shelter. I wasn't going to be able to keep up this pace for much longer, and the pursuing wolves were getting closer.

I spotted a black hole under a small bramble bush and dashed towards the rabbit burrow. As the tan wolf circled, I dashed under the bramble bush's edge. He was expecting me to come out the other side like I always did, and it gave me the extra seconds I needed to squeeze down the rabbit tunnel. He would have caught me if he had stayed on my tail. He had not expected me to fit into a rabbit burrow.

As I examined the rabbit burrow, I felt a brief sense of relief. The rabbit who dug this burrow had obviously not lived long enough to complete it. There were no escape tunnels, and the den was dangerously close to the surface. In the cramped den, I turned around with great difficulty.

The tunnel was only about twice as long as a human arm and was almost completely straight. As I panted, I could clearly see the bramble bush above the tunnel opening. I silently prayed that the bramble bush would deter them and that they would not notice how shallow this burrow was.