Chapter 1

   My mom and I have been running for 10 years now. We are no longer in a large group. Most of the people around my age found mates along the way and left with them, but I haven't. Others have found packs with their family who escaped a different way. It is now only my mother and I.

   My mother usually goes off and hunts because I'm too small. At the age of 16, I stand a short 5' while my mother is 5'7" She told me that to a pack I would be called "the runt of the litter" and in wolf form I am no better. My wolf is a bit bigger than a pup. When I had shifted for the first time, the other teens who were with us made fun of me. I think that's why no packs have accepted us, because who would want a runt in their pack?

   Over the years my hair has grown to the bottom of my back and my mom’s is about the same. She's been the same since that day all those years ago, in a weakened state. When most wolves lose their mate after being fully mated they die too unless they have a mateless child (their wolf recognizes that they should keep their pups safe and loved until someone else can do it for them). I know that she wants to go and be with my dad but I don't know if I even have a mate. Mine could have died for all I know and even if I do find my mate, they won't want me. From stories I used to be told most people want a strong mate, not a weak, runt like myself.

   I have learned to fear little noises. The occasional twig snapping or every distant howl, I try to hide. I blame it on two things. One: the kids of my pack would hurt me. Use me as if I was a punching bag. All because I was a runt.

   Two: we've had multiple encounters with the rogues, and there's something about our pack that makes them want every last one of us dead. There was never anything special about our pack. We were the same as most, our population around 200 and we didn't have some huge army. So what makes them want us gone so badly? What did we ever do to them?

   I walk along the stream my mother and I recently stopped at. At night we usually sleep in wolf form, to stay warm and when we get lucky we find a cave to camp out in. Sadly though, most times we end up out in the open. Even sadder, this has been going on for all the years we have been running.

   I hear a twig snap and I hop up, ready to run, when I see my mother coming with a rabbit in her hand. I place a hand over my rapidly beating heart and feel another hand on my shoulder. "It's ok Celeste, I promise. Now go start a fire and we can cook this rabbit," she ends her sentence with a smile on her face which I return before turning to go start a fire.

   Within minutes I have a fire going and my mother and I are roasting rabbit. I eat slowly, trying to savor this food, knowing that winter will really kick in soon and rabbits will be harder to find. I've learned to do this through the years, that when it comes to winter some animals are harder to find so savor the last ones you might get for the year.

   After we finish, we get up and decide to walk some more, not run because after awhile running starts to make me exhausted. My mom can run longer than I can but I run faster. Other women, who used to be with us until they broke off, told us I get tired easily because of my small form. There are a lot of disadvantages to being a runt, like you can't run for long, you're not very strong in fighting, and your wolf can't take on much. Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. There's also advantages such as you can hide easier, you can run faster, and you can make people think you’re more innocent because you have a similar height to a younger, less threatening person. Not that I was threatening in the first place but I assume it could come in handy for some runt out there.

   As we walk, I think. I think about what it would be like if our pack wasn't attacked by rogues. I think of what it would be like if Dad was still alive. I think about what it would be like if I wasn't a runt. Finally, I decide to voice a question I've had since it became just my mother and I. "Mom?” I speak aloud, "If I wasn't a runt do you think we might have found a pack already? Her silence was the answer I didn't want to, but knew I would, hear. I sighed, "I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be having to hunt every day. If it wasn't for me you'd be safe. If it wasn't-"

   "Celeste!" my mother interrupted me, "Don't think poorly of yourself. You are all I have left." She took me by the shoulders, "And I love you. I love you so, so, so much. Don't you forget that." I nodded.

   "Sorry," I hung my head low.  

   "Nothing to be sorry for," she said, kissing my forehead. "Now come on, let's run for a bit."

   We ran through the trees. Leaves of every color, brown, red, yellow, and green, were scattered all around. The early winter air nipped at my face as I ran faster through the large forest. I was getting exhausted, but I kept pushing. I was tired of having to stop when most wolves could run another few miles. I kept on pushing, till I started to get dizzy, I stopped running. I sat down panting and my mother came up to me and stopped at my side.

   "You okay?" she asked, "It's not safe to keep running when you get tired. You could've hurt yourself."

   "I know," I admitted, "I just- I wanted to see how far I could go."

   "Well, be careful next time. I don't want you to get hurt." I smiled at my mother. She was all I have and I in return to her. We sat in silence, enjoying the beauty of the forest around us. At some point she grasped my hand and smiled at me before turning back to the view of the forests.

   Snap

   I jumped up. My mother was up in seconds and we were looking at three wolves in front of us - rouges. They were average sized werewolves, one was brown, one was black, and the other was a light tan. Their fur was matted and almost wrong looking. Even for an average rogue. They bared their teeth at us, growling. I backed up, scared of the rogues in front of me. Every step I took backwards they took a step forward. I heard snapping and I soon saw my mother's dark brown wolf standing in front of me. Protecting me. One of the rogues, the brown one and probably the biggest of the three, came closer and my mother growled at it. The other two came next to the brown one and growled at us, a warning. My mother backed up as she too realized we didn't stand a chance.

   Mom, I said to my mother through our mind like, What's going to happen? What are we going to do?

  You're going to run, she replied.

   And what about you?

   Just run as far as you can. Can you do that for me?

    I gulped. Could I do that? I knew what she was going to do. She was going to once again protect me.

   I can't let you do that, I argued.

   Yes, you can. On my count.

   No! I won't leave you! 

   Celeste, her soft voice rang out in my head, It's time I meet back up with your dad.

   Tears were in my eyes but I replied with an, 'okay' I don't know if I will truly run, I don't know if Ancillary,  my wolf, would let me leave her behind, let alone myself.

    On three, she told me as the rogues came closer.

   One, the rogues growled at us.

   Two, the tears started pouring out of my eyes.

   Three! I turned and ran as I heard my mother fighting off the three rogues behind me. I love you, her voice said before I heard a snap so loud I think it echoed throughout the forest.

   I cried as I ran more. Eventually I shifted into my tiny brown wolf, hoping to blend in more with the autumn leaves. I ran as fast as I could until I eventually collapsed from exhaustion. I looked up to see no wolves were around me and sniffed the air just to make sure I was the only wolf around. Once I smelt nothing but my own sent and the nature around me I rested my head down and let the tears pour out, leaving flat streaks where it trails down my fur.

    It will be ok Celeste, I heard Ancillary in my head.

   Why didn't you stop me from running! I yelled at her.

   I don't know, it's just a feeling in the air, she replied softly. Now sleep, we're both tired.

   I closed my eyes, but the tears were still falling. I had just lost my mom. I was all alone. No Mom. No Dad. No anyone. I was all alone. And that was my last thought before I fell asleep.