Outcast

Prologue

The evening air was starting to cool as the sun arched over the scorched land, slowly dipping down the hills at the edge of their territory. A gentle breeze pulled at my hair, trying to loosen the braid that trapped it.

I sighed deeply, brushing the few loose strands out of my face as I turned my head to glance around. One side filled with bright and vivid images of sparse vegetation growing through the dunes, rocky outcrops and further ahead the village.

The other side of my vision was a gray zone of lights and shadows that nauseated me in the daytime. At least now I could venture out without risking to lose my stomach contents. As if catching onto my thought, it rumbled lowly, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since last night.

I pushed myself on my hands before standing up, focusing my eye on the quickest path to my home. It was unwise to travel through the village but it would be foolish to travel along the edge and be caught outside when the moon arose.

My bare feet kicked up sand as I started the long walk, fingers reaching up to rub over my sore and useless eye. I was fully prepared for the sneers of the pride, shoulders already drawing up for their harsh words and painfully accurate rocks.

Already I could hear several leopards groan, stretching themselves as they leaped down from their tree houses, the lions gathering around and grooming one another to reaffirm their bonds. The few cheetahs that were still awake were dragging their feet as they made their way towards their dens.

But all of them would curl their noses in disgust and spit at me as soon as they noticed.

It wasn't just because of my ragged clothes, my lack of shoes, money or any show of wealth. Even if that made my status much lower than a normal feline, I was permanently banished to the bottom of the pride ranking.

My pride was rather large and diverse, even needing a council of the different felines to set out rules and restrictions. Where other creatures were helpful and tended to negotiate and make allies, all my pride could do was sneer and look down their noses at the others.

They were stuck in their haughty ways, sneering at other shifters and thinking they were better than everything else. Their egos knew no boundaries as they insulted supernatural that were more powerful than any of us. But the pride knew they had numbers to their advantage and they boldly misused that fact.

We had turned away countless of wolves, vampires and other creatures that had arrived with gifts and hopes of making a lasting bond with the pride. Instead, the leaders had mocked their attempts, called the shifters names and had spat on their gifts.

My stomach rolled at the thought of how my pride could be so cruel and unjust but that was life. I knew firsthand how cruel they could be.

Looking up, I spotted my former house; Father and my two siblings sitting outside and playing in the dying sunlight. They stopped when they spotted me walking by and I quickened my pace at the low, warning snarl that rumbled through Father's chest.

Right.

I was the pride's only flaw, a reminder that they weren't so perfect as they liked to think. Many years of trying to figure out my past and snooping around for clues, I had managed to find out the truth.

Even if the pride was arrogant and downright rude, cubs were praised above anything. So when they learned my mother was pregnant with three cubs, everyone had been quite ecstatic, eager to have the new additions join the pride.

My mother had been enjoying an evening stroll, something she quite enjoyed in the last stages of her pregnancy. But due to the nature of my pride, they had angered many and in one of the skirmishes between pride and the outsiders, mother had gotten seriously wounded.

We were born two months early, I being the smallest and last born. While the doctors worked on me, providing me oxygen and loosening the umbilical cord wrapped tight around my throat, my mother gasped out my name on her dying breath.

I had taken my first taste of air as she breathed out her last.

Due to the overall stress of the long and unexpected labor, the doctors' divided attention between trying to save all three cubs and having to sedate my father as he rampaged through the room, they had made a mistake.

Instead of turning off my oxygen supply once they had put me in the clear, they had turned it on a higher setting. What was supposed to be a slightly dimmed vision in my left eye turned into complete blindness due to a human fault.

Turning the last corner, I heard several shifters hiss and scoff under their breath as they noticed me. Mothers hurried to get their cubs behind them and the males seemed to form a wall, as if to protect the pride.

But who's protecting me?

"I can't believe they're letting that thing roam around freely."

"...should've killed him as soon as they caught the defect."

" A disgrace of the pride. We'd be better off without him."

I bit back a low whine as a rock smashed against my shoulder, more flying through the sky as I scurried away, nearly running through the street.

Even though it didn't take long to get to my house, I was covered in welts and bleeding marks when I did. Opening the crooked door of my near collapsing den, I sighed as I closed the door behind me, pushing the wardrobe in front of it.

Just to be safe.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply and sighed, catching the scents of the hunters passing by. It was almost as if I could see them moving just by their scent alone. A few of them took a detour, simply to lift their leg and urinate all over the walls of my house. Scratching their claws over the floor and digging them deeply in the walls.

A reminder that I was nothing to them. And soon enough they would run out of patience and deal with me, permanently.

I had already scented a few of them lurking around at night, clawing at the walls to find a weak spot. And if the council members gave them the all clear, I'd be dead very soon.

Which is why I should be leaving as soon as possible. The only issue is that due to the large diversity of the pride, we had shifters patrolling both the day and the night.

Vast amounts of Lions and Leopards stalked the night while swift Cheetahs and Mountain lions patrolled during the day.

And my biggest issue and most pointed out flaw; I didn't have a cat. My birthday has passed almost seven weeks ago and nothing had happened.

I had been prepared for the pain, waiting in nervous tension all day...just to be disappointed. It had caused the pride to pick up on their hateful rants and disgusted glares.

A pride member that wasn't even a shifter... What an absolute insult and disgrace.

A deep sigh escaped me as I opened my eyes and slowly started gathering my belongings. I was going to try tonight.

Tonight was the night where I escaped and lived on my own...or where I die trying.