Princess of Rouges

Rouge Pack Life

"Shit!"

Coriana flung one of the wooden cups off the table as she fumed. I had signed the situation to her and what had her most fuming was them claiming my tree, one of my apple trees.

"Well we can't show signs of us for a week obviously, they're expecting us. I'm thinking in a week and a half, we will strike. Go into the pack house and leave notes, telling them to leave or be killed by the Royal Rouges. If they aren't gone in three weeks, we go for the kill. Sounds good?" Coriana looked around the room of the top pack members as they all nodded. We all knew I would deliver the notes, either me or Coriana. We could cover our scents unlike the rest.

From what I have heard, Coriana never belonged to a pack either. Her parents were one of the first rouges and she was born on unmarked land. She smelled of the lilacs she was born beside. By that logic, then I was born by an apple tree.

When you leave a pack, your scent is stained by the pack. Every wolf smells like the Earth, but it's faint while the pack scent takes over. So everyone else has a pungent smell that classifies them as rouges. Skylar, the right hand man, smells of oranges. She was thrown out of her pack in California for killing the Beta for trying to touch her and her younger sister. If she was to be accepted into another pack, the scent would change to whichever scent is the pack. As if she would ever.

"Isabella, the pack doctor needs help today. He would appreciate the help," I nodded at the slight command and headed towards the green tent with a red cross on top. Inside was Calvin, a 27 male who actually helped heal me when I first came along. He was 17 at the time, still in training. Calvin has grown to act like my father in that way, one I don't mind.

"Perfect! Princess I need some help with a surgery, he needs a gash stitched up but I can't do it alone," Calvin had glasses on his face and his black hair was slicked back and out of the way. Like Coriana, his brown eyes always shown a slight stress in them. Probably a family thing; being her younger brother probably didn't help.

I shrugged and washed my hands and got some gloves before following him to the patient in question.

   He was fairly aged, about 29, with a cougar gash on his side. His breathing was fine though he was in a fair amount of pain. The stitching only took 10 minutes but with having sick children and varieties of other reasons to be sick, we spent all afternoon in the tent. Just usual rouge pack life stuff.

As being rouges, we didn't have fancy stuff like stoves or ovens. We had some bowls we carved from the trees and random serving utensils and pots we had stolen to help make it easier for when we made stews. Though most items were smoked and served with vegetables we had grown. Like tonight, we had caught enough rabbits and deer to have that with some carrots and berries we got from the forest.

   We had four wolves cook each meal and seven wolves hunt for each meal. Sometimes we'll get lucky and steal enough money to treat people for birthdays or even holidays if we're lucky enough to. Though most don't complain, it's our way of life.

   Some wolves even get jobs out in the human towns for a bit to earn cash for various items, I was never one of them. I loved the woods and would stay here till I died.

   Once dinner was done, everyone gathered around the fire to sit and mingle while we ate. The children from ages 7-15 got to sit on long trees we had placed beside the fire or go play within the camp if their parents allowed. All those younger stayed with their parents and above got to freely roam.

  We weren't a big group, we had about fifty with all the children included though we grow every year. We gained four children and six adults this year to our group. All abandoned for one reason or another. We have yet to have a child birth in the ten years I have been here, probably since most come without their mates or already with children. I hope it changes soon, we actually have two couples in our mist and they stay lovingly by their sides.

  I hope to never find a mate. I know I will eventually despite what I say. I will need someone to take over once I am too old to run my Rouges, though I might do just as Coriana had done.

   I know it takes a toll on her, to leave her mate behind for me. Though she says in her eyes, he was never a mate she'd want. I'm just glad she is strong and lives on without him.

And if it comes down to it, I will leave mine also. My rouge life is the one that saved me and for that, it shall always come first.

889 words. So I think next chapter will be Coriana POV. Spice it up a bit.