❝You lit my world on fire, so now I'll happily burn yours.❞
The werewolf population is going to die out in the near future due to the endless mistreatment and breeding of all females in existence. It's a known fact, and a tragedy that Dahlia blames...
❝There was no avoiding fate, for they were soulbound for the good of their world.❞
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She leaped, her uncoordinated human limbs splaying out awkwardly in the air. She landed on her paws, already running. There wasn't a second to spare. Snarls could be heard as she felt the attempts being made for her legs – with any hesitation, she would lose herself.
She didn't have time to look back. Not that there was much to look back to. Her home, her life was gone. Her heart was heavy as she dug in her paws, clawing at the dirt to propel herself away from the life she'd known beforehand. The only thing that she'd salvaged was the necklace around her neck.
It was run or die.
She'd known that they would come back for her once they'd found her. Her family had taken preventative measures right from the start, preparing for the day she'd be forced to run. Her stamina was greater than the greatest warriors', her fighting skill as equal as she could manage. If anything, she thought it was more deadly. After all, her fight was for survival.
Her freedom meant more to her than anything else in the world. If she were caught, she wouldn't be executed, no, worse; she would be bred.
Her mother was a lucky female, discovered and brought back into the town her mate happened to live in. As a gamma, her father had easily used his authority to stake his claim upon her. To the pack, he'd been known as a hero, taking measures to save the dying population. To her family, he was a hero for a different reason.
A mate was only something she could fantasize about, though. After all, mates are more than likely to never live in the same area. She would never be able to stop and rest, nor go searching for her soulmate.
Her form tensed as she pictured them for the umpteenth time. The Royal Family. They did this. She despised them for never stopping the rest of the population. The Moon Goddess was supposed to remove those that were evil and corrupted, but she never did remove the corruption that sat on the throne.
She'd lost faith in the world a long time ago. After all, if She wasn't going to step in then, she wouldn't step in now. It would take much more than a normal werewolf to stop everything going on in the world. The only werewolf she could rely on was herself, her family lost to destruction that the Goddess let happen.
If she were caught, she'd sworn to find a way to kill herself before being condemned to the life of a breeder. She'd rather die than be bred. Her life was a small price to pay to bypass the suffering some were going through as she ran.
And she kept running. She didn't have a choice; she'd never gotten a choice.
Pawsteps followed her rapidly, coming out of nowhere as the wolf hot on her trail lunged. It caught the back of her leg, raking it hard. Pain erupted, stinging as she winced, but the adrenaline and her need to survive was greater than the pain. She merely gritted her teeth and pushed on through it.
Soon she didn't know how long she was running, only that she did it until she couldn't run anymore. The trees blurred together. How long had it been? An hour? Two? She wasn't sure.
Her scent went through everything – mud, leaves, forests, streams, fields. Anything that could possibly confuse those tracking her. While they had stopped chasing her long ago, she couldn't be sure that someone else wouldn't pick up on her scent and come after her again. She wasn't safe anywhere anymore.
With a hazy mind, she made one turn after the next, uncertain of where she had come from. The only certainty she knew was that she was far from home. The pack had a large amount of territory, but she could have been anywhere within its expanse.
Her muscles were on fire, burning as her adrenaline slowly came to a halt. She needed rest, her heart still pounding so fast. She didn't know whether it was from the adrenaline, fear, or running, but shock had worn off long ago. It was necessary to find shelter for the night.
When she finally slowed to a walking pace did she start to feel the pain. She glanced at her back leg, irritated to see a chunk of fur ripped out, bleeding heavily where the skin underneath was wounded. The stupid wolf had managed to bite her. There was a chance of it getting infected if she didn't clean it out at some point.
It was only going to slow her down, she knew. It was a minor thing that she couldn't afford, lest another wolf managed to track her scent.
She lifted her leg off the ground, choosing to limp instead. Her body groaned as she put more weight on her other legs, but the pain in her injured one lessened in response. The faster she could get it to heal, the better off she would be for the future.
Trickling sounded nearby, the soothing noise calming her for a moment before her brain started working again. Water.
She limped towards the narrow stream, dipping until her tongue was able to flick out and touch the cold, sweet surface. A liquid had never tasted so good before, and she spent a good five minutes lapping at it.
It was only when she stopped that she caught her reflection, her wolf's normally night-black fur seemingly smudged with brown. Her pelt was tangled and scruffy looking. She – quite literally – looked like a wild animal.
The wind changed direction, drifting her way her way, bringing along a scent that drove her mind nuts. Her everything calmed at the smell, her mind lulling and her body shutting down.
She felt safe. She felt at home. Her limbs grew heavy as she wandered away from the stream, following the scent. It was so calming, so relaxing, so mesmerizing that she didn't stop to realize two different things.
The first was that she was fading fast, her body giving in to its wishes and leaving her to the darkness, leaving her defenseless.
The second was that she'd crossed a territory line and was no longer in her own pack anymore. Worse, the scent stank of power. She had trespassed on the Royal Pack's land.
Her body slumped, giving its final thoughts as it fell into the darkness with a thump.
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