NxK Full Series

Chapter I: Love Like Poison

By now, most of the wolves in my pack had mates. But not me. I had never found that connection, that passion, for any wolf. And my pack was always very particular about staying in the species. Guess Im destined to die alone. Or so I thought.

My eyes opened, taking in the apartment filled with cardboard boxes stacked higher than the bed. My best friend and I had just moved into the apartment the previous night and hadnt had the time or energy to unpack yet. I shifted my gaze to the ceiling. Then, the radio alarm I had set went off, blasting Metallica through the speakers. It went off so suddenly that I instinctively jumped and accidentally rolled off of the bed and into a stack of boxes, which collapsed and spilled their contents all over me. Sitting up, I sifted through the contents and placed them back in the boxes. I stopped when I picked up a framed photo of me posing with a group of rowdy wolves--my pack. We took this before I left, having given them no warning.

I set the picture on the table next to the bed and rose to my paws. I twisted my back, trying to stretch every last muscle before walking out of the room into the adjoining bathroom. In the gleaming, recently cleaned surface of the mirror, a purple-maned, black and blue wolf stared back at me. I fussed with my eternally messy mane, soon giving up and moving to brush my snout full of teeth. After pulling on a faded black tee and dark denim jeans, I stared at my reflection and prepared for my day.

Looking at me, one would never guess that I struggle with confidence. Ive always been different than others. I was born a black wolf to a pack of greys and reds. Born an anthro in a predominantly human city. 19 and still unmated. A canine, best friends with a saber-tooth. Abnormal purple eyes. And the cherry on top: the pupil of my left eye is a broken heart. Others tend to be a little apprehensive, that is if they arent just plain scared, as humans and more timid anthros tend to avoid me. I dont like scaring people, but I could see how I could come across as intimidating.

I let out a heavy sigh. They say that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, I quote. Letting loose another sigh, I flicked off the lights and exited the room. I grabbed my phone and earbuds from the night stand and left the apartment, immediately regretting opening the door. Across the hall, two anthro girls, a fennec fox with a sandy coat and an avian--a raven--were passionately making out, the fennec pressed against the wall next to the door to their room. The fennec saw me and pushed the raven off of her, embarrassed. Fila, why dont you come in, she told her partner. Okay, Mina, the raven responded. The otter, Mina, pulled out her room key and they went inside. When Dio and I were looking to buy the apartment, the owner warned us about our neighbors being a littlefrisky.

I tried to shake the sight out of my head while walking towards the elevator. Thankfully, the elevators descent to the ground floor was uneventful. Once I had walked out of the complex, I pushed the earbuds into my ears and hit play on Fall Out Boys album MANIA. I ignored the strange looks, double-glances, and avoidance of the people, humans and anthros, around me as I made my way to what Yelp listed as the best café within walking distance.

. . .

Not long after, I had a steaming cup of mint chocolate latte. As I stared at my reflection in the coffee, I zoned out from the world and retreated to my mind.

I had never been so far away from home. Or my pack. I left because there was too much pressure with me lined up as the next Alpha. Too much pressure to mate. That, and they never really liked Dio. Dio, short for Dionysus, was my best friend, though most people thought we were a couple. Even if we were gay, Dio was too much like a brother. The pack never liked us being friends because he was a saber-tooth and I was a wolf and my pack was very strict about tradition. But he saved me from a destiny, a burden, that I didnt want. And when we left, they all thought it was his idea not to tell anyone. It had been mine.