Part of the Pack

Value what you have, for it will not last forever.

Wandering aimlessly through the hills, I forlornly wondered if there was an end to my suffering. Hearing a distant Lupe howl, I didn't even think before howling back, my rough brown muzzle pointing upwards at the full moon, my voice more ragged than it once was.

     Immediately, the other howling stopped, and briefly I wondered why only one Lupe had howled; surely I was the only lone Lupe on the Plains? But my thoughts were short lived when I heard distant pounding that meant only one thing; the Lupe was running towards me.

     Laughing out loud, my laugh even more ragged than my howl, I turned to face the other Lupe. It stood no chance against me.

     After several minutes it stood before me, and I nearly ran away myself. Now I knew why it was alone. It was like me; its blue shorts torn and ripped, so much smaller than they needed to be, its brown fur rough and matted in many place, its dark green eyes looking back at my own very nearly black ones.

     "So." Finally I spoke. After so many months of silence, my own voice sounded strange and foreign to me, bringing back memories of the past, my past in the pack. "There is another Werelupe on the plains. You are new. Your eyes are not yet black. Who created you?"

     But still it stared at me, not speaking. It slowly circled me, as if it wanted to fight. I heard my deep laugh come out unwillingly, and growled slightly, making it stop in its tracks. "If you fought me, you would need more than a visit to the Healing Springs. I am not new to this way of life. I am a true Werelupe. You are nothing but a Lupe turned were by the humors of humans.” I spat on the ground in disgust before continuing, “I was born to hunt and scavenge without mercy. You know nothing of what it means to be a Werelupe."

     Quicker than the eye could blink, I tackled the smaller Werelupe, who tried to dodge; though its senses were as sharp as mine and ten times more powerful than a normal Lupe’s, I was stronger and faster.

     Within seconds, I had it pinned to the ground, and put my teeth around its exposed neck. I withdrew, standing up and stepping back a few paces. "I could defeat you as easily as we can defeat others. Give me a reason not to." It was not a request, and I could see the effort it took the new Werelupe to not defy me. It was not used to being inferior to anybody, now that it was a Werelupe at least, but I gave it no choice; it must bow to my wishes or else.

     "I do not remember." Now that it spoke, I could hear that it was male and that I was right. His voice was rough, but not as rough as mine, which came from years of doing nothing but hunting. He was only months into this life at the most. "I remember a pack, and growing up, but the moment I went on my first great hunt, a human caught me. I remember nothing else, except that I escaped from the human as this beast."

     "So you were subjected to the Lab Ray or a Paint Brush. There is no worse way to turn into a Werelupe than by the whims of humans."

     He bowed his head, his ears hanging down. "To tell the truth... I do not want to be a Werelupe. I want to be one of the pack again, to run without this feeling of terrifying strength, to hear and see only what needs to be heard and seen. I do not want this life."

     I stared at him, amazed that even a young Werelupe like him would dare to show weakness in front of others, and then I saw a tear of his fall to the ground. Suddenly, I was reminded of last Lupe I saw cry...

      * * *

     "Seth!" The beautiful shadow Lupess cried, tears cascading down her cheeks. "Don't do this! We're your pack! I'm your sister!" Her voice jolted me into reality, like none of the screams of my victims had done. I lowered the gigantic paw that I had raised to strike down my sister with, two tears sliding slowly and terribly down my face.

     I let out a ferocious howl to the moon and turned away from her, looking with horror at what I had done. All of my fellow pack members, from the oldest to the strongest and the smallest, had been attacked by myself and the Werelupe that had changed me. The other Werelupe had long vanished. The last words I ever heard spoken by him was right then; he had taken a second to howl his pleasure at the moon before ordering me to make sure none left this scene unharmed.

     Some endured our attack, but precious few, and all but my sister were injured. "Seth, please! Don't do this! That other Werelupe could not have taken away who you are! You are still my brother, and I don't want to see you become one like him! You can be a good Werelupe, Seth! You don't have to be evil! Please!" she begged, tears still flowing.

     "Run, Liana, run from here. I won’t be able to contain myself if you stay. I don't want to hurt you, sister."

     I heard her hesitate, and then say in a whisper, "I love you, Seth. You're my brother. One day I will find you and heal you. Wait for me." And then she ran away, leaving me all alone in the merciless world that the hateful Werelupe had forced me into.

      * * *

     I came out of my trance to see the young Werelupe looking at me with curiosity and a trace of fear. I was shocked at myself; how could I have been doing things like cutting down other Lupes all these years and never once had a hint of remorse? Seeing the fear in my own fellow Werelupe’s eyes, and even more so remembering the terror in my sister’s eyes, not fear for herself but for me, made me realize just how far gone my compassion was and how hard it would be to win it back.

     "Please, just let me go," he said, his voice made even rougher, but somehow more humane, by the tears. "I just want to be a normal Lupe again."

     I went to all fours and felt a pair of tears fall down my face and hit the ground. "I don't want to be a Werelupe any more than you do," I said, surprised to hear the truth behind my own words. "Maybe together we can find a way to go back to the way we were."

     He looked surprised by my words, but I saw the tears stop falling, and knew my own had dried up as well. "I... I would like that. My name is Kian." He wiped away his tears, and looked at me, his eyes full of hope.

     I stood back up, using my large paw to wipe my own tears away. "I am Seth. Are we now part of the pack?" I put out a paw for him to shake, and he took it, smiling a wolfish smile.

     "Part of the Pack."

The End

Author's Note: This is my second story and I hope you liked it! All neomail is appreciated, and be on the lookout for more of Seth's journeys! Thanks for reading, and have a good day! =D

~Kanari