Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 4

I woke up as the birds started serenading the new day. In theory, it sounded like a lovely and nice way to wake up, but birds start singing at an appallingly early hour. The sun had not even risen yet. This was one reason that I preferred the rabbit burrow; I could sleep past daybreak if I wanted. I yawned as I slowly woke up and nibbled daintily on a piece of smoked rabbit while waiting for the sun to rise.

I eventually climbed out onto the branch and looked around. I didn't see any movement, but I couldn't really trust scents up this high in the trees due to the light breeze whisking away the smells of anything below. I shifted into my human form and used the forest highway to check on the smoker once more.

I never walked on the ground beneath my tree penthouse in case the scent attracted attention, so I waited until I was back at the smoker before carefully scanning the ground and climbing down. Some smoke was still coming out of the top of the pipe, but the rabbit was likely done by now.

I absentmindedly grabbed a handful of willow leaves off a shrub and lightly rubbed them on my arms and clothing. I had done this with pine needles last night as well. I took turns using various plants so my scent didn't smell too strongly of any one plant. I walked over to open up the smoker. The rabbit was done, so I used some tongs to put the tray on a stump to cool before closing the smoker back up.

I heard a twig break not far away and twisted my head to check the area, although I didn't see anything except for trees and shrubs. It could easily be a rabbit or any of a dozen other creatures that were common around here, but I wasn't about to take any chances. Just to be on the safe side, I ducked down and shifted before scooting underneath a small bramble bush.

I perked my ears and swiveled them back and forth, trying to pick up any additional sounds. I couldn't hear anything, but that in itself worried me. The small songbirds had gone silent. They ignored my human presence and runty wolf form, so another predator was nearby.

I sat and peered out from under that shrub for a long time. I didn't hear anything or pick up any other scents. I remained in my hiding spot for quite a long time before the birds slowly started singing again, meaning that the predator had likely left the area.

I was thirsty and tired of sitting here on high alert for so long. The smoked meat would be cold by now, so I could quickly grab it and hit the forest highway. Perhaps I could visit the nearby pack and check how that fight had turned out. If any of the ferals had escaped, I wanted to know about it.

I carefully crept out from under the shrub and trotted towards the meat. A hint of tan out of the corner of my eye froze me in my tracks. I swung my head towards where I had seen the flicker, but couldn't see it anymore. My heart started beating faster; that color was the right shade for a cougar.

I pricked my ears and tilted my head while concentrating; it had been a long time since my short stint as an Omega, but the rather limited abilities still remained if I tried to use them. I opened up my Omega senses. Wolves. They didn't have that aura that ferals gave off, so it was another group of werewolves.

There were four of them in a half circle facing me. At this point, they were unable to see me, although the tan one in front of me had gotten a glimpse of me and had likely alerted the others through their mindlink.

The wind shifted and I finally caught their scent. My eyes widened in nervousness. It was a pack scent - and not a pack I had ever scented before. In no man's land, pack rules didn't really apply and some packs were well known for attacking rogues for fighting practice even when the rogues had done nothing wrong. My Omega senses told me that they were focused on me even though they could not see me at this point.

I took a few slow steps backward as my heart sped up; this was not a good situation. I could not climb a tree fast enough to evade full-grown wolves and they could easily shift to their human form in pursuit of me. Their endurance trumped mine in either form. I was not near any large bramble bushes and a small one would not be sufficient protection from four determined wolves.

So now the question remained, did they mean me harm? The fact that they had remained hidden for at least half an hour as they waited for me to come out was not a good thing. Most friendly rogues or pack members would shift into human form and call out. Only trouble stalked and waited in ambush.

All of the scents were male and my Omega senses told me that they were strong fighters. This made me very worried. I almost wished that a feral had escaped the other pack and had found these guys before they had found me.

My eyes darted to the side as a dark brown shape skulked in the long grass. His belly was almost touching the ground as he crept forward while trying to keep out of sight. His eyes met mine and widened as he realized that he had gotten caught. I whirled around and ran in the other direction as fast as my small feet could carry me. My heart sank as I heard four sets of footsteps following in hot pursuit.

I used tactics that many small animals did, such as trying to go where larger creatures were unable to follow. I darted under several small bramble bushes and kept going out the far side. It may momentarily slow me, but they had to make a detour. My heart was flying even faster than my feet as I tried to evade my pursuers.

I heard a yelp as one tried to follow and realized seconds too late that the thorns on the bramble bush were capable of piercing even a full-grown werewolf's fur. I darted under partially fallen logs and through rose bushes; thankfully, the rabbits had beaten many trails into the ground around here and I used them readily as I raced through the forest. I was breathing hard as my heart raced with fear and exertion.

My steps faltered as I sensed that two of the wolves had sped ahead on a larger circuit and were waiting to intercept me. I launched towards a tree and used my feet to ricochet off at a ninety-degree angle without slowing my speed.

One of the wolves following further behind was able to easily correct for my new direction and picked up speed. His other companion had been close on my heels and was going too fast to change direction so swiftly. It would take him a minute to catch up, but the tan one was closing in, and I started to panic.

There were no larger bramble bushes in this area for me to hide under, nor did there seem to be any other sort of shelter. I wasn't going to be able to maintain this sort of speed for very much longer and the pursuing wolves were getting closer.

I saw a black hole under a small bramble bush and desperately raced towards the rabbit burrow. I darted under the edge of the bramble bush as the tan wolf went around. He had been expecting me to come out the other side like I had always done before, and it gave me the precious seconds I needed to squeeze down the rabbit tunnel. If he had kept on my heels, he would have caught me. He had not expected me to fit into a rabbit burrow.

My relief was short-lived - the rabbit that had dug this burrow had obviously not survived long enough to finish it. There were no escape tunnels, and the den itself was far too close to the surface. I turned around with immense difficulty in the cramped den.

The tunnel was only about twice as long as the average human arm and almost completely straight. I could clearly see the bramble bush above the tunnel opening as I panted. I sent a silent prayer in hopes that the bramble bush would deter them and that they would not realize just how shallow this burrow was. I waited anxiously.