I checked my bag and I had caught two rabbits, mutton for today’s meal, and was thankful for it because I hadn't seen any rabbits on the way back in no man’s land. I headed south to a small and well-hidden smokehouse I had built to smoke the meats I caught. If I ate in one form – human form or wolf form – then I am full in my other form as well. Because my wolf shape was so small, I usually ate in my wolf because I’d get full quickly and it allowed me to stretch my food supply much further, saving the extra meat for the next days.

Eating raw meat is not a problem in my wolf form but I prefer it cooked and clean at least. As I wait for the food to cook, I sharpened the tip of my arrows and took big feathers out of my bag. Bow and arrow, are quite good with this weapon actually than melee combat. As I said, I wasn’t built to be strong and big compared to other normal wolves, I had to use different tactics and weapons to survive in no man’s land.

I looked at my reflection in a pot of water, and my blue-colored eyes returned my gaze. My brown shoulder-length hair was braided and kept on the right side of my shoulder. Then I stood up – I wasn't the tallest person in my human form, standing just over five feet tall, but I had seen shorter people. My slender frame was designed for speed rather than strength but I do wish I was born normal. I could’ve helped my parents on that day the feral wolves attacked my original pack.

I crouched and scanned the surroundings, feeling uneasy for some sudden reason. I quickly climbed to the tree I'd been leaning against and peered down through the branches. My instincts were sharp, and I didn't want to question nor doubt them, even if I didn't know what triggered them. It had kept me out of trouble on numerous occasions in the past.

Then I heard a faint noise below and I turned my gaze in that direction. I squinted through the dense foliage and there I saw eight wolves stalking silently through the forest. No, there were twelve of them. Several people had been lingering further back. I didn't recognize their fur patterns, and the way they moved made my skin crawl and chills slide down my nape to my spine.

I came to a halt when I noticed their red eyes. Wild, merciless wolves… these are feral wolves. Bloodthirsty creatures who killed animals, including other wolves, even when they are not hungry. They were the closest a wolf could get to insanity. They couldn’t even shift. Although some of their human craftiness and reasoning ability remained in their permanent wolf form, their human mind was nowhere to be found. One can never reason with a feral wolf once your head is close to its mouth. Certain feral wolves appeared to be driven to kill anything, anyone they saw, almost as if they were rabid, crazy, and heartless.

I didn’t move an inch and remained silent until they were completely out of my sight. I began moving through the forest quietly, using large branches high above the ground. I met a rogue when I was twelve, his name was Raphal, and he showed me how to travel through these branches years ago. Raphal referred to it as the forest highway.

Werewolves rarely traveled through the trees because their huge wolf form was better suited to run along the ground, not to mention the fact that they would have to be in human shape to travel from branch to branch.

I used the forest highway a lot because my wolf form was small and very few people looked up into the trees. Another advantage of traveling through the trees was that scents high up in the forest were nearly impossible to track from the ground – that is if anyone on the ground picked up the scent at all.

It was unlikely that the feral wolves would smell me. I had a habit of rubbing a mixture of local plants on my clothing and skin to mask my own wolf scent. The majority of rogues did it out of habit. We smelled like the forest, that’s how we survive and avoid one-to-group fights with feral wolves and other wild animals.

I shifted into my wolf form while carefully perching on a thick branch when I was quite a distance from where I had been. I threw up my head and howled an alarm into the almost evening sky. The pack sentries would hear it and be on high alert in case any trouble arose. The feral wolves may be planning on ambushing the east pack.

I quickly shifted back and used the forest highway to put some distance between myself and the location where I had howled. Those feral wolves obviously heard the howl and might try to track down the wolf that had alerted the east pack of their presence.

If ever my location is discovered, I was relieved that they couldn't transform into humans and climb into the trees to chase me. But it would be even better if they never found me at all. I really didn't want to be followed and chased by tenacious and aggressive wolves on the ground below. All of my rogue life, the chase could always mean my death and last breath. I moved through the tree branches quickly and quietly. The only animals who noticed my presence were the birds and squirrels.

As I sat high in a spruce tree, I kept an eye on the ground. I must have been lucky because I had not seen or smelled the feral wolves throughout the afternoon and evening. I hadn't heard anything from the border, either, so the feral wolves might have abandoned their ambush when their cover was blown by my howl. I stayed close to the smoker while it smoked the rabbit meat. The smoke was carefully funneled up a long piece of pipe into the tree canopy until the scent became faint and scattered.

I have been nervous and on the edge since the feral wolves appeared. Tonight, I didn't want to be on or under the ground. Feral wolves were persistent enough to break up bramble branches until they were close enough to dig up any burrow I used to hide. It may have taken them the majority of the day to completely get me out of a deep burrow, but logic didn't really apply to them so they wouldn’t mind spending a lot of energy on digging until I am caught and dead. They will and forever chase me even if I stop running.

My small wolf form did have another advantage. I was small enough to change

forms without falling out of a tree. It was a skill that no normal-sized wolf could accomplish. Because the sun was setting and I didn't want to be out after dark tonight, I took the forest highway to go over to the tree with a deep, hollow hole.

Years ago, when I first came to this place, I built a small structure – a hiding place – in a nearby tree. It appeared to be an old hawk nest, but it had a deep hole and was hollow. The inside was a little larger than the rabbit den, so it was the right size for my wolf form. I also made a nest on the highest part of a tree in case this type of trouble arose.

I settled on top of the bulk tree with a tree hollow. I carefully shifted into my human form and arranged the nest to my liking. I sat in the middle of it, getting cozy and my head resting atop my front paw while watching the sunset. As I yawned, I heard a movement in the forest below. I looked down and saw a small group of wolves slowly making their way towards the east pack border. It was those feral wolves once more. I had already warned the pack, so I stayed put. Once the feral wolves walk past, I decided that I should just sleep inside the tree hollow rather than in this nest.

***

I awoke hours later to howls in the distance. My ears perked up and my wolf body sneaked into the deepest part of the tree hollow. The feral wolves appeared to have launched their attack. Unfortunately for the feral wolves, I recognized the howls of dozens of other fighters winning the battle as well as the howl of the defeated cries from the feral wolves and their failed ambush.

Feral wolves preferred to hunt at night, and the pack had clearly been expecting them. As I drifted off back to sleep, I wondered if they had captured all of the feral wolves or if some had escaped. I do hope they had captured all of them for my night may become more and more petrifying like sleeping in the devil’s den.

As the birds began to sing on the new day, I awoke. It sounded like a lovely and nice way to wake up in novels and fairytale books, but birds start singing at an alarmingly early hour, snapping me awake in exasperation. The sun had not yet risen. This was one of the reasons I preferred the rabbit burrow; I could sleep until daybreak if I wanted to – no bird sound to wake me up. I shook my head and yawned. I scratched my ear before jumping down and moving in a stealthy manner toward the smoker. Before I could nibble daintily on a piece of smoked mutton, I smelled the surroundings for any traces of the feral wolves. After finishing the mutton, I returned to the tree, followed the forest highway through the branches, and waited for the sun to fully rise.

Hours later, I didn't see any movement at this time of day, but I couldn't trust scents this high in the trees because the light breeze was whisking away the smells of anything below. I shifted to my human form and returned to the forest highway to check on the smoker.

I never walked on the ground beneath my tree penthouse for fear of drawing attention to myself, so I waited until I was back at the smoker before carefully scanning the ground and climbing down. It's tedious to secure the premise of no man's land, but it's become a routine to know that I'm safe. Having no one to protect you stinks, but I can't force myself into a pack anymore. I'm useless to them, as the packs who turned me down said.

I grabbed a handful of willow leaves from a shrub and lightly rubbed them on my arms and clothing before venturing into another day of scavenging dead animals, possibly hunting one, harvesting edible plants, and in the hopes of finding rubies as well. I did the same thing with pine needles last night. I alternated between plants so that my scent didn't smell too strongly of any one of them. This is how a rogue runt like me survives in no man's land. I unintentionally smacked the pouch hanging from my belt, causing it to fall to the ground. When it hit the ground, it made a low, jingling sound. And just as I was about to pick up the pouch, I heard a twig break nearby, and its crunch echoed in my ears. My breathing became constricted as I twisted my head to inspect the area. Except for trees and shrubs, I didn't see anything. It could have been a rabbit or any of a dozen other creatures common in this area, but I wasn't about to take any chances. To be safe, I ducked down and shifted before scooting beneath a small bramble bush.

My blue pupils narrowed to a thin line. I perked up my ears and swiveled them back and forth, listening for any sounds of a breathing creature. I couldn't hear anything, which concerned me much. The small songbirds had stopped singing. Harmless creatures in no man's land have always ignored my human presence and runty wolf form, but they've fled this time... implying that another predator is nearby.

I sat for a long time, peering out from under the bramble bush. I didn't hear anything or smell anything else. I stayed in my hiding spot for a long time before the birds began to sing again, indicating that the predator had most likely left the area. I heaved out a sigh, relief to feel safe again.

I was thirsty and exhausted from being on high alert for so long. Maybe I should go check on the nearby pack and ask how the fight between the guards and feral wolves ended. I wanted to know if any of the feral wolves had escaped.

I crept out from under the shrub and trotted past it. A flash of dashing brown and tan fur from the corner of my eye stopped me dead in my tracks. I swung my head in the direction I'd seen the creature chasing me, but I couldn't see it any longer. My heart began to beat faster; that color was similar to a cougar. I'm one dead meat.

I pricked my ears and tilted my head in concentration; it had been a long time since I decided to use my Omega abilities. I may no longer be an Omega in a pack, but my limited abilities remained. This was my last option, so I activated my Omega senses. Wolves, those pursuing me are wolves. They didn't have the aura or smell that the feral wolves did, so they were just another pack of werewolves. I took a deep breath and counted the number of wolves chasing me. They were arranged 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 smelled them. My pupils dilated with nervousness. It was a pack scent - and it wasn't one I'd ever scented before. It was stronger because these were high-ranking wolves. Pack rules didn't really apply in no man's land, and some packs were well known for attacking rogues for fighting practice even when the rogues had done nothing wrong. My Omega senses informed me that they were focused on me and trying to locate me, despite the fact that they couldn't detect me because I had hidden my wolf scent when I rub leaves on my human body.

I took a few slow steps back as my heart rate increased and my breathing became shallow; this was not a good situation. I couldn't climb a tree fast enough to avoid full-grown wolves, and they could easily transform into humans in pursuit of me. In either case, their endurance would outlast mine. I wasn't near any large bramble bushes, and even a small one wouldn't protect me from four determined wolves.

But the fact that they had remained hidden for at least a half-hour while waiting for me to emerge was not a good sign. And now the question was, do they intend to harm me? Will they come after me if I run away? Most friendly rogues or pack members would shift into human form and call out. So, I assumed that these wolves seek only trouble and waited in ambush.

The scents were all male, and my Omega senses told me they were tough fighters. This worried me a lot. I almost wished a feral had gotten away from the other pack and found these full-grown wolves before they found me.

As a dark brown shape skulked in the long grass, my eyes darted to the side. As he crept forward, his belly almost touched the ground as he tried to stay out of sight. His eyes met mine and widened as he realized I had noticed his presence. I spun around and ran as fast as my small feet could carry me in the opposite direction. My heart sank as I heard four sets of footsteps close behind. Damn this, not another chase.

I used strategies that many small animals used, such as trying to go where larger creatures couldn't. I dashed under a few small bramble bushes and continued out the other side. They had to take a detour to reach me under the bushes, so it was an advantage, given that I am slow and would pause for a second to catch my breath. As I tried to stay alive during this chase, my heart was racing faster than my feet.

My steps slowed as I realized two of the wolves had sped ahead on a larger circuit and were waiting to catch up with me. I launched towards a tree and ricocheted off at a ninety-degree angle without slowing down.

One of the wolves trailing me was able to easily correct his sight toward my new direction and gain speed. His other companion had been right on my tail and was moving too fast for me to change direction so quickly. He'd take a moment to catch up, but the tan one was closing in. Damn this wolf, his pursuit of me caused me to panic and almost lose my balance.

There were no larger bramble bushes to hide under in this area, nor did there appear to be any other type of shelter. I wasn't going to be able to keep up this pace for much longer, and the pursuing wolves were getting closer.

I spotted a black hole under a small bramble bush and dashed toward the rabbit burrow. As the tan wolf circled, I dashed under the bramble bush's edge. He was expecting me to come out the other side like I always did, and it gave me the extra seconds I needed to squeeze down the rabbit tunnel. He would have caught me if he had stayed on my tail. He had not expected me to fit into a rabbit burrow.

As I examined the rabbit burrow, I felt a brief sense of relief. The rabbit who dug this burrow had obviously not lived long enough to complete it. There were no escape tunnels, and the den was dangerously close to the surface. In the cramped den, I turned around with great difficulty.

The tunnel was only about twice as long as a human arm and was almost completely straight. As I panted, I could clearly see the bramble bush above the tunnel opening. I silently prayed that the bramble bush would deter them and that they would not notice how shallow this burrow was.

As I listened and used my Omega senses to figure out what was going on above, I tried to keep my panting quiet and slow it down a bit. My Omega abilities have been put to sleep for a while because I hadn’t seen many wolves roaming in no man's land – and I always avoid the place where they train and practice hunting – I’d gotten out of the habit of constantly using my Omega senses. These senses were likely to be rusty from disuse, like stiff muscles that needed to be limbered up, but I could still tell and sense that all four had gathered around the small bush and were inspecting it. The bramble bush wasn't much bigger than the average wolf, so I wasn't sure how effective it would be as a deterrent for them. They were aware that I was present, and their attention was still drawn to me and the burrow underneath the bushes.

I noticed one of the wolves shift into a human form. Not long after that, I noticed a rope pass through the burrow entrance. As I heard the bramble bush shake and crack, my heart began to race once more. The man grunted as he and one of the wolves hauled on the rope that had been looped around the plant's base. Another wolf joined in, and the bramble bush was uprooted from the thin rocky soil with a rustle of leaves and loose dirt.

I could see a blue sky through the entrance a few moments later. A black wolf peered into the burrow, blocking my view. As he measured the distance between us, his sharp brown eyes locked onto my terrified eyes. He took a step back before beginning to dig at the tunnel's entrance. As they widened the tunnel, the dark brown wolf joined him, and their powerful legs made quick work of digging out the loose dirt and pebbles.

I wriggled against the wall behind me and desperately looked around, but I was at the very end of the tunnel and there is no way out. As they got closer, I began to tremble and made a low growl. There was soon insufficient space for the two wolf to dig, so the black wolf backed up and let the dark brown one takes over the entire digging operation.

I whimpered in terror, knowing that he was close enough to reach me with his paws if he tried. He sat back on his haunch seconds later, inspecting the tunnel's remains. As he shifted, I blinked in surprise. When he leaned forward, I pushed myself back against the dirt as far as I could.

"Come here, you..." he said, reaching a large hand into the tunnel, but my wolf form didn't stand a chance against the large man, so I snapped my teeth in warning. It didn't seem to bother him as he reached for me again. I swatted his hand with my paws, attempting to dig my nails into it. It wasn't like a scratch would deter a werewolf in either form, but there wasn't much else I could do. I growled, this time it is loud, trying to make it as a serious warning as he reached deeper into the burrow.

I swung my head around to bite his hand as his fingers brushed against my shoulder. My teeth clamped down on warm skin, and the faint taste of metallic blood indicated that my teeth had pierced his skin. He grunted in surprise and jerked his hand upwards, out of the tunnel, as an automatic reflex. My head hit the top of the

tunnel as a result of that biting scene and was somewhat stunned by that hit, pushing me to let my guard down. He skillfully grabbed the scruff of my neck, taking advantage of my dazed, stunned state.

I yelped in terror, trying to scratch him with my claws because I couldn't land a second bite from the way he was holding me. As he dragged me out of the tunnel, my claws scrabbled against his wrist and forearm in fear. I writhed in his grip, trying to break free.

There wasn't enough space to shift, and even if there was, it wouldn't help me much against four skilled fighters. He quickly pinned me to his chest with both arms, a well-known tactic for preventing runts or young pups from reverting to their larger human form. I struggled in his grip, but it was futile.

He backed out of the hole he'd dug before turning around to face his three human friends standing behind him. They all appeared to be in their twenties, and they were beaming with pride at their success in locating me. The guy holding me chuckled as he told them, "Sure has sharp claws, for a moment I was beginning to wonder if I had managed to grab a feral cat."

When the previously tan-colored wolf took a step forward, I redoubled my efforts to break free. But the man who was holding me had me firmly pinned in his arms, and my struggles didn't bother him. The approaching man blinked at my terrified attempts before saying, "Easy there.” He said in a comforting tone as he tries to pacify me. “Calm down.”

He drew his hands closer to me and I could almost bite it but I practically froze in disbelief when he began to softly pet my fur, despite the fact that not much of my fur was visible due to the way the man had me pinned. I examined the man, still in this disbelief. They had ambushed me for half an hour, chased me halfway through no man's land, dug me out of the ground, pinned me tightly so that I couldn’t shift and escape, then one of them told me to calm down? Go easy? What the hell was wrong with these guys?! I made a low growl, low enough to still allow the man to pet my fur.

He blinked in surprise. "Wow, this kid has a lot of soft furs."

The guy who was holding me snorted. "Well, those teeth and claws aren't exactly soft."

Another guy came in closer and tilted his head in confusion as he examined me. "Uh, guys, I don't believe that's a puppy."

The other two looked at him as if he were insane before returning their gaze to mine. They mistook me for a puppy? They clearly needed to have their heads checked. Pups were like dogs with oversized paws and tails. My body proportions were normal for a mature wolf; I was just a lot smaller. To be fair, if they were in wolf form, I was about the size of an eight-month-old child. But I don’t believe I look like a pup or maybe they have never seen a runt before?

They all turned to face me, their expressions varying from disbelief to confusion. One of the men sniffed. "Well, he hasn't got any scent."

Puppies didn't have any real scent until they reached adolescence, but they missed the obvious fact that I smelled like the forest rather than having no scent at all. That made a significant difference for those who were paying attention to what was going on around them. I tried a little twisting, but this guy was clearly much stronger than me. Another guy approached, and I pinched my ears back even more with a growl.

"Some rogues can camouflage their scent. Look at his ears, they aren't oversized as a pup would be. Come to think of it, a pup would not have been able to evade us like that. He had far too much coordination and pulled far too many evasion tricks for a pup."

The man who was holding me looked down, surprised and unsure. "However, a runt would be unable to survive as a rogue..."

When the fourth guy approached, the other two backed up to let him pass. I froze in terror as my Omega senses detected his Beta blood. He wasn't an actual Beta, but was likely the brother to one and definitely had Beta parents, as well as the added strength and speed that the bloodline gave him. He suddenly leaned his face close to mine, and I bared my teeth in a silent terrified warning.

He glanced up at the guy holding me as he commented, “And how about these sharp teeth? Obviously not the typical baby teeth, eh?” Someone off to the side started laughing, then the man with Beta blood in front of me spoke again. "If we put you down, can you shift so we can properly apologize for our actions without you inflicting scratches and wounds on us?"

My growl lowered down until it faded, my ears somehow relaxed. I blinked slowly, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice when I was surrounded by four of them – one with Beta blood. It was a little surprising that they wanted me to change positions so that the apology could be delivered face to face. It was a more respectful gesture than simply apologizing to me while I was in my small wolf form.

They wouldn't have asked me to shift if they didn't intend to harm me, right? Because I am certainly carrying weapons in my human form and could use them, in case they harm me. I gave a wary nod to the man who had been speaking. The person who had pinned me had already loosened his grip. He knelt down to gently place me on my feet before standing up and taking a few steps back to make room for me.

Was it true that they thought I was a puppy, or was this a trick? They clearly had the upper hand over my wolf form. They had also identified me as a rogue at this point, and rogues were known to have tricks up their sleeves in case they were cornered in human form. Rogues could be quite unpredictable at times, so he was understandably cautious at my actions, even if I was a runt. Before shifting, I took a look around at the four people around me. I blinked, felt my wolf form shift to human form, and moments later, I found myself standing on two feet. As I shifted my weight and considered my possible escape routes, I kept a wary eye on the four people around me. The guy who had pinned me was turning bright red, and they were all stunned. I took a look at myself, but I was dressed normally. Why were they embarrassed and their face turning into almost a red tomato?

I, once again, look at myself from head to toe and thought of the weapons I have. I wore a heavy belt knife and carried a bow and arrows in my backpack. I was aware that I had a number of slim blades balanced for throwing hidden in various sections of my clothing, but they were well hidden from view.

I returned my gaze to the four of them. With all four surrounding me, I wasn't going anywhere unless they let me go. I have a half-chance of escaping, runnig into the nearest tree, and use the forest highway but… damn it, I surely know they would still catch me. I wish a feral wolf could ambush us so that I can run away.