The Shabby Man

Chapter Seven: The Shabby Man.

Outside the border of the Green Valleys, beyond the destruction Stefan's men caused on the three lands of the Alpha King, a man and a girl stood.

The man was dressed in shabby outfits, with a big backpack behind him. He held a small girl with tattered hair in his hands. They both stood, jaws dropped, staring at the destroyed lands.

The man turned to the east and sighted the High Mountains Pack, which he visited as a kid, in ruins, fire going to the skies above it. 

The little girl, on his hands, tapped him and pointed at a farther river, which was trashed with dead bodies. The man gasped, letting go of the girl and running the miles towards the river.

"Silent River Pack is destroyed!" The man, Darren, let out a painful howl and collapsed to the ground. His parents and sister. There was nothing left.

He forced himself into the river, hoping to cross to the other side, where there was land, but the bodies made it hard to swim, and the water was disgusting with blood and filth.

"Dada!" the little girl screamed. 

With teary eyes, Darren turned back to her; she was attempting to follow him into the water, scared by the dead bodies around her. 

He turned back to the land, his heart heavy, and no words formed. Everywhere was desolate; a stronger pack must have attacked and taken over the land. 

But it didn't look like it; they destroyed everything and killed everyone. They weren't taking over but vanquishing.

Darren swam back to the girl before she drowned in the dirty water. His trousers were soaked, and he brought down his backpack to change.

There wasn't sanctuary anywhere, not even in his own pack. In an attack, his father, the Alpha, would surely be the first to die. 

He was returning from exile after so many years, but he couldn't meet the arrogant eyes of his father, the loving eyes of his mother, or answer the inquisitive questions of his little sister. 

He held the little girl in his hands closely. She was all he had left. The child he found besides her dead mother and promised her love with his mother. Now, they were both without mothers.

A loud howl disrupted Darren's moment of mourning. He looked up expectantly, expecting a wolf he knew, but instead saw a huge brown wolf running towards him in anger. 

There was a blue band on its legs, one that Darren couldn't recognize.

"The enemy pack! They've spotted us!" He panicked, running up a hill. As he ascended with the little girl in his arms and the heavy bag behind him, he caught sight of the Green Valleys pack miles away.

He paused, seeing how green and lively it was looking. It didn't seem like war had happened on it.

And why? The High Mountains Pack and the Silent River were allies of the Green Valleys Pack. None should go down without the other.

The wolf behind him growled, jolting him from his thinking, and he forced himself higher above the hill and jumped to the other side.

He slid down and fell with his butt; the little girls clutched to his chest and cried.

Without wasting time to rest, he dragged his backpack and advanced towards the Green Valleys Pack.

It was the only place that looked safe and could give him information on what happened.

He peeked into the gate of the pack; some sickly men and women were dragging a cart in through the gates. 

He blended with them and helped them push it. Seeing he was a stranger, they frowned at him, but as he was the strongest amongst them, they left the cart for only him to push.

Darren peacefully accepted, and the little girl tagged along, holding onto his trousers. They got in, and he immediately broke off from them.

He looked around the place; it hadn't changed, and there was no proof of battle inside, but there was a sorrowful feeling within it. Many of the stalls had new owners; there were new faces. 

It had been five years since Darren visited the pack with his father, Alpha Denzel, but he was sure that the Green Valleys Pack's flag was green with sprouting flowers, not the black marl of claws in a red background. 

"Someone had taken over Green Valleys but didn't spare the other packs." He concluded, walking in slowly. He found an old stall where a cobbler worked and inched towards him.

"Hello, good sir." He whispered. The man shivered but relaxed when he saw it was only a shabbily dressed man and not a soldier.

Darren wondered what kind of fright he had been through. "Sir, I am a traveler, originally from Silent River Pack. What happened there?" 

The old man's eyes widened. He looked around before pulling Darren and the little girl into his stall. He rushed and brought down all the windows as well.

"There was an invasion." The man croaked, cleared his throat, and continued. "Some Lycan prince took over our lands. He has the princess in hostage too."

Darren slowly left the seat that he had sat in. "Lycan Prince?" Dread seeped into his heart.

Lycans? There were Lycans that still roamed their lands?

"Yes, he unapologetically told us he's a Lycan. King Titus killed his family years ago; this was his revenge. He rules us now." The man sobbed.

The little girl pouted, seeing the older man cry. She went to him and gave him a hug on his legs. The man sniffed but gave her a smile.

Darren was in a world of his own. A Lycan prince had destroyed his home and captured Princess Laurel. Perhaps he hoped to have her as a mistress. 

He stomped his feet in anger. "That man will pay! How can you all let this happen?"

The old man frowned. "We lost our friends and families! The elders accepted him, saying King Titus was a tyrant anyway. What'd we do?"

Darren scoffed, looking away. The little girl walked back to him with a questionable expression.

"I don't know what to do, Ella. If the Lycan finds out I am an Alpha's son, he'd kill me."

The old man snapped his head at him. "An Alpha's son? Which Alpha?"

"Alpha Denzel. Not quite his son, as he exiled me after disowning me, but all the same. I never expected to return and see this."

The old man felt pity for him. "The worst place to be is prison. Even hell is better. I wonder how the princess is doing; she has never had a fair life."

Darren looked up at the flag of the Lycan Prince on the old man's stall. "What's the name of the pack?"

"Black Claw Pack. It's radiating so much evil, right?"

He nodded. "It does. I need to find a way inside the prison. To break the princess out."

The old man shrieked. "What?" 

"Promise me that you'd never tell anyone of my identity, and you'd keep Ella safe." Darren pointed at himself and then at the girl.

The old man hesitated, then nodded. "I will, but it's too dangerous."

"Don't worry, I'd be fine. Three packs can't end like this." Darren looked up at the flag. "The inferior one has to go down."