The twists of fate

It was a cold drizzly day in late October as the evening patrol went out to do their rounds in the Silver Holly Pack. They were the largest and strongest pack in the region, so much so that their alpha was even recognized as one of the four alpha kings. This being the case, many of the wolves charged with patrol on miserable evenings like this were somewhat resentful of the duty. What was the point of subjecting themselves to such horrid weather when there was no real chance of attack? None of the neighboring packs would ever be foolish enough to attack a king and the only rouges that had been spotted nearby in over a year was a small pack of children camping in the north.

While they had been ordered to keep an eye on them they had shown no signs of being violent, and even if they had the strongest among them could easily be taken out by the average house wife. Yes, these patrols felt like a massive waste.

This particular day was different, however. Just as the patrol reached the northern forest a young girl, no older than fourteen stepped out of the woods. No sooner than she had the girl dropped to her knees stuck her hands into the air.

This particular gesture was meant as a gesture of good will, intending to show that she meant no harm, but the sight put the patrolling wolves on edge. They circled around the girl threateningly, recognizing her immediately.

Most werewolves shifted for the first time around their sixteenth birthday, but this girl appeared to be one of the exceptions. In their observations of the rouges in the area she was determined to be the defacto leader of the group, dispute her young age. This was widely believed to be because she had shifted young, very young from their observations, as she was already comfortable with her shift a year ago when the group first moved into the area. Her status with the rouges made the idea of a rouge attack much more likely once she revealed herself, and more than that her timing in doing so meant that as much as they had been watching them the rouges had been watching their pack as well. Otherwise, how could she have known exactly when the patrol would be passing? They had gotten careless.

The girl in question looked at them quietly, waiting for them to make up their minds on how to handle her. After a few minutes, when they didn't attempt to kill her she decided to speak. "Take me to your alpha." Her voice was calm and strong without wavering in her conviction.

The wolves around her were even more stunned. They didn't know what to make of such a request. Looking at the girl they could only note her light hair being dirty and tangled into knots, the thick layers of tattered and dirty clothes that covered almost every inch of her body, the thin sunken frame of a girl who looked so thin and pale that it was pitiful to look at, and the way that her bright eyes shone, almost appearing white as they filled with the intensity of her determination. It was perplexing and out of place to see such a look on the girls face, especially knowing that her request could very well mean her death, yet she still repeated her words, only louder this time.

Finally, one of the wolves reached out to their alpha through mindlinking and received a somewhat amused response.

Bring her here. He said.

With that they were left with no choice they shifted back to their human forms and did as instructed. One man bent down to help the girl up, but she stubbornly insisted on getting up on her own and even walking by herself as well.

The girl in question was Marie Limerick, and while she may be nothing more than a lonely rouge with no home of her own now, she was in fact the only daughter of the former alpha of the Red Dawn Pack. It was a small pack, but under her father's leadership it was a strong one that stood by its values. That was all the past now, though. Since her father had died everything had changed. Her mother found a new mate, a destined mate. The thought sickened her. To young Marie he was the most vile of men. He first killed her father, then destroyed his legacy by twisting his pack into a in aggressive power hungry monster of a pack, and finally did away with his own mate. None of this, however, even came close to covering what he had done to her.

The scars inflicted by his hand littered her body, and only by the grace of the goddess was she able to avoid his mark on her neck and manage to escape to live as a rouge. In this she could not deny that she was truly blessed. Not many in this life ever received the goddess' blessing, and the blessing she had received was no laughing matter. She could not be harmed. Any wound inflicted on her healed instantly leaving no scar, even a mating mark like the one her mother's mate had tried to give her. The exception was in wounds she took on for others. These healed so slowly as to be almost human in nature. She also could be marked by one person, one she was confident she never would want to meet. Her mate, her destined mate. This was one man who would someday be able to mark her with her consent, and one she couldn't reject. Instead, she would simply have to convince him to reject her once the time came.

Her mother's mate was exactly why she was there. She had spent the first year after escaping doing nothing but running from his men. As other rouge children were drawn to her, however, she couldn't bring herself to turn them away. Instead, she settled just outside the Silver Holly Pack territory to stop his people from getting to close. Not only was approaching their territory dangerous for another alpha, but his reputation as a kind and generous alpha made it unlikely that he'd target the rouge children under her care. It was a gamble that had paid off for a while, but time was up. She had seen the patrols closing in, and to protect those under her care she now had to make a more drastic move. It was for them that she moved forward.

For this she made the long trek through the pack land to the pack house. She refused help and kept moving even when she felt weak from hunger and exhaustion. Even when her vision blurred and she struggled with her balance she would not allow herself to look weak.

While her efforts were admirable, they were somewhat in vain. The men escorting her saw through her act with ease, yet they also admired her determination. They had no idea what was so important to her, but they had rarely ever seen someone willing to risk so much. This being the case they found many excuses to delay their trip and take short breaks to ease the journey. As such the normally 20 minute walk took nearly an hour.

Once they reached the pack house Marie looked around eagerly to try to get an understanding of the kind of place this pack was. Everywhere she looked she saw signs of a happy and thriving pack, none more prevalent than the fact that the wolves around the pack house at this time felt no need to hold to formalities or avoid those of higher ranks.

The house itself was more of a mansion than a an actual house, but once within it's walls the atmosphere was open and inviting. The decor was simple yet elegant, and still it was refreshing somehow. Marie couldn't help but be impressed. She instantly felt more at ease. For the first time she was confident she was making the right choice.