Happy Campers

"Trevor get us some wood for a fire, Eric see what you can hunt, Kent you mind getting the fire started I'll get you some kindling while Trev gets some logs." I set out the commands.

"Yes sir." They all say splitting for their tasks.

"Can I come?" My little buddy Sam asks.

"Sure thing. We need dry leaves and grass and some twigs to get it started. Trevor will get the big stuff." I tell him and he nods.

We set off into the surrounding woods to find what we need. Before long we have a fire and Eric is cooking up some rabbits.

"You know I can hunt." The leader girl says as we eat around the fire.

"I'm sure you can little leader." I say looking over at her. "But you see in a pack you have an Alpha who decides who does what. He leads the pack to help them thrive. I'm leading this team which makes me like the Alpha. You were left here to help Miss Chelsey with the little ones. Considering you have been caring for them pretty well before you ran into the pack I thought you'd do best there. Eric being older and stronger has a better chance of feeding us all.

"Okay... I guess that makes sence." She shrugs as she rips apart her meat before eating it.

"Okay pups, bed." Chelsey orders them and they begin laying down, curling up around the fire to sleep.

"You keep calling me pup. So you gonna put me to bed too?" I whisper in her ear.

"Leave me alone, Brayden." She growls and I laugh.

"What ever you say." I respond and pull out my sleeping bag.

As I'm getting it ready I realize no one bothered to pack anything for the pups to sleep in and I'm the idiot that didn't notice until now. I see them lying on the ground and make a decision.

I unzip my bag and take it over to them laying it out.

"Eric! Your bag!" I order him and he tosses it to me.

I have the pups curl up on my sleeping bag and cover them with Eric's.

"Sweet dreams pups." I tell them before getting settled on the other side of the fire.

Eric decides to shift to keep warm while I just stay close to the flames. Before long I'm the last one up. I just sit watching the reds and oranges dance across the blacked wood.

"Here." A voice breaks me from my trance. I look up at her. "Come on. I may not want to mate you but I don't want you to freeze." She says holding out a blanket.

"Thanks." I tell her wrapping it around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Brayden. It's just... you're so... young." She says sitting next to me.

"How old are you?" I ask.

"20." She answers.

"You do realize you're only two years older than me? And its not like I'm immature. I'm sure you've realized that by now." I say.

"You're 18... you're barely out of high school! You know nothing about real life!" She says trying to defend herself.

"Believe what you want, Chelsey. You don't want me and that's what matters. We dont have to talk about this. Let's just get the kids to Red Rivers then we can end this." I hiss out not wanting to talk to her. "Just go to sleep." I turn away from her and try to sleep. I hear a sigh and shuffling as she leaves.

°•°•°•°•°•°•

"Ahhhhhh! No! No! Help!" I shoot up as I hear the screaming. I run over and pick up the frightened child holding her to my chest.

"Shhhh... I got you." I whisper to calm her. "Go back to sleep everyone." I say and they all nod and lay back down. "What's your name little one?" I ask as the little girl calms down.

"Te... Tessa." She gets out through her sniffles.

"Do you want to tell me about your dream Tessa?" I whisper trying not to disturb the other pups.

"I... I saw them. When they killed my daddy... they said they couldn't use him so they killed him." She says.

"So you saw the people that hurt your parents?" She sniffs and nods.

"You know I saw my momma and baby sister die too... my daddy was lost at the same time... I was only 4... I'd guess you're not much older than that." I say.

"I'm 5." She tells me.

"You must be stronger than me. I wouldn't be able to calm down as well as you. I swear I'd scream for an hour when I had a nightmare." I tell her and she giggles.

"You think I'm strong?" She asks.

"And brave." I confirm. "You all amaze me... if I was rouge when I lost my family I don't think I could be as brave as you."

"What happened with you?" She asks.

"A kind 19 year old Alpha took me home with him and his pack took care of me." I tell her.

"Like you are for us?" She asks.

"Kinda... go to sleep now little Tessa. I'll be right here to chase away the bad dreams." I smile down at her as she snuggles into my chest. Soon I feel eyes on me and see the little leader watching me.

"Go to sleep little leader." I tell her.

"I can take care of my own, sir." She spits at me.

"You can. I have no doubt about that... but you shouldn't have to. You're still a pup. You should be care free. You should be irresponsible and have fun. You shouldn't have to care for a group of pups." I tell her.

"I am grown enough! They need me. You don't need to treat me like a child!" She yells and I laugh. She reminds me of someone.

"What's your name little leader?" I ask.

"Gabriella." She answers.

"Let me tell you a story Gabriella. When I was younger I was smart and mature and just far beyond my years mentally. Much like you. I hated people treating me like a pup. They kept telling me to relax and act like a kid but I didn't want to. I pushed them until when I was 14 they finally let me skip high school and go to college. I crammed classes into every moment of my day and pushed myself in training. My childhood ended when I was 4 but I threw any semblance of youth out the window at 14. I don't regret the education I've gained but I think the adults may have been right. I regret that I denied my childhood. Eventually there is no going back. One day you won't have a choice but to be grown up. Take it from me be a kid while you can. I'll take watch tonight. Get some sleep, little leader." I tell her.

Gabriella's scowl lifted by the end of my story and she seemed lost in thought. Eventually she snuggled back in with the pups and fell asleep. Once again I found myself watching the fire burn. I held Tessa as she slept soundly in my arms until daybreak.