01| behind the trees

01; behind the trees

A deep, dangerous growl emerged from amongst the wolves as they wordlessly cleared a path with their heads bowing down for their king. The alpha stepped forward, taking his stand in front of his warriors. He stood tall, glaring and baring his teeth at his opponent. The warriors watched as the leader of the intruding group cowered slightly at the sight of their alpha.

Go home, this fight will do you no good. The alpha growled again, nodding his head forward.

It was understood by all what the alpha meant. Yet, the wolves did not move from their spots.

Normally, Alpha Valius would give them another warning before acting on the rogues but he wasn't in the mood for patience today. To be frank, his wolf has been rather restless lately and it's been affecting his mood.

These pups, they were on his land. Uninvited. On the very soil of the king's land. Foolish as they were, it was too late for them now. These pups were looking for a fight they could never win. And for challenging the king on his home ground, he would make sure they never return. His pupils shifted into a bright shade of gold.

Kill them.

As soon as the command was brought across, the warriors charged forward, ready to tear down their foes. So did the alpha himself, taking on the leader first.

The leader was an easy target. The alpha lunged at the smaller wolf's neck and with a bite, the leader dropped dead on the ground. His blood dripped from the alpha's mouth onto his own lifeless body. He was never born to be a leader after all.

At the sight of their alpha's defeat, the other rogues tried to break free from the warriors and flee. However, they were all killed before anyone could getaway. Never leave a chance for revenge.

Alpha Valius was a majestic looking beast in wolf form. His massive body was covered by thick and luscious silver fur with grey tips.

He was a ruthless leader and for that, he made a successful one. His pack members were always safe because of his reputation. At the young age of twenty-four, he had made a name for himself and risen above all the other Alphas in power. Nobody messed with the blood KING, for messing with him would be messing with death.

As soon as everyone presented had finished off with the unwanted guests, Alpha Valius had dismissed them back to their training. His wolf was getting more on the edge by the second and it was frustrating him.

The mass run is canceled. I'm going alone.

The alpha mind linked his beta. The beta nodded at his alpha in response and without wasting more time, the alpha took off into the deeper part of the forest.

. . .

With all eyes trained on the mysterious woman, the crowd continued to speak amongst themselves in hushed whispers. The whispers had not stopped since she had entered their borders a week ago. They all watched from afar as their alpha chatted with the mysterious lady in close proximity.

"It is not safe out there now, especially not for a female rogue," Alpha Kyle said, looking at Chelsea pointedly.

Chelsea nodded halfheartedly, "I am aware."

Suddenly, Alpha Kyle grabbed Chelsea's elbow, bringing both of them to a stop from their stroll. "look, why not stay here?"

"This is my pack, you don't have to worry about not fitting in or being a burden here. You'll be safe here too. I can easily make you a pack member," he continued.

Chelsea took a look at his hand on her before looking up at his face slowly. A soft smile spread across her face as she gently removed Alpha Kyle's hands from her elbow.

"Kyle, it'll be fine. I've been trained for the worst scenarios. I appreciate your concern and offer though," she reassured him.

She had always held the power of a leader and the independence of a lone wolf, which were aspects that Alpha Kyle had been impressed with when they first met.

She was a female whose not afraid to walk away alone, one who preferred to walk alone in this dangerous world.

Alpha Kyle did not push her further with any more of his offers to help her settle in. Instead, he had chosen to respect her decision as they resumed their stroll again. Enjoying the comfortable silence between them, Alpha Kyle contentedly look on forward. Wordlessly, they had formed a mutual agreement to drop the subject. Chelsea looked around at their surroundings while Alpha Kyle quietly walked along her side. She knew staying in his pack was an option. Since Alpha Kyle was a childhood friend, staying in his pack would guaranteed her alliance and safety but she could tell she was not welcomed by the others from all the looks she had been receiving lately.

Alpha Kyle might not be bothered by the looks his pack members have been giving his childhood friend since she got here as he was, after all, an unmated alpha with an unmated female. They both understood that the pack members were bound to be curious as to who their luna would be. It was not as if any pack, in particular, has been much of Chelsea's fans over the years anyway, she was used to the looks and whispers.

People thought she was too arrogant, too prideful. She had always held her head up so proudly alone that the other females felt threatened by her confidence. "how is she so close to the alphas?" she heard a female discussing with her friends the other day when she was exploring around Alpha Kyle's territory alone. "I heard she was in the Redwoods pack just weeks before she came and she also seemed so close to Alpha Dylan," one of her friends brought up.

"But she's a rogue. Alphas don't simply befriend a rogue, especially not a female one." Another female added and there was a long pause between the females that followed.

By then, Chelsea had stopped walking, she paused beside the cafe place where the females were gathered outside of out of curiosity. A wall conveniently hid her away from them. Eavesdropping was disrespectful but so was talking behind someone's back. Besides, only a fool would walk away from listening in to gossips about oneself. Chelsea must admit that she could never grow tired of listening to all the rumors about herself.

She counts down to herself. Three, two, one.

"Does the girl not have respect for herself at all?" The females around the table gasped when they all realised they were having the exact same thoughts. And there was that conclusion that she had counted down to. It was different everytime but one thing was for sure, they were never good things.

Chelsea squeezed her eyes shut and let out a breathe, suppressing her urge to defend herself. They will always talk as they like. Knowing the truth was a privilege. Knowing her truth was a privilege. To know her as a person was the privilege. Something they will never get so let them talk as they will.

As Alpha Kyle and Chelsea walked further, Chelsea had her eyes trained on the woods beside their path. She could feel her wolf itching to come out.

Woods. Run.

The woods seemed to be calling for her even more than usual. She loved running in the woods but it had never been an intensive urge like this.

Woods. Run.

It was luring her in. The light breeze teased the trees, making the branches sway ever so slightly.

Woods. Run.

She could feel her wolf breaking through. The need to feel the fresh soil against her paws grew within her. She wanted to run.

Run. Woods. Now.

She turned to Alpha Kyle suddenly, unable to hold back anymore. He would understand, she thought to herself. "I'm going for a run."

Before Alpha Kyle could respond, she had already taken off into the forest.