~Seven years later~
"You have to dig deeper Fin!" I yelled across the field to my cousin.
We were training, again. Fin was only a few years younger then me, but he acted even younger. I watched him huff in annoyance and bend down to pick up the giant tire that stood taller then him. He crossed both arms around the rubber and turned in one swift circle to throw it a few 100 feet away and when it landed it broke the earth loose from the ground.
"That's it! Now ten more of those and you can be done!" I yelled to him again as he jogged his way to me.
His brown hair was getting long and shaggy and his hazel eyes matched Johnson's.
"C'mon Alpha, I'm beat. Can't we just relax? Look how nice it is today." he whined at me before taking a look back at the collection of houses that stood further away from the field.
"And if you hurry up you might get to enjoy some of it." I said back before lifting the tire myself and rolling it back to him.
"Alpha August! Alpha August!"
I looked back over my shoulder at the small boy who had came running from the houses and into the field with me and Fin.
"What is it boy?" I asked with one brow raised at him.
I watched him slow down his running to a stop and he quickly looked up at me and when his eyes hit my face he immediately looked away and back to the ground.
I had healed from the attack from my child hood, but the wolf managed to blind my left eye leaving it white and milky. My wolf took it personally and let the scar stay permanent across my left eye. Wearing it so that nobody would forget what Scout had done to me or my family.
This however did scare most of the children in my pack community and had caused rumors of me being harsh and mean and sometimes cruel. It wasn't exactly true, but I didn't mind if my face or story put fear into some people of the neighboring packs. I cared about my pack only and they were family and I only cared about protecting them.
"There's something going on at the Kyser's farm."
I looked up at Fin and then back to the small boy.
"Okay, go back home to your momma now."
Before I could finish the sentence the boy had taken off and back towards the houses. I nodded at Fin and then gestured towards the tire.
"Finish this before I get back." I warned before turning away from him and the houses.
I walked a ways in the field until I came to the trees that lined our territory into the woods. I shifted into my black wolf and started to run towards the Kyser farm. They were an independent pack apart from my own, but they were our neighbors and we helped one another out.
They would supply us with fresh meat and food from their farm from time to time and we offered protection and help whenever they needed it since they were a much smaller pack then ours. Today it seems like they needed it, which I was happy to help since they had agreed to supply the food for the coming festival.
When I made it to a clearing that reveled the farm I shifted back and began walking through the corn field that lined the property. When I made it to the other side I could see Alpha Kyser himself standing around with a group of other men.
"Alpha Kyser!?" I called out from the corn field.
I wasn't uncomfortable being naked, it was natural really. However, something about walking out in the nude to greet a group of men just didn't sit right with me, so I stayed hidden in hopes they could give me something to cover up with.
Alpha Kyser seemed to have been prepared and walked over before tossing a blanket to the ground by the stalks of corn. I grabbed it and quickly wrapped it around my waist before coming out.
"Hello, Alpha." Kyser said before bowing his head slightly.
"You don't have to do that. What seems to be the problem?" I asked.
He was the Alpha of his pack and although dominance radiated off of him like most Alpha's I was younger and stronger and the size of my pack made me more powerful.
Alpha Kyser looked over at the group of men and they all seemed to get the hint that this was a private matter and they all dispersed, going back to the work they had been doing before.
"This way." He said under his breath before walking away and me following him from behind.
When we walked over to a wooden fenced in area I could clearly see what the problem was.
Laying in the field were three large cows, their was blood that soaked in to the ground from underneath them and they all were laying so close together that it almost looked like they were in a giant pool of blood. Flesh was ripped from most of their bones and flies were swarming around the organs that were discarded.
"Friends of yours?" Alpha Kyser asked in annoyed tone.
"Of course not. I have no idea who would've done this Kyser, but I promise you that I will find out and put a stop to it."
I couldn't take my eyes off the three large carcasses that laid on the ground. Even though I wasn't sure who did it, I couldn't help thinking of Donovan Scout. That attack on my parents was the last time we or anyone else had heard about him. Some think the wolves he was capturing finally turned and killed him, but I knew better.
He was hiding and waiting just like I had been.
He was waiting for the right moment to attack again and so was I. This though, I don't understand why he'd send a wolf to kill some cattle. It could've been worse it could've been Kyser himself or his family laying in a pile of blood. They had been lucky it was just cows.
I put my hand on the wooden fence ready to jump over it when I looked back at the Alpha.
"May I have a closer look?" I asked.
He put his hand up and waved me off before walking away and leaving me alone with the dead animals. As I got closer the smell of dead flesh and blood filled my nose and it made me want to gag.
Wolves who actually hunt and eat like this are usually savage rogues. There was no need to actually kill or eat or hunt like that anymore, since we have the choice to be human we can eat human food and be just as strong and healthy. It was a very old fashioned thing to do. Literally eating raw meat and blood. I had heard before that wolves who still practice this are usually those who choose to stay in their wolf form.
I couldn't imagine anything worse then giving my free will over to my wolf and letting him roam free twenty-four seven.
There were a few bloody prints that lead away from the cows and I could see it was only one set of tracks. Just one wolf did this and usually that would impress me, but these are cows. They don't run or fight so it would've been easy killing for whoever.
I looked around for a minute and when I could tell nobody else could see me I shifted back into my wolf and began to smell the tracks.
Young. Female. And something else that I couldn't pin. I ran towards the woods where the scent lead and I didn't plan on stopping till I found her. The deeper I got into the woods though the more worried I became. Her scent was everywhere and going in every direction that I couldn't tell which way to go. She had obviously been hanging around here for a while.
I eventually decided I would have to look again another time and started running back towards my own pack. When I got into my own territory that's when I stopped running and began sniffing again. Her scent was here too and panic began to fill my body as I forced my wolf to run as fast as it could back to my pack.
When I ran into the field Fin was gone and the tire laid in the same spot I had left it in. I howled loudly for everyone to hear and ran faster through the field towards the pack houses. Everyone began to come outside and I felt calmer seeing that everyone was okay and that we weren't under attack.
Someone tossed a blanket over me and I shifted back and stood up while covering myself.
"What is it Alpha?" Johnson asked looking at me with the same panic I was feeling earlier.
"Listen up!" I yelled loudly so everyone could hear.
"There's a rogue that's been going back and forth between our territory and the Kyser's. It has already killed three of their cattle. Children must stay within the pack houses. No going into the field and no running at night. If anyone hears, sees, smell, anything at all you will tell me immediately. You are not to approach the rogue. We do not know who this is or what they want."
People began to talk amongst themselves and mothers began collecting there children and scurrying them inside. Young men and boys began whispering and talking about the rogue and Johnson looked at me and I signaled for him to follow me. We walked inside the main pack house and up the stairs to my office. When he closed the door I huffed and let out a sigh.
"You think it's one of Scout's?" He asked immediately.
"Of course I do, but I'm not sure. It doesn't make since for him to let himself be known like this. It could just be a random rogue causing trouble".
Johnson leaned his back up against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. His brown hair was cut short and silver hair was starting to form around the sides of his head. He was older now and I wondered if my dad would've start growing grey hairs about now if he were still here.
"Even if it's a random wolf, they don't normally slaughter cows unless.." his eyes went to mine and I finished his thought for him.
"Unless it thinks it's a wolf and nothing else. Yeah I know I've thought about it. We won't know until we catch her."
Johnson leaned off the door and dropped his arms to his sides to look at me.
"Catch her? How are we suppose to do that? Especially if we are thinking she's wild." He asked with seriousness lacing his voice.
"Simon has been collecting hazel wood for me. We can burn it and take its ashes to use." I said calmly.
Johnson rolled his eyes and put his hands up.
"Yeah, well you have to get pretty close to her to use it and it'll be even harder to use in your wolf form. You'll have to be human and you'll have to get her in a trap or something to keep her still long enough."
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my hands over my chest. I was tired, but excited at the same time. Finally something happens, something to tell me that Scout is still out there.
"Don't worry, I've been planning on how to capture one of his pets for a while now."