The clouds gathered as I took the last bite of the raw meat. A taste I honestly miss already. The harsh taste of fresh blood and organs on my tongue was a treat. But I knew that soon I would be denied all of it. Just the thought of eating human products, consuming their nutrient-poor, pre-prepared foods, made me want to vomit. "So..." I heard my sister speak next to me. Her head tilted slightly as she looked at me with her wide eyes. "So..." she repeated, her voice calm but with an unspoken hint of concern. I could feel her golden eyes on me. She had always been good at sensing when something was wrong. Her slender frame leaned against a tree trunk while I devoured the remaining meat on the ground. For a moment I said nothing, chewing the last fibers of the meal and letting the metallic taste of blood linger on my tongue as if it were the last thing I would ever taste. I looked out over the hills towards Newhurst, the town we only knew from afar, a behemoth of steel, glass and concrete. The thought of going there, of having to go there, caused a low growl deep in my throat. Not of fear, but of reluctance. The people there were not like the hunters in the forests - they were civilized, organized, and yet in a way even more dangerous. Emmy, the wolf I was supposed to free, was caught in her trap - and only the gods knew what they were doing to her. "I don't want you to go," she murmured after a moment of silence. "I don't want to lose you too," she paused. Despite her silence, I knew exactly what she meant. But I let her continue. She looked at me, there was a slight sadness in her eyes. Pain that only we could know. "You know what about..." she stuttered to herself. It should actually be inaudible, but with my wolf ears it was inaudible. "Mother..." "Stop worrying," I interrupted, because I knew that our mother would remain a difficult topic in the pack. "I'll bring Emmy home safely! I promise you!" I looked at her and laughed. "I still don't want to," she called a little louder, "Mother said that too, and now she's..." Before she could say it, I covered her mouth with my paws. "Shh, calm down." I let go of her mouth and she looked at me. "Please, no!" Her ears twitched as the wind whistled through the trees. I could hear the worry in her voice, even though she tried to hide it. I snorted and stood up, shaking the remaining blood from my mouth. "I have to. Father ordered it." "Father, father. Always father," she shouted angrily. "The old man can do it himself. He masters the mask better anyway." Seliniea's words hit me harder than I wanted to admit. The anger in her voice was unmistakable, and I knew she was right - Father mastered the mask of humanity that we all had to learn much better than any of us. He could blend in with people without them becoming suspicious. But that wasn't the task he had given me. He had sent me, and I knew deep down that there was a reason why he was doing this, even if I didn't like it. "Seliniea," I began quietly, but she was already shaking her head. "No, Sly!" Her voice broke slightly as she looked me in the eyes. "You're so damn blind when it comes to him. He's using you, like he's used all of us. And Mother... she's proof of that." Her voice trembled on the last word, and for a moment I thought she was going to cry. But she held back the tears, as she always did. She was strong - stronger than she gave herself credit for. I wanted to say something back, wanted to calm her anger, but I couldn't. The duty Father had given me was heavy on my shoulders. I had to free Emmy, because that was the order. But deep inside me, the question also nagged: Would I, like Mother, be just another pawn in Father's plans? Would I suffer the same fate? "It's not about Father," I said finally, forcing myself to remain calm. "It's about the pack. If we don't get Emmy back, we'll lose more than just a wolf. We'll lose our strength, our survival. And you know it." Seliniea looked at me, her eyes sparkling with anger and despair. "And what about you? What do you lose, Sly? Have you ever thought about that?" I hesitated. What would I lose? Maybe everything. Maybe nothing. There was no room for such thoughts. My duties, the responsibility to protect the pack - that was all that mattered. "I will come back," I said, stepping out of the way.
I walked up to her, put a paw on her shoulder. "I promise you. I'll come back, and then we'll talk. But now I have to go." She looked at me, her eyes searching for a spark of truth in my words. For a moment there was silence between us, only the gentle rustling of the wind in the trees accompanying our thoughts. Finally she let her shoulders sink, giving in, but the pain in her eyes remained. "If you don't..." Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "Then I'll look for you, no matter where you are." Part of me was proud of her determination, but another was worried. "You have to look after the pack, Seliniea," I said. "That's more important." She nodded, but I knew she didn't really want to let me go. It had never been easy to separate us. Since Mother... since then. "What's going on here?" asked a voice, tearing us out of our little battle of words. Our heads snapped around and we saw Tobias. Tobias stood there, his eyes narrowed as he stared at us both. His black hair hung wet from the beginning rain in his face, which still bore the imprint of the branch from yesterday's incident, and his clothes clung to his thin frame. He was smaller than us, a human, but not to be underestimated. Father had taken him in when Tobias was a child. Back when he had lost his family after fleeing from hunters. Since then he had grown up in the pack - an outsider who somehow still belonged. "I heard you screaming," Tobias said calmly, but his look revealed that he knew more than he let on. "What's wrong?" Seliniea and I exchanged a quick glance before I answered. "Nothing, Tobias," I said quickly. "We were just... discussing." He stepped closer, his brow furrowed. "Discussing?" He emphasized the word as if he knew we weren't telling him the whole truth. He stopped in front of us, arms folded. "That sounded more like a fight than a discussion." Seliniea opened her mouth to say something, but I beat her to it. "I have to go to Newhurst," I explained. "Emmy is in danger. She was captured by hunters and Father sent me to free her." Tobias raised an eyebrow. "And Seliniea doesn't want you to go." It was not a question. He had grasped the situation faster than I expected. "Right," Seliniea admitted, her voice calmer now but still laced with anger and worry. "I don't want him to put himself in the same danger as our mother..." She didn't say it, but we both knew what she meant. Tobias lowered his head as she said that, and for a moment he seemed deep in thought. I knew he missed Mother too, in his own way. She had treated him like a son, even though he wasn't a wolf. "So father sent you," Tobias finally said, looking at me with his deep, dark brown eyes that seemed almost black in the dusk. "But why alone? Why not with more support?" That was a legitimate question that had been on my mind too. Father could have sent more of us. There were enough capable wolves in the pack that together would be strong enough to free Emmy and defeat the hunters. But instead he had sent me alone. A fact that worried me more with every passing minute. "He has his reasons," I said, although I didn't know what they were myself. Tobias stared at me as if he could read my thoughts, then shook his head. "If you go, I'll go with you." I immediately protested. "No, Tobias, that's too dangerous. Newhurst is not for you. It's a town full of humans. They would hunt you just like they hunted me if they found out you were part of the pack." "I don't care," he replied defiantly. "I've learned to fight. I know how to defend myself. And I'm not letting you go out there alone, Sly. Not when the danger is so great." "You're human," Seliniea interjected, her eyes flashing. "You'd only slow us down." Tobias' eyes narrowed, but he didn't let it bother him. "I may be human, but I'm part of the pack. And I won't let you down. Besides... who can deal with humans better than me?" He grinned slightly, but his voice was serious. I hesitated. Tobias had a point. His ability to move among humans was unique in the pack. If I had him with me, it might be easier to get into the city undetected. But the risks were high. If he was caught, he would not only betray us, but also put his own safety at risk. "Tobias, this is different," I said quietly, trying to make him understand the seriousness of the situation.
To make it clear. "We're not talking about a game. This is real. The hunters in Newhurst have weapons, technologies you've never heard of. They know how to hunt wolves." He looked at me for a long time, his expression firm. "And that's why you're not going alone." He took a step closer to me and put his hand on my shoulder, a human act of connection that always seemed strange to me. "I've lost as much in this pack as you have. Maybe even more. But I'm not abandoning my family." Seliniea took a step back, her gaze moving between us. She bit her lip, hesitant. She knew Tobias could be a valuable ally, but she couldn't hide the concern for both of us. I could see it in her eyes. "If he comes with us," she said finally, her voice quiet but urgent, "you'll look after him, Sly. Promise me that." I nodded, although I wasn't sure if I could keep that promise. The situation in Newhurst was unpredictable, and no one could guarantee that we would all come back alive. "I promise." Tobias grinned slightly again, then looked at me. "So, when are we leaving?" I turned towards the city, which loomed in the distance like a dark, threatening shape. The first lights came on in the skyscrapers, like eyes watching us. The rain got heavier, and a cold wind blew through the trees.
"Now," I finally said. "We're leaving now."