Joining The Pack Of Outcasts

A few moments later, the sun was peeking out from behind a cloud, and I was on the journey with Lee and the rest of the outcasts. We had been making conversation, getting to know each other more, and in all honesty, it had been fun, but there were some things he reminded me of about my former pack, and it made me feel a certain sense of nostalgia for a life I had not even lived. 

He was an orphan, just like me, albeit a more recent one. He was a Beta, which was where our experiences differed, but he had lived almost all of his life in his pack with his mother. Apparently, his mother was an outcast wolf, so he was not treated with as great regard by the other members of his pack. Kimora and Wally were adopted siblings, and had been sent out of their packs because they were both too strong. 

I thought that was a good thing, and I told them as much. They smiled just then, the first one I had ever seen them give me.

Lee liked to sing under his breath, so every few minutes, I would catch him singing a song I didn't know and have him teach it to me. It was a fun way to while away time, and I often found that I liked the songs, too. Having grown up without my mother, there had been no one to teach me songs, and the women in my pack did not have a lot of kindness to spare me, so they did not let me hang out around them and their children. 

“I can't believe you don't know the words to this song!” he would laugh, and I would bite down on my tongue so I wouldn't tell him how much of a reject I was. I would merely shrug and think back to life as I knew it in my former pack, and I would feel a pang of regret. Sometimes, Luke seemed to sense my pain, and he would give my shoulders a quick squeeze, something I was very grateful for. 

I had not yet told them that I was an Omega, but I was sure that they could tell that much from my facial expressions and the tattered dress that I draped over my fatigued frame. 

Hours of walking later, I was exhausted, and I decided that I would not be walking anymore. Finding a snug tree trunk, I took a seat against it and waited till he had walked a few more steps ahead before calling him back. “Oi! Lee! You guys! Shouldn't we take a break? Come on,” I urged, patting  the earth beside me. Grudgingly, he walked a few steps back to me and took a seat beside me. 

Untying the knot on my makeshift knapsack, I took out the last of the chicken and tore it into pieces,  handing out everything but one.

We had walked further than I had ever been from the pack, and I was more than sure that if I climbed a tree right now and tried to spot my pack, I wouldn't be able to. Going on the journey with my new friends was still exhausting, but not as exhausting as it would have been if I was going it alone. 

The sun, in its full glory, seemed to be mocking me and reminding me of when I still had the perfect shelter, and I let out a chuckle. Hearing it, Lee turned to me and raised a brow. “What's up with that? Why did you laugh?”

“It's just my brain." Seeing his blank expression, I rolled my eyes and began to explain. “I used to be a slave in my pack, yeah? And I had shelter. My brain just reminded me of the fact that I used to have shelter from the sun, like it doesn't know that we were a slave while we were there. ” 

There, I said it. Ashamed, I looked away, afraid to meet his gaze. I did not want to see any pity in anyone's eyes for me, and even more than that, I did not want to see disgust in their features.  It was the most I had revealed about myself since we had met,  so I turned my body away from him, all the while avoiding his gaze, so I could feel an ease in my chest. 

Graciously, Lee did not dwell on it for too long and instead began to tell me about how he and his mother lived. Perhaps he did not mean to, but it really felt like he was trying to assuage any doubts or insecurities that may have settled on my shoulders after I spoke. 

“I am my mother's only child, and even though we were banished to the edge of town, people didn't seem to be satisfied with that punishment. So they used to throw things at us, and our home. At first, it bothered me to no end. I used to fix the holes and replace the window panes and things, but eventually, I gave up. It was a lot of work for just one person. 

The holes in the ceiling got bigger, to the point where I could look up and see the sub during the day, or catch the moon at night. It sucked, but I completely agree with you, I would take that over the sun right now,  foolish as it is.”

“It's not foolish. But really? You would take that over your current company?" I asked, laughing and turning back to him. He was kind, I knew that much now. He had noticed my sadness, and instead of pointing it out, he had put a little of his sadness out there too. 

“Never!” he laughed, a wide grin on his face, “my present company's great. Kept me fed and levels away from sunburn.”

“You're welcome,” I responded.  

The sun was at its peak in the sky, and so I knew that it was probably an hour past noon. Wistfully, I thought back to the pack and the home of my former master, where his lunch was probably being plated out at that very instant. I was not aware when a shudder rushed through me, and I frowned in disgust. What an entitled pig of a man. He would let his servants do everything for him, including getting the food through his digestive tract, if it was possible. 

Now that I was sufficiently dissatisfied with my previous life, I started to plan out what I wanted to do with myself. For one, I did not want to belong to a pack. I also never wanted to be made to feel small by anyone ever again, which was exactly why I was going to live on my own and take care of myself.

If I managed to keep myself fed and clothed, I would be glad. I liked the outcasts though, so that in itself was a good thing, right?