50.

Alessio trudged wearily through the shadowed forest, head low, shoulders slumped in defeat. He had been wandering aimlessly for over a week now, since fleeing his pack lands in shame. The untamed power burning within him frightened everyone he cared for. He was a threat...a monster. So he had run, hoping to protect them from himself.

But now, exhausted and utterly alone, he wondered if leaving had been a coward's choice. The forest seemed endless, and the fury inside him raged on, unchecked. He was no closer to controlling it or finding answers. Only the beasts and trees witnessed his struggle, and they offered no wisdom.

Lost in desolation, Alessio did not sense the large wolf trailing him until a voice called out.

"You look a little lost, friend."

Alessio whirled, a snarl instinctively rising in his throat as his inner beast reacted. But he stifled it when he recognized the broad-shouldered stranger leaning casually against a tree trunk. Yes, now he remembered - they had crossed pa