"What are you doing here!?" she asked hysterically, backing into the wall. To her dismay, she noticed that her backpack was right beside him. It was wide opened. There was a banana peel by his feet which meant that he had been eating her food for some time. She hadn't noticed him come in.
He was eating her food. The only food she had left."Give that back!" she exclaimed. "That's mine!""Not anymore," she said, opening his mouth and pouring the remnants of the crackers straight into his mouth. He then balled the empty packet in his fist and threw it so it landed beside the peel. He began rummaging through her bag and she immediately reacted. She stood but he was too fast for her.He stood as well. She was instantly intimidated by his height. He could hurt her if he wanted to. He still might. The chances of her running out and escaping were higher than recovering her backpack. He said, "Not so fast. Sit back down.""No.""I can easily catch you," he remarked. "You're not much of a rogue. You were sleeping as if you had been tucked into bed by your parents. Do you know where you are? Do you know who I am? Sit."Rae wasn't left with a choice. She sat down even though the command killed her and he mimicked her, then he resumed searching through her things. She gritted her teeth but said nothing. She wished she had eaten everything when she had the chance.She was so upset that she thought she would cry.He found an apple and immediately bit down on it. Juice trickled down the side of his mouth. He wiped it with the sleeve of his denim jacket. He was looking at her intently, curiously. After he swallowed the first bite, he asked her, "Where are you from?"She didn't answer him. He took another bite."I won't ask again," he said, searching through her things. He closed his hand around the jar of jam and said, "This is a treat. Where'd you find these things? Where'd you steal them? Come on, don't be greedy. Tell me and I'll let you have some of your things back.""I didn't steal anything," she forced through her teeth."I don't believe you," he said around a mouthful of apple. "You wouldn't have just found these things. I can tell this is expensive. It comes from the human world." He looked at her suspiciously then. "Or are you the kind of wolf who meddles with humans? Who wants to be one of them?""No," she said and shuddered. "I'm not.""Explain this, then," he commanded. "I'm losing my patience with you, you know. You're making me repeat myself. I don't usually repeat myself.""It was given to me.""By whom?""Someone I found on the road."He scoffed. "Someone just gave you these? Do I look like a clown to you?" He tilted his head then and observed her for the longest time. She felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny but looking away would mean that she was intimidated by him and that wasn't the case. Well, it was, but she didn't want him to know."You're not a rogue.""Why else would I be here?""You tell me.""I won't tell you anything."He sat back and shrugged. "Have it your way. Sit there, then, fair lady, and watch me eat all this delicious food, food I'm certain you were saving for a better day.""Wait," she begged, and he stopped rummaging through her belongings. He watched her attentively. She believed that he would stop if she told him what he wanted to hear but she didn't want to give herself away either, especially since she was still relatively close to BloodMoon."You're right, I'm not much of a rogue. Until a few days ago, I belonged to a pack. But I had to leave and I brought these things with me. My supply has dwindled over the last few days, this is all I have left."He narrowed his eyes at her. "Which pack?"Rae gulped. "I can't tell you. I don't think it matters.""Oh, it does," he hissed. "You said you've been on the road for a few days. I take it you mean two, or three? There are only four packs in this area. You could be from GrayFang, but you'd have to be impressively fast to be here in three days. Then there's SpringMoon, BloodMoon, and StonePaw. Which is it?"She gritted her teeth. "Why does it matter?""I decide why it matters or not," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. He became aggressive suddenly and she questioned her decision. Maybe she should've insisted on the rogue story. She didn't anticipate this reaction from him.Rae watched him silently and he shook his head. He didn't do much for a few beats but she wasn't entirely convinced. Then he stood up and grabbed her backpack. She looked at it hopelessly. "What are you doing?""Leaving."She stood as well. "You can't do that. Give me my backpack!""Try to take it from me if you want it so much," he said, walking toward her slowly. She didn't back away. She stood her ground. She was looking into his eyes, unflinching.He stopped a few inches away from her and stared her down. She thought of grabbing the bag. She was going to. "I should have known that he'd send someone to spy on me. He says he isn't intimidated by me but goes through great pains to figure out what I'm doing. This is what he sends.""I don't know what you're talking about," she told him. "If you're implying that I'm a spy, you couldn't be more mistaken. I work for no one. Besides, why would anyone bother spying on a thieving rogue like you?"He chuckled heartily. His eyes didn't leave her face. "You're something, aren't you? The problem is that that's exactly what a spy would say, don't you think?""I don't think anything," she argued. "I've never met a spy."He searched her face. She didn't know what he was looking for. She wanted to grab the backpack but the longer she waited, the more unreasonable the plan seemed. She wouldn't get far and he might even hurt her. She didn't want that. So she said to him, "Look, take the food is that's what you want, you starving dog. But leave my backpack. There's nothing in there that you'd need. I have essentials in there!""Oh, I've seen your essentials," he said, and she blushed against her will. Curse her face. "They're also of good quality. Let's make a deal, you answer my questions truthfully and I'll give you your backpack, food, and all. I'm not a starving dog but I can be when it's convenient to me."Rae gulped and wondered if she should take his deal seriously. She couldn't understand why he wanted so desperately to know where she came from so maybe he truly thought she was a spy. "I'm from BloodMoon.""BloodMoon?" he sounded surprised. "Is that so?"She didn't answer him."What are you called?""Anna.""Liar," he chuckled. She didn't know what he found so amusing about their conversation. It was deeply upsetting. Maybe he was a lunatic. "There's no Anna in BloodMoon.""How would you know?""I know everyone in that pack," he said, tilting his head. "I've done my research on it. You're lying."An instinct to protect her pack took over her body. She didn't know where it came from. She couldn't truly understand it. "Why have you been doing your research on BloodMoon? What do you want?""It isn't your pack anymore so it shouldn't matter. Unless you're lying to me about that, but I don't think you are." He started circling her and she felt beyond uncomfortable. She was a little scared, too. She looked at her backpack and hopelessness flooded her. There was no escaping him. She had to endure him and wait for their little interaction to come to an end. "I know who you are."His words shocked her but she tried not to let it show. "Is that so?""It is," he answered, "only, I don't know what someone like you would be doing out here, although now that I think of it, it isn't hard to guess."Rae gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Humiliation stained her cheeks. There was no way that he didn't know what he was talking about. He truly knew who she was. He said, "You were to be mated to Negan of StonePaw, weren't you?""Stop," she said in a low voice. Suddenly, she felt stupid. She was idiotic. She didn't know how she ever thought that she'd be able to escape the embarrassment. She would always come across someone who knew who she was. Or perhaps what she had to do was walk for miles and miles for months on end until she was in an entirely different land. The wolves in the far south spoke Spanish and were less likely to know BloodMoon as it wasn't one of the main packs. Maybe she would go there. She'd leave as soon as the damned stranger stopped interrogating her and let her be.He stopped as if she commanded him to stop walking. "You're Rae of BloodMoon, aren't you?""If you're so sure, why do you ask?""One can never be too sure," he replied. "So you've decided to leave your natal pack? I can't say I blame you. Negan has never been an honorable wolf. I'm not surprised that he decided overnight that one sister was better than the other. Don't think I don't know where you're coming from. I made the same decision many years ago."Rae scoffed. "You were practically abandoned at the altar of the Moon by your mate, were you?""No," he admitted. "It was far worse. My brother took my rightful place as Alpha. He had the whole support of the pack and I was shunned. Cast out."She frowned. "That's impossible.""Nothing is impossible," he said. He sounded angry."But how could such a thing happen?" she asked him. "How could your pack have betrayed you in such a way?" She was mildly shocked by how they went from arguing to talking about such a topic. It made no sense. But she felt no judgment or mocking from him. It was a comfort despite what he had said and done to her."Simple," he said. "I wasn't the firstborn. My father anointed me as Alpha on his deathbed. But once he died, the declaration he signed was destroyed and my brother took my place as Alpha. Everyone believed him because it is what's expected.""So your pack didn't betray you.""There were others present during the ceremony," he said. "It wasn't a public one because he was ill, terminally so. The Beta was there, as well as the Second Beta. They all sided with my brother.""That's unfortunate," she said."It is," he said, "but I have my plans. As for you, what are yours? How long do you intend on keeping this up?""I don't know what you mean," she said dryly."You're not returning to your pack?""Why should I?" she asked. "They betrayed me."He tilted his head and grew thoughtful. After a moment, he said, "You haven't left your pack that long ago, have you?""No."He gestured at her backpack. "And this is all you thought to bring with you? You're the least sensible wolf I've ever come across. What do you think the wilderness is? Do you think you'll come across fruit trees and that prey will be lounging about, waiting to be hunted?"Rae grabbed the backpack from him then. He didn't protest, he simply watched her. He said, "You amuse me, you know.""I'm glad."She grabbed her blanket and her clothes and shoved them into her backpack. She walked past him and reached outside. She thought he wouldn't follow her but was proved wrong when she heard footsteps behind her."Where are you going?" he asked her. "You got the information you wanted," she said, zipping her backpack shut and slinging it over her shoulder. "You can leave me alone now.""Do you have any idea where you're going?" he asked, ignoring her statement. "You can't be wandering around the woods without having a clue of where you are. You might accidentally wander into someone's territory."Rae let out a scoff. "Someone's territory? This is the wilderness. It doesn't belong to anyone!" He was catching up to her so she sped up. "See, that's where you're wrong. You don't know anything about being a rogue, do you? Come on, tell me. What do you think a rogue is? We were all told stories about them when we were younger. Trust me, it's far from the truth. Rogues aren't wanderers or simply packless. They have packs. They have territories. When a rogue is in a pack, he abides by certain rules and you'll be lucky if you come across one that's in a pack.""Like you?" "Of course," he said. He the
Rae and Keegan walked for what felt like an eternity to her. She was tired, thirsty, and still hungry. Since he was carrying her bag, she couldn't access her food and in any case, eating out of her stash would mean she would have to share with him since he was kind enough to offer her help. She didn't want to. Yes, it was a selfish way of thinking but she was on her own. She had to think of her survival. It was the only one that mattered. "We're almost there," he said over his shoulder. "Do you live alone?" she asked. She had to start asking him questions related to that. She should have done so earlier, actually, before she accepted his help. "I have a pack." "You do?" "Yes," he said, "I've been building it for years. It wasn't easy but I managed. There are a few wolves I don't trust as much but trust isn't essential at the moment. I need numbers to overthrow Negan. After that, I'll decide what to do about the ones that don't please me.""That's harsh," she said, unable to keep
When Rae awoke, it was still day. The caravan was gray, though, not bright with sunlight. She parted the curtain above her bed and saw that the sky was overcast. She heard thunder rolling and rumbling in the distance. Still, the windows were dry, so it hadn't rained yet. She lay back down and sighed heavily. She loved this kind of weather. She'd always find something fun to do whenever it rained, like read or work on her craft. She had left her box of handmade jewelry behind and now she regretted it. She felt taking it with her would add to the weight she had to carry and anyway, those bracelets wouldn't help her out in the wild. But she had been working on them since she was nine years of age, they had meaning to her. She made them before she could ever read. Now, there was nothing to do but stare at the red curtain above her and think of a more simple time. She always felt that something was missing from her life but she was happy. She was happy and didn't realize it until she lo
Keegan woke her up in the morning. "It's time to go," he said. "I'll be waiting for you outside. Bring nothing with you. And wear clothes you won't really need.""There's nothing here that I don't need," she argued, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. A smile graced his lips. "Then you're going to have to get naked in front of me. Don't take long. The sooner we can start, the better." He left the caravan and she fumed. She walked to the bathroom and changed out of her pants and t-shirt. She put on the outfit she wore the previous day and walked out. Keegan was standing in front of the door. He gestured at her to follow him. There were even more males outside than yesterday. She tried not to look at anyone as she followed Keegan. They were heading toward the woods, which she was thankful for. She wouldn't have to be around the males for an unnecessarily long time. When the encampment disappeared from her sight, she breathed a lot easier. She hadn't forgotten the previous night's incide
Rae and Keegan had lunch, which consisted of unseasoned grilled rabbit and some more stale bread. She was tired but not as tired as her wolf form. Eerily. He watched her keenly and she sensed that he was going to say something to her concerning their training. She was right. "You seem fine.""I know what you're thinking," she said, "but I'm not lying. I couldn't move back there but I'm fine now. It's indescribable.""I don't think you're lying," he said. "It's not as strange as you might think. I guess there's a lot about your body that you don't understand.""What are you talking about?" He took a bite of his sandwich and resumed watching her. A moment later he said, "Your wolf is wounded. It's hiding."His words hurt her more than his blows earlier. She swallowed the piece of bread she had in her mouth dryly and ate nothing else for the remainder of the day. It was almost as if his words had settled in her stomach and filled it to its capacity. After everything that had been said
Rae was still thinking about his words but she was a lot calmer, so she made her decision quickly and with a clear mind in the morning. Not wanting to seek revenge wasn't the right decision, or rather, it wasn't her wolf's decision. She saw that now. Her weak form wanted her to take the easy way out of the situation, which was to act as if it never happened and forget Negan and Kara. On the surface, running was her solution to everything. Deep down, she wanted all of them to suffer for making her suffer. As long as she denied that to herself, she'd ache. It wasn't an easy decision to make but she was astounded by how freeing it was. She didn't regret leaving her pack but something had to be done. She couldn't leave it at that or she'd be an even bigger coward than the two of them joined. Keegan was right, he was totally right. He appeared to know her better than she knew herself and it was an indicator of how good he was at reading people. She was amazed.Rae understood what he was
Rae guessed that it was past midnight and Keegan still hadn't returned. The problem with that was that she desperately had to go. She couldn't stand it anymore. She held it in all afternoon and the better part of the night and she couldn't hold on for much longer. Using the bathroom was out of the question because she never saw Keegan use it and anyway, the water was an issue. Also, her mess would have to be manually cleaned and she'd rather go outside. But where was he?She constantly looked out the windows but saw no trace of him. It was unbearable, so unbearable that she searched the caravan for a plastic bag at least. But the bag wasn't intact; it had multiple small holes in it and it'd leak everywhere. She was truly desperate, so desperate that she disobeyed his rule and went outside. The door was unlocked. He told her he'd lock it after she told him about the man but if he left it unlocked it was because he was aware that she could have an emergency. Anyway, she didn't have t
The tension in the caravan became thicker than ever. Rae couldn't figure out where she went wrong. She thought that by not forcing him to tell her the truth, she'd give him more space to reveal it all to her at his own pace. But he was acting strange and distant. He barely said a word to her. Three days had passed and she was nearing the week she had given herself. But she was nowhere near ready to face the wilderness on her own. She didn't win a single one of the fights and she scared a rabbit away two days ago. She expected Keegan to laugh at her as he said when she told him she was afraid of bugs but he said and did nothing. His silence was something she wasn't prepared for.She couldn't sit and wait for a decision to be made her for. Her future was in her hands. When he was cordial toward her, things seemed more simple and doable. Now that he barely looked at her, she felt it would be silly for her to hang around for too long. What would happen when he started badgering her abou