Page 20 of Shattered and Saved

“W-who… What a-are y-ou?” he stammered, his voice just as shaky as his body.

One of the warriors tossed the backpack he’d been carrying at Kea’s feet. She dragged out a robe before allowing me back control, and I quickly put it on as soon as I was in human form again. As I turned to fledgling again, I lowered myself, breathing slowly, trying to convey through my body language that I wasn’t a threat.

Stretching my hand out to him, I told him, “We are your family.”

“B-but I’m an o-orphan,” he countered, hesitantly accepting my help.

“I’m sorry. Your parents must not have made it,” I observed, a mix of aching and anger brewing within me. I tried to keep it at bay not to further scare him before I continued, “But you don’t have to be alone anymore. You’re one of us.”

“W-what?” He took a step back, swaying as if he was dizzy - given how hard he was panting after running for heaven knows how long, it didn’t surprise me. “But you’re a stranger. I don’t know you. How could we be related?”

As the confused boy tried to make sense of the situation, I noticed him scratching his forearm. I instantly knew what was happening, and I took it as an opportunity to convince him.

“What is your name?” I asked in a soothing voice.

“Oliver,” he replied automatically, almost as if he felt compelled to answer me, even if he couldn’t understand why.

“Oliver,” I repeated. “I’m Avril,” I introduced myself, pointing at his arm. He glanced at it, ceasing to scratch it, and offered it to me.

As I held his wrist gently, twisting his arm to inspect the irritated area, he mumbled, “I-I think it’s a rash.”

“No. It’s your mark. It’s starting to appear,” I informed him, letting go of him. He frowned in confusion, until I showed him the intricate tattoo-like mark on my arm. Clarity sparked in his eyes as I went on, “In less than forty-eight hours, it’ll look exactly like mine. Everyone of us has it.”

“And who are you?” he wondered, correcting, “Who are we?”

“You, me, and them…” I glanced at my team, smiling as my eyes fell on the boy again. “We’re Ashen Wolves, Oliver.”

Suddenly, Kea’s ears jolted up inside my head as we both heard a twig snap nearby. All of my calm wore off. Sniffingthe air, I picked up on a different scent. With the intense rotten smell of the rogues and pungent fresh blood, it had gone unnoticed at first, but now I could sense it. There was someone else here.

My team barely had time to shift their stances, ready to defend us, when the stranger revealed themselves.

“O-oliver?” The female spoke shyly.

She looked to be around the same age as the boy. From her scent, she had to belong to a wolf pack - and she certainly wasn’t one of us. My mind raced as I tried to decide what I should do in a fraction of a second.

“What does she mean you’re one of them?” the female continued, terror in her eyes. “What’s an Ashen Wolf? H-how did they do this?” Her eyes hovered over the fallen rogues, her attention stolen by them. I watched her lips part as she prepared to ask more questions, but I didn’t allow her to.

In the blink of an eye, I threw off my robe, and Kea took over again. Using our abilities, she appeared right behind the girl and ended her life just as quickly as she had the rogue’s moments before.

“No!” Oliver’s sharp scream pierced through the forest as he rushed to the she-wolf. He cradled her in his arms, staring into her lifeless eyes. “W-why? She must have come after me to help. She wasn’t a threat!” he cried out.

“I’m sorry, Oliver,” I told him sincerely, kneeling beside him. He stiffened when I touched his shoulder, but he didn’t try to push me away. “Everyone who isn’t like us is a threat.”

“Not her! She was my friend!” he argued.

“She saw us. She heard us. She learned about you - about all of us,” I tried to explain.

“So what?”

“You’ll come to understand why we must protect our secret. If the world knows, they’ll come for you -for us.” I made a briefpause, urging him to get back up. “It'll make sense once we tell you everything. Come with us, Oliver. You’ll be safe with us, and no one will ever harm you again.”

Reluctantly, he released his friend, standing back up. Although clearly still scared and confused, he chose to follow us. I was sure it was because he could feel and sense the similarities between us. Even if he couldn’t comprehend it yet, his wolf knew that they belonged with us.

As I turned back to my team, there was no shock in their expressions. They knew why I had done what I had done. I truly regretted having to end the innocent girl’s life, but I couldn’t say I was remorseful. As sad as it had been, I had no choice.

The Ashen Wolves didn’t initiate the bloodshed; it was forced upon us. We were once innocent too. But in a world where we were relentlessly persecuted, there was no room for right or wrong - only the brutal choice between kill or be killed. If it was one of my own or one of them, I would always choose my family, in a heartbeat, no questions asked. I didn’t care how many lives I had to take as long as it allowed us to thrive.

I would be damned if I let them succeed in wiping us out.

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