The transition from human to wolf was smooth and painless as I ran into the forest. For the third time in less than a few hours, I was forced to run away from the prey that I had been tracking and flee back to the unclaimed lands.

Most packs expected rogues to be in wolf form but they didn't count on me. As unusual as it was, I actually preferred to roam on claimed lands while human, as pack wolves often perceived me to be a human trekking through their woods instead of a rogue trespassing on their territory.

Vapor trailed from my mouth with each panting breath, claws digging in the soil, paw pads protesting against the biting cold as I pushed forwards. I could hear the howls in the distance, signaling they had spotted me but they were already too late.

By the time the pack wolves rushed out the forest to see me off, I was already past their borders. Maybe they were lucky enough to see the tip of my tail disappear in the distance but they'd never been close enough to actually harm me.

When I knew I was far enough out to ensure the pack wolves didn't chase me further off, I paused, looking over my shoulder to see the wolves snapping and grumbling at the edge of their territory.

Cool wind pulled at my fur, carrying the scent of the looming winter and frost in the air. Soon enough I'd be forced to either find a den for the winter or try and ask for shelter in one of the neighboring packs.

A snort escaped me as I started my trek back towards the human village nearby, hoping to snatch some leftovers away from unsuspecting people. My life hadn't always been like this; having to hunt or scavenge for food, not having a place to belong...

My shoulder, hip and scruff burned with phantom pains as I remembered all too clearly how I lost my home. How I lost my lover, my mate, my pack and my reason to live all in one foul swoop. The scars were still there, visual proof and a physical reminder of how cruel a pack could be.

And all of that because of what? A misunderstanding? Bigotry? I had no idea what to blame, only knew the cause and the resulting banishment that ended with my life upside down. Life of a rogue wasn't unknown to me, I was born in it. But finding a mate in pack territory had been my one chance on happiness.

At least, that's what I thought.

What I got in return was distrust, resentment and ultimately rejection, all because I hadn't been born in a pack. They had seen me off of their territory, treating me as a rabid wolf that had dared to attack them. I had suffered multiple bite wounds and breaks before I had been tossed over the edge of their territory, left to die and rot in the cold.

I still remember his wolf, his eyes as he looked at me from the middle of the pack with betrayal bright in his golden eyes. And then he had turned his back on me and left along with his pack.

Left me to die at the hands of their Enforcers.

And I nearly did. A pity that my regeneration kicked in and healed up my wounds to the point where I wouldn't bleed out anymore. But even a wolf's regen capabilities stopped at torn ligaments and missing tissue. We could heal much but we couldn't exactly make fresh muscle tissue appear out of thin air.

A snort escaped me as I saw the human village nearby. I didn't need him. I didn't need a pack, packs were judgmental little pricks with their head shoved up the Alpha's ass. They'd leap off of a cliff if the Alpha commanded it, so it was no surprise that they'd turn on me, simply because I wasn't born alongside them.

There was a time where I had faith in packs, where I had hoped and prayed that I'd be accepted in one. Times where I had been a little boy with dreams, listening to my mother as she told stories of her former pack. A pack she too had to leave behind because it didn't accept rogues, even if their mates were one of their own.

As I walked through the darkening streets, looking for trashcans to rummage through, I could clearly remember how I had met my mate.

I had been hunting then too, chasing after a young doe that had strayed from the herd. My eyes settled on my quarry, paws digging into the earth as I realized she was running for claimed territory. Luckily, I had managed to trip her up, ending her life mere inches from trespassing.

Still, it alerted the pack anyways; a rogue so close to the border was too dangerous and needed to be investigated. I didn't care though: it was within my right to hunt and feed as long as it wasn't on pack territory. So I didn't flee when I heard the thundering of paws fast approaching, instead I was focused on my meal, tearing off flesh from bone until my stomach was distended and I felt I could sleep.

Even when they arrived in a snarling and growling mess, I simply twisted my ears back, tail stiff between my legs... but I kept eating. I wasn't trespassing and I made sure I dragged the carcass back far enough that they couldn't consider me a threat.

A few of the younger wolves started circling me, giving me a wide berth as I started growling in my throat. I knew even pack wolves knew and respected the instinct after a hunt. They knew not to come too close and trigger my wolf to defend my kill.

But, that was often used as a tactic as well. Let the rogue's instincts take over and then claim self-defense when they killed the enraged wolf.

Luckily, that didn't happen to me. One of those wolves had approached, curious and eager to take a whiff, but I was cautious. I had snapped my teeth in his direction and stepped over my kill, defending it until I realized what I was looking at.

My mate.

A pack wolf.

Shaking my head out of those memories, I sniffed around but found no trace of food in the nearby trash cans. I had already exerted too much wasted energy in chasing the deer, so I needed to find some food to recover.

Hopping over one of the fallen bins, I followed my nose to the nearest bar, hoping that they'd had some food tossed out recently. I paused when I saw a man sitting outside on the bench though. He and his friends were enjoying their burgers and chips, the potent smell blowing along in the wind.

Gods, that smells so good.

My stomach growled as I twitched my ears, unsure of what to do... should I run or try and beg for some scraps? Surely if I scared them off, they'd call animal control and I'd have trappers looking for me in the area.

I huffed and slowly padded closer, sniffing the air and licking my chops. One of the men looked up, nudging his friends when they spotted me. Relief bloomed in my chest as I huffed and took a few steps closer, the human recognizable as he smirked at me.

"No, don't scare it off, its friendly. Watch!" He reassured his friends and proceeded to rip off a piece of his burger and tossed it in my general direction. I dove for it, catching it between my teeth before devouring it quickly.

He held the next piece out gently, and even though he tried to hold his false bravado in front of his coworkers, I could smell the hint of fear pouring off the guy. I walked closer, making sure not to brush up too close and quickly snagged the meat out of his hands before retreating a few steps.

Table scraps weren't really enough to keep me sustained, but after the failed hunt and old breaks protesting sharply, this was enough to keep the worst of the hunger at bay.

Reduced to begging for scraps like a dog... If my former mate saw me now, he'd laugh.

I looked up at the man as he grinned widely, proud at the attention he was getting from his coworkers. I had bumped into him when I was a lot skinnier than I was now, starving and luckily for me, he was on his lunch break.

My growling stomach had forced me to try and approach him, hell, I even tried to steal food off of their table before he took pity and tossed me a fair share of his lunch.

At least there is some kindness left in this world.

Now they were awed, as they'd never seen a friendly wolf, let alone a wolf out in the wilds. Several of them decided to share their meal as well, their loud voices making me back up slightly as they drew attention from inside the pub.

Soon enough there was a whole group of people standing outside, phones in their hands as I heard them take picture after picture. My ears flattened at all the attention, though I salivated when one of the people from inside brought out a bone, possibly leftovers from one of those tomahawk steaks.

I eagerly snatched it up when it was tossed in my general direction, dragging the bone with me in the safety of the woods. It wasn't much but the marrow inside would be very nutritious and the leftover meat would at least give me something to nibble on.

Hell, I was hungry enough I'd eat the bone too.

Bounding off into the woods, I felt nervous though. The news of a friendly wild wolf was going to spread either way and if I was on pack territory or close to it, they'd surely send someone over to check it out. I huffed, rolling my eyes as I headed for my make-shift den.

Let them come. They couldn't force me to leave unclaimed territory and if they were to attack me... well, it would give me a reason to let go of some of that hatred for pack wolves.