I smelled them long before I left the forest. My ears were pinned to my skull while my fur bristled, teeth snapping to show my agitation. Another hunt had gone bad, as my muscles had ached too badly and the old wounds had been so sore, I had to stop pursuing the deer.

And now, when I had accepted defeat by going back to the human village, I smelled several of those damned pack wolves in town, from multiple packs as well. I scoffed, ears twitching as my nose detected several of the wolves that I had left in the dust a few days ago.

Flicking my tail, I decided to confront them by going in town to feed. They couldn't shift to attack me in front of the humans, and I needed to keep up my strength.

I desperately needed the food.

Limping further out of the woods, I nearly grumbled as I heard a child whine, its parents frantic shrieks disrupting the crowd near the diner. I sniffed the air and rolled my eyes, as it was likely that the parents were so focused on the people around them, they forgot to look after their kid.

Taking a few hopping steps, I sniffed at the boy before nudging it, at least stopping its sniveling as he blinked. When I nudged him again, he giggled, pushing and twisting at my fur in his sticky, grubby hands.

Children. Such a pain.

I scoffed at my thoughts but walked towards the diner along with my sticky tag along. There was no fear from the boy, probably because it assumed I was a dog and not a wolf. I'd detected the scent of a dog on his clothes and paused when I heard the parents shriek, along with the thudding of paws.

The dog reached us before the humans did, wagging its tail and yipping happily. I huffed and tilted my muzzle up when the Border Collie nudged her nose against mine eagerly, sniffing and whimpering, seemingly eager to play.

My focus wasn't on the dog sniffing my face, but rather the humans that had gathered behind.

Several eyes gleamed golden with interest, making me twitch my ears slightly before yawning in boredom. The humans hesitated at the unconscious display of sharp teeth except for the parents, who tried to get to their child without annoying me.

"Yes, please save me from your devil spawn." I couldn't help but think when the dog sniffed the boy, causing him to giggle eagerly while yanking sharply at my fur. The pain was sharp but ended quickly, making me huff and nudge the child with my muzzle, away from my body.

The parents were quick to scoop him up while the dog still pranced around me, pawing and bowing in an attempt to play. I simply ignored it as best as I could, knowing that the werewolves were watching my every move.

I didn't even bother to hide the pain I was in, limping towards the dinner while sniffing at the nearby trashcans. The muscles of my hind leg were taunt, swollen and heated as they caused a tremendous amount of pain.

Naturally, I moved that leg stiffly, refusing to rest too much weight on it while I ignored the people around and sniffed the ground for food. I didn't feel ashamed; Survival was key and if I had to beg for table scraps, so be it.

Surprisingly, they didn't rush into the woods to shift and attack me in wolf form. They simply stayed around and observed, some of them leaving as soon as they realized that although I was a rogue, I wasn't feral.

Yet some stayed, keen eyes watching my every move. I paused, eyes clashing with the man across the clearing and felt a shiver run over my spine, fur bristling instantly.

An Alpha.

I barely managed to keep myself from baring my teeth and instead snorted, turning away from the man as I limped closer to the diner. Already several people were waiting there, including the man that fed me from time to time.

"And pack wolves as well... of course." I flattened my ears, sniffing the air as I could sense the wolves behind coming closer. But the scent of food proved to be too tempting, especially when I noticed the man already held out a decent sized chunk of meat.

I walked a bit quicker, grumbling at all the attention I was getting. The wolves keen eyes quickly detected my limping, smirks and hidden scoffs easily detected as they stood and left the area.

Yet that Alpha was still there...

I hesitated to approach and it showed, as the Alpha was eyeing me carefully now, a calculating look in his eyes. Most likely trying to decide if he needed to run after me if I decided to bolt for the woods.

Something was tossed my way and I caught it on reflex, feeling my tail flex in a single wag when I realized the human had tossed me the meat. I salivated before devouring it in an instant, licking my chops as I sniffed the air and took a hopping step forwards.

Yet I let out a pained yelp and snarled, having completely forgotten about the dog until it had leaped and jumped against me. It whimpered at my snarl as I stood on trembling legs, eyeing the whining dog with distaste before grumbling quietly.

"Of course it had to jump right on top of those old fractures." Raising my eyes to the Alpha, I wasn't surprised at all with his raised eyebrow, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "And of course he had to realize the extent of my injuries."

I wasn't surprised at all when one of the Alpha's mutts walked over with a plate of food, though I did tilt my head when he grabbed one of the burgers and held it out to me. Rejecting the food would be a dumb thing to do, as the Alpha could easily see it as an insult. But why did he want to personally feed me?

As he didn't make any sign of throwing the food my way, I slowly headed over, licking my lips. My nostrils flared as his scent became stronger the closer I got. Normally I'd never get so close to an Alpha or any pack wolves for that manner, but I had to.

He seemed to be the type to chase me in the woods to get whatever he was looking for, if I were to ignore him now.

Leaning closer, I nipped at the burger but let go when the Alpha offered some resistance. Yawning in stress, I took a few steps closer before trying again and it seemed to be what the man wanted.

He gave me the food, or rather he allowed me to bite chunks off of it, forcing me to eat from his palm. Doing so shoved his scent in my nostrils, making them twitch as the Alpha's fingers brushed against my muzzle ever so gently. It felt uncomfortable and the urge to bite was intensifying.

That was the only reason why I pulled away from him with an irritated grumble, limping a few steps away even though he reached for more food. I could feel their eyes on me as I left for the woods, annoyed that they'd try and pet me like I was some dog.

My hackles rose when I sensed some wolves in the woods but otherwise I didn't respond. Somehow I knew they were trying to rile me up, but what for? I ignored them as best as I could, sniffing the air as I slowly limped away from town. Even though I was still hungry, all I wanted to do was find my den and curl up.

Winters had always been tough on me since my exile. Broken bones ached and torn muscles twitched uncontrollably in this bad weather, which made me wonder how long I could last.

When I finally reached the fallen tree and the small pile of nesting material underneath, I sighed and curled up as best as I could. Yet my right hind leg refused to relax, cramped up in an awkward position, muscles twitching and heated. My eyes easily found the mangled tissue that caused the problems and suppressed memories fought to get out.

A soft whimper escaped my muzzle at the thought of my mate. My wolf still wondered how he was doing... was he in good health? Did he suffer from the rejection or did he not care at all?

You know he doesn't care. He turned his back on us when we needed his help the most. He didn't even defend us when his Alpha kicked us out, ordered us to be chased like a rabbit.

The wolf whined once more, sadness and agony settling in my stomach as I huffed and listened to the forest. My ears were twitching, as I could hear the wolves roam around, could feel their eyes on me.

I don't care anymore... I'm not going to chase them off but I'm not going to lay down in submission if they chose to attack.

Surprisingly, none of the wolves attacked. In fact, they seemed to be waiting and my suspicions were proven right when a massive brown wolf walked through the woods. His eyes instantly found my curled up form, assessing the situation as I simply laid there.

When he walked closer, I slowly pushed myself back on my paws, not even hiding the effort it took. My tongue flicked between my bared teeth, a warning growl rumbling through my chest. I wasn't a fool, I knew I couldn't win from this Alpha.

He stopped a few steps away before shifting back. I tilted my head in curiosity, especially when another wolf walked out of the woods with a paper back. It dropped the bag next to the Alpha, who took it and pulled out the remaining burgers.

Saliva instantly flooded my mouth and I had to lick my lips several times to not embarrass myself by drooling all over the place.

He placed the burgers on the bag he'd ripped open before backing up a few steps. Eying him warily, I approached cautiously before diving into the meal without hesitation. I could cry when the hunger pains finally stopped. Looking at the Alpha, he nodded as if confirming something before he sighed.

"Our pack is North of this town, several miles out. You're welcome to come over if you need help and shelter for the winter. We don't have an issue with rogues, nor do we force them to join the pack, as long as you're willing to follow the basic rules we have."

I didn't respond save for a flicker of my tail and a twitch of my ears, showing him I listened. That's all I was preparing to do at the moment though. I wasn't going to jump for joy and follow an Alpha simply because he acted like a decent person.

Blind faith and trust had brought me in this mess in the first place. In my heart, I knew that I'd always distrust packs, even if I might need their help to survive the upcoming winter.

When he gained no response, the Alpha let out another troubled sigh before nodding, shifting as he turned around. His wolves quickly followed on his tail as I stayed and fed. I watched them leave and grumbled to myself, knowing that sooner or later, I'd be forced to follow them back towards their pack.

Only for the winter.... once spring has arrived, I'll leave once more.

But why did it sound like I was trying to convince myself of that?