The North

Chapter 1 - Part 1

Rain fell like a rushing waterfall over the entrance of the cave the pack hid in, blurring everything outside in a dark dreary grey. It left me on edge. I couldn't keep watch if I couldn't see outside, and with my brother Mànas now gone, it was my duty to watch.

A twang of pain gripped my chest and I fought the urge to cry, fingers curling tight so the sting of nails kept me here.

I needed to be strong for the pack. There would be time to grieve later.

High up the side of Beinn Hòb, and far from any human settlement, we were hopefully safe from the creatures that were slowly picking our kind off, sometimes entire packs at a time. Whole families wiped out overnight; something we understood all too well.

The decision to flee our own territory had been hard but necessary, even if I'd been one who had called for us to stay and stand our ground. . .Until Mànas was killed, the first of our pack to fall. After that, running was the only real option left to us. At first, we'd done well. Our Alpha led us for miles before we stumbled into trouble again. Now there was nowhere safe in the country to hide. We’d exhausted the forests and glens, kept ourselves moving, straying ever further from the valley we’d called our home during the summer months.

We lost our Alpha to the blood drinking demons a week later. The members of our pack old enough to defend were dwindling. How much longer could we run?

I glanced back at the three small pups squabbling over bones, desperate to get every scrap of meat they could. The noise would barely be hidden by the sound of the rain and I tensed when my sister squealed too loud.

My cousin Fionnlagh snatched the bone away, growling a warning for the pups to behave before he tossed it out the cave where they wouldn’t dare try to get it back. I cringed as the sound of the bone hitting pebbles bounced around the cave, my heart fluttering in my chest despite my conviction earlier that we were safe here.

Nowhere was safe.

Mother stood from where she tended to Father so she could usher the youngsters to the back of the cave where they might cause less trouble. Her steps were shaky but she managed to smile at me before tucking my two siblings and Fionnlagh’s younger brother under a blanket. "Time for sleep now, little ones."

Sleep. I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept, and I definitely wouldn't manage tonight. Not with a storm hammering away and my father injured after a hunt gone wrong, threatening to add another name to our list of dead. I couldn’t help but look over at where he lay with a ragged blanket thrown over him. His ribs were bruised a gruesome black and purple from where the deer had struck him, and even asleep, his face creased in pain.

We weren't going to last much longer here. The night creatures weren’t all we had to worry about either. The new Christian God had brought with him a hatred for anything different, his followers, humans mostly, sought it out with the intent to destroy we so called devils. We'd lived in peace with mortals from the beginning, hidden but not really hiding, but there was no room for us anymore. The creatures of the night used that to their full advantage, influencing the humans, stealing territories from wolves in the southern most kingdoms of Sasainn, and then North to Alba.

"We have no food," Fionnlagh muttered as he stepped beside me, pulling me away from my ever more depressing thoughts. His brown hair stuck up at odd angles and his sun dark skin was covered in muddy smears.

My cousin, having seen only fourteen summers, was still much too young to be in the position he found himself in. The son of our Alpha, he should have been next in line to lead. Uncle Aonghas had wanted us to find a boat and head across the North Sea to the Nordic countries that still boasted hundreds of miles of wild land; land our ancestors had come from many centuries ago.

Fionnlagh tried to step up and take his father's place but it was my father, once Beta, who had taken the lead.

I sighed heavily, rubbing the side of my face. We were without a leader once again. I could have crumbled right then and there, drowned in the hopelessness of our situation. Every step forward we took, ripped something else away from our pack.

Six summers older than Fionnlagh, and I felt the weight of responsibility on my shoulders too. "We’ll find food. If we hunt lower down the mountain, something will cross our path.”

"Your father advised us not to-"

"My father is injured," I cut in sharply. "If we go on like this, we will all die. We have to find a way to reach the coast and find a ship. We have to follow the rumours about the Alpha in Nirribhidh. The last wolf we spoke to mentioned the Alpha was banding together many families all under one pack, with land that stretches as far north as one can go. That is what your father wanted for us. Freedom, safety, security. So that is where I will make sure we get to."

Fionnlagh stiffened and turned his attention back to the rain. I knew he wanted to take control, to dole out the orders and have them obeyed, as he watched his father do. I could admire that he'd grown up so quickly in such a short time. But he was no Alpha, at least not yet. Feeling a little bad for him, I squeezed his bony shoulder.

"You did well with the fawn this morning, cousin. You were faster than all the rest.”

He shrugged, still refusing to make eye contact with me after being put in his place. "You weren't there, Eabha. So how would you know?"

"Because we wouldn't have eaten tonight if you weren't."

That did it. He smiled, just a small quirk of lips that I might have missed if it weren't for the lightening that lit up the cave. I shoved him teasingly, pushing him towards the back of the cave where a small fire was being lit. "Get some sleep. You're going to need it."

We all would. We couldn't stay in this cave much longer. Our time was running every shorter. Now was our chance to make the final push to the coast while we weren't being pursued by bloodrinkers and frightened mortals.

I studied what was left of our pack. My two siblings and youngest cousin in a pile of fur and paws wouldn't be able to run as fast as we needed, and that frustration tore at me. I could run to the coast in a day, maybe less if I pushed myself. Mother would be able to keep up too, so would Fionnlagh. Hopefully Father's injuries would heal more overnight because we couldn't carry him. And Aunt Oighrig. . .well, she hadn't been the same since her mate, our Alpha, had died. She spent her time muttering to herself, only really coming back to us to feed her youngest pup. She'd stopped asking for food days ago, and she too would slow us down.

What had become of us? We should have been making our way slowly to grounds safe from the harshest winter winds, joining other packs for a hunt that would stave off hunger when our prey became scarce, not hiding like rats.

Resting my head against the rough cave wall, I didn't care that my skin got soaked by splashing rain, nor did I care that I had to tense every muscle to stop from shivering from the chill. I wiped at my cheeks, trying to keep my head up when it would be easy to sit and cry.

"You should sleep too, a ghraidh. We can't have our strongest without rest," Mother murmured from behind me, a warm hand going to my back. "We are safe tonight."

"And tomorrow?"

She smiled, gently tugging my arm until I stepped away from the wall to be led to the fire. "Tomorrow is another day, many hours away yet."

I nodded numbly, pausing by Father so I could crouch and press my cheek to his. His skin was still warm, a good sign, and he remained deep in sleep thanks to the draft my mother had given him. The last of our medicine was dwindling too and it was hard to find plants so high in the cliffs. I took a deep breath of his scent, a warm grassy scent that never failed to ease my soul.

Please wake up tomorrow, Father.

Standing again, I accepted the blanket given to me and sat by the fire, shuffling close to its flickering warmth. Aunt Oighrig smiled at me and patted my lap as my mother placed a blanket over her too.

"We'll be home soon, Eabha, don't fret."

Mother frowned and gently touched her arm. "We aren't going home, Alpha Female. Remember? We're going North.”

I shivered when Oighrig just continued to grin at me, light blue eyes boring into mine even though I wasn't sure she really saw me. She didn’t really see any of us anymore.

"Towards the one who harbours hate," she suddenly continued, reaching over to stroke my cheek with icy fingers. "Poor pup."

"That's enough," Mother snapped, so unlike her.

Oirghrig laughed lightly and moved away, finding a place to sleep near her sons. I watched her stiff movements and shook off the feeling of ants crawling over my skin from her words. I should have been used to her odd turns of phrase that came from whatever place she went to in her mind that kept away the grief of losing her mate, and nephew.

My heart stuttered.

Oh, Mànas. I could use your wisdom now.

I was no substitute for my elder brother who would have made a fine Alpha of his own pack one day. A strong fighter, capable hunter, he was wise beyond his years and the pride of my parents.

Mother kissed my cheek and whispered goodnight before taking her place next to Father. She curled around his body to keep him warm and stroked damp hair away from his brow. I couldn't watch without feeling an ache in my chest so I lay down too, staring into the flames until my eyes stung from smoke that billowed towards me until it forced me to close them.

I might have prayed before allowing myself to fall asleep, but the Gods had long since abandoned us.