| ETHAN’S POV | - Twelve Years Ago -
Ethan’s paws burned with exhaustion, each step a painful protest as he struggled to keep pace with his mother. She bolted towards a neighboring pack, utterly indifferent to the six-year-old son straining to follow.
They ran because their pack was under attack—rogues unleashing a strange chemical into the air. The substance induced madness, turning packmates against each other. Friends, family, even mates became instant enemies.
The Alpha had ordered anyone still lucid to flee to the neighboring pack for safety while he rallied aid and restored order. For Ethan, the journey was agonizing. His mother was not known for patience, nor for kindness.
Most assumed a mother’s first instinct was to protect her young. Not this one. She didn’t notice his faltering steps, his risk of injury, the looming threat of rogue attacks. She simply didn’t care. Her only concern was her own survival.
“C-Can you slow down please?” Ethan whimpered through their mind link.
“No,” she barked, accelerating her pace.
“P-Please, my paws hurt,” he begged, desperation lacing his voice.
“I. Said. No. Ethan.” She snarled, her tone laced with impatience. “If you want to slow down, fine. I won’t wait.” She stated flatly, not even bothering to look back.
“W-Why not?” Ethan’s voice was barely audible.
“Because I said so. I’m not risking my life for a liability like you!” She spat, her words cutting like shards of ice.
Silence descended, broken only by the rhythmic pounding of their paws against the earth. Ethan dared to ask, his voice small and trembling: “W-Why are you so mean to me?”
“Stop pestering me with your damn questions, Ethan.” She hissed, her tone venomous.
“B-But—” Before he could finish, his mother stopped abruptly, causing Ethan to stumble into her legs.
“You know what, Ethan? I’m leaving you here.” She stated, pushing him to the ground with a cruel muzzle shove.
“What? W-Why, Mom?” Ethan whimpered, scrambling to his feet only to be shoved down again.
“Because you’re slowing me down!” She roared, her fury a palpable wave. “I’d be there already if it weren’t for you!”
“P-Please don’t leave me,” Ethan pleaded, tears blurring his vision.
“Shut up, you brat.” Ethan’s mother sneered. “If I see you following me, I’ll finish you off myself.” She promised, her eyes burning with cold malice before she took off running towards the distant pack, leaving her son alone and defenseless.
Ethan’s ears and tail drooped as he watched his mother disappear. He clung to the desperate hope that this was a cruel joke, a test she’d pass and they’d reunite. But she never came back.
Night fell, and Ethan hadn't moved, paralyzed by fear of predators or getting lost. He remained rooted to the spot, praying for his mother’s return.
As he sat there, exhaustion tugged at his eyelids. “Let me just rest my eyelids for a little bit.” He murmured. And just like that, Ethan slipped into a dream-filled sleep, filled with the innocent fantasies of a six-year-old pup.
An hour passed, and Ethan was jolted awake by the rustling of leaves.
“Mommy?” He asked, his voice hopeful.
He yelped in response to four wolves, emerging from the shadows to surround him. He whimpered, hoping they’d ignore him, a small, defenseless pup.
But they didn’t care.
The leader lunged, clamping his jaws around Ethan’s scruff and shaking his head violently. Ethan cried as his neck stretched, skin tearing as blood seeped through the wound. The wolf released his grip, sending Ethan flying into a tree, then collapsing onto the ground. A shaky whine escaped his lips as he attempted to stand, only to crumple again.
He looked up to see the dominant wolf snort in amusement before clamping his teeth around Ethan’s throat, blocking his airways.
Ethan whimpered, weakly clawing at the jaws, but his attacker only tightened his grip. Blood spilled from the wound. His vision blurred, black dots swirling before his eyes. Just as he was about to succumb to darkness, he was tackled by another wolf.
He tumbled from the attacker’s mouth and landed with a thud. He blinked, clearing his vision to see the Alpha’s son, panting and covered in blood.
“I’m so sorry, pup,” the Alpha’s son gasped. “It hurts now, but I’ll fix you up when we’re safe.” He promised as he ran with Ethan in his mouth, pursued by the four rogues. It was futile. The rogues were fully grown while the Alpha’s son was just a teenager.
A commanding bark echoed through the forest. Two rogues lunged at the Alpha’s son’s hind legs, sending him tumbling. Ethan slid across the dirt as he fell from the Alpha’s son’s mouth.
“Run!” The Alpha’s son commanded.
Ethan obeyed, sprinting towards a cliff edge. He glanced back to see the two rogues gaining on him. He was just a pup, and they were closing the gap. He considered giving up, hoping for a quick death, but before he could decide, he reached the cliff.
He gulped, staring at the dizzying drop before the water below. He backed away slowly, then froze as his pursuers closed in.
Ethan had two choices: be torn apart or drown.
He chose the cliff.
He launched himself into the air, ignoring the rogues’ attempt to grab his scruff. He fell, watching the water rush up to meet him.
The impact sent a shock through his body. He was weightless, drifting with the current into the unknown.
- Present Time -
Grrr~!
Ethan grumbled, his stomach gnawing with hunger. Weak and starving, he needed strength to hunt, but the thought felt insurmountable.
It had been a week since his last meal—a meager mouse. Usually, he scavenged carcasses or hunted rabbits, but kills were scarce, and he hadn’t seen a catchable animal in days.
“I’m so hungry!” The voice inside Ethan’s head complained. “When are you going to hunt?”
“When I feel like it,” Ethan retorted.
“Get up and hunt, Ethan!” The voice snapped. “I’m starving!”
“Okay. Okay. Okay.” Ethan rolled his eyes before rising and sniffing the air for prey.
He didn’t realize the voice was his wolf, a remnant of a life he'd long since forgotten. He'd convinced himself he'd gone mad from loneliness and created a voice to fill the void.
It had been twelve years since his mother abandoned him, twelve years since he’d drifted away from his pack. Over time, he’d forgotten his human side, lost in the perpetual cycle of survival. He’d even forgotten his mother by the time he turned ten, consumed by the need to eat and survive.
“Hey. I smell a stream up ahead,” Ethan said. “Maybe we can catch some fish.”
“Fish sounds great!” The voice exclaimed. “Onwards, peasant!”
“Who said I was your peasant?” Ethan asked.
“I did, obviously,” the voice retorted. “Now hush, small minded peasant! I must focus!”
“What is this ‘important task’ of yours?” Ethan asked with amusement.
“Annoying you until we die, of course!” The voice exclaimed with maniacal glee.
“.......Right.”
Ethan continued to chat with the voice as they approached the stream. Soon enough, they saw a school of fish swimming by.
“Yes! There’s fish!” The voice cheered. “Easy dinner.”
“Yeah,” Ethan agreed.
He wasn’t a skilled hunter. He’d watched others hunt, but always failed to replicate their success. He'd spent a few painful days with deer trampling over him.
He shook off the memory and focused on the task at hand. He swiped at the water, hoping to snag a fish with his mouth. He dunked his head, tasting nothing but water. He sighed in frustration and decided to try one more time.
His eyes locked onto a fish swimming by. He froze, still as a rock. Just as the fish swam within range, Ethan plunged his head underwater and clamped his jaws around it.
“I did it!” Ethan cheered, but his joy was cut short by a loud sound.
Grrr~!
“........Was that your stomach?” The voice asked.
“No,” Ethan said, confused. He hadn’t felt his stomach move.
He was about to dismiss it when he saw two large bears lumbering into the water, starting to catch fish.
“Hey! They’re scaring away the food!” The voice complained as the fish scattered. “Do something, Ethan!”
“You want me to stand up against two VERY BIG bears who also have VERY BIG teeth?” Ethan asked in disbelief.
“Well, duh,” the voice retorted.
“I’m not dying today,” Ethan muttered, turning to flee.
Too late. He bumped into one of the bears.
“Too late,” the voice sneered.
The bear growled at Ethan, who was torn between submitting and obeying the voice’s command to growl back. He obeyed.
He let out a pathetic whimper, earning a mocking glance from the bears. The bears responded with a ground shaking growl.
“What do we do now?” Ethan panicked.
“Ummm…maybe we should consider running!” Without hesitation, Ethan bolted into the forest, the bears hot on his heels.
“This is all your fault, you know?” Ethan snapped.
“Yup.”