Snare

And then I wake up and realize my nightmare is a reality.

Life is simple now. I'm always in fox form, and as it turns out, whenever a pack sees me they just think im a critter passing by. It's safer that way, and plus, it's not like I need to talk to anyone.

How long has it been since I talked to another person? Seven or eight months, at least.

I don't have to think about anyone else, but at the same time, nobody's got my back.

Wait, I said seven months, right? Well I left the pack at seven, I stayed with my family for nine years, nine plus seven is sixteen, plus almost a year. Oh. I'm almost old enough to find my mate. Sorry, squirrel.

Whatever. I don't want him. If life's taught me anything, it's that people either abandon you, die on you, or a sadistic psycho-wolves.

My schedule is simple.

Wake up.

Hunt.

Eat.

Wonder what I could have done to save them.

Try to Sleep.

I'm sick at least every other week, so that is normally shortened down to

Wake up.

Wonder what I could have done to save them.

Loose weight because I haven't eaten.

Try to sleep.

But luckily, today isn't one of those days! I jump up onto all fours, the fresh snow crunching under my feet. I exhale and form a cute little cloud of moister before beginning my hunt.

While I was still in my old pack, I had ventured close to the edge of pack territory. I remember seeing a bunch of rabbits there.

Chances are there are still rabbits there since the land was habitable, so I take off running in that direction.

Any normal wolf, given my circumstances, would avoid going onto Eclipse Pack territory at almost any cost.

But hey, all of this happened because im weird.

I come to a stop. There is a slight drop off of a couple of feet, but nothing I can't handle, so no biggie. I don't want to throw myself into six feet of snow without knowing first, so I dig up a small stone and toss it over the edge.

The snow is only about two feet, and im light so it shouldn't be that bad.

And I was right, the drop wasn't that bad.

As I went to jump off, my back leg got caught on something. Meaning I was hanging by whatever was wrapped around my leg. The drop was deeper than I was long, so my front paws couldn't even touch the ground.

It was probably a snare some kid put up to catch a rabbit.

Maybe if I shift to human it will come un- WAIT STOP!

My fox warned me too late. Since my human leg was thicker than my fox leg, the metal snare cut my skin and went into my flesh.

Great. Now im hanging by a wound.  I think to myself as I shift back. To me and my fox, that is.

I told you to stop!

"Well maybe if you warned me quicker, this wouldn't have happened."

It's not my fault your an idiot.

"Yeah, like you knew there was a snare."

Your still a moron.

"I thought you said I was an idiot?"

SHAT UP.

"We are in my brain, ya know."

Even though I joked and teased my fox about it and was smirking, the fact that I was hanging by my wounded leg was actually really painful.

(Skip two days, she's still hanging there)

Great. Now I'm sick again and really hungry. My wound is almost healed, it has stopped bleeding but the cut is still there.

Now would be a good time to have a mate to come and rescue you, huh?

"No. I won't be relying on anyone else any time soon."

That's what I told her. In secret, I was really hoping that my mate was older than me and could already feel the bond and that he would come to get me out of this mess, even if he was a murderer or something, I could run away after.

Because I was stuck. On Eclipse pack territory, on the same land as the guy who murdered my family. I just want to get away from him forever, it was stupid of me to come back for a rabbit. I didn't catch the rabbit anyways, so there was no point in coming here.

Eligha P.O.V.

"Frick!"

(What? I gotta keep this child friendly :)

"Frick!" I yelled as my ankle rolled and I fell to the ground. Frickin tree roots, hiding under the snow like a bunch of cowards.

"I told you to watch your step!" That's my beta, Ehark. He decided to drag me along on a hike to check his rabbit snares. This was supposed to be my day off, but what did I expect? I never get a day off.

I'm normally busy keeping the pack in line, negotiating with other pack leaders, and giving fighting lessons to the younger pack members. When I'm done with that, there are always prisoners and rouges to interrogate and kill, hunting parties that need another member, people who want to go into the human town with me to get groceries, or something completely random will come up.

I have to keep my alpha reputation up, so I can't really complain about being busy.

The other packs know me as Alpha Eligha of the Eclipse pack, as the fearless and powerful leader with a silver vault filled with prisoners, as the blonde wolf who shows no mercy.

But I'm not all that.

My mate would be the only one who saw my soft side, the side that obsessed over Christmas because everyone was so happy and enjoyed soft blankets and reading fantasy books.

But no one knows where she is. Even since I turned seventeen, I still haven't been able to feel her presence, as if she doesn't exist. I've never felt her pain from getting hurt or suffered from her being intimate with someone. Even if she is younger than me and can't feel the bond yet, I should be able to feel her.

It's as if she rejected me, but we were never mates in the first place. My wolf longs for her, and I'm often awake at night with him, trying to find even the faintest trace of her existence.

Even if she isn't a werewolf, we should have met by now. Human to werewolf mates always meet within six months because they are drawn to each other. I feel so lonely without her.

Ey, Alpha. There was someone on border patrol who says he smelt another werewolf, but it didn't smell quite wolf like and stuff, and then it went away again. You wanna come help us look?

Ah, the benefits of telepathy save me from checking snares once again. My Gamma, Monroe, will help me get out of going by asking for help with irrelevant tasks.

I'll be there soon. Ehark wanted me to check snares with him so im in the forest and have to come back, thanks for bailing me out.

I shifted into my wolf and ran in the direction of the packhouse. I still couldn't see the tree roots under the snow, but I tripped less in wolf form. That was, until searing pain surrounded my back leg and I tumbled into the snow. I didn't step on anything, but something hurt. I shifted back to my human form and grabbed some clothing I had stashed to get a look. Leaning against a tree, I inspected my wound only to find it wasn't my wound.

It was my mates. Suddenly I was laying on the ground, the immense pain swallowing me. I could feel her hatred toward me, her sickness, and the pain that tortured her every day. She had lost her loved ones, all she had left was sadness and pain and only a tiny bit of will to live. I know I did this to her, somehow. I don't even know who she was, but she hated me. Her hatred for me was all that was keeping her alive. What did I do to her? It's not like I'm a tyrant who murders families and takes over packs.

I shriveled up in the snow, curling up as if I was going to die. Tears streaked down my face. The only physical wound wasn't even mine, but I could feel all her grief.

My mate hated me. She was alive, but she hated me. My mate, the one who would see the true me, who would be mine forever, was disgusted by my existence.