Meet Cute

As we walked back to the main entrance, I kept my breathing low and even. With every inhale through my nose, I understood the avians' situation better. Two of the pack's guards - Shawn and Hal - were watching them. I suppressed a growl. Lin lied; the avians were prisoners.

Konrad snarled, making my breath hitch. I glanced up. His yellow eyes were narrow, telling me he knew I'd found the avians. It was a step towards meeting the boy I'd saved.

"Don't," Konrad warned.

"Don't what?" I asked, pretending I didn't know what he meant.

He raised an eyebrow but remained silent as we continued towards the front doors.

The main entrance flew open, and a pup I knew as Asher raced out into the courtyard. "Joy, catch!" he shouted, throwing a scuffed soccer ball back at the front door. A girl skipped out of the house, the buckles on her flower-patterned overalls jingling with every leap. She jumped and caught the ball as a toddler chased after her and grabbed her pant's legs.

"Joy!" the small boy whined. "I wanna play! Stop being mean."

Joy laughed and tossed the ball back at the older boy. "Don't let my snotty brother get the ball!" she chanted.

Asher held the soccer ball over his head as Joy's brother ran for it with all the speed his stubby legs could muster. When the toddler jumped and grabbed at Asher's arms, he threw it back to Joy.

"Okay! No little brothers allowed," Asher taunted.

"Nah! Nah!" Joy teased her brother as he ran back towards her.

The toddler whined.

Konrad snarled, then cleared his throat. The kids froze and looked up at him. Asher took a step back. Joy dropped the ball.

"Konrad, Sir. We're... we're just playing monkey in the middle," Joy said.

"Excluding and provoking through teasing isn't a game, Joy," Konrad said.

"Pro... provo..." Asher's face scrunched. "What?"

I grinned. This was an opportunity to distract Konrad and the guards. I could use the kids. With what Lin mentioned about the avians stealing pups combined with the lady-avian still missing, it was the perfect setup. All I had to do was make the kids run.

"Provoking. It means making someone really, really, really angry," I clarified.

Asher's gaze snapped to me, and he waved sheepishly. "We weren't making him angry, Soren. You have to believe us. We were playing. You saw we were."

"Oh, I know. I wish I could play too," I said with a forced sigh and a shake of my head in mock grief. "But I hurt my arms, so I can't play."

"Oh no!" Joy said. "What happened? Does it hurt?"

"Does it?" Asher echoed, his eyes widening. "Did you fight someone?"

"Oh... I just fell," I lied, stepping forward to kneel in front of Joy's little brother.

He sniffed me and took a step back. "You smell weird."

"Manners," Konrad barked.

I ignored the toddler's comment. It was a familiar reaction from strangers with good senses of smell or pups in the pack. It always stung, but I forced a warm smile and continued my pitch to the toddler. "Yeah, maybe I can't play, but you still need a strong adult to help you win monkey in the middle. Konrad wants to play. He's really strong and good at winning."

"He is?" the toddler asked.

"Yeah. Konrad always wins. And he's on your team, Kid," I said.

The little pup's face lit up. "Konwad's on my team?" he asked, mispronouncing the name.

"Now isn't the time, Soren," Konrad protested as Asher and Joy looked at each other with shocked expressions. Joy shook her head. But it was too late. The littlest pup raced for the ball and threw it at Konrad, shouting, "Catch!"

Konrad high kicked the soccer ball in a fluid motion before it hit the ground and sent it flying towards the woods. "I... shoot," he grumbled.

I grinned. I would expect nothing less from the alpha's son.

Asher and Joy made noises somewhere between laughing and barking as their instinct to chase took over, and they took off after the ball.

The little pup laughed and waddled towards Konrad, shouting, "Huwy, Konwad!"

This was my only chance. If I failed... well, I'd worry about that later.

The toddler pulled Konrad's arm his entire body, heaving forward, but he wasn't strong enough. Konrad didn't move. "I'm captain, so you have to listen to me. Run!" the pup whined.

I raced for the alpha's wing, shouting, "The avian is back! She's going after pups! Shawn! Hal! Help!" Every stride sent pain shooting through my arms, but I didn't stop.

"Soren!" Koran snarled.

"She's in the woods!" I shouted. "The avian is in the woods. She's hunting Joy and Asher!"

Pack members raced out of the house and charged for the trees, away from the alpha's wing. I pulled my arms in as werewolves swarmed past me. Their feet pounded as my heart raced with excitement. Shouts of confusion and anger filled the property. I couldn't help but grin when I saw Shawn and Hal join the goose hunt. For all the strength and loyalty that werewolves have, we - or they - can't help but protect the young and fear being left out.

I slipped through a side door and raced into the alpha's wing. I followed the avian boy's scent through the long, overly fancy hall but froze when I caught my father's scent. I pushed myself around a corner to see him standing next to a closed door. The kid I'd saved was behind it.

"Daddy, heeeey," I whimpered, a lump forming in my throat. "Fancy meeting you here."

Dad's face was expressionless for only a moment before cracking into a grin. "Your mother would ground you."

"Oh?"

"Fortunately for you, I'm not your mom." He laughed but cut himself off. "I shouldn't be proud of you for starting a fake hunt and breaking into the alpha's wing... but I am."

"You... you are?" A new smile forced itself across my face.

"My great aunty Lin is going to kill us, but I'll keep others out as long as I can," Dad said, cracking the door open. "So hurry up and meet the kid you saved before we go down together."

I nodded and walked forward. My dad was - still is - the best. "Thanks, Dad."

"But if that avian kid hurts you, I'm biting his head off," Dad said.

"Right."

The avian's scent screamed, "Predator!" as I padded into the room. My stomach churned, and my body tried to freeze, but I pushed my legs forward. I'd come too far. The kid wasn't the avian that attacked me.

The bed was stripped of blankets and sheets, but I quickly found the linens wrapped in a round shape on top of a dresser. He'd made a nest - it was somehow adorable. A mop of eagle-feather patterned hair rose from it, and two sleepy crimson eyes blinked open. The teen rubbed his face and yawned, the sound cracking into a chirp. His expression scrunched as he took me in.

I stepped back. "Uh. Hi. I'm Soren. I saved your life-"

The boy whimpered as his black wings flapped open. They were black holes in the dim room, swallowing all light hitting them and leaving a void. His wings patterned the walls in the cramped space, but the resulting wind still pushed back my hair. He flattened himself against the wall.

"Don't hurt me. Please," he begged.