Riley

She was the only child in the pack of rogue wolves, banished from their pack for reasons she did not know. She was fatherless and her mother refused to acknowledge her existence. She was a child slave to the adults, running errands not minding how tough it was. Being rogue wolves, they had to move from one place to the other. First, to protect their lives from those who saw them as evil and prevented them from coming into their territory. Secondly, to find a source of feeding.It had not always been easy on Riley, trying so hard to look for her mother's love and to be acknowledged by trying to please everyone. She wasn't strong at first but soon, she learnt how to run. She had to learn it the hard way as she was almost left behind and killed one of the days she could not meet up with their speed.Panting heavily and full of sores from tripping and tumbling over thorns, rocks, and sharp objects, she could finally locate her members but their reception was cold. It was almost as if she wasn't battered and almost did not make it, a wolf among them called on her to her disappointment to send her on an errand.'Mother must be crying, she must be waiting for me.' Was Riley's thought as she quickly did what she was told to do, ignoring the pains shooting through her entire body like a deadly virus. Done with her assignment, she went looking for her mum. In the midst of the tall and slender trees in the forest, she recognized her back, her shoulders looked slumped and her head bowed. It amazed Riley."I actually count. Mother really cares." Riley had muttered in her childish innocence, slowly getting close to the back of her mum, not wanting to disrupt her actions but surprise her with her presence. She was alive and she didn't need to cry anymore.Riley got closer and could not understand why her mother's shoulders were suddenly quaking and her head thrown back till a hand appeared behind her trying to keep her still.The idea that her mum was in danger made her go perfectly still, deciding on the next course of action to take when laughter erupted from her mum's throat and the man she was with."Her absence is worth celebrating." Her mum had said.

"Should we go again?" The male voice Riley had also recognized asked."At night Dear. I need to get used to being free from seeing her face and being reminded of him. They both disgust me." She had said standing up to straighten her clothes.Little Riley had wondered who this 'she' was. Why her mum was happily chatting with another man when she was yet to be found by her. What they were doing alone, away from the eyes of others. And who the 'he' was.Her feet were numb and her mouth were heavy with restricted words. 'Mother' hung on her lips but she could not voice it out, she had been told never to use that word and just like everyone else, she called her mum by her name and was treated same way. "Should I go on a run?" Her mother had asked the man whose face she finally saw."Can your wolf take it?" He had replied, his hands roaming around her body in a way that made Riley disgusted."What can I do? I feel so excited, I can barely keep it in." 'Excited?' Riley had ponder on the word. She wasn't an adult, but she was mature enough to know that excited meant anything but sad or unhappy.She wondered why her mum would be so excited when her only daughter wasn't found yet. Why she would be here, conversing so freely with a man when she should have been in search of her. "Save your strength for when we have to run again." He said and offered his hand to her which she took only to jerk when she turned to find Riley standing and staring right back at her.Once again, the word 'mother' hung at the tip of Riley's tongue but she swallowed it back into her stomach as she watched her mother's face go sour at the sight of her."I came back." She said, her words sounded strangled and tears were almost filling up her eyes."And?" Was the response she got.Clearing his throat to get rid of the awkwardness, he took an excuse, leaving the mother and daughter duo to themselves with one looking shocked, annoyed and irritated all at once and the other looking depressed. Looking at her mother's face, she could see frustration and boiling anger which was set to explode anytime soon.

"Why did you have to come back!?" Her mum yelled at her and this was probably the most hurtful she had been yet.She looked at her annoyed mother and wanted to voice out how she stumbled and fell a lot of times, the number of times she had herself bruised, how her wolf had to take over when she got tired of running, the pain she felt and the joy of finally getting to see her face again but all that went into the trash bin in her head."I…" "I don't want to see you." Her mother said at first but as if noticing a mistake, rephrased her statement."Just remain invisible." She spat out and walked past her in hateful strides towards the group of rouges. Finally being left alone, Riley's knee quaked and her weight became heavy on her, making her plunged on the hard floor. Tears didn't come but she wanted to cry. Her mouth lack words but she wanted to talk even if it meant talking to the trees.She looked around the deep forest wondering who it was she reminded her mother of so much to be this hated."Should I disfigure my face?" She had asked herself. She thought it would aid in making her mum see less of this man through her.Soon, the forest began to get blurry. When was the last time she ate? She felt dizzy, her head decided it was the right time to play the drum for the whole body to dance to it and it did, swaying even in her sitting position. Just as she was about to give in, a concerned "Riley" filtered into her ears."Mum?"