Violet

The water rippled around us, but we remained still. I didn’t even relax when I noticed they were headed in a different direction. Our presence was subdued, but I didn’t want to risk making a sound.

I did not care whether the wolves were skilled or not, I wasn’t going to take any risk.

My pulse was low as I tracked their movement. They were picking their way through the dense vegetation. To my shock, their paths started moving towards our direction.

"Bei. Wolves," I whispered, already moving toward the bank. "Nine of them coming this way."

Bei was right behind me, all the relaxation gone from her body as she pulled herself out of the water. We dressed quickly in fresh clothes and shoved our wet ones into a small leather sack. Water still dripped from our hair and skin.

I kept my syzygy locked on the approaching wolves, tracking their progress. They were moving slowly, apparently having difficulty with the terrain. That bought us enough time.

"This way," I breathed, gesturing away from the lake, and the path the wolves were taking.

We slipped into the undergrowth, our footsteps careful on the roots. We decided to move gently that way. I especially hoped Bei wouldn’t fall into the mud and alert our position, but she was skilfully adept shifting through the trees.

We stopped at some point and the wolves passed from where we had been bathing. They had even paused to get into the water. While their loud splashes filled the air, we quickly took the time to actually run off, nearly climbing the tree as we darted from one to the next.

Roughly an hour went by when we found proper solid ground. I sighed with relief, getting off the high roots of the tree and onto dry land.

"That was close," Bei whispered.

"A bit too close," I agreed. "Then again, it seemed like they were rogue wolves."

Bei’s lips spread out in a slightly tired smile. "One still needs to be careful."

The forest was still dense and there was still a lot of moisture in the air, but as we continued on our way, I couldn’t help but feel the shadow of what had been a perfect moment. The peace of the lake had been shattered by the reminder that we were not entirely safe anywhere.

I sighed and shook my head.

Things weren’t going as bad as I had expected.

That we might not be safe anywhere.

I touched my pendant through my shirt, feeling the pull still humming steadily in my chest. Bei shifted into her wolf form and I climbed her before speeding off into the distance.

[ - ]

The days that followed blurred together.

We moved steadily, covering as much ground as we could while still being careful. The wetlands eventually gave way to drier terrain, the oppressive humidity lifting as the landscape shifted around us.

The trees thinned and grew shorter, their broad leaves replaced by thick shrubs and sparse grasses. The soil beneath our feet turned from dark mud to pale sand that crunched softly with each step. The air lost its heavy moisture and became lighter, carrying a faint mineral scent I couldn’t quite place.

Two weeks passed like this.

We fell into an even easier rhythm than before. Walking during the cooler parts of the day, resting when the sun was too harsh, talking when words came naturally and sitting in comfortable silence when they didn’t.

Bei had filled another journal with sketches and notes. She showed me some of them one evening, pages covered with detailed drawings of plants and rock formations and the strange creatures we had glimpsed along the way. Her handwriting was neat and small, cramming observations into every available space.

The pull had changed.

It wasn’t stronger exactly, but it felt different now. I wasn’t sure how else to explain it, but I noticed the shift the more distance we covered. I could only guess we were getting closer and the thought excited me.

Like whatever waited at the end of this journey already knew I was coming.

Tonight, we had made camp in a shallow depression between two low dunes. The sand was still warm from the day’s sun, and the sky above us was vast and scattered with stars.

Bei had fallen asleep quickly, her breathing slow and even. I sat with my back against my pack, watching the stars wheel slowly overhead.

Her question still lingered in my mind.

’What do you want your life to look like?’

I would be lying if I said I hadn’t been thinking it over for weeks now.

I wanted safety. That much I knew. Not just for myself, but for others like me. Omegas who had spent their lives being overlooked and mistreated. I wanted a world where someone like me could exist without fear, without constantly looking over their shoulder.

I smiled weakly.

It was strange how there was always something to worry about.

Despised for being too weak as an omega and hated for being too strong as a Lycan.

When would it ever end?

Even if I supposedly had children in the future, could they also be hunted down?

I slowly frowned.

It didn’t sit well with me at all.

I shook the thought away, but I knew I would still have to face it at some point. What were the other wolves so afraid of? Just because a nation was stronger than the rest, you just band together to get rid of them?

I huffed, closing my eyes. I would think about all this when I actually find what I am looking for. I didn’t even know what it was.

Still... a family might be nice.

Quiet mornings sounded nice. To wake up without the weight of survival pressing down on me. There was also the thought of having a place that felt like home... not because I was strong or useful, just... somewhere I was welcome.

Rowan’s face surfaced in my mind and I jolted upright, slapping my cheeks hard.

Bei flinched awake, drowsily looking around before fixing me with a sharp stare.

I felt so guilty.

"I—I’m so sorry. Please, it’s nothing," I quickly spoke up, raising my hands. "Go back to sleep."

Bei sighed and laid back down, a slight frown on her face as she tried to return to her sleep.

I relaxed, feeling guilty. It hadn’t exactly been easy for her going for nights without rest. Added with the fact, the change in sceneries had surprisingly been strangely uncomfortable for her, even messing with her senses.

I sank against the sand, my eyes drifting to the sky as I dissolved into my thoughts once more, hoping this time not to think of either of them.