WL's Prompts- Short Stories - 9. Prompt # 171: The Hunt

Public Announcement: Wolves have been sighted within the town limits. Women and children below the age of 18 should return home. All abled body males over the age of 18 should report to the town hall for hunting party assignments.

The announcement sounded across the town, causing an uproar. It had been ten years since the wolf-shifters were driven from the chosen kingdom, thirty years since the peace-loving chosen king was assassinated and five years since the chosen occupied some treaty lands of the wolves. There was no love lost between the chosen and the wolf-shifters due to a legacy of betrayal and mutual belligerency. Sadly, if you look at a wolf-shifter int their man form and a human of the kingdom, you will only see the same olive brown skin, angular nose, and black hair. Of course, most scholars know that they were once one people until the magic of a prophet separated them between the wolves and the chosen humans.

The chosen humans claimed that they would one day inherit the world according to the will of heaven; the wolves claimed that they would gain the world one day according to the same will. After two thousand years, neither have received their prophesized rewards. Instead, generation after generation of wolves and chosen died at each other’s hands.

During the movement of various chosen within the border town, a skinny teenage boy with an androgynous appearance sought a path to safety. However, he became lost amid the confusion and could not find his way. Somehow, he made his way to the town hall where men of various ages were gathering.

One man yelled, “Let’s get rid of all the wolves this time and wipe them from the kingdom.”

Another claimed, “I lost my mother and father in one of their raids, let’s set fire to one of their holy dens and use their skin as cloth.”

In such a terrifying scene, the boy was a curiosity. Too sensitive in appearance to be a warrior, and too weak in bone structure to carry weapons, but he appeared human. Wolves were always depicted as being big and muscular, fierce and loud in demeanor. The boy was none of those things as he timidly tried to hide from their gaze.

An 18-year-old orphan boy, who had enlisted in the guards’ months earlier, took pity on the small boy. He separated from the gathering townspeople and took the boy to the side.

He asked the boy, “Hello, my name is Adam. What is your name?”

Shaking the boy answered, “My name is Arwa. You smell nice, are you an alpha?”

An alpha was the name of a wolf warrior, so Adam thought the fragile-looking boy was afraid. The boy smelled sweet and tender, like sweet honey and berries over flatbread. He felt compelled to protect this small boy and satisfy his needs.

“No, I am here to defend and serve people like you. I can help guide you to your home if you want since I do not think you should be put on assignment.”

Arwa got in close to Adam, gathering courage and warmth from the bigger boy, “I got lost in the market and can’t find my family. Can you help me?”

Adam took Arwa’s hand, causing the smaller boy to blush, “I will escort you wherever you want me to go.”

First, Adam took Arwa to the market, where several bodies were strewn from a recent wolf attack, which Arwa could not identify. Arwa said his family had left the market heading east back to the town hall.

Near the town hall, a group of dead people and wolves lined the streets, causing Arwa to shudder at the sight. The ferocious wolves had shifted into their monstrous forms with sharp carnivorous teeth that were used to hunt. It frightened and intrigued Adam to see a real wolf-shifter since all he had heard were stories from the orphanage about such creatures. There was something familiar about their appearance, there was something familiar about their scent.

Arwa tugged at Adam’s arm and pleaded, “I want to leave, can you take me home?”

While Adam knew his duty as a guard would mean that he had to stay and debrief with his superior officers about the recent wolves' invasion within the town, he was compelled by Arwa’s desperate plea. Thus, he left the town hall and escorted Arwa to the border crossing of the town using his credentials. He had thought Arwa was merely a poor country boy who lived outside the protective walls in the new settlements as many others, but when they continued to walk past settlements, insecurity grew.

Adam had always heard wolves were fierce and strong like he was in human form, their shifted appearance lent credence to the rumors that they were monsters. They enjoyed eating chosen flesh and murdered innocent people without reason. How could such people be related to the innocent and beautiful Arwa?

After they neared the western bank of a river, a familiar and strange scent enveloped Adam. It smelled like belonging.

They heard the sounds of howls in the distance and froze.

Arwa looked at Adam with his big round eyes, “My pack is here. Will you join us and be my Alpha?”

Adam was stunned at the announcement and pointed his sword at Arwa, “I am not a wolf-shifter, I am chosen.”

Arwa began to transform into a small furry wolf-like creature with the appearance of a friendly puppy, “Please choose me to be your omega, I will serve you as you will protect me.”

Adam could not bring himself to cut down the innocent-looking wolf and he could feel his heart accepting the truth. He was discovered near the border town, so everyone assumed he was a chosen child orphaned by a wolf attack. He had never met or seen wolves until today. He knew the truth without uttering the words

Adam lowered his sword and began his first transformation. His clothes began to tear, his teeth began to lengthen, and magnificent brown fur burst from his olive skin.

As Adam regained his senses in his new form, he spotted Arwa, his omega mate. He showed his sharp teeth, which resulted in panting from the Omega. He drooled as the Omega rolled on his stomach to present his erection and hole for pleasure.

Adam chose to accept himself.