The snow was falling in heavy curtains to blanket the ground in a thick layer that crunched softly under the paws of the lone, icy grey she-wolf as she struggled against the icy winds in the dead of night. Her jaws keeping a firm hold on the small bundle she carried as she strains to see through the storm. A pack was no place for a half-breed, or at least that's what the Alpha had said the day she'd returned smelling like a humans pet, her belly full of pups. Cast to the outer fringes of the pack she had given birth to five small pups, now only one, the smallest, remained, as the others had been too weak for one reason or another to survive the harsh cold that had set in. The last straw had dropped when the newborn pup had changed, not your regular change that a pup would have, but one that would be deadly if she were found. Now here she was; trudging through the snow to leave her only pup on the doorsteps of humans, the pups only hope of surviving would be if it were accepted as human. Glancing around as a cabin came into view the she-wolf hurries forward and gently sets the squirming bundle on the ground outside the door. With one last lick she turns to run as it starts crying, letting out a soft, sad howl of her own as her paw prints covered behind her by the storm. Hiding under a bush she waits, watching as the door opens in and a brown haired young man of about twenty-three looks out into the night, the dim light of a fire inside and the lantern in the man's hand casting a glow around him and down on the crying infant at his feet.

 

It only took a moment for the young man to locate the source of the crying, glancing around he searches for any sign of the mother. When none is found, not even footprints in the snow, he carefully picks the child up and steps back into the warmth of the small, cozy cabin, to take a seat near the fire as he calls out to his young wife who was in the kitchen. "Mia...get a bottle and warm some of that milk from Matilda would you?" From behind him, his young wife, a blonde-haired young woman of around twenty who was coming to be about eight months pregnant, walked out of their kitchen to see what her husband had found, a thick woolen knit shawl wrapped loosely around her shoulders. Cradling the infant in his arms, the young man sat as close to the fire as he dared, both for the warmth it provided as well as the light with which to see the child better as he unwrapped the doe-skin blanket that was around it. As he pulled back the top of the blanket the young man was surprised at what he found, the infant had dark, almost black hair with a hint of navy blue to it, and the sleepy, tear filled eyes that peered up at him weren’t the normal blue that the people of the region normally had. Oh yes, they were blue, but they were so much more, they resembled the indigo inks and dyes that the priests and royals used in their books and robes. As he finished unwrapping the infant it was revealed to be a girl, she wore no clothes, however there appeared to be no damage from the cold, the doe-skin blanket had done its job and kept her harm as her mother had carried her.

 

From outside the window the female wolf crept closer, peering in cautiously as the young man tended to her child. It eased her mind to see the young couple caring for the child so readily, she had chosen a good home for her daughter and could leave, reassured that she would be loved. It saddened her to know that she would not be able to watch her child grow, however this would be safer by far than trying to raise a human child alone in the wilderness. If the pack ever found out that she had survived they would surely kill her. Turning to leave the she-wolf trudged back into the storm, her paw prints soon filled in as the thick blanket of ice and snow became thicker.

 

She had gotten no further than the river when a sharp howl echoed around her, the howl of her pack's alpha, she had been found sooner than she would have liked, far too close to the human village. Preparing herself for battle the she wolf looked through the blowing snow, knowing she had disobeyed her commander’s order to stay in her den and never to approach huymans. Counting several wolves as they approached her, circling closer and closer, the she-wolf growled softly. Directly in front of her stood the pack’s Beta, her brother Rallen, his teeth bared, visibly angered.

 

“Kaala, you’ve disobeyed the pack laws again, and in doing so disobeyed Borall’s orders and placed us all in danger. The laws and his orders are absolute, what have you to say for yourself?”

 

Standing her ground silently, prepared to fight for her life, Kaala looked between Rallen and Borall. Yes, she had broken the laws, as well as her Alpha’s orders, however she saw no way that it put anyone but herself in danger, not that she would say that allowed to them, it would only cause her more trouble rather than help her.

 

“Rallen, her silence speaks for her, she needs no trial this time, nor does she deserve it. Dispose of her quickly and return to the hunt, before my daughter has cause to worry that you were a poor choice of a mate.” Turning the Alpha, Borall, led the rest of the hunting party back into the woods, leaving Rallen with a small group to deal with Kalla. Her brother’s eyes, full of anger and disappointment, were the last thing she saw as the rest of the wolves attacked. It was over in moments and she was left to bleed to death, her blood freezing as it seeped from her body onto the ice at the river’s edge, her eyes clouding over as her brother spoke to her one last time.

 

“You always were a disappointment Kaala; it is good that our parents did not live to see this day come.” Turning Rallen left Kalla to die, relief washing over her as she breathed her last breath, relief that she had not been asked about the pups, or about the reason behind her disobedience.

 

The child would be safe from the pack, and safe from the knights and hunters who hunted her kind, who hunted the half-breed children born of what humans called the man-beast and wolf.