Running with the Wolves [ic]

Cole was home, like usual, and like usual he had food lying around. You never had too much food when your home was constantly filled with five…or ten…werewolves. But he wasn't downstairs at the moment. Instead, he was tucked away upstairs, in the only room in the house he kept guarded, completely to himself. His father's. He was sitting in an old rocking chair, a book lying open in his hands that he was staring intently down at. Except his eyes weren't moving and it was clear that he wasn't actually reading. The words were in his father's scratchy writing, hard to decipher, but Cole knew every one of them. They were about him, his mother, the time when they had been a real family.

"I wish I knew what to do dad." He said out loud, his voice a whisper as he finally shut the book with a snap. He heard his front door creak open, the footsteps beneath him. One of his pack was here, which meant he could no longer enjoy the solitude of this room. He stroked the cover of his father’s journal once more, and then stood, slipping it back into its place among the others and walked to the door. He stood in the doorway for a moment, reveling in the quiet for one last second before he finally flipped the light off and shut the door silent behind him. He turned the knob once, to make sure that it was locked, since it was the one area of his house that he kept completely for himself. It was- that was good-and then turned toward the stairs.

He padded down them with ease, his serious and grim face falling away into a more relaxed smile as he caught Aila’s scent. He could smell the dew that must have lingered on her fur, the night air that she (and all other members of his pack) usually reveled in. As pleasant as it was, it also made him worry; simply because she was young, and alone, and he didn’t like the thought of that. But as usual, he kept his carefully controlled, relaxed face on as he stepped into the dining room, spotting her instantly. She was already eating, and Cole gave her a little smile, stopping in the doorway.
“I see you’ve found the food alright then.” He said teasingly, crossing his arms across his chest, and appearing perfectly normal—as though he hadn’t spent much of his night alone and worrying about his ability to lead a pack. He was good at keeping secrets, just like he suspected every member of his pack was. They were wolves after all…that’s what their life consisted of.

Angel awoke at the crack of dawn; her eyes automatically darted around her surroundings. For a girl her age she was pretty crafty when it came to finding places to sleep, for now, she was squatting at a house where the owners had just gone on vacation. Luckily, it would last a few more days before she would be back on the street. Mostly everybody who knew her felt sorry for the little girl, but she didn’t want anybody’s pity, she just wanted to be treated normally, and that was her reasoning behind not telling her pack about her predicament. With a long yawn she stretched her legs, getting out of the mess of blankets she grabbed her clothes and changed. Her blue top was getting a bit dirty, she would have to find a way to wash it without making the pack suspicious of her. Angel grinned and began to exit the house through the first story window.

Running a hand through her dirty blonde hair she decided that going to Cole's was a first priority thing. She walked slowly, taking in the smells and sights of the world early in the morning. Angel figured by now a few of the others must have reached Cole's house, but she felt no need to rush, besides she needed the time to compose herself after not being able to sleep well the night before. Sure maybe if she told the pack about her life outside of the packs world then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but she had grown accustomed to keeping it a secret, and never really felt as if it was that big of a deal to not tell them about it. After all, it was her life, and though she was only eight years old she was a lot smarter than anybody gave her credit for.

When she reached Coles place she plastered a smile on her face, trying to hide how tired she was as she entered without knocking. There really was no need to knock, they were like one big family. For a moment she paused, then the smell of food wafted from the kitchen, making her mouth water slightly, she hadn't realized she was hungry until just then. Walking slowly into the kitchen she kept the smile on her face, it brightened when she saw Aila. Angel loved Aila, she was like a sister as were many other pack members, she grinned when she noticed Cole there as well.
"Hiya guys"
Her voice came out a bit off, more high pitched than normal, but she blamed it on lack of sleep as she proceeded to pile a plate with food and sat down to eat.