Aelin (The story of the Alpha Wolf)

[~Aoria-sama~]

Chapter Two

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“The world of wolves,
The world of aroma,”
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“A fascinated world,
A controversial world,-”
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This is the first day of the eleventh year I have existed, and I still don’t know why. I remember this day with stark clarity, because it is one of the most important days of my life. I woke up to the humidity and heat of the transition into Summer. It's during this time of year I don’t mind the coolness of the metal my prison provides, and often I find myself moving from one side of space to the other, to feel the renewed coolness beneath me. There was no birthday cake, or gifts. My birthday wasn’t a celebration. In fact - I was oblivious at the time that celebrating birthdays was particularly normal. But I don’t know if it were my senses or something deeper, because I felt like something was going to happen. That today was going to be different, somehow.
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I was right.
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The alarms go off, and the loudness of them startle me.  I cover my ears. The blinking red light reflecting off of the white walls that surrounded my prison,  to my surprise, excited me more than it scared me. What was happening? This is different. I like different things. Moving to the metal bars before me, I press my face into them. My nose is going crazy as I attempt to depict what’s happening through scent alone. I think I smell blood, but this is the first time I have smelled blood that I knew for certain wasn’t my own.

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“A mystery,
The social hierarchy;”
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“Living in packs,
Power, strength,”
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The first time I heard the howl of my people was amongst the chaos of a prison break.  Idair, a wolf kin known as Hati within her pack - my first introduction to her was no real introduction at all. One of The Crow’s henchmen clad in white dyed red with his own blood comes crashing into the surrounding white room, breaking through the metal door with what seemed little to no effort from the one who’d done it. Idair, Hati - my savior. She walks toward my prison, and I am frozen where I sit. I realize there are similarities between us, perhaps more than I quite understand just yet. When she hunches down and stares at me, I don’t know what to do. So I don’t do anything aside from whimper about my confusion.
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“Come, little wolf. You are free now. This is not proper for a child of Asena nor Saekanis.”
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Her words confuse me. I don’t understand what she’s saying. But I know she isn’t going to hurt me. Somehow I know this with everything inside of me. It’s as if there’s a voice inside of me telling me we were meant to meet, and that this is what I have been waiting for. To leave my prison. To leave the crow. This must be what she means.
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My fearlessness drives me forward toward her, and she scoops me up into her arms with little effort. The contact, the closeness - it’s what startles me. I’m not used to being touched, or cared for. This is nice. I’m beginning to understand. I cling to her and she begins to run. These moments of closeness are the ones I most remember. The smell of her hair, the warmth of her skin. An expression of both concern for me and smile for whatever she saw inside of me.
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As if she knew that I would become.
What I was.

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“Peace, harmony,
To own pack and own family…”

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