The Triplet Alphas' Curse: Rejected by the Wolfless Luna.

BACKSTORY:

It was snowing. It snowed so hard, and relentless, as if the sky had an unresolvable issue with the earth.

The wind carried the snow across the forest in sharp waves that stung exposed skin and stole warmth from everything it touched.

Aire pulled her thin cloak tighter around herself.

It didn’t help.

The fabric was old, worn, and too small for winter. The cold slipped through it easily, biting into her skin until her fingers had gone numb hours ago.

Her nose was bright red, and her cheeks had lost most of their color. Even her lips trembled whenever the wind hit her directly.

Still, she kept walking.

The oversized bow bounced lightly against her shoulder as she trudged through the snow.

She took one step, then another, while making sure she don’t drop to the floor. Her boots sank deep into the white earth.

Every movement felt heavier than the last.

Aire swallowed and even that action hurt. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. However, hunger was easier to ignore than fear.

And right now she had plenty of fear.

Beta Kole’s face appeared immediately in her mind.

Aire flinched.

The memory alone was enough.

"If you don’t bring back enough meat this week, don’t bother asking me for more clothes." He had told her.

His voice still echoed in her head. She would not survive winter and her hunt with the cloths she have.

Aire lowered her gaze.

The threat had been delivered three days ago and she had gone three entire days without catching enough food.

Winter had emptied the forest.

The animals were hiding, the birds had vanished, and even the rabbits seemed smarter than usual.

Excuses meant nothing to Beta Kole, and only results mattered.

Aire tightened her grip on her bow.

She had one final trap left to check.

If there was something inside it, she could stretch the meat. She could make this work. She just needed something.

The thought pushed her forward. Snow crunched beneath her boots as she moved. The familiar path eventually appeared through the trees.

Relief immediately rushed through her.

The trap wasn’t far now.

Aire quickened her pace.

Her heart began beating faster.

She froze and so did her racing heart when she saw the trap she had rushed here for.

The trap sat ahead, half buried beneath the snow. Her heart resumed beating, and Aire’s smile appeared instantly.

Something was inside it.

The rope mechanism had triggered. For one glorious second excitement flooded her chest. She could finally go home.

Then, suddenly, she looked properly, and she saw a empty snare. The rope hung loose, and the animal was gone.

This time, Aire properly stopped breathing. She panicked, and her feet carried her forward automatically.

The closer she got, the worse it became.

The snow around the trap was stained red. The blood was fresh enough to still be visible despite the snowfall.

Her stomach dropped. Someone had taken it. Someone had stolen her catch.

Aire stared at the empty trap.

Her vision blurred.

The cold suddenly felt worse. Far worse. She had finally caught something after three long days of walking arpund in snow, and now it was gone.

Beta Kole would never believe her.

He never believed anything she said.

Aire’s throat tightened painfully.

She looked down. There were footprints. Large ones that doesn’t belong to an animal, but a person.

The trail stretched away from the trap through the snow.

Aire hesitated.

For several long seconds she simply stood there, then she started walking. She was desperate to find her meat.

If someone had taken her meat then she needed it back. She needed to be able to go home before she froze to death.

The footprints continued, and alongside them was more blood.

A lot more blood.

Aire frowned. The further she walked the stranger things became. The trail wasn’t moving normally again at a point.

Whoever had taken the animal wasn’t walking. They were dragging themselves now from the knee, and crawling.

Aire’s pace slowed.

Her grip tightened around her bow in caution, seeing that the blood had became heavier. The footprints also became uneven.

She took a few more steps, and then she saw him. She saw a figure collapsed against the snow several yards ahead.

Aire stopped instantly.

Her heart jumped.

The man was enormous. Even kneeling he looked large with dark hair hung over his face.

His clothes were torn, and blood covered one side of his body. A large dead rabbit rested several feet behind him.

Her rabbit. Yet Aire barely noticed it anymore.

The man was moving so slowly and painfully. She watched him cautiously as one hand reached forward then the other.

He dragged himself another few inches through the snow.

His entire body shook violently.

Aire stared at him. She realized that the cold was killing him.

She could see it from the way his shoulders trembled, the way his breathing hitched, and the way he struggled just to move.

For several moments she simply watched him. All thoughts of the rabbit vanished.

"Oh no." Aire gasped, watching him breath roughly. She hurried forward, and snow sprayed around her boots.

The man immediately tensed.

His head snapped upward.

Their eyes met, and Aire gasped. His eyes were brown, but brown. They looked like he had no light in him, and he had exhausted every last ounce of strength and was running entirely on stubbornness.

For a second they simply stared at one another.

Aire recovered first. She gave him a bright and gentle. The same smile she offered frightened animals.

"It’s okay." Ahe told him. "I’m here to help."

The man stared at her, and his expression hardened. "Get out." He ordered her. His voice sounded terrible.

He tried moving again, and failed. Then forced himself forward another inch.

Aire followed beside him. The sight made her chest ache. "What are you doing?" She questioned softly.

"You’re hurt." She announced, as if he had no idea about his situation. "You need help." She frowned. "You stole my rabbit."

That finally earned a reaction.

A faint grimace crossed his face. "...sorry." He muttered.

The apology startled her.

Aire wasn’t expecting that.

She walked beside him again, and the snow continued falling. The man continued crawling.

Several minutes passed.

Aire continued talking, and he continued refusing her help. Eventually even she grew annoyed.

She folded her arms in acceptance. "Fine. Give me my rabbit, and I’ll leave."

The man dragged himself on another arm. His movements slowed, and Aire watched carefully.

His shaking worsened, and her heart trembled at the sight of it. His breathing became shallower, and his shoulders suddenly gave out.

He suddenly collapsed. The man crashed face-first into the snow, and passed out.

And didn’t move. Her eyes widened. "Oh!"

She immediately dropped everything, and rushed toward him. "Hey!" She shook his shoulders roughly.

When he did not respond, Aire knelt beside him.

Her heart pounded wildly. He was completely unconscious. The cold had stolen whatever strength remained in him.

Aire looked around desperately.

The nearest village was too far, and the nearest road was even farther. Nobody would reach him in time.

She remembered her tent, and relief flooded her. She’d have to go a short distance deeper into the woods.

She occasionally stayed there whenever the weather became too dangerous to walk home.

Aire immediately grabbed him beneath the arms, then froze.

He was heavy. She swallowed, and pulled.

Nothing happened at her first puIl, so she groaned, and pulled harder. This time he moved.

She kept dragging him step by step. Snow soaked her clothes. Her muscles screamed, and her hands burned.

Yet she refused to stop.

If she left him here, he would die and Aire couldn’t do that.

Hours later the small tent finally appeared between the trees. Relief nearly made her cry.

She dragged him inside immediately.

The tiny space felt warmer already simply because the wind couldn’t reach them.

Aire moved fast. She gathered firewood, and began to make a fire. Within minutes flames crackled inside the firewood.

Warmth slowly spread through the tent.

Aire released a shaky breath, then she boiled water, fetched her worn out blankets, and checked his temperature, and his breathing.

She worked carefully, and respectfully. Only touching what she absolutely needed to.

She touched his forehead, his neck, and just his hands.

The hours stretched, as she warmed him up, and waited for him to wake. Outside the snow continued falling.

Inside the tent the fire burned steadily.

Aire sat nearby watching him. She occasionally replaced the water, and checked his temperature whole, wondering why he didn’t heal immediately the way wolves do.

The stranger never woke, and twilight came. Then darkness. The fire crackled softly now.

Aire yawned. Her eyelids felt heavy yet she remained awake in sympathy. She wondered if he also had no wof like her, and that was why he couldn’t bear the snow.

If he stopped breathing, she wanted to know.

At some point she must have drifted for a moment because a rough voice suddenly shattered the silence.

"Water."

Aire’s eyes flew open.

The stranger was awake now. His brown eyes were staring directly at her. "Water," he repeated hoarsely.

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