Solitude Does No Good

When he’d been younger, not too long ago, he’d been in a pack in Virginia and happily made his home there with his parents. They were much older, keeping to advising and relaxing out the rest of their days while Micah was a rambunctious youth, wanting to see the world and experience everything he could. The day things turned around was the day his best friend decided to take Alpha. Josh had planned it, without telling Micah, but put it to their advantage.

But after a while, Micah noticed that Josh was distracted from being Alpha. That alone had him worried and was enough to make him question what was going on in Josh’s mind. It was that very next weekend that Micah found out why.

Her name was Danika.

Micah knew Josh had a girlfriend, but Josh had failed to mention she was not only beautiful, but human. The two had met up with him, going out for the night to just hang out. He was angry that his friend was trusting a human, but also hadn’t told her the truth. It would be dangerous if something went wrong.

But, being the best friend that he was, Micah only told Josh to be careful at the end of the night and reminded Josh that they were wolf first, human second.

It didn’t take long for things to go wrong.

Hostility grew between the pack and hunters. Tensions were thick and lines were drawn soon enough. Josh confided in Micah that he wanted to plan an attack and he was all for it. They plotted and planned while fighting off the hunters that attempted to reach their pack. A few were lost from that alone and Josh knew that meant more lives would be lost. Micah started to worry, but he kept his mouth shut.

Josh had forgotten about Danika in the mix of everything and if she’d been remembered, things would have been different. Micah didn’t know that it was supposed to be their anniversary night when the hunters took the pack by surprise, attacking earlier than thought. When news had reached Josh, Micah could only assume his Alpha had left Danika at his home and gone off to the pack.

He never got the full story afterward.

Micah remembers distinctly the howls, the cries, the sight of blood, and the snarls that came from the battle. The forest had become a battlefield and Micah fought with everything he had. Most of the pack did. Unfortunately, many of them died. His parents, friends, and even Josh. The two of them had stuck it out for as long as they could until Josh fell. The moment Josh fell, the pack fell back. Without an Alpha and only a few of them remaining, it was useless. Still, the hunters wouldn’t take any chances. Micah barely got out with his life.

But he did and during his escape was when he noticed the girl in shock far from the fight but still in range. Danika, pressed tightly against a tree and staring at the bloody forest. Knowing her, he felt bad. Knowing that Josh was dead made it even worse. The moment she went unconscious from shock, he moved over to try and get her on his back, managing it but having to keep the fabric of her sweater in his teeth.

Micah took her to Josh’s and shifted back so he could bring her into the house and lay her down on the couch. Her clothes were bloody from his fur, but he wasn’t about to change her. Instead, Micah grabbed a blanket and draped it over the blonde. He knew he needed to leave, especially with the hunters still around so he borrow Josh’s clothes and moved to grab a pen and paper.

--Josh is dead. I’m sorry. I hope you don’t remember anything.

He left the note on the coffee table, keeping his name from the paper. She wouldn’t be able to find him, but he wasn’t about to take the risk.

After shutting the door, Micah disappeared.