Seated against the tree with my eyes closed, there was little that escaped my attention. My ears focused on the slightest sound that would give away someone was following us in the middle of the night.

But the only thing I heard was the wind as it whispered past, rustling through the grass and making the branches above groan in protest.

As I opened my eyes to a moonlit sky, I let out a sigh of relief. The sounds around us were that of a slumbering world, with only animals of the night roaming around.

Not a single sign that pointed to anyone pursuing our tracks. Just the calm whispering of the wind, the occasional distant hoot of an owl on the hunt and the puffs of air escaping from the sleeping girl in my lap.

I allowed my gaze to wander, shuffling my weight slightly to find a more comfortable position against the rough bark. The slight cold in the wind or sleeping under the cover of thousands of stars wasn't new to me.

Living life as a rogue meant you had to lower your limits in regards to comfort and quality of life. Though I'd rather refer to myself as a Nomadic wolf.

Or rather, an Outcast. I never volunteered to this nomadic lifestyle, to being mistaken for a mindless rogue wolf by most packs.

My brothers apparently had other plans in mind.

Thinking of my brothers only brought forth unwanted memories. Flashbacks of an easier life, before everything became a mess.

The first memory was simple yet shocking; my parents announcing the inheritance of the Alpha role. Surprising both myself and my two brothers by pointing out that the gene had skipped them in favor of me.

An Alpha female wasn't unheard of but wasn't exactly a common occurrence, especially so with male littermates. After all, Alpha genetics favored males above females.

Obviously, the gene should've been within one of them instead of me.

The scowl of anger, of bitter resentment and jealously had been clear on my oldest brothers' face. He had made it obvious how he felt about not being the chosen Alpha, instead having to make way to his younger, female sibling.

It had been a bitter pill to swallow, to experience my siblings distancing themselves from me. Simply because I was born with what they had desired all along.

But I had figured that we were making progress. That overtime, they would accept me for what I was, because there wasn't anything I could do to change that.

And for a time, all was well.

Until I found the mutilated bodies of my deceased parents. Murdered in cold blood, left out in the open for scavengers to feast upon.

It was a moment that was etched in my brain. The pain... heart-wrenching pain and disbelief that they were gone. Horror that sank its claws in my body as I realized they had been slaughtered.

And then, the bone-deep betrayal I felt when my oldest brother declared himself Alpha and cast me out when I refused to bow down to him.

They weren't pleasant memories and even now, my emotions still got the better of me. But as an Outcast, I couldn't stay in the past. I had to live in the present, or I would soon join my parents in the afterlife.

A little huff escaped from the sleeping girl before she turned and twisted in my lap. I sighed, covering her as best as I could against the night's cold, still disbelieving of my own actions.

Of all the stupid things you've done, Lyra...

Each year I had made it a point to return to my former pack's borders. A twisted celebration of my exile, meant to remind myself that I shouldn't, couldn't trust pack.

The usual routine was simple. Circle around the territory, keep an eye out for any of the border patrol and leave before anyone noticed I was there.

And I had done so for several years on end, without any change in routine. Until a few days ago, where I had heard the terrified wailing of a child and the weak but pained groans of an adult.

Without a moment of hesitation, I had rushed through the thick woodlands in search for the source of the sound. Obviously, I expected trouble.

It could be a trap. Perhaps the pack had figured out my routine and had decided to throw out some bait. Or worse, they could've attacked a Nomadic family, leaving only the child alive.

I couldn't stand aside and do nothing.

Instead, I came upon a small clearing in the forest only to find one of my old packmates sprawled on the floor. Sarah was severely injured and struggling to latch onto life, given the fact that the moss beneath her was quickly getting saturated with the amount of blood she was losing.

Countless of bitemarks and tear wounds showed that she had been attacked by multiple wolves. Wolves that had left her to die, left the sobbing child at her side to starve beside her soon-to-be-dead mother.

The recognition in her eyes had been slow, mind undoubtedly befuddled from the blood loss. But she did recognize me.

And begged me with her dying breath to take her child to her sisters' pack.

"The pack... found out about...your brother. About your parents." She had wheezed, blood spilling past her lips as she struggled to speak. "Charged with... high treason and ... murder... he and his rogues...ambushed us."

"Shh, don't speak." I had shifted, hushing her and attempting to soothe the child. "Conserve your energy. I'll carry you back to the pack, get you a healer and you'll be fine. Come on-"

Sarah had lifted her eyes, the formerly vibrant blues empty and dead, even if she was still breathing...barely.

"They killed Luke. The rogues... killed several- Killed Luke-"

She didn't need to continue, didn't need to explain the severity of the situation. Luke had been her mate, the Beta of the pack. And as I glanced between Sarah and her eight-year-old daughter, I could only sigh in realization.

Sarah's wolf had already given up. Had died in anguish at the loss of her fated mate. And now Sarah didn't have our quickened healing abilities to fall back to.

Even if I miraculously managed to avoid detection, get her to the pack and drop her off at the pack doctor... she would die.

Without the presence of her mate, the bond that had shared their life source over the years, was now dooming her to perish. Even the presence of her pup was not enough to let her live.

It was the only reason why she was still clinging onto life. Why she struggled to form words even if her gaze was already dulling, losing the vibrant spark of life.

With wet, rasping gasps, blood frothing at her lips, Sarah slowly managed to whisper her last request. A last request that made my hackles raise even as I approached her child.

A request that put my life at risk, as she begged me on her dying breath to bring her child to her twin sister. To bring her to her sibling's pack.

"Please... bring her... to the Black Ridge pack..." She rasped, fingers losing grip on her daughter's eyes, complexion sickly pale.

Her eyes lit up for a moment as I slowly nodded, speaking solemnly. "I will. You have my word as an Alpha. Go and reunite with Lucas, Sarah."

The sudden shivering of the child in my lap instantly drew me out of the rather morbid memories. Wrapping what little clothes I had around the shivering child, I slowly grabbed her tighter, muffling a groan as I stood.

During the day I could travel as a wolf, having the girl clutching at my fur as I picked up the pace. But both of us needed sleep at some point.

Still, even as a wolf, the Black Ridge territory laid quite a distance away from my birth pack. There was no way to travel to it without stopping, especially not with a child clutching on.

So I traveled whenever I could, allowing the kid sleep whenever she needed it. And after recent events, she needed all the sleep and comfort she could get.

Bringing Sarah's daughter to her families' pack was the least I could do. And it wasn't as if I could drop the kid off at the edge of the territory, expecting her to walk further into an unknown land on her own.

But that meant that I, as a nomadic wolf with no blood ties or connections to the pack in any form, had to cross their borders.

Without an invitation or word ahead to let them know the purpose of our arrival. In other words, the pack would only sense my presence when I breached the borders of their territory.

Turning me instantly into a trespassing rogue. A crime for which the penalty varied from pack to pack. Sometimes packs would be understanding, approaching the rogues and demand them to state their business with their pack.

But those were a select few. Most, if not virtually all packs punished a rogue's trespassing swiftly and viciously, with instant death.

I stifled a morbid chuckle, shaking my head as I balanced the child in my arms and slowly trudged on.

This really is the dumbest thing I've ever done in my life.

A.n. Hello guys ^-^ 

This is a story from my old profile that I'm slowly editing through. I decided to edit it first and then post the new chapter as soon as it is done.

While I know most of you didn't seem to mind any grammar issues, I noticed I had a tendency to start a lot of new sentences with the same letter or phrase, which now makes me cringe xD

But enjoy From Alpha to Outcast. it is a finished story, which should make editing and uploading at least easier ^-^