Days before
Noa glanced over his shoulder as he sprinted down the hall, watching out for his pursuer. His lungs clenched for air as his brown hair tousled over his eyes.
He rounded the corner dodging a table when the scent of his enemy was behind him. His head was in a whirlwind to think of a plan. He felt so close, but where, was not behind him. He couldn't allow himself to be caught, not now.
A taller figure crossed the path. Noa stopped short and tensed his muscles. He had to escape, he had to ...
-Noa, you bastard, when I catch you you'll see what I'll do to you-
An annoyed laugh came from the mouth of his older brother who was still wearing his shirt stained by some viscous liquid resulting from some joke.
-That's if you catch me-
Alan frowned knowing that no matter how fast he ran he would never catch his brother, but admit it, never that.
A guard standing in the way turned to one side, leaving the path clear for the two princes, who resumed their customary weekly chase. Whoever saw the scene would laugh. For their age they were still puppies. Alan was 45 years old but barely looked 25 or 26 in human terms while his brother, 38 and could pass for a teenager. And it was logical, the wolves reached their maturity around 50 years.
Noa turned through several corridors without slowing down. He was a small but agile wolf like few others and although the oldest was not far behind, he lacked the necessary neurons to overcome it.
Maybe they were like this for another hour, they didn't know. They dropped their exhausted, cramped bodies from the intense physical exertion and their flat, hard bellies roaring for a good chunk of food. They were sure they would be scolded by their father for the ruckus inside the pack's main mansion, but they cared just as much. Their father did not pay enough attention to them as to know that they were alive, sometimes he did not remember their names. And Catalina and Nicolás did not escape from that pattern either.
Nicolás was the second brother, after Rodrigo, the alpha's first-born and favorite. He was the calmest of the five and he was always taking care of Cat, his little sister and their love, and although he did not look anything like his father, he had traits in common with them such as chocolate hair, and their two large purplish eyes, when those of the males of the family remained between hazel and green. Even the alpha had suspected her origin but the smell gave away, no matter her physique.
The five of them had a distinctive odor that anyone outside the family would know was blood related. As well as whose mother and father they were children. Now the question of the century and the taboo topic in the pack. Who was the mother? No one knew and his father would cut out the tongue of anyone who dared to mention the subject.
It was only known that Rodrigo was granted for the womb of the late queen, but that story had degraded over time. Now nothing was left about the strange wolf. As if it had never existed. There were rumors that she was alive because all the siblings smelled the same, but the alpha denied over and over again, claiming that they belonged to different mothers, and no one was able to reply.
Noa got up off the floor, adjusting his clothes and held out his hand to Alan.
-Let's go back, it's almost lunchtime and we have to change. Father will not like our looks-
-Not that he was so aware of us-
-Alan- he chided, with them the roles were reversed- And you smell horrible, and more so now that you're sweaty-
-What? You like? Do you want a hug? -
He opened his arms but his brother ducked avoiding him and moved away.
-No more games for today, peace between brothers-
-I don't want to hear that from the person who ruined my favorite shirt-
Alan adored the boy no matter how much he did things to him. They were always together in the care of Nicolás. Now the older wolf did not have much time to be with them, he had to make holes in his agenda as a surrogate mother and housewife to attend to them. They did not blame him for anything, it is thanks to him that they stayed within those cold walls.
They walked back when they heard, in the distance, their father's high-pitched cry and a loud bang on the table.
-What did what? -
The brothers knelt in a secluded corner thinking it had been about them. At their distance they could hear everything through his well-developed ear and with Alan's scent it would be impossible for them to be detected. They slowed their breathing to hide their presence. If their father was going to scold or punish them, it was better to know what it would be like.
-Sorry alpha, but apparently she can't keep it inside any longer-
Another person accompanied him. She sounded anguished and fearful.
-I don't care about the method, you can't lose it-
-That could put her life in danger-
They felt footsteps on the floor, their father had gotten up from where he was.
-I pay you very well to keep her alive and giving me puppies to consume her blood when they are adults. Give her medicine, operate her, sew her legs, but the puppy cannot die-
Noa clung to her brother with a slight tremor. That couldn't be. His ears were deceiving him. He knew that his father was cruel, but that exceeded expectations, how was it possible that he would do something like that to someone, even be an enemy.
-At least I could send her to a better place. The dungeons are not the best for her belly and it conditions them ...-
-Shut up. Your job is to treat her as a doctor, I decide where she has to be. And remember- her father's voice lowered so much that it was hard for them to hear- No one can know that the former queen of this pack is alive. Did you understand-
Alan looked at Noa with the same expression of terror. This was getting out of hand. He had mentioned the queen, the only wolf who had led the pack without having alpha genes. The wife of the current leader. If their words were true, everything they had been told was a vile lie.
They both nodded their heads. They had to find out what was going on in that mansion. They walked back cautiously without making noise, if their father found out that they had that information he would surely kill them. They walked away, but before turning to go back to their rooms a hand fell on Alan's shoulder.
-What are you doing here?-