~Shadow Howlers Pack House~
After the omegas were done with the necessary preparations for the pack run and also prepared dinner for the Alpha, Beta, and the knights and guards who dined with them, everyone began to disperse and get dressed for the pack run.
The females from the Pack House went into one spare bedroom on the first floor, while the males went into another.
This was the Shadow Howlers pack's ritual and tradition: to avoid shedding clothes, their bodies would be marked with intricate ink designs, forming patterns that covered them from head to toe. Everyone was expected to create a vibrant, eye-catching design to showcase their best self to potential mates and the rest of the pack. Optional accessories included necklaces made from animal teeth and colorful pebbles to enhance their beauty.
You are not allowed to put on clothes; they'd rip off when you shift into wolf form.
Luna stood in the now-empty kitchen, her older sister already left with her friends to prepare, leaving her all by herself. She wanted no part in this — all she wanted was a safe space. She felt glad that she was alone.
All of a sudden, a chill ran down her spine — she wasn't sure before, but now she was certain something terrible was going to happen to her. Whatever it was, it was directed at her. She tried her best to shrug it off again.
Nothing's going to happen.
No one is going to hurt you, everyone's busy.
All you have to do is stay at your safe corner where no one would see you.
The feeling that something was going to happen felt especially uncanny to her. Due to the fact that she was always bullied even when she did nothing wrong, being subjected to it most of her life. She had grown timid, scared to voice her feelings, scared to breathe too loud, for fear of heavy judgement.
Even though she tried to convince herself to remain as calm as possible, she couldn't help checking. She turned to look behind her, and when she saw that no one was really there and the whole Pack House was a lot calmer now, she ran out of the kitchen, heading straight to the pack's abandoned attic — a place to be alone without judgement.
After running for a while, she slowed to a walk as she approached the attic on the top floor. She couldn't help checking behind her again— and didn't realize that someone was standing in front of her. she bumped into the person.
"Ouch!" Luna groaned softly as she took a step back to see who it was. Luna flinched, when she saw the look on the other person's face who happened to be her adversary, someone she had hoped to avoid at all cost.
"And where do you think you're going?" Anna asked, her eyes bored into her as if they were trying to create crater in her body.
Luna quickly stepped to the side, not wanting to attract attention today. "Hmm… I… I… m-hmm." Luna stuttered, not finding the right words to say. She had not expected to see Anna of all people here as she had thought everyone should be in the guest room where they normally gathered for the pack run. It was ridiculous that she had hoped to hide away in the first place only to be caught like this by Anna, the head of her bullies.
"Cat got your tongue?" Anna spat angrily, her eyes glaring deep into Luna's, forcing the girl to look down timidly.
"I… I'm going to fetch firewood for the pack chef." Luna lied blatantly, after much reluctance, hoping the girl would leave her alone. She wasn't a natural liar, but had come to realize that in order to survive in this pack, she had to learn how to.
"As expected." Anna hissed as she looked Luna over, "Well, there's hardly anything for you to do, you might as well make yourself useful by doing the measly task. Now, GET OUT of my way you LEACH!" Anna spat angrily, as she pushed Luna out of the way and walked out into the kitchen.
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