The Pack

Disclaimer: I own the plot and that's about it.

Here is a new story! You can call it a werewolf fic, but you soon find that it's a little different. I hope you enjoy! AND IT'S CLEON! REVIEW AND TELL ME IF I SHOULD KEEP UPDATING!

Chapter 1

Despite it's name, living in Radiant Gardens was just like living in any other town… the same houses, the same crime, the same schools, even the same sky…

The only difference was the moderately sized park smack dab in the middle of the city…

It was like they wanted to save at least some of the natural forest after bulldozing a good ninety percent of it…

But that was probably the only reason why I don't leave this place… going for a walk every once in a while in that park always gave me a sense of adventure.

Sometimes, I would lay on the leafy ground and stare up at tree canopies and cry for a change… for something to happen.

My life was going nowhere… I was a sixteen-year-old boy living in a small house with parents who deny my existence. I went to a school where you sit, learn, and watch your life go by with every hour in a classroom.

Some people would call this peace… I call it monotony.

Sometimes… I think I hear whispering coming from that park I pass everyday on my walk home from school. Like the forest is urging me to run… to escape.

And I almost listen every time… almost.

I just…fear that if I leave the life I live now… I'll miss something…

I know that seems strange, saying that I have nothing going for my life and then saying that something might be coming for me… something is bound to happen right?

Nothing stays the same forever... it's like a law of life or whatever… right?

I lean back against the porch stairwell of my house and look to the park…

"You know… people are saying that that forest is haunted." I looked to the couple walking down the sidewalk in front of my house.

"What no way!" the woman said and playfully pushed the guy.

"No I'm serious! A lot of people say they saw a pack of wolves in there. But they always disappear when you look back. But I still wouldn't venture too far in that thing… it's not like many people visit that park anyway… it's too wild." That was the last thing I heard the guy say before their conversation moved out of my hearing range.

I sighed… there were no wolves in the park… I go there almost every day and I have never seen one. I got up and stretched. It was time for dinner and I had to go to the convenience store to buy food…

My parents never make food for me anymore… ever since I came out to them about my sexual orientation.

"Mom, Dad… I… I know this is going to be a little hard to accept but I… I'm gay… I don't like women at all…" I said with a nervous blush on my face.

"Get out…" was my dad's reply.

"What?" I asked.

"I won't accept this either… Cloud this is ridiculous! Tell me you're joking!" My mother yelled.

"I… I-I'm not… please try to understand! I didn't choose to be this way!" I yelled.

"Get out boy!" My dad yelled.

"Dad! Please!" I begged.

"I'm no dad of yours." My father said and my mother just turned her head.

I had managed to convince them to let me stay… but only as a tenant and not as a son.

I work at a small bakery on weekends to pay for my food and rent… the store owner was kind enough to hire me even though I was only fourteen at the time.

I entered the store and went to the back where the frozen meals were. I sighed and took out a burrito… they were large and cheap so I bought them often.

"Kid, you must really like frozen dinners… don't you have parents to cook you a well balanced meal? You come here everyday… this isn't healthy." The shop clerk said as I gave him the dollar needed to purchase the burrito.

I just shook my head and left the store. When I got to the house I immediately went to the kitchen to heat up the food. After that was done I took it upstairs so I could eat and then go for my walk in the park.

I try my hardest to stay out of the house as long as possible.

I ran down the porch stairwell and began walking across the street.

"Hey! You two! Get back here!" I heard a gruff voice yell.

I turned to look behind me and saw two boys running at an extremely fast pace straight towards me.

My eyes widened when I realized they weren't going to wait for me to move out of the way.

I tried to move out of the street to let them pass but they were too fast. I cringed when one of the boys pushed me down and my body slid on the pavement.

When I pushed myself up I looked at the running backs of the two males. There was something odd about them.

And that's when I noticed the hats on their heads. They were weird snow caps with dog ears on top.

Must be some of those anime freaks.

I winced and looked at my hands; they were all scratched up. I blew on them and stood.

"Are you okay kid? That guy pushed you pretty hard." The gruff voice from before spoke and I turned to see a man with an apron behind me.

"I'm fine… what was up with those guys?" I asked.

"Those punks stole some of my prime cuts…" he said.

"Prime cuts?" I asked.

"I'm a butcher. They stole prime cuts of raw meat. I don't know how they do it, but they always sneak in without a sound and it's always to late when I catch them." The butcher grumbled.

"Why would they steal raw meat?" I wondered out loud. I mean if they were homeless, wouldn't they steal something where you don't need home appliances to cook it?

"I don't know… but they are really putting a damper on my income…" The butcher said solemnly.

"I'm sorry sir…" I said and decided to go on my walk regardless of my injured hands.

"Be careful kid… those guys might still be out there."

"I'll be fine." I said and walked through the trees. If I hurried I could get to my special spot before the sun set.

It took about thirty minutes to get there. It was probably really close to the middle of the park. There was a small group of four trees forming a square. It was strange how the trees were so large but so close to each other. Larger trees usually need more room than that. I liked it though because most of the leaves would fall into the middle of the square, forming a little nest that I would often sit in and look to the sky.

I plopped down on the leaves and leaned against one of the trees. I picked up a leaf and started to bend the edges of it. I sung a song to myself as I played with the leaves.

"Within the journey, where I grew lost all alone. Only my heart wandered and stood still. But now I can walk very far… That's right, after I met you.

On this road, unknown songs that travelers sing- they sound familiar to me. If I'm just with you.

If the world that I dreamed of exists somewhere, then shall we go search for it? To the other side of the wind. Let's go see the end of the freezing daybreaks, parched mid-days, and shivering dark nights…"

I only got that far into the song when I dozed off. I didn't realize how tired I was until I was comfortable enough to go to sleep.

I jerked awake when I felt something cold and wet touch my face. "What the!" I started and turned to see an angry looking male staring down at me.

"Who are you and what are you doing here so late?" He asked angrily.

That's when I realized I could barely make out his face in the darkness. It must have been at least nine thirty. The man continued to stare. His eyes glowing slightly in the night.

"Ummmm, I'm sorry… I just… fell asleep without realizing…" I said and moved to stand.

When I was up on my feet I looked at the man. He was only a little taller than me but he was definitely larger than I was muscle wise. His hair must have been brown because it looked black in the night.

Then I noticed the hat on his head. It was one of the guys from before.

"Hey! You're one of the guys that pushed me down! Why would you steal raw meat from a butcher! That man is losing a lot of money because so you! You should apologize or return the meat or at least… or… or…" I trailed off.

The mans face looked livid… I kept my mouth shut so I wouldn't set him off into a fit of rage.

"You don't know anything…" he whispered threateningly.

I took a step away from him. "S-sorry… it's j-just…" I trailed off again when he stepped closer to me.

"Shut up! Your people stole our homes and turned it into a rancid city that smells of nothing but garbage. Don't say anything to me about theft. Get out of here… we don't want your people taking this land as well." He said hatefully and started to walk away.

"My people? What are you talking about? Are you on drugs?" I said and grabbed his arm.

He immediately whipped around to slap my face and wrench his arm back. "Don't touch me with your filth." He said and I rubbed at my face to ease the sting.

I run in front of him and stood in his path. "That hurt! I didn't do anything to you! You should apologize to me. First you push me down and then you slap me in the face and call me dirty! The only reason I'm dirty is because you pushed me to the ground in the first place!" I yelled angrily. I don't know what was wrong with me… this guy was definitely off his rocker and I was provoking him!

"You. Should. Know. Your. Place!" he growled and with every word he took a step towards me.

I stood frozen when he lifted his fist to punch me.

"Squall! What are yo-" I turned my head and saw another man with that strange hat on his head.

"Who is this?" the man said. "Are you gonna kill him? Xemnas is gonna be really mad…"

"No… I wasn't going to kill him… but I wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson." Squall said.

The other man gave me a once over. "Kitten's kinda cute… we should keep him."

"What are you stupid, Zack? That's disgusting. I'd rather kill him than keep him!" Squall yelled angrily.

I started to slowly back away from them, hoping they wouldn't notice me leaving if I was quiet enough.

"I don't know why you're trying to get away kitty… we can easily catch up to you." Zack almost purred.

I took two steps back and bumped into a chest. I immediately yelped and whipped around.

"You guys want to keep this one… I want to eat him… his clothes smell bad but his skin smells nice." Another hat-wearing man stepped closer to me and licked his lips.

I was completely cornered. What was I going to do?

I thought quickly. I grabbed some dirt off of the ground and threw it in the man's face. The minute he went to rub at his eyes, I took my chance to run.

It was unfortunate that my freedom only lasted ten seconds. I yelled loudly when I felt arms wrap around me.

"Shut up! Calm down! We won't hurt you if you stop struggling." Squall said and threw me over his shoulder.

"What do you mean we won't hurt him! That bitch threw dirt in my face!" One of them growled.

"We should take him to Xemnas… he'll tell us what to do with him." Squall said and started to walk.

"Sounds like a plan!" Zack yipped and followed Squall. "Xigbar! Quit your whimpering and come with us!"

Xigbar growled and followed.

I was panicking. My heart was pumping like crazy and I wasn't sure what was going to happen to me.

"Awe, poor kitty is scared! I can smell it! We should make him feel a little better! I promise Xemnas is a nice guy when he's in a good mood. The worst thing that could happen is that you become our dinner and I promise I'll enjoy every bite of you so don't worry!" Zack said excitedly.

"WHAT! NO! LET GO OF ME!" I screamed and flailed. I whacked Squall in the back of his head and he dropped me.

I hit the ground running.

"Hey! You are not getting away!" Xigbar said and moved to run after me.

"Xig… leave him…" I heard Squall say as I made my escape.

"But Squall!" Zack whined. "What if-"

"He won't… just let him leave… we can always track him down later… let him run." Was the last thing I heard before I concentrated on getting out of the park.

When I finally entered my room, it was around midnight. It was a lot harder to leave the forest after the sun went down.

I flopped on my bed and put a hand to my racing heart in an attempt to calm down. When I was finally free I didn't stop running until I was safe inside.

"Who… were they?" I asked myself through my gasps.

It was only twenty minutes later that I finally fell asleep, having dreams of dog-eared people with glowing eyes.

A/N: There you have it! The very first chapter of The Pack. Please review!