Sous

At the age of twelve, Jerix was given the position of messenger. He enjoyed it because it allowed him to get away from his studies, interact with the community, and of course, move his way up to be an elite Alpha. He felt he was almost there, just several more years to go unless he became an elite prior to eighteen which would make him the youngest Alpha to hold such a title. He closed his eyes and happily skipped down the street. He had his goals and by golly, he was going to accomplish them.

When Jerix delivered messages across the train tracks, it was anxious. He wasn't afraid of the people on the other side but they lived so differently than him and they weren't wolves, well, most of them weren't wolves. When he was younger, his father took him to the train tracks for the first time. Pointing to that trailer, that cabin, that shack, that run down apartment complex. 

"See how they live, Jerix," he had said. "They don't want to do better for themselves." 

Jerix had been small and could barely look out the window of the car they drove. 

"Well, you're hiring." Jerix had responded to his dad. "Maybe you can offer them a job." 

His father had practically laughed at him; as if what he said was completely illogical. That he might as well had said aliens had come down from the sky. But as Jerix stood there now watching the various species of magae, he wondered what made them so different than the wolves beyond their blood. 

Jerix read the address of the letter. He walked a few more blocks and made it to an apartment complex just made of bricks and barred windows. He stood on the entrance steps and looked at the letter again to see the apartment number. 

There was no elevator so he had to walk ten flights of stairs. When he got to the ninth floor, he stepped on a tennis ball and nearly fell down until he was caught by a girl. He gasped looking at her. 

"What's wrong?" She smiled, her fangs shining bright, some blood stains on her lips from the lunch she just had. Her eyes were bloodshot red and her hair was light black with brown highlights. She was a couple of years younger than him, probably ten or nine. "One of them wolfs?" She asked, looking him up and down and picking up the tennis ball. "You hairy. Why you wolfs so hairy? What's that in your hand?" Before he could answer one question, she was already asking another. "Give me that." She snatched the paper from his hand and looked at the address. "Hmm, they on the next floor."

"Who?" 

"The fairy man. He so cool. His wings are huge! They dis big." She spread her arms wide to demonstrate just how big this fairy's wings were. 

"I never seen a fairy." Jerix said. 

"They don't live 'round here. He's mixed though. I don't know what. His wife is a wolf. I'm not mixed. I am all vampire. What's your name?"

"Jerix." 

Pause. 

"Ask me my name."

"What's your name?"

"Mara. You can have this ball. Wolfs like balls."

"I'm a wolf not a dog."

"What's the difference? Wanna have me take you to the tenth floor? Come follow me." 

Mara was a talkative little thing. It was nice having someone to converse with who didn't look down because of him being an Alpha. The pack looked up to Jerix, they saw so much promise in him that they acted like he was some type of prince in training. He liked it, his status but sometimes he just wanted to…be. 

Together they walked up the steps and stood before the apartment door. Jerix knocked. 

"FAIRY MAN, YOU GOTTA VISITOR!" 

The man opened the door and yes, he was huge. Jerix almost had the wind knocked out of him when he saw how huge this man was. He had to bend over just to walk outside the door and his wings when they were stretched out were a size that seemed unbelievable to be true. He had blu-ish glow to his skin and his eyes were green, his ears a bit pointed but mostly round. 

"Fairy man, he has a letter for you. Can I have a cookie? I also like ice cream. Do you have ice cream? Can I see the baby?" 

The fairy's eyebrow twitched at listening to the endless questions of this little vampire. "Mara, I can tell you just had lunch."

"It was only blood though. I want some cookies."

"What are you mixed with?" Jerix asked. 

The fairy seemed confused. "I'm not, my son is."

A woman werewolf came to the door and stepped outside. In her arms was a baby wrapped in a blanket. She smiled and chuckled when she saw the two children before her. 

"Jerix, they got you as a messenger?" 

He nodded his head to her question and bowed to her due to her being an elder, but Jerix wasn't sure what her position was, especially since she lived across the tracks. She more than likely wasn't even a part of the pack anymore. 

"Can we see the baby?" 

She bent downward as the fairy stepped closer to his wife. Jerix stepped closer to get a look at the baby that was mixed with fairy and wolf. It was an interesting combination. She mentioned his wings were already in when Mara had asked if he had his wings. He was a cute chubby little thing and it made Jerix feel lovey dovey. His name was Puimo. 

"Oh," he remembered. "I have a message for you." 

The fairy took the letter, opened it, and read the message. He was quiet for a moment then took the baby from the woman and handed her the letter. She chuckled. "It would seem I'm no longer accepted in the pack. That's okay…this is my new pack here." 

"Can I have a cookie?"

For Jerix, going across the train tracks were his favorite messages but the messages were always bittersweet because although it allowed him to interact with his new pals across the tracks, the messages were always being sent to wolves who had decided to partner themselves with non wolves. They were being forced to leave the pack all because they chose mates who were not of their kind. They were seen as betrayers except for the ones who mated with humans. They were fine and were allowed to live in the pack. 

"Its like that because the Alpha is an egotistical prick." Jerix was taken aback by the usage of such a word by Mara. She stuffed a couple of chocolate chip cookies into her mouth. Jerix had purchased those cookies from the grocery store within Red Woods. He didn't want to buy anything within the pack because he knew they would ask questions and pester him on who the Omega was. He didn't want to lie to them nor would he be rude about it so he just avoided it all together. 

"I saw an oracle the other day. You know what that is?" Jerix nodded his head to her question. "She said Puimo was going to die." 

"The baby?"

"Yeppers." 

"Why would she tell you that?" 

Mara shrugged. "I don know. I won't tell Fairy Man or Wolf Woman." 

As time went on, Jerix continued to see more and more of Mara and listen to her. He would bring her cookies when he could since she really loved those. As they got older, she was accepted into the magical school near Red Woods but truly dreamed of going to Hacate in Nadia. Apparently that's where they teach the best spells, the more advanced alchemy, and other things Jerix had no idea of. When they became teenagers, Jerix was promoted from messenger to scout and then to assassin and-and that was when things began to change regarding his relationship with the pack. 

At first when he took up killing, it was easy because he was killing wolves who harmed the pack: abusers, potion dealers, criminals but then he got a message to assassinate a wolf, a female Omega named Kole who lived across the tracks. He gulped reading it and slowly made his way across the tracks uncertain if he'd managed to kill someone who's only crime was falling in love with a non wolf. 

Jerix knocked on the door; he didn't have to wait long for a young boy to open the door. He was about four years old; his wings small against his chubby body. Puimo was slowly growing. Kole walked to the door and gently smiled at Jerix. He handed her a letter; it was the message given to him. 

"You know…by helping us, they're going to brand you as a betrayer." 

Jerix nodded his head. He knew. "Take care of Puimo." 

"Puimo has his own destiny." She said looking down at her son, grabbing his fat little hand. "If he chooses to come back to Red Woods for whatever reason…then he comes back to Red Woods for whatever reason." 

Jerix gave her a small smile and knelt down to be at Puimo's level. "Bye, little man."

"Bye, bye." He said back, putting his fat little hand on Jerix's face.