Kyle's POV
After dinner, Seth went out on his usual patrol again.
I left the mess hall and walked alone along the familiar wooden path toward my cabin. The night air was cool, but not uncomfortable. Only the chirping of insects accompanied me. I thought my day would end quietly like this—until a black-haired woman, shorter than me, appeared ahead.
I froze for a moment. There was actually someone smaller than me here? No — her scent told me otherwise. She wasn't a wolf.
She was human — just like me.
"You must be the new little human, huh?" she said, her voice crisp and sharp. "If I remember correctly, your name's Kyle, right?"
I nodded, tilting my head hesitantly. "And you are...?"
"Chris," she said, flashing a mischievous smile, like someone with a lifetime of streetwise experience. "I'm human too, just like you."
"Oh?" I felt my interest piqued. "So, I'm not the only human here?"
"Yeah, you're the third one I've seen around." Her smile faded, replaced by a solemn look. "But that other girl didn't make it. She came here carrying a werewolf's child."
I froze.
Chris's tone was calm, but the sadness in her eyes was unmistakable — raw and unhidden.
"Annie was already frail, and with half-wolf blood in the baby... after she gave birth, she... left us." Her voice was soft, almost like a whisper, but the weight of it crushed the air between us far more than any scream ever could.
"...That's really sad." I whispered, a lump growing in my throat.
I didn't ask for more about Annie's story, but I could guess — like me, she must have come here running for her life. Only, she never got to see the day when she could heal.
Chris suddenly changed the subject, her lips curling into a teasing smirk. "I've heard your story. We're pretty much the same — city life never treats Omegas like us kindly."
I silently nodded, agreeing.
"But here, it's different." She continued, her voice softer now. "Everyone is... kind. Warm. After all these years, this is the only place I've ever felt like I had a home."
Her words struck a strange chord inside me. Maybe because I'd been quietly feeling the same way these past few days.
Chris glanced toward the distance, then laughed. "Besides us two, there are quite a few lost wolves here, too. The boss always says — 'family is more than just blood.'"
"'The boss'?" I blinked. "You mean… Seth?"
She laughed louder. "Yeah, that stoic Alpha Seth."
"Alpha Seth...?" I was confused. "You actually call him that?"
"When I first came here, he was fierce with me." Chris crossed her arms and lazily leaned against a tree trunk. "Like I was some human spy sent to sabotage their pack."
I couldn't help but laugh softly, imagining Seth's wary expression as he stared down Chris.
Then, she suddenly lowered her voice, her eyes glinting with mischief.
"But you know…" she said, sizing me up from head to toe like she was spilling juicy gossip, "he treats you completely differently."
My face flushed. "...What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean." Chris raised an eyebrow, her gaze like she could see right through me. "His eyes, his tone… even that clumsy way he tries to please you — when an Alpha's heart moves, no one can hide it."
I opened my mouth to protest but found myself utterly speechless.
With a playful smirk, she turned and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the path.
The night breeze stirred, carrying the faint scent of pine lingering in the air.
Maybe, I'm not the only one who's found a sense of belonging while on the run.
My face instantly burned bright red. I quickly lowered my head and stammered, "Th-There's… nothing like that."
Chris laughed even louder. "I get it. He was just as guarded with me at first — quite the grump too."
I gave a bitter smile but felt oddly comforted.
She patted my shoulder gently. "Sometimes outsiders see things more clearly. Seth might have a temper, but he's a good man. And he's been single all this time."
I wanted to crawl into a hole, but Chris suddenly threw back her head and laughed, her voice ringing out clear and warm, making my heart flutter.
"You're just too adorable, Kyle. I don't even remember the last time I met such a pure-hearted guy."
Her laughter floated away on the night wind, and my pulse quickened.
"Alright, alright, I'm done teasing," she said with a wink, her tone softening. "Honestly, if you're as homeless as me, staying here might be the best choice. I'm happy now — and I hope you find your own happiness too."
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, watching her silhouette fade into the dark, my emotions tangled.
Slowly, I began to settle into life with the Red Moon pack.
There was a cook named Benny — a big guy who had learned plenty of human recipes and had some specialties of his own. Since I'd loved cooking since I was a kid, especially baking sweets, I was naturally curious and eager about the kitchen.
Carefully, I asked Benny if I could help out sometime, and to my surprise, he readily agreed.
The first time I stepped inside the kitchen, bags of flour and all sorts of baking molds caught my eye, and I couldn't help but feel excited.
Benny told me there was a small farm nearby that provided most of their basics, and sometimes someone would travel to the city to buy supplies — things like flour and molds came from there.
He was a bit embarrassed to admit that while he knew some dessert recipes, he couldn't actually bake them properly — his strength was in big hearty meals.
Hearing that warmed my heart; this place wasn't so far from the world I knew after all.
That night, I excitedly baked a whole tray of small cakes and shared them with the pack.
Watching their faces light up with surprise and delight as they took a bite filled me with a deep sense of satisfaction.
When Seth returned from his patrol, I nervously handed him one of the cakes.
He examined it curiously, then took a bite — his eyes immediately lit up.
He went on to eat several more, a rare smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
When I wasn't helping in the kitchen, I usually spent time with the pack's little pups.
The young wolves hadn't yet learned to shift, so they were a clumsy, fluffy bunch of furballs.
Maybe because my scent was different from theirs, the pups took a special liking to me. Sometimes they'd even climb onto me, sniffing curiously as if I was some new kind of pack member.
Among them was a boy named Lucas, who often stayed close by.
At first, I couldn't understand why Lucas was the only one who could shift into human form. Then I remembered my conversation with Chris that night.
Lucas seemed to like me a lot. He'd pester me with questions, especially about the city and the human world.
Though I never brought it up, one day Lucas opened up about his mother.
His mother was the Annie I'd heard about—the human girl who had been driven out for carrying a werewolf's child, and who died after giving birth to Lucas.
Lucas had never met his mother. At only five years old, he didn't fully understand what life or death meant.
But when he spoke of her, there was a sadness in his young eyes—an ache no child should have to carry.
That day, I pulled Lucas into my arms, gently stroking his hair. I tried to send out warmth and comfort through my scent, hoping to soothe the sorrow clinging to him.
The pups nearby seemed to sense his pain too. One scrambled into my lap and licked Lucas's nose, as if offering its own kind of consolation.
Lucas blinked, then hugged the little wolf tightly, burying his face in my chest.
In that moment, the pack didn't feel so lonely anymore.