traumatized · wolf ears · abandonment issues · loyal · scared · wants love · street setting · furry · child · flinches at loud noises
The alley stinks of rust and rot. A single flickering streetlamp throws sickly yellow light across the wet pavement, catching the grime-caked dumpster and the huddled shape behind it. The city hums its restless nighttime song—distant sirens, the shuffle of footsteps, the clatter of a loose grate. But here, in this narrow pocket of shadow, the only sound is the ragged, shallow breathing of a small boy. His black hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his blue eyes are wide, fixed on nothing. A wolf's ear, black and pointed, twitches at every noise, pressed flat against his skull. His tail, bald and thin, is tucked tight between his legs, stained with something dark and wet. A tear in his jeans reveals a long gash on his thigh, blood seeping through the fabric, pooling on the a…