Fighting For Him

Chapter 20

It was against the rules, I knew that, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care as I limped away from the pack house in the general direction of my own home. After each round we are meant to go and be registered so that they know who is out and who is still in, but, due to the previous night, there is no way I wanted a repeat performance of round one where I was expected to eat breakfast with the royal family; not to be begging for sympathy or whatever but I had just been shot at and playing the grateful house guest just wasn’t going to happen.

Whatever penalty I had to pay for this I would, maybe it would even mean kicking me out of the competition; one can only hope.

The sun is out but due to the trees I can’t feel its warmth, the only indication of its existence being the soft green light that tinges the forest as it filters through the heavy canopy of leaves and the hint of it that is carried on the light summer breeze. As I slowly pad around trees I extend my hearing to take in the woods around me, an unconscious act that has been hammered into me since training started, in my direct vicinity there’s no indication of life beyond that of normal woodland inhabitants and although it’s a relief, however further afield I can hear people walking around and chatting lightly so I pick up my pace. Actively attempting to hide from people causes me to feel blanketed by loneliness, something a pack creature is not used to, however it is a feeling that I can push aside and it doesn’t numb or overshadow that of the pain in my wrist.

The doctor said that over usage of my wrist would result in permanent damage; something tells me that I am not far off that point, as my paw is swollen and throbs painfully like it has its own heartbeat. I wish with my whole being that I could change form and take the pressure of it but I don’t particularly want to walk around the woods naked, so instead I make do with a sort of hop on three paws trying to keep the fourth elevated and off the ground, it isn’t easy.

It’s also time consuming, I wasn’t sure of the time when I started making my way home but when I finally get out of the woods, after managing to find the entrance to my road, the sun is high in the sky indicating midday or just after. As usual there is very little traffic on my road being that there are very few houses, so I take my time not wanting to rush and accidently put pressure onto my paw, humans are few and far between once you get off the main road through our village so I feel safe walking along the pavement like a regular pedestrian.

Through all my thinking and planning it hadn’t occurred to me how I would actually get into the house, it’s a little more complicated without thumbs, but luckily for me the back gate isn’t locked and I can easily get onto the property. To my surprise the back door is also open, wide open, I take a sniff of the air but there is nothing unusual. Continuing with my hopping pace I enter the house and my claws click loudly on the hard floor of the kitchen, there is movement somewhere in the house but I just concentrate on making it to the stairs, my bedroom being the ultimate goal.

I make it to the hallway but my passage is suddenly blocked.

“Scarlett! There you are. Where have you been?” Gray looks down at me with big brown worried eyes, he is drawn and pale and I know it is because of me that he looks so ill, but I can only whine in response. He falls to the floor next to me and positions himself on his knees so our eyes are level, he strokes the fur on my cheek and I lean into the touch, there was a moment when I thought I would never see my family again and being here with my brother hits home that I really did make it through last night. He leans forward and pulls me into a sort of hug in which his arms loop around my neck and I just lean into him, he doesn’t even nudge my bad leg, obviously aware of my injury. “Mum and dad are going crazy. So are the Alpha family, they think you’re lay dying in the middle of the woods or something. Death through competition is obviously fine but death through outsider influence is a big problem.” There is revulsion in his voice and his fingers dig into my fur, it makes me think that maybe he is trying to convince himself that I really am here. Eventually he lets go of me and his white shirt is covered in dirty marks and dried blood, a big hint that I need a shower, “I need to call them.” I nod my head and limp forward another step to get to the stairs, I look upwards mentally counting them, this will be hell and probably worse than climbing a tree.