The Bitten Wolf

Chapter 18: Sunset

   Tommy and Penny stared at me, eyes wide, as I turned in the direction of the brick house. I looked back at them over my shoulder, checking if they were following me. Penny was a few steps behind me, but Tommy hadn't moved.

   "Are you coming?" I asked him, but he he shook his head.

   "I'll follow Luke," he replied, already walking off after him, "Find out what Aiden plans on doing. If I'm not back by sunset..." He turned, eyes landing on Penny, pleading, "Don't go after me." He kissed Penny lightly on the cheek, then disappeared into the forest, already a wolf.

   The two of us stared after him until we couldn't see him anymore. I was still standing there, praying that he would come back safely when Penny took my hand and pulled me in the direction of the brick house.

   "We have to warn the others," she whispered in urgency, taking off at a run. Obviously, she knew something that I didn't.

   We reached the house just as Kiera jumped over the fence, eyes wide in panic. Behind her were two white wolves, snarling and snapping at her heels. They were dangerously close to Kiera, who seemed tired and was already losing speed.

   I glanced over at Penny, who was still hidden in the bushes, ready to pounce. Lowering myself, I got into the same position. With any luck, Kiera would run right past us and then we would stop the white wolves.

   However, luck was not on our side. Kiera sprinted past Penny on the other side and the two wolves followed her. With a giant leap, I managed to fasten my teeth into one of the wolves' tails. I was dragged along the ground for a few seconds before the white wolf wheeled around, flicking her tail away from me. I fell to the ground, breath knocked out of me.

   The wolf dragged her claws across my ear, shredding it. My eyes shot open, only to see white fur. I whipped my claws at the fur, letting red stain it. The she-wolf staggered away growling - I had managed to wound her foreleg.

   Quick as a flash, I ran my claws through every inch of her white fur that I could reach, aiming to wound. She, however, seemed to be aiming to kill and lunged at my throat. I blocked her path, slashing at her muzzle.

   She yelped, stumbling back from me, then turning tail and fleeing.

   I sat down heavily, wrapping my tail over my paws. Not too far away I saw Penny give the other white wolf a last cuff over the ear before it too fled the scene.

   Penny's tail was held high and her ears were perked up, excited over her victory, but when she approached me she lowered her tail, ear lying flat against her head. She touched her nose to mine.

   Confused, it took me a while to realize that she was submitting to me, acknowledging that I was the alpha. And, as the alpha, I had a job to do.

   Standing abruptly, I took off towards the brick house. Kiera had disappeared into the forest and was most likely safe. Matthew, on the other hand, was no where to be seen, and I had a sinking feeling that he was still inside.

   In one leap I cleared the fence and landed on the patio. The back door was hanging off of its hinges, creaking in the slight wind. There were also several small holes in it and I had no doubt that they were bullet holes.

   I crept through the door, keeping low to the ground. My claws clicked on the hardwood floor, echoing in the strangely empty house. Taking a deep breath, I sniffed the air and, just as I thought I would, found the smell of blood.

   Cautiously, I followed the scent, which led me up the stairs and to one of the washrooms. The door was closed and I stood there, staring at the white surface.

   What will I find? Who's bleeding? Are they injured? Maybe they're dead?

   Shaking my head, I turned the handle with my paw, bracing myself for what I would see.

   Across from the door a body lay in the white tub, the red of blood in stark contrast to the pure white. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the body was not that of Matthew.

   It was Lola Daniels. Her brown hair was matted with blood, which was still flowing from a hole in her head. Her sightless green eyes stared across the room at a figure with a gun.

   Matthew still had the gun raised, as if waiting for Lola to come back to life. He was breathing hard, a stricken look on his face. Carefully, I took the gun from his shaking hands and lay it down beside the sink. Then, I crossed to Lola and shut her eyes so that she couldn't stare at us anymore.

   Behind me, I heard Matthew sink down to the ground. I approached him slowly, scared that he would lash out at me, but he continued to stare at the ground, the same stricken look on his face.

   I gently pressed myself against him and he pushed him face into the fur on my shoulder.

   "She was too young to die," he finally mumbled into my fur. I tasted salt in the air and, startled, realized that he was crying.

   "How old could she have been? Fifteen? Sixteen? She had a whole life ahead of her. And I took it away. All it took was one little movement, and she was gone..." Matthew trailed off as he met my eyes. I pressed my nose to his, letting him know that it was alright. He hadn't had a choice - if he hadn't pulled the trigger, he would probably be dead right now.

   "Is Kiera alright?" I nodded, hoping that I wasn't giving him a fake answer.

   "Will left right after you did," Matthew explained, "He didn't follow you, he... Well, he..." Matthew faltered, but I didn't need him to finish the sentence to know where Will was.

   I was already halfway out the broken back door when it occurred to me that I couldn't just walk into the midst of Aiden's pack and look for Will. I wouldn't be any help to my pack dead.

   The wind was picking up speed, carrying the last leaves away with it. In the distance, dark storm clouds were creeping towards me, bringing with them the threat of snow.

   I lifted my head to the dark sky, letting my voice rise up to the storm clouds. I sang so that my message was clear to my pack, but obscure to the other, making sure I would be able to keep my pack safe. Once the message was sent, I ended my howl, listening for any replies. The only one I received was that of the howling wind. So, I settled down to wait for my pack to arrive. We needed a plan, one that would ensure our safety and minimal killing of the other pack.

   Though I wanted to keep my pack safe, I couldn't bring myself to kill those from the other pack, even if that was what they intended to do to us. Taking the life of anything that wasn't prey sickened me, but I knew that it was inevitable, especially with the battle that was surely coming our way.

   The sun seemed to be disappearing faster than it usually did and the sky was growing darker by the second. Tommy still wasn't back, and I had no doubt that Penny would go after him even though he'd told her not to. My fur prickled with the thought and I shivered involuntarily, fighting the sense of foreboding.

   A moment later, a panicked howl rose out of the forest and my fears were confirmed.