He Came From The Wild

Chapter ThirtyFour | Closure.

The sound of a howl stopped Cody in his tracks. All his senses were in overdrive as he paused, and keenly listened, trying to decipher the message. One by one the others grouped around him, daring to take a break as the length of their pink tongues rolled out of their mouths.  A cloud of warm air hovered about the animals, their chests heaving with the effort of breathing after the run.

They weren't made to keep that pace for that long, but luck was on their side as they had neared their destination. The black wolf inhaled sharply, and as the leader of their group; Cody answered the call. Knowing that there wasn't much further to go, a new energy coursed through the pack, urging them on.

Braydon's muscles began to burn and just like the others, adrenaline pumped through his veins like a drug, urging him on. Leaving the country side, the humans in passing cars all looked twice at the sight of the wolves running down the side of road. Some mistook them for dogs, wild and feral - suicidal even as they dared to run among the traffic to change sides.

Another howl soon sounded in reply, reaching their ears  as they ran. It was clearly heard to the wolves despite the hum of cars and occasional beeping horns. The group soon returned to the softer terrain further off the road, and Cody knew they were nearly there. If Connor hadn't called when he did, they would have kept on in the wrong direction, but why or how they were so far off course worried him.

It didn't take long for lights of the service station to appear, guiding them on wards. Cody didn't care if humans saw them and falling into line, they also didn't care about the police lights flashing red and blue in the night while the officers gathered statements from the few witnesses who had seen Miranda be loaded into the van and taken away.  The wolves were right not to worry about the humans as no one saw them go by, even if a few commented on the howls that weren't common in these parts. 

The steady trot that they had adopted was forgotten the second Cody was able to scent Bianca and  coming across the truck stop, the stench of death and blood greeted them. So did the grey and white wolf who leaped out of the backseat of the old style sedan. Connor was nearly crawling in the dirt as he approached Cody, his tail wagging so fast that the first was turned to dust behind him, yet the black wolf barely acknowledged it's sibling.

"Cody!" Bianca called out, leaving her place in the passenger seat in the front.

He shifted instantly at the sight of her, nearly crushed Bianca in his arms as he seemed to fold himself around her smaller form.

"You're okay?" He asked desperately, unable to get in the air his lungs demanded quick enough. 

His hands ran lower, gently caressing the space his son occupied as relief took over from the fear he'd been running with the whole way there.

"We're fine. We have a clean up to take off, and," Bianca paused, looking over the group, "Where is Braydon?"

"He's-" Cody spun around to find him gone, "Shit!"

"They took her, and the idiots thought they'd be able to kill us" Bianca led him over to the van and pulled open the door.

Sure enough, the others Nicholas had sent after Connor and Bianca were now left in the back, each filled with carefully placed bullets that ended their lives. 

"You, deal with this." Cody turned to one of Dean's wolves and the creature nodded, returning to human form he found himself something to wear from the dead.

"He must have sensed her if we passed them, I didn't even notice!" Cody growled, knowing it was because he was more focused on Bianca than those around him. 

"Don't blame yourself, even if you had tried to stop him, I doubt you could have!' Bianca tried to reassure him.

Cody went to shift and again, Bianca stopped him.