Cora, A Sidelines Story from Clayton

Wide Awake

The Characters of Clayton, Rya, Kennedy, Dallas, and the Valentines belong to Rachelle. The character of Cora is expanded on with Permission from Rachelle, and is written for the pleasure of the International Wildflower Pack, the WhiskeyQueenn fandom. #WildflowersUnited #iwp

::special thanks to Rachelle for sharing her characters and world for this fanfic::

Wide Awake

We rested in the darkness for long enough. It was time to wake up. Mark's wolf returned many times, and I got the feeling he really did not like his skin side. I don't think I had ever met a wolf with less connection to his skin than this one. He adored my wolf and our pup, but in the last few visits, he was agitated. Growling about not being separated from us again, worried for our pup's future away from us. It didn't make sense. We had also felt other wolves visiting us; Charlie, Grandmama Coraline, Ms Gretchen. Surprisingly, several times recently, we felt Leong's wolf reaching for us. The great wolf of the mountains singing to us to come back as he bounded around the horizon of the smoke gray sky, but we couldn't speak to him or see them.  

This time Mark's wolf tried to drag me after him out of the darkness. I could feel that it was important I come now. I looked back one last time at my wolf and pup in the circle of golden light. I had realized that if his wolf was here, so was Mark, so time to face my rejection and whatever was driving his wolf's anxiety.

"I'm coming." 

Far away at first, I could hear the heart monitor in the room beeping as I floated upward, through the dark grey back toward the world of color and light. Pain and sounds began to filter into my awareness. I could see Mark's wolf trotting ahead of me toward the light, I heard their voices first.

"Is it working or not? When is she going to wake up?" It was Charlie, he sounded frustrated, afraid, far away.

"She has improved greatly, she is breathing on her own, her vitals are better than expected for a wolf who suffered what she did. Corina is strong, growing normally. We have to be patient, Charlie. Medically, your sister is better than should be expected," the voice was Dr. Valentine, I remembered how he hurt us and my wolf growled. 

As we get closer, I heard the last voice I wanted to hear, Mark's, "Dallas, it's been over a month and she ain't stirred. We got wolves calling from everywhere under the moon checking on her, they think we ain't taking care of her and every week you tell us she's better than should be expected, but she ain't awake. Is she even gonna make it the three months till Corina's due?"

I angrily wonder why he was here, he didn't care about me, about us. Then I realized he said my pup's name. How does he know her name? She is my pup. I grew ever more angry. Possessive. Protective. I struggled against my body, why can't I move?

Dr Valentine was still talking, "Mark, we are taking every precaution. We have two she-wolves due at the same time and one nursing now, they can provide you with enough milk to get Corina back to Big Sky. Dr MacDonald says they will have eleven nursing mothers to share milk for her. It's our best plan to save your pup. But Cora will have to stay here if she survives the birth..."

Angrily, I stopped listening, they act like I am already dead. 

It pissed me off further. They were going to take my pup away from me. Mark was going to take my pup to his home, to his pack, to his choice mate.

Oh hell No! Over my dead body... Corina is mine, MINE! My wolf howled in my soul like the battle cry of the Spartan females I once fought and trained with. 

Now I knew why his wolf was so upset. Mark wanted to steal my pup and abandon me to die. Rage, the rage only a mother wolf could feel, filled me. I could hear the monitor speeding up. Feel tingles on my arm and hand, Mark was touching me!