Her Human Heart (book 2) HHM

Chapter 23

DANIEL didn't know how long the two spent in bed, but the time Abagail deemed they were finished, it was dark outside. Daniel barely had the energy to move, so he just laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Did you see what I did to Caden?" Daniel asked, rolling onto his side to See Abagail in the kitchen. She had a sandwich he had made her in her hand, taking large bites. Grunting, Abagail was muffled by the sandwich in her mouth. Walking back over to him, she swallowed.

"I am so proud of you." She smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I need to go on patrol." She sighed, staring greedily at her body, causing Daniel to shiver. "Do you want me to organize Caden to train you?"

"But I don't have a wolf." He said frowning, sitting up, letting the blanket hang dangerously low on his abdomen.

"That doesn't matter." Abagail shook her head, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. She offered him the sandwhich, which he took. "You don't need a wolf to learn to defend yourself."

"Do you think I should do it?" Daniel gulped, taking a small bite out of their now shared sandwhich. Small bites in comparison to Abagail. He wanted her opinion, needed her to tell him what to do.

"I want you to be free to choose, but in my opinion, I want you to be able to defend yourself." She said, sucking her lip into her mouth. "I won't always be around, I want you to be able to handle yourself."

"I can shoot a gun." Daniel blurted, regretting it as soon as it left his mouth. Abagail's mouth twitched into a frown, her eyes falling onto the blanket.

"You won't always have a gun on you." Abagail clicked her tongue, running a hand through her hair. "I don't want to control you, but I think you should do it."

"I will." Daniel smiled, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Caden can do you after school." Abagail nodded, taking back her sandwich.

"I'd rather you do me." Daniel said smirking, wrapping his arms around her waist. Abagail growled softly, biting his lip.

STARING out at the dense forest, Abagail huffed. Her Wolf's thick coat being snagged by stray branches as she padded through the forest. Being on patrol was one of her favorite things. It gave her time to be alone and just think.

The snapping of a stick to her left caught her attention. Ears twitching, Abagail leapt into the direction of the noise. As she raced towards it, she heard the sound of other paws taking off. There was no scent, but Abagail could hear them up ahead. Pushing herself faster, Abagail tried to keep up.

"There is something at the south border, behind the back house." She said through the mindlink. She could sense her other pack members leaving their positions to race over to her.

The thudding of the paws ceased. Abagail came up behind it stealthly, trotting into the small clearing.

There, in the middle of the open space, stood a wolf. Abagail froze, crouched down and body straight. No matter how much breath she drew in, the wolf had no scent.

Its breathing was haggard and it drooled, mouth dangling open. It had its back to Abagail, its eyes set on the children playing by the water across the small lake. Right behind the pack house. Its fur was severely matted and covered in dried mud, flaking into its fur. Blood crusted at its paws and around its muzzle.

Abagail growled, making her presence known. The wolf's body unnaturally snapped up, twitching as it slowly twisted its head around. Abagail growled again, baring her teeth. The wolf's eyes were sunken in, the iris covered in a sick milky blue. She would have thought the wolf was blind had it not looked directly at her.

Then the wolf started hacking. Making harsh gurgling sounds as it pawed the ground.

Abagail snapped at the wolf, growling with more emphasis. The wolf hunched down into a threatening position. Its head craned to the side, its black, rotting teeth bared. Abagail didn't want the bacteria from the rogue in her system, no way.

Abagail took a few, caustious steps forward. The howling of her fellow pack mates told her they were nearby. The other wolf hacked again, taking a step towards Abagail. It's nose had crusted snot and blood, the nose itself dry. The wolf was sick - sicker than any wolf Abagail had ever seen.

Abagail went to lunge to attack, but was distracted when a little voice spoke into the clearing. "Mummy?"

-

The link to my author blog is on my message board! Please go subscribe to that and check out those drool worthy covers from my poll and vote on your favourites!