Wolf's Heart

I spun around to see Ulric in his Creature form behind me, his lips pulled back in a snarl. His claws were digging into the cave floor, leaving long canals engraved in the stone every time he flexed his fingers. His eyes were almost black with his rage, the orbs locked on the man behind me.

“Oh look, here he is now. I wonder what lies he’ll tell you this time,” the man sneered.

At his words Ulric roared again, moving forward to swipe at him with his sharp claws extended. Acting quickly I step in front of him, glaring at Ulric as he realized I was in his way. He growled at me, clearly not very happy that I would protect his prisoner.

I growled back at him and pointed to the entrance to the room, “Either you can sit over there and be quiet or you can leave. I’m tired of you throwing your weight around when it suits you, then leaving me to pick up the pieces.”

He blinked, shock evident in his eyes.

“And another thing,” I continued while everyone stared at me, “you can stop making decisions for me. You’re constantly dragging or carrying me everywhere. I appreciate it when I’m hurt or sleeping, but not when it’s unnecessary. I wanted to continue talking to him,” I pointed to the prisoner behind me, “earlier, but you shoved me out of here quick as can be, then when you saw the scar you left me. You left me alone, on that stupid peak, like I was nothing. I was left to wonder what I’d done wrong while my dress was undone!”

This time a growl was heard from the man behind me, “You left her?! If another man had come upon her in that condition she could have been hurt! When I get out of these binds I’m going to kill you!”

This time my glare was aimed at the man behind me, “Be quiet. You’re only allowed to speak if directly spoken to.”

He snarled, “Roana, this man left you! How can you defend him when he-”

“Silence!” I commanded, tired of everyone telling me what I should and shouldn’t do, “you are still a prisoner here and as such you will do as I say.”

He stared at me for a few seconds before he smiled, “You’ll be a great alpha female when I get you home.”

Ulric growled, but I cut him off with a quick slap against his arm, “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He shook his head, frowning, “Don’t you want to go home? To see your family again?”

“The only home I’ve ever had is a small village on the edge of the forest, the only family I’ve ever known ran me out of town accusing me of being a witch. I don’t have a home and I don’t have a family.”

I ignored Ulric’s small whimper as my words echoed through the cave. I narrowed my eyes on the man in front of me, “You’re claiming you’re my brother and I don’t even know your name. How is that family-like?”

He swallowed, his eyes soft with sympathy, “My name’s Warrick, but everyone just calls me Rick.”

“Well, Warrick, you can forget about me going with you to your pack. I’ve had about all I can handle just dealing with this one.”

Kyros snorted, amusement gleaming in his eyes, “You’ve only been here for a few days, though dealing with Ulric for just one day can put a strain on anyone’s patience.”

Ulric growled, this time lunging for his father. I pressed myself against Ulric’s chest and shoved him back, “Enough! Will you two just grow up aleady?”

I could hear Kyros chuckle in the background while Ulric grumbled at me, finally stepping back. When he was standing at the entrance once more I turned back to Warrick, “Are you a threat to this pack?”

He blinked, “No.”

I turned to Kyros, “Release him and send him back to his home.”

“What?” Everyone cried, equal measures of shock and confusion in their expressions.

“You heard me. This was all a misunderstanding and I’m going to be the one to fix it.”

Kyros stood straighter, a snarled curving his lips, “You are not alpha, nor are you even a member of this pack. You have no say what-so-ever.”

“So what are you going to do? Torture him until he dies?”

Kyros narrowed his eyes, “It was a thought.”

“Yeah, well, not a smart one. If you do that his pack will come tearing through the forest looking for revenge until they find you. Then you’ll have a war in the middle of your colony. Is that what you want?”

Kyros studied me for a few minutes, satisfaction lighting his eyes when he did speak, “I’m sorry to say, but Warrick is right. You will make a great alpha female, at least you will once Ulric takes his place as alpha.”

When Ulric didn’t growl or roar or make any kind of noise at all I turned to stare at him. Normally he makes some kind of objection whenever his dad mentions his birth right, but this time he just stared at me sadly, as if all his hope was long gone. Shaking my head I turned back to Kyros, “Will you release him?”

Kyros nodded, “I’ll need someone to escort him back, just to make sure he really does go home. Other than that I don’t see a problem with it.”

I nodded, “Thank you.”

Turning from him and Warrick I push past an oddly quiet Ulric and walked out of the cave’s room. My pace was fast, each step increasing my ugly mood. I could feel Ulric following me, his silence only amplifying my mood. When I exited the cave I walked over to the side of the mountain and attempted to climb it on my own. All I managed to do was scrape the skin from my fingers and tear my nails apart.

When Ulric attempted to lift me on his back I slapped his hand away, “No!” I screamed, “I will do this on my own!”

After a few more failed attempts Ulric reached for me again, but this time I shoved him away, “I said no! Why don’t you just leave? It’s what you’re good at!”

The pain on Ulrics face ripped out my heart, but I still wouldn’t give in. I didn’t know there were tears streaming down my eyes, I didn’t know sobs were escaping my lungs, and I didn’t realize I had curled up into a ball against the mountain until Ulric pulled me into his arms. I clutched his fur in my hands as my shoulders began shaking, my sobs growing louder as the pain in my heart spread.

Ulric grumbled softly, the sound soothing as all that had happened came crashing down on top of me. Finding out my true heritage, realizing I watched the brother I never knew I had die, but the worst pain was knowing Ulric betrayed me the first chance he got.

“You said you’d never let go,” I cried, my tears falling harder, “You told me you’d never let me go, but you did. You ran from me.”

Ulric grumbled and held me tighter; pressing his cheek against mine and my sobs became gut wrenching.