Wolf's Heart

I gasped as a splatter of blood hit my cheek, the owner of it unknown, as the ferocity of Ulric’s and the Elder’s fight increased, practically shattering the table under them. By now the entire colony was gathered around Kyros’ hut, some cheering and a few more placing bets. While I was aware of what was going on around me my main focus was centered on Ulric. While neither of them had transformed fully into their Creature form, both had their Creature’s talons and fangs and were using them ruthlessly. My breathing became more difficult when the Elder slashed a deep wound across the length of Ulric’s chest. Blood instantly spurted and covered the broken table beneath them, staining everything a deep dark red. Tears began sliding down my cheeks when Ulric howled at the pain. I couldn’t take any more and was about to jump between them just to make them stop when a loud feminine voice cut through the air, freezing everyone in their tracks.

“Enough! You two will cease this fighting immediately!”

I spun around to see Katima standing at the entrance, fury etched over her face. She was breathing hard, as if she had run all the way here from wherever she had been, and her hair was disheveled by the wind. She glared first at Ulric, then the Elder, “I’m ashamed of you both. This is a council meeting, not a fighting match. You want to fit? Save it for The Luna.”

I frowned at the odd phrase and made a mental reminder to ask Ulric what The Luna was. Both he and the elder had stopped fighting at Katima’s outburst, Ulric now standing with clenched hands while the elder remained on the ground.

Katima stalked further into the Hut, stopping at my side, “Neither of you are pups, both far from the age where you can’t control your impulses.”

The Elder growled and shoved to his feet, “You may be the alpha’s daughter, but that doesn’t mean you can tell me what to-”

“Katima is right,” Kyros inserted with a tone that no one dared to contradict, “Both of you have not only shamed yourselves, but the entire pack as well. I’m particularly disappointed in you, Ellery. I had thought only humans and Terrance carried such discriminating thoughts against females.”

Kyros inclined his head as he stared from the Elder to Ulric, “Even though you’ve been away from pack politics for a while doesn’t give you a reason to attack an Elder. You know this, Clarence.”

I flinched at Kyros’ furious growl of Ulric’s real name. I had a feeling he used it to remind Ulric of who he truly was.

The heir.

He raked both of them with a sneer, then jerked his head to the hut’s entrance, “You have an hour to bathe and tend to your wounds. Then I want you both back here and you will act civilly toward each other, understand?”

The Elder immediately nodded and submissively exited, but Ulric didn’t more. He had too much alpha, too much dominance in him to bend to anyone’s will.

“Was your hearing damaged in the fight?” Kyros growled dangerously, “I said get moving. Now!”

I jumped at Kyros’ roar and quickly jogged to Ulric’s side, grabbing his arm to pull him from the room. He hesitated at first, the adrenaline front the fight still cursing through him and making him more volatile, but he eventually allowed me to drag him from the hut. The crowd outside separated so that we could walk through, their eyes on us the entire time until we finally hit the edge of the forest. Once out of sight Ulric pulled out of my grasp. He stepped a few feet away and with a roar transformed into his Creature form, clothes tearing with the action.

I took a step back when he turned to me. The fury that swirled in his dark eyes actually sent a shiver down my back and for the first time since the night I met him I was actually afraid of what he was going to do.

Ulric took a step toward me and before I could think to move his large hand wrapped around my waist. I held back the slightly terrified shriek as he lifted me in the air and placed me on his back. I gripped his fur tightly and wrapped my legs around him just as he took off, running through the forest as if his darkest fears were chasing him. I gasped and buried my face in the back of his thickly furred neck, the scenery passing us by so fast that it was making me dizzy.

He ran and ran and when I thought he’d never stop he finally slowed down into a walk. I lifted my head and watched as he stopped at the edge of a beautiful pond. The water was crystal clear, showing a few multicolored fish swimming around. There was a medium sized waterfall to our right that gave a pleasant hiss, not loud enough to deafen, but just enough to give beautiful background music. Rocks were placed so that they surrounded the water’s edge, the stones a little rough so that no one slipped. The pond itself was rather large, easily holding the entire colony within it and looked to be very deep in the middle. At the left the pond narrowed into a cute little creek, more fish swimming within its tiny rapids.

Ulric reached up and gently slid me from his back, setting me on the grass before he waded into the pond. He swam all the way to the deepest part and dived under, coming up in his human form with his back to me. He slicked his hair back with his hands and I watched as the water droplets ran down his back. His back was laced with a few battle scars, some larger than others, but most of his skin was smooth and tawny. His muscles rippled as he dunked his hands under the water again then brought them up to scrub his face.

I told myself to look away, that this was something very private and personal, but as he turned I couldn’t help but stare at his bare chest. The muscles were just as well defined on his chest as they were on his back, water sliding through their dips and planes. His chest had a few more scars, most located around his neck and his stomach, both areas killing blows if the wounds were bad enough. When my eyes hit the large wound that the Elder had delivered I couldn’t hold in my gasp. The wound was deep and savage, going from his right shoulder and crossing over his chest to disappear under the water near his left hip. Blood was still oozing from it, along with the dead skin that shredded from the edges.

At my gasp Ulric’s head shot up, his hands stopping as they were rubbing the blood from his shoulders. His gaze followed mine, a sigh escaping him when he took in his wound, “It’s not as bad as it looks. I’ve had worse.”

I shook my head as I imagined the pain he was in, “No. This is bad. I’m sure it hurts, too.”

He reluctantly nodded, “It does, but don’t worry. It’ll heal.”

I sighed and looked around the forest, trying to locate anything that could help him. Walking over to an unusual purple bush with yellow flowers and blue vines I bent and picked a few of the flowers. Each had seven petals and teal pollen. While beautiful, if this flower was consumed raw it could kill a person in just a few hours, but when mixed with the right plants it had great medicinal capabilities. A few feet to my right was another plant, this one just four giant blue leaves. Ripping one of them in half I walked back over to the water’s edge and laid the plants on one of the flatter rocks.

Getting up I look for a group of truffles and spot them against the trunk of a tree a few yard away. Gathering three truffles I sit buy the rock and begin mashing all the ingredients together with yet another rock. Ulric waded closer just as I had them mixed appropriately.

I looked up and smiled, “This is better with deep wounds than the paste I had made before. It’ll promote faster healing, lessen the pain, and keep out any infection.”

I rubbed some of the liquid onto my fingers and reached out to smear it on his wound, but the moment I touched him he tensed and breathed in through clenched teeth. Pulling my hand back I bit my lip, “Maybe you should do it. I don’t want to hurt you.”

I wiped my fingers clean on the rock, assuming he’d apply the liquid right away, but instead he lifted my head with a finger at my chin. Gathering water in his free hand he gently wiped my face, “You had blood on you. I can’t take the sight any longer.”

I had forgotten about that.

After my face was clean I watched as he carefully applied the liquid, flinching whenever the pain worsened. He was almost done, just reaching the water line where the wound disappeared when Katima jogged out of the forest.

“We’ve got trouble. The alpha from the Haggard Tribe is here. He’s demanding to see his sister and brothers.”