Running With Wolves

Grandfather knocked twice on the wooden door, the only thing that promised the girls safety,

“It’s alright. Everything is okay now.”

Hesitantly the door creaked opened and little Rune stared up at the older man appearing more like a frightened twelve year old than a strong twenty year old.

“A-are you sure?” She questioned hesitantly, her voice very small.

Grandfather smiled sympathetically. It was a crime in his eyes, a cruel play on the part of Mother Nature to have a Heat cycle strike such fear into women.

“Yes child,” he assured softly, “I will not allow any harm to come to any of you.” The door opened more revealing Jasmine who was leaning up against the wall with her arms crossed and trying her best to look indifferent but fear was evident in her eyes. Mia stood near the window tears streaming down her face and when her eyes continuously flickered to Jasmine, Grandfather knew that he would have to speak to both of them respectively.

“You may come out now,” He announced. “If you wish.” His eyes fell once more to the tiny blonde.

“Raluca,” He said softly, his finger hovering just above her injured eye. “Perhaps you would allow me to clean this up for you?” blood, while some was dried and caked down the side of her face was still bleeding around her eye and brow.

She sucked in her bottom lip and nodded solemnly. She glanced back at the girls for a moment before she followed Grandfather toward the bathroom. If his suspicions were right then no matter what kept Rune, Jasmine, and Mia at odds, this day had brought them closer together regardless of their differences.

Rune was silent as she followed the old man into the bathroom and then moved obediently toward the sink when he ushered her there.

“Now,” He commented distantly as he placed his tea on the counter top and opened Lukas’s cabinets, rummaging through them for supplies. “He must have some type of first aid kit here.”

“Under the sink.” Rune mumbled quietly and Grandfather turned to her and nodded once before he resumed his search under the sink. “Right, right of course.”

Several moments later Grandfather produced a small wooden box. Upon opening it he found varying levels of medical helpfulness from Band-Aids to a suture kit.

“Here we are,” He murmured to himself pulling out the suture kit and cotton swabs. Rune eyed them uneasily, she was much more used to wounds than Grandfather would have liked her to be and in that moment she would have rather dealt with the dirty wound than feel the sharp sting as he cleaned it. “Now,” he began turning to her as he reached for his cup of tea, busying himself with the tea bag for a moment. “I do believe we have all been through enough pain today, don’t you?” confused Rune could only nodded. “Which is why I want you to take this.” He lifted the tea bag from the mug, pinched the excess water out of it with his fingers, and handed it to her.

“Press it to the wound.” He instructed. Obediently she nodded and preparing for the sting her body tensed. The sting never came however, when she pressed the tea bag there all she felt was—warmth. Her body relaxed in relief and a comfort in her grew as she held the warm compress; it reminded her of the warm blankets her mother would wrap her in on cold nights. “Never underestimate the power of a tea bag.”
She removed it when he told her to and then with careful precise hands stitched up the open and bleeding wound as painlessly as he could muster; Rune was relieved to find he was done in no time at all.

“You may press the tea bag gently to it if you like. It will continue to sooth and clean it.” Grandfather threw away the materials and when he glanced at her again the petite blonde could easily read the concern in his eyes.

“Are you alright now?”

She nodded quietly, “I’ve been in fights before Grandfather, ‘been knocked around more times than I can count. Don’t worry about me.” She bit her lip apprehensively. “How is Sage, Grandfather?”

He seemed to age before her eyes; he leaned more heavier on the countertop, his eyes appeared more tired, the lines in his face more pronounced in the dim light.

“Sage is injured,” Grandfather admitted. “in more ways than one I’m afraid.”

She couldn’t help but blurt the question then. “Grandfather, I don’t mean any disrespect but—Why are you busy stitching me up and not Sage?”

“Sage is shutting down mentally. She needs a moment alone to process what has happened. If she isn’t given a moment to settle she will completely shut down and I fear she will go to a place inside herself that even Lukas will not be able to reach.
Her wounds need medical attention, yes, but I fear if I do not leave her to herself for a moment it could cause more damage.”

Rune nodded solemnly, her eyes glistening with tears as she looked down at her hands ashamed of the moisture. “I tried,” She whispered quietly. “I tried to protect her.”

Grandfather leaned forward then and placed a finger beneath her chin, forcing her to gaze up at him. “My child, you did everything that you could, do not question that Raluca. It wasn’t that you tried to protect her dear, you did protect her. I dare say you protected my granddaughter more fiercely and loyally then many I’ve seen.” He kissed the top of her head. “She’s alive Raluca, as are all of you. You protected one another to the best of your ability—the best that she would allow you too. Do not torture yourself with ideas that you could have done something different—because everything you did was the best that could have been done. Do you understand me?”

Rune swallowed hard, she’d run the scenario over in her mind anyway, thinking of different ways in which they all got out of there unscathed. But she nodded and said yes to appease the old man who had enough burdens already than to worry about a small blonde orphan girl who had no real place in the world than beside Sage.

“Now,” he announced. “If you’ll excuse me I shall go see my granddaughter. As for you, I would suggest you do return to Jasmine and Mia. I fear I cannot ask Conan to leave quite yet as I am not sure to the stability of Lukas and Sage and I find myself not as strong as I once was in my youth.”

Rune nodded silently, lost in her own thoughts, she followed Grandfather out of the bathroom before she turned away from him and returned to the Safe Room while Grandfather ventured back down the hall to where he knew Lukas to be locked up.

He found Knoll standing outside of the door looking at the wooden piece rather conflicted.

”Damn it Knoll I know you are there. Let me out!”

Relief flooded his face when he saw Grandfather approaching.

“I’m sort of afraid he’ll beat my ass if I let him out.” Knoll admitted quietly, his eyes focused on the door.

”Don’t you think I’d have a bigger bone to pick with Conan for chocking me out then you?!” his voice yelled in irritation through the door. ”and I’m locked in here with him!”

Grandfather nodded to Knoll who hesitantly unlocked the door. It swung open revealing his older brother who was glaring at him with hard gray eyes.

“Ass,” he grumbled at the youngest Canis.

“Hey now,” Grandfather spoke up and Lukas pursed his lips and turned away; he knew better than to get into with the old man.

He brushed passed the two, not caring much about either of them as he made his way toward his bedroom. He didn’t bother with a knock as he opened the door and immediately went to the bed, something inside him settling at the image of Sage in his sights—safe and right where he could see her. But his eyes fooled him and Lukas knew she was anything but safe and fine. He could see her laying there wrapped in the fetal position concealed in blankets. He could see how the rise and fall of her chest was not calm nor relaxed, it hiccupped as though she had trouble breathing or was crying—Lukas knew that it was probably a bit of both.

Protect, protect, love, protect, love, Sage

He sat gently beside her on the edge of the bed his hand hovering over her; he wanted to touch her, to soothe her but he could feel her desire to not want to be touched by anyone—including him.

“Sage,” his voice was rough and low. Seeing Sage like this scared him more than anything ever had in his life. It scared him more than when their fathers announced war, it scared him more than when he chose Sage over his family and Kerrick had gone after him, it scared him more than when Sage had left with no sign of returning. Baring witness to this put his heart in his throat like the she’d gotten into a car accident and ended up in the hospital, it scared him more than when she fell out of the old tree house when they were kids; there was always that moment were time froze and your breathe caught and call you could do was which this horrible thing unfold helplessly.

Because this, this was so much worst than all that. Through everything that had ever happened in Sage’s life she had been strong even at the times when she felt weak. She had been a strong as she could have been when Seneca and her father died because those moments had not been about weakness it had been about mourning. But Lukas could see it in her, even as she hid behind blankets that went up to her chin he could see it. He could see how broken she was. This was not about mourning or fear or sadness it was so much more than that and now she was shutting down right before his eyes.

His eyes scanned the cocoon of oak brown blankets when his eyes spotted dark stains that had not been there before; alarms went off in his head.

“Sage,” Urgency entered his voice and when she didn’t respond worry washed through his body tenfold. “Sage.” He gripped her shoulder and turned her over.

Her eyes met his and something in him settled. For the first time since this nightmare had occurred Sage looked at him and saw him. Lukas could see every inch of pain in her eyes, every flicker of fear, and the want to just curl into the blankets and disappear. The fire in Sage was gone, extinguished by the blackest hearted people she’d ever met.

“Sage, your hurt,”.

“Leave me alone,” she mumbled holding the blankets tighter to her. “just leave me be.”

“I can’t do that love,” there was an apologetic tone in his voice because he wanted her to be as at ease as he could possibly make her but Lukas knew that he couldn’t do that right now. What Sage wanted and what Sage needed were two completely different things.

His gaze turned toward the doorway to where Grandfather stood, worry brimming in his eyes and his mouth pressed into a deep set frown. Lukas’s eyes fell to the first aid kit in the older man’s hand and when his stormy eyes returned to the sight of Sage he knew he couldn’t just leave Sage alone.

“Just leave me the fuck alone,” She begged tears pooling in her eyes. “Please, just leave me alone.”

Everything within Lukas wanted to comply, to let her rest as comfortably as she possibly could. He promised himself he would let her be eventually but right now there were things more important that just what Sage wanted.

“Lukas,” Grandfather stated his name with no order or implication behind it and the younger man closed his eyes and sighed. Grandfather didn’t have to elaborate on his words, he didn’t have to carefully weave implicated words together, he didn’t even need subtly. Grandfather could speak without saying a damn word and right now the words were perfectly clear to Luke.

“Leave the kit.” Lukas stated roughly his body going ridged in preparation for the idea that for the first time in his life he would have to do something to Sage that was completely outside her comfort zone. It was something she truly didn’t want and she’d fight him every step of the way—the idea of that tore Lukas up more perfectly then any knife every could.

“Lukas,” Knoll started. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Lukas and Sage alone. He didn’t like the idea of making his brother bare this alone; he could help and he wanted to.

Lukas’s eyes closed, he wasn’t in the mood to argue with his brother. “You don’t understand Knoll,” Lukas bit roughly, his eyes not leaving Sage. “You couldn’t. I have to do this and it has to be alone.” When his eyes met Knoll they were hard and unyielding. “This,” he said. “is what it means to be a soulmate.”

A muscle in Knoll’s jaw jumped and as the two stared at each other without speaking the youngest Canis nodded with a sigh. “Yeah you’re right. I don’t understand.” He mumbled turning away and leaving the room.

Grandfather placed the medical kit gently on the bed beside Lukas.
His hand fell gently onto Lukas’s shoulder silently before it slipped away and Luke found himself alone with Sage.