Status: We are what we are; don't need no excuses for the scars from our mothers, and we know what we know 'cause we're made of all the little bones of our fathers.
The Last Wolf
Chapter Twenty Eight
You’re supposed to be dead! He yelled the last word, almost accusatory. Dead. I cringed.
“Raider…” I sighed. “White River told me that my parents abandoned near a tree trunk. I wasn’t-”
“Don’t! I’m not Pretty boy, and I am definitely not Shadow! Do not tell me that you have no idea what I’m talking about!” His words struck me like punches; the pain wouldn’t stop. He turned his back toward me while running a hand through his short blond curls. Anger curled in my stomach. Bile rose in my throat. I had to make this right; he would leave me here, in this darkness.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I growled at his back. A deep breath filled my lungs, but it seemed to escape as if there was a hole in them. “I just found out I’m a werewolf, my parents tortured me, and I can’t remember the woman you saw. I can’t picture her in my head.” My breaths were heavy, panting, while my fists shook at my sides. I’m not going to make it out of this forest.
His movements were careful, and even though I didn’t know him, I could tell he was debating in his head. He wanted to believe me. He didn’t.
I growled under my breath before I decided that waiting didn’t work for me. Patience never seemed like my virtue. I walked in the opposite direction from him, but I didn’t get very far.
Raider wound his long fingers around my elbow tightly. The skin he squeezed turned a peachy color, though I barely felt it. Anger filled me while his words bounced around my skull. He didn’t speak as he pulled me to the left, nor did I. We twisted through the trees until a path opened before us. He released me, leaving his hand print encrusted in the peachy color on my arm, as we padded down the dirt trail. Thoughts swirled around me as his words sank into my brain.
“Why can I see your memories and not my own?” I asked aloud, not expecting an answer. Something inside me wanted to understand because this wasn’t the first memory I’d seen that belonged to someone else, but it was the first time anyone acknowledged that they saw mine too. Why couldn’t I see my own? Squawks echoed through the treetops. My muscles tensed before Raider turned, his eyes scanning our surroundings before they landed on me.
“Because we’re wolves,” he stated. “I’m a half-breed, born from a human and a wolf to form a shifter, while my brother took after our father. Just like Hawke and Shadow, except their father was a shifter and their mother was the wolf.”
I thought hard about the information he’d given me. Shadow didn’t want to tell me much about himself, but I could sense he wasn’t like me. Emotion and nature didn’t control his changes; the moon did make him uneasy. “Why do you think Doc is alright with you spending so much time with him?” Raider laughed. “If you somehow managed to be attracted to Bear or Jack, White River would’ve died.”
“Whose Jack?”
“The huge rabbit that’s always leaping around camp.” Raider looked at me. “They are both true born shifters.” He averted his eyes.
“Oh I forgot there’s more than six of you…” I trailed off.
He nodded, almost skeptically, “Most of us are like Bear; we don’t like to be in human form. It makes us feel trapped.” I thought about how large Bear was as an animal, and how he looked as a human. Even though he stood about 7 feet tall, he still seemed to wear his human muscles and skin like they were too tight around his bones.
“That’s why you’re never around?” I understood why they always asked where he was.
“I’m always around,” Raider looked at me again, a playful smirk crossed his features, “you just don’t realize it.”
Light washed over the path just ahead of us. I wanted to run toward it, to thank god for it, but something told me not to make any sudden movements. Raider wasn’t walking anymore. He edged closer to the light. I caught myself praying for the pain of the full moon, even though it wouldn’t come to help me. Not now.
Raider scanned the trees again. Something in him released, and the anger that made him so different from his twin disappeared. He shuffled clumsily while waving at what appeared to be nothing. “I know you,” he chuckled and walked to the edge of my eyesight. Something growled, and then hissed.
I started toward the light, while he held the attention of whatever he focused on. Sunlight bathed the open field filled with beautiful, fragrant wild flowers. Imagining myself roaming around that field, sun bathing, and dancing through the flowers was easy; however, my feet froze in their spot as a horrific squall echoed through the dark trees. That noise broke the magical beauty of the field in an instant.
Wind raced around me, rousing leaves into a whirlwind, while the squall got louder. It transformed from a loud, obnoxious animal sound into a traumatic scream. I glanced at Raider. His lips moved, but the words didn’t make it to my ears. My eyes wouldn’t adjust to the wind; he became a blur of blond fur. Air blasted from my lungs as my back lurched toward the ground. Something bit into my arm and pulled me roughly from the darkness.
“Raider,” I gasped, pulling oxygen into my lungs. He shushed me roughly before ripping my sleeve and tying it tightly around my shoulder.
“You’re alright, now, Wolf. We’ll be home soon.” He stated in a gruff voice. The last thing I remembered was Raider lifting me over his shoulder for the second time while he whispered, “You can still take care of yourself, Wolf Girl.”
“Raider…” I sighed. “White River told me that my parents abandoned near a tree trunk. I wasn’t-”
“Don’t! I’m not Pretty boy, and I am definitely not Shadow! Do not tell me that you have no idea what I’m talking about!” His words struck me like punches; the pain wouldn’t stop. He turned his back toward me while running a hand through his short blond curls. Anger curled in my stomach. Bile rose in my throat. I had to make this right; he would leave me here, in this darkness.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I growled at his back. A deep breath filled my lungs, but it seemed to escape as if there was a hole in them. “I just found out I’m a werewolf, my parents tortured me, and I can’t remember the woman you saw. I can’t picture her in my head.” My breaths were heavy, panting, while my fists shook at my sides. I’m not going to make it out of this forest.
His movements were careful, and even though I didn’t know him, I could tell he was debating in his head. He wanted to believe me. He didn’t.
I growled under my breath before I decided that waiting didn’t work for me. Patience never seemed like my virtue. I walked in the opposite direction from him, but I didn’t get very far.
Raider wound his long fingers around my elbow tightly. The skin he squeezed turned a peachy color, though I barely felt it. Anger filled me while his words bounced around my skull. He didn’t speak as he pulled me to the left, nor did I. We twisted through the trees until a path opened before us. He released me, leaving his hand print encrusted in the peachy color on my arm, as we padded down the dirt trail. Thoughts swirled around me as his words sank into my brain.
“Why can I see your memories and not my own?” I asked aloud, not expecting an answer. Something inside me wanted to understand because this wasn’t the first memory I’d seen that belonged to someone else, but it was the first time anyone acknowledged that they saw mine too. Why couldn’t I see my own? Squawks echoed through the treetops. My muscles tensed before Raider turned, his eyes scanning our surroundings before they landed on me.
“Because we’re wolves,” he stated. “I’m a half-breed, born from a human and a wolf to form a shifter, while my brother took after our father. Just like Hawke and Shadow, except their father was a shifter and their mother was the wolf.”
I thought hard about the information he’d given me. Shadow didn’t want to tell me much about himself, but I could sense he wasn’t like me. Emotion and nature didn’t control his changes; the moon did make him uneasy. “Why do you think Doc is alright with you spending so much time with him?” Raider laughed. “If you somehow managed to be attracted to Bear or Jack, White River would’ve died.”
“Whose Jack?”
“The huge rabbit that’s always leaping around camp.” Raider looked at me. “They are both true born shifters.” He averted his eyes.
“Oh I forgot there’s more than six of you…” I trailed off.
He nodded, almost skeptically, “Most of us are like Bear; we don’t like to be in human form. It makes us feel trapped.” I thought about how large Bear was as an animal, and how he looked as a human. Even though he stood about 7 feet tall, he still seemed to wear his human muscles and skin like they were too tight around his bones.
“That’s why you’re never around?” I understood why they always asked where he was.
“I’m always around,” Raider looked at me again, a playful smirk crossed his features, “you just don’t realize it.”
Light washed over the path just ahead of us. I wanted to run toward it, to thank god for it, but something told me not to make any sudden movements. Raider wasn’t walking anymore. He edged closer to the light. I caught myself praying for the pain of the full moon, even though it wouldn’t come to help me. Not now.
Raider scanned the trees again. Something in him released, and the anger that made him so different from his twin disappeared. He shuffled clumsily while waving at what appeared to be nothing. “I know you,” he chuckled and walked to the edge of my eyesight. Something growled, and then hissed.
I started toward the light, while he held the attention of whatever he focused on. Sunlight bathed the open field filled with beautiful, fragrant wild flowers. Imagining myself roaming around that field, sun bathing, and dancing through the flowers was easy; however, my feet froze in their spot as a horrific squall echoed through the dark trees. That noise broke the magical beauty of the field in an instant.
Wind raced around me, rousing leaves into a whirlwind, while the squall got louder. It transformed from a loud, obnoxious animal sound into a traumatic scream. I glanced at Raider. His lips moved, but the words didn’t make it to my ears. My eyes wouldn’t adjust to the wind; he became a blur of blond fur. Air blasted from my lungs as my back lurched toward the ground. Something bit into my arm and pulled me roughly from the darkness.
“Raider,” I gasped, pulling oxygen into my lungs. He shushed me roughly before ripping my sleeve and tying it tightly around my shoulder.
“You’re alright, now, Wolf. We’ll be home soon.” He stated in a gruff voice. The last thing I remembered was Raider lifting me over his shoulder for the second time while he whispered, “You can still take care of yourself, Wolf Girl.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Thank you guys so much for reading, I hope you enjoy it, and stay tuned for the family smack downs to come.