Red Is for Traitor

The new group of humans settled in well at the village. While the wolves practiced fighting in both forms, the red cloaks and I worked on our stealth. When we first started I was afraid it would not work. Not because the group could not be quiet (although some were not made for stalking), but because we were wearing bright red. I know from experience how hard it is to hide when you are wearing red in an environment that is either a blend of greens and browns or white and browns. However, those who proved to be stealthy, moved through the woods with ease. With the help of Soinnah, Kyle, and a few wolves from the Nightwood pack, the red cloaks were quickly learning how to silently move and not be seen.
While about seven plus myself practiced moving through the woods, the other thirteen helped around the village preparing different weapons, practicing with bows and staffs, and helping wherever they were needed. As a group we learned to defend ourselves against werewolves and then sparred each other so we could stand somewhat of a chance against the hunters. Some of the werewolves did not like how many humans wandered the village and parts of the forest and often complained. More than not, did enjoy having the extra humans around.
As our usual morning routine, we were creeping through the woods practicing moving silently. After weeks of training most of us were able to move virtually silently while the few who made noise only did so every couple of steps. The drill was going marvelous. We had managed to sneak up on two of the five werewolves strategically hidden. Our goal was to track them down and surround them without them knowing we were close. As we moved for our third target, I stopped the group when I heard a familiar warning growl. I silently called the group to me and we headed in the direction of the distressed wolf. When we were close enough I watched in horror as Sindri stood over a wounded Zane with arrows protruding mainly from his back and one from his side. I held a hand over my mouth to prevent myself from crying out. Taking a deep calming(ish) breath, I turned to face me friends. I pointed for 3/4 of the group to go and find the hidden wolves and bring them to us, while I instructed the remaining red cloaks to circle around. They were to wait for my signal. While the majority left for help, my group quietly strung their bows and moved to position. Waiting thirty long and agonizing seconds, I nocked my arrow and stepped out from behind my tree.
"I would put those arrows away if I were you." I warned shifting my aim between all of the men.
The hunters all turned sharply to look at me and then began to laugh. Four of the five laughed me off and once again took aim at the wounded father. The one that did not turn away looked me over. "Run along wolfwhore before you find yourself in the same state as this mongrel." Sindri's growling grew louder and he snapped a few times. "Shut Up Mutt!" The hunter barked.
"It is you who should run along. He and his pup has done no harm to you. Leave before you regret it." The hunters paid no heed and readied their shot. Narrowing my eyes, I let my arrow fly. Two twangs and a cry rang through the air as my arrow head cut through two bow strings and nicked a man in the arm. As the two last men turned to aim at me, my bow was already ready with another arrow. "I warned you. Get out of the territory before more are hurt."
"There is five of us, one of you, and a wolf that would leave you the moment it had a chance. I'll only tell you nicely one more time wolfwhore, leave."
"No."
"Your funeral."
I grinned. "I think not." A second later my fellow red cloaks stepped out from their hiding place. The hunters looked around unsure and worried. "I would leave before this wolf's pack comes. They've already been warned. Now go!"
"You'll regret this Wolfwhore!"
"So I have been told and yet I have not regretted any of my decisions thus far." The hunter growled at me before the small group darted away. I nodded for half of my group to follow them to make sure they actually left. Releasing the breath I knew I had been holding, I released the tension from my string and placed the bow and arrow on the ground.
"What should we do?" Ranya asked biting the left side of her bottom lip. "Beta Sindri will not let anyone near him or his child. His protective instincts have taken completely over. He is too dangerous to be around."
"I know, but Cor-Alpha Corbin would take too long to get and so would Trista. They would be the only ones 'Alpha' enough to command him to step away from Zane." I drummed my fingers against my lips. "We need to get the arrows out of both of them or they'll die."
"They don't seem to be healing."
"The arrows are probably silver tipped." I sighed and rubbed my temples. "Here goes nothing."
"Macha!" Ranya grabbed my shoulder and looked at me with wide eyes. "He'll harm or kill you."
"We have to try or they will die. I will pull back if it is too dangerous. Milly and Leo, run to the village and find either Alpha Corbin or Theta Trista. We are going to need them." The two humans nodded and ran off. "Okay." I calmed myself and slowly stepped towards the wolf pair. "Sindri." I called and his molten eyes snapped to me. His growling intensified until I could feel it vibrating through me. The sensation made me want to drop down and whimper. "Sindri, it is me Macha. You know me." His lips peeled back more, but he made no move to attack.
As I slowly inched forward, I heard new people enter the area. "What is she doing?!" Sionnah cried in alarm.
"Trying to get to Zane." Ranya replied. "They aren't healing."
"She is going to get herself killed."
"Hopefully not."
I smirked at the young red cloaks snark. Refocusing on the task at hand I froze when Sindri arched his back and snapped. At first I thought it was at me, but then I saw how his eyes focused on something behind me. I looked back to see Sionnah trying to follow. "Sionnah, do not follow me." My eyes went back to Sindri. "I do not believe he is in the right state of mind to have other wolves encroaching in his space."
"Arawn will kill me if I let you get hurt." She crossed her arms and took a step back.
"I am not planning on getting hurt and it will be safer if you do not come closer... for the both of us." I sunk down into a crouched position and once again started forward. "Sindri, look at me." He continued to growl, but slowly shifted his eyes back to me. "Hey Sindri, I need to look at Zane." The moment I said his pup's name, his eyes narrowed and he snapped in my direction. I stopped, now only about a foot from him, and waited until he settled again. "Wolf, it is me, Red." I held out my palm. Sindri's eyes stared at me and then looked over at my extended hand. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. His body calmed a little as he moved forward and ran his nose from the meat of my palm up to my fingers. "Hi Sindri."
He turned his head so his cheek rested heavily on my hand. "Max."
"Welcome back." I whispered. "May I look at Zane?" He nodded tiredly. My thumb stroked his rough cheek a few times before he pulled back and let me have access to his son. Zane was still shifted and whined softly. The arrow head luckily was not in too deep, but it would still hurt when I pulled it out. "Sindri." I quietly called the tense father to me. Within a second he was crowding me. "I need to pull the arrow out." He nodded in understanding. "It is going to hurt a lot. Are you going to hurt me when Zane cries out?"
Sindri shifted next to me. "I can- I-" He shook his head. "I can't say I won't. I-I don't- I don't know."
"We can try to hold him back." Sionnah offered from the other side of the trees. "There's five of us, we at least detain him long enough for you to pull the arrow out and move aside... As long as you can do it in one swift move."
I looked up to my friend and waited. He flexed his fingers trying to regain enough control to not go completely berserk. "We can try."
"I will be the only one near him, but after the arrow is out I may need to have one of the others look at him. After you have been with him of course."
"Fine. Do it quick."
I nodded. "Please stand as far as you possibly can without being in agonizing pain." Sindri smirked at me before standing about seven feet away. The five other wolves created barrier between me and Sindri. "Hey Zane." I stroked the pup's muzzle. He whimpered and nuzzled my hand. "I am going to pull the arrow out of your hip. It is going to hurt, but once it is out you will start feeling better, okay?" He whined, but scooted closer. "You are doing so well, Zane. Be brave a few more seconds. On the count of three I am going to pull out the arrow." I shifted into a comfortable position that enabled me both leverage and an escape. I wished I had a local anesthetic. "Okay. One." I placed my hand over the wound. "Two." I placed a firm hand around the shaft of the arrow. "Three." I pulled as hard, fast, and accurate as I could. The moment the arrow was free, I pushed off in the direction away from Sindri. The second Zane let out a painful cry, Sindri roared and threw three of the guarding wolves away. He had Zane in his arms seconds later.
"Shit." The wolves groaned.
"Are you three okay?" I stayed where I was, but looked over in concern.
"Just peachy." One replied rubbing his ribs. "Remind me never to get between a parent and their pup."
"Noted." I looked down at the arrow. Sure enough silver and red gleamed back at me. Throwing it on the ground I looked back at the father son pair. "May I approach?"
It took a moment for Sindri to finally answer. "Only you." I nodded and slowly walked over.
"May I see him? You can keep holding him, but I need to look at his hip." Sindri carefully shifted the whimpering pup. Trying hard not to touch the wound, I inspected the hole. "He is going to need stitches."
"Do it."
Lowering my voice so it was gentle, "We also need to get the arrows out of you, Sindri."
"You can do it after-"
"You have lost too much blood already and you are not able to heal with them in you. You will most likely die if we do not do it soon. You may be a wolf, but even you are not able to survive severe blood loss."
"No, stitch him first."
"Sin-"
"Sindri!" Trista cried as she entered where we were. She let out a pained sound at the sight of her son and grandson.
"Mama." He called back.
Having an idea I took his face in my hand. "Sindri, let Trista help Zane while I help you."
"What do I need to do?" She asked approaching as if her son was not on the verge of becoming pure instinct.
"Stitch Zane's arrow wound."
"I am not good at that. I can, but it will be less than par work." Her face was filled with pain.
"I can stitch him up." Ranya volunteered. "As long as someone can hold him still."
"Trista hold Zane in your lap and I will take the arrows out of Sindri." Before Sindri could protest, I continued, "Zane will stay within your sight line, but you have to control yourself. Understood?"
Sindri's jaws tensed. "Fine."
"If you believe you are losing focus you have to tell me." I stared my friend in the eye. I was only human and he could kill me if he lost control.
"I will."
"Okay. Sindri, you need to get Zane to shift back to human or the stitches will break when he eventually does. Ranya, come here." She skirted around the father until she was closest to me. "Take off our cloak and wear mine."
"Why?" She asked perplexed.
"My scent is soothing and familiar, hopefully it will help Zane and Trista relax while you stitch his wound. Do you have an anesthetics?"
"A small amount left."
"Use it. The less pain Zane is in, the less likely Sindri's instincts will take over completely."
"I hope you are right." Ranya stripped off her cloak and easily tied mine around her shoulders. She stood up and waited off to the side where she would perform the suturing.
"Ranya, Trista, when this is finished go to my cottage. It is closer and they can rest there." The two women nodded and readied themselves for their task. I turned to Sindri, "Ready?"
"No." He replied through clenched teeth.
"Good. Tell me when the pain is too much."
"Don't you have anything to numb this process?"
"Sorry, I do not and Ranya is using the last of her's on Zane." Sindri nodded and sat down crossed legged. "I am starting." I placed my left hand on his shoulder and my right on the first of six arrows on his back. I worked systematically and as fast as I could without Sindri fainting on me. I had to pause twice so he would not pass out or vomit. After I dropped the last one on the ground I moved to kneel in front of him. "How are you doing?" I could see how drained and pale he was. It worried me.
He panted as he replied, "Terrible."
My hand went up to his cheek and stroked it. He closed his eyes and leaned in to the comfort. "One more and you are done." He grunted tiredly. The last arrow was the trickiest. Unlike the others, this one went in deeper and would be more hazardous to pull out. Pushing it through to the back was the only option. "I am sorry Sindri, this one is going to be the worst of them all."
"How could it be any worse?" He opened his eyes wearily.
"I have to push it through and I want to cauterize it. It would be more dangerous to stitch it and let it bleed than to burn it and stop more blood loss. You've lost too much already."
"Just do it." Instead of replying I called over one of the other red cloaks and had them light a candle and hold my blade over it. While it heated, I repositioned us.
"I need you to stay awake as long as possible and try not to tense." He shifted so his face was resting in the crook of my neck, his left arm went under mine and latched onto my shoulder, and his right went just under my right shoulder and gripped his left wrist. While he mentally prepared himself for the inevitable pain, I moved my knees so my left was diagonally superior to my right. My left arm went over his shoulder for leverage while my right hand gripped the shaft of the arrow. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, how his lips were parted and barely skimming my skin. "Try not to rip my throat out, okay?" I joked trying to salvage anything that wasn't Sindri possibly dying.
"I'll try." He huffed.
"On three." I swallowed and hardened myself. "One. Two. Three!" As the last word left my lips, I pushed forward with all of my weight. I felt Sindri howl in pain and sharp fangs skim my neck, but I didn't think long on it as I quickly pulled back leaving the arrow where it was. Sindri continued to hold on while I snapped the arrow's tail and reached around to pull it from from his body. "It is okay Sindri." I whispered and him slide into my lap. Now that his back was exposed to me I held my hand out. "Knife." It was quickly passed and I pressed it to the deepest of the wounds. Sindri's arms instinctively tightened around my waist, but not enough to harm me. With a split second decision, I twisted the knife and put it on two more wounds. With my free hand I stoked his hair and watched his body tense and try not to twist in agony. "I am sorry, I am almost done." I whispered over and over. "Warm it." I instructed my assistant and helped the near dead weight wolf flip onto his back. Sindri panted with his eyes closed and body like a rag doll. "One more, I promise. Hold on to my arm." With my forearm securely across his chest, his fingers wrapped lightly around it. Once his arm was out of the way, I pressed the red blade to his side. He let out a pained cry as his skin hissed and melted.
When the procedure was over, I rubbed his cheek. "You still awake?"
"Barely." He slurred not able to open his eyes. "Zane?"
"He is sleep, but okay. Trista has him and will meet us at the cottage." He let out a rumble signifying he understood. "We need a stretcher."
"Dr. Pent is at the cottage waiting for you." Ranya huffed after running to and from the cottage.
"Thank you."
"Stretcher!" Sionnah called as she and the other wolves dragged it over.
"Thank you. Sindri, we are putting you on the stretcher. I know you are tired, but you must stay awake." He hummed, but did not move.
"We have him." Sionnah smiled. Her and two of the five wolves shifted him onto the stretcher.
When we arrived at the cottage the doctor met us at the door. With a startled look, he instructed the carriers to gently place Sindri face down on the bed. "I need everyone but Theta Trista, Zane, and Miss Macha outside until everything is settled." Dr. Pent went back to work while everyone waited anxiously in the yard. "The rest of his wounds need to be stitched."
"I know." I licked my lips at my friend's frighteningly pale skin. I lowered my voice so only the doctor could hear. "Even if we do, he has lost too much."
"What are you suggesting?"
"He needs a transfusion."
"Do you know how to do it?"
"I have the materials."
He raised an eyebrow. "How? Actually I do not want to know."
"Do you know how to perform one?"
"Yes, but we need a donor."
"Trista can, she is his mother."
"Okay, go get the material and have her sit by Beta Sindri's bed." I nodded and went to work. I first retrieved the hidden equipment and then asked Trista to follow me. I had her sit next to Sindri head while I dragged a small table over to her.
"We need you to donate some of your blood to Sindri. He lost too much and without it his body will not be able to recover."
"How do I do this?"
"Dr. Pent is going to place this needle inside your arm. The needle will be connected to a tube that will divert your blood into this vacuumed sealed glass container. The second needle and tube will be in Sindri's arm. The glass tube inside will draw the blood up into the tube connected to Sindri. It will then be fed into Sindri's body where he will use it as replacement for the blood he lost. If you feel light headed or anything let me know. We will be monitoring both of you." Trista nodded and waited patiently as I sterilized her needle, let it cool, tied a cord around her upper arm, and then let Dr. Pent slip the needle into her vein. The glass container quickly started filling with Trista's red liquid. Once the bottom was layered with enough blood, Dr. Pent slipped the needle into Sindri's arm and connected the tube to the container. Seconds later the blood was drawn up and into his veins.
The doctor took a seat at the pushed aside table to watch over his patients. I headed up onto the loft where Zane slept fitfully wrapped in my cloak. I sat down so I could watch over the room while Zane snuggled up against me and settled. I bit at my nails as I watched the transfer of life from mother to son.
I was scared. I was truly terrified that Sindri was going to die.