noun ~ an act of retaliation

CHARLIE

Hours blurred into days, and days blurred into weeks. Before I knew it, I lost count of when it was. I knew where I was, and that was in the middle of a damn forest somewhere along the eastern coast. If I lifted my snout, I could smell the ocean close by.

Where was she taking me?

It felt like we backtracked a little, and the past few days she's ran with her senses on high alert. I should've cherished that one 'shared' meal, because we were back to be careful around each other. She has charged at me once, teeth bared and hackles raised, and since then, I kept my distance. I agitated her, I knew it. Her frustration seemed to grow with the miles she passed and I followed.

We barely stopped for food and sustenance, and my body was weakening. I worried I may not keep up, and as we finally came to a stop for the night, my knees buckled. I watched and listened to her hunt and eat. My heavy head settled on my paws. I saved my energy, waiting for her to fall deep asleep so I can get something worth the hunt.

A drink.

A deer.

Anything but a rabbit.

My wolf whimpered in agreement, and as the moon took over from the sun, Calida's breaths evened out.

Time to move.

I crept through the trees, nose to the ground as I searched for my prey. I hoped to find something sleeping; it would be easier on my tired body. However, I doubted I could even eat a full animal. I'd have to let Axel have a bit more freedom here; his hunger would destroy mine.

Bunny.

Opossum.

Mouse.

More bunny.

Mole.

Owl?

Nah, too high.

Eventually, we came across something worthwhile.

Fox.

It was enough for now. Better than a bunny.

I took little to track the fox, and with a swift attack, my teeth sank into its throat and tore. It died almost instantly, sagging in my grip after landing a swift kick to the side of my head. Huffing, my wolf tightened his grip in repayment before turning back to our mate.

With blood coating my maw, I must've not noticed the change in the air until I got to the tree. As I dropped the fox to the floor and licked my snout, the sudden scent of blood had my body pause.

That wasn't fox blood.

I darted out of my hiding place, shock coating my system as I found a dying wolf on the ground. It may have been a rogue, but the look in the terrified wolf's eyes seemed oddly human.

Food forgotten, I ran over to the wolf and assessed their injuries. The sight of internal organs didn't bother me as much as it should, and my lips curled with disgust at the gruesome death my mate gave this female.

My nose twitched, searching for the faintest hint of my mate's blood. I found it in the wolf's front claws, recognising that they landed a good hit to my mate. My chest rumbled with anger, and with a swift chomp of my jaws, I snapped the wolf's head. It barely whimpered before succumbing to its fate, and I dropped its lifeless head to the ground.

Now my mate has fucking run off.

Great.

No food for me.

Calida was fast, and I knew I would have to push myself to catch up to her. But I'll be damned if I didn't take my fox with me. I carried it in my mouth as I tracked her, pulling every scent of her through the haze of the fox's blood.

One thing I was actually good at; tracking.

I followed her scent for five miles, only to stumble to a stop as I realised she had crossed pack borders.

I dropped my fox into a bush, internally cursing as I stared at the border in the distance. Sniffing, I didn't recognise the pack very well. It must not be a known ally.

Fuck, what if it was an enemy pack?

Why would she enter a fucking pack?

I paced, whining as I stared at the border.

They could do anything to her in there.

They could hurt her, chase her... They could've shot her and dragged her down into the cells.

No.

She was still alive.

I knew that.

But that was it.

The soft pull of the bond tightened when I latched onto it, but like a string cut it in half and it collapsed. Calida didn't recognise me as her mate, so doing this would be hard.

Fuck, what do I do?

Do I cross?

Do I stay?

My claws dug into the dirt when I heard growling from the near distance.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Triple fuck.

Double fuck.

I'm going in.

Before I could change my mind, I took a chomp of my dinner before charging full speed into the pack. The unwelcome shimmer washed down my spine, my muscles rippling with the movement. They didn't have any magic, but the alpha and most of the patrol would know someone had crossed.

Nose in the air, I traced Calida and the scent of blood that followed.

It wasn't hers.

I chased her to a house. A small, two windows, single floor, home. It was dimly lit, with the front two rooms empty of life.

Calida had charged right through the front door, her wolf small enough to fit. I cursed, eyeing the gap and knowing I was too large. But then, as I pushed through, I slipped straight inside.

Damn, who needed a diet when you can just starve yourself and run for miles?

I heard whimpering cries, and the scent of fear filled my senses. My wolf grumbled, following the noise and scent of my mate.

The horror filled my body as I found her. Blood coated the bedroom she stood in, the hint of death in the air. A woman lay crumpled beneath her wolf's front paw, her spine snapped and blood pooling from every orifice she had. The wolf growled at the cry of a pain nearby, her paw shifting and crushing more of the dead woman's ribs.

My body entering the room had the crying person's attention snap to mine. They widened with horror, his hands covered in blood, raising to grip at his face.

"Please! Please, Goddess! Don't let these rogues kill me! Please, spare me!"

Rogues?

Damn, did I look that bad?

I shook out my fur, creeping slowly into the room with my head bowed. I growled a low warning to Calida, who paused her snarling. Her head spun, dark eyes filled with rage as she turned to bare her teeth at me. I paused in my step, staying where I was with my head hung low. Nervously, I glanced at the crying man on the floor, trying to figure out how to get out of this.

I could hear the guards approaching, having found the injured and dead patrol men left in Calida's wake.

I wish I could communicate; wish I could tell her to leave.

But this wasn't Calida.

She would turn on me if I threatened her.

Her shoulders hunched, and she took a step toward the man on the floor. He scrambled in the corner, gripping the walls like they would save his life. Calida's jaw dripped blood-tinged saliva, her hackles raised and head lowered with a snarl.

My eyes scanned the room, looking for anything to stop this, to get out of here. But then I found a picture. A picture of not just the sobbing, red faced man, but of the crumpled, disfigured woman.

Just the two of them, fairly recently, going by the similarities.

But then...

Their dark eyes and hair matched perfectly. The only difference was the man was older, with short dark hair. The man was slim, with a scruffy beard as the two of them posed in the spring meadow. And what once had been a blonde woman full of life, lay crumpled and disfigured on the floor.

My curiosity had my nose lower, and I filtered through the scent of blood and death to find the similarity.

With the woman, there was none.

But the man...

My head raised just as Calida attacked. Her wolf tore into the man, claws digging at his chest as the man's screams filled the quiet evening air. I faltered forward a step, my eyes wide with horror as I watched Calida massacre this man. She left him to the last breath, panting as she leaned over his body. The dying man cried out softly, his glassy eyes full of every emotion in the world.

"C...Calida..." He wheezed.

The wolf dived, her jaw locking around the man's head. I dropped my gaze, wincing as a familiar cracking pop echoed through the bloodied bedroom.

The wolf was breathing hard, and stared down at the dead body of Calida's father before licking its lips. It grumbled before slowly turning around to face me. I audibly swallowed, eyeing the window that deemed our only escape.

Calida's eyes scanned me, a warning in them to not do anything. Flicking her tail with dismissal, she turned and leaped right through the fucking window. The glass pierced her skin, the scent of her blood adding to the... ambiance of the room.

Shaking my head, I followed her, keeping my paws tucked as I flew through the thankfully large window. She was running back toward the border; a wise move. She just killed... fuck knows how many pack wolves, and they were gaining fast. As we reached the trees, I saw the dark wolves charging toward her. With an agitated whine, I threw myself in the way.

Every wolf that tried to reach her on the way to the border met my claws and fangs. With regret, I immobilised these otherwise innocent wolves, not hurting them enough to kill. I broke legs, threw some against trees, warned the weaker ones with as much dominance as I could.

Without my alpha's blessing, it wasn't as potent, but it made a few of them falter in their steps.

By the time she had crossed the border, I was seeing stars. I lost count of how many wolves I just wrestled away from her. How many bones I just broke and how much blood I spilled.

Not as much compared to my mate, however.

The fuck just happened? Why did she kill them?

That wasn't even Calida. So, why did the wolf kill them?

How did the wolf know where to go?

Was the wolf heading there the entire time?

My feet stumbled as I passed the border, only for an unknown wolf to swipe at my back end. I went down with a yelp, the pack wolf sinking its teeth into my thigh. We rolled, and I successfully removed its teeth from my leg, trying to gain the energy back to fight yet another fucking man doing his job.

Adrenaline was scarce, and it was a tough fight. As my back leg collapsed under my weight, I accepted my fate. The wolf locked its teeth around my scruff and pulled, intending to drag me back onto pack land.

If I was there, they could lock me up.

I tried to fight, but the haze was growing, and the wolf seemed to multiply.

I haven't eaten in days.

Water had been my own saliva.

My body was starved for weeks.

I pushed myself too far.

All in the name of love, hey?

The wolf's teeth slipped from my fur, a startled bark echoing through my ears. Shaking, my head rose just in time to see Calida's dark fur. She fought the wolf, tooth and claw, before slamming him into a tree. Just as she went in for the death kill, I barked a plea. She hesitated, huffing her frustration, but didn't strike.

Accomplishment washed over me and I shakily stood on all fours. Passing the border, my weak body carried me back to safety. My head was low to the ground, my limp was harsh, but I knew my fox was nearby. Nobody had taken it, just a couple of owls trying to get at it.

Fuck off, owls.

I growled softly, and their huge ass wings carried them away. Collapsing ungracefully on the grass, I lazily sank my teeth into the meat. Calida was nearby, catching her breath, and I devoured what meat I could. She paced when I grew near the end of my meal, and I sighed, knowing we had to get a move on.

With a mostly full tummy and a head of stars, I followed her into the woods. My pace was slow, my feet moving on a pure survival instinct.

We must've dived miles into no-man's-land before the scent of fresh water met my nose. A desperate whine burned my throat, and I gladly followed Calida as she headed towards it. I spotted her first, sinking into the water to clear off the blood. I didn't care to wait, slipping my tired body into the shallow water. My cuts burned with the cold, nightly temperature, but I didn't care, hoping to absorb it like a damn plant.

My tongue lapped lazily, trying to drink as much as I could as night clouded my vision. With a soft sigh, Calida curled into a ball beneath a tree. Satisfied and safe at last. I swayed in the gentle ripple of the water before my knees buckled and my head rested on the grass.

Calm.

At last.