Chapter Twenty-Eight

It was probably an hour before the wolves gave up and stalked off into the night, howling angry curses at them for their fallen pack members. Shintaro waited another ten minutes, just in case, before he let down the shield. Linda immediately jumped up and looked around them, scanning the area for any other danger. Luke stood up just as Shintaro swayed a little. Luke put his arms around his friend and slowly brought him to the grass. It was terribly difficult to see, so Kai remained sitting with Abby. Chase had somehow fallen asleep, probably because he was still sick and tired. 

Linda scoffed and carefully made her way over to one of the wolves. It was lying on its side with a puncture wound in its throat. Kai followed her gaze as she knelt down beside it and thanked the sky for the darkness. He probably would have thrown up if he saw all of the details. 

Linda straightened and walked around the wolf. "This would be great meat, but I don't know how to tell if it's safe to eat or not." She crossed her arms and walked over to another wolf, and this time, Kai couldn't see the wound on the poor dog. 

As Linda walked by, however, it let out a very soft pained growl. The young woman jumped back with a gasp while Kai clenched his hands, ready to fight the dog as best he could. It was still alive, meaning it could get up hurt them.

The growl broke off and turned into a long, pitiful whine. Kai's stomach twisted in sympathy, and he cursed himself. It was an animal. There were plenty of wolves already, and there wasn't much of a difference if one died. So why did he feel terrible about it? 

Cursing himself again, he stood up and walked over to Linda's side. He knelt down beside the wolf and realized just how big they were. He had seen pictures and videos of wolves, but he'd never seen one in person. They were huge. 

The wolf whined again. Kai stared at it until his eyes adjusted. 

He didn't think wolves could be so pretty either. This one was a glossy white color with hints of silver running through its fur. Its eyes, when it looked up at Kai, were a bright green. They looked so pained, and Kai felt pity twisting in his gut again. Its legs were long and graceful, and there was so much fur that Kai felt the urge to reach out and pet the wolf's head. The tail was flopping from side to side, almost in what looked like a wag. Its ears were long and graceful, and pricked with each movement Kai made.

"Wow," Kai breathed quietly. He almost stomped on his hand to keep it from petting the wolf. If he did that, it could bite his hand. Kai shuddered and looked the wolf over again. There was a stab wound in one of its hind legs, but it didn't seem to want to get up. Kai reached for the wound without meaning to and earned himself a low growl, but no bite.

Linda grabbed his hand and pulled it back. "What are you doing, dummy?!" she yelled. "That's a wolf you're about to touch! Not a good idea. It could hurt you, and right now we don't need that. Come on, let's -" 

"No, wait," Kai said. "I want to try something." He reached forward again, this time for the wolf's head. He slowly moved forward, stopping when his hand was hovering right above its head. Nothing happened. No growl, no bite, no whine. Nothing. Kai shivered and lowered his hand. Again nothing. Kai touched the wolf's head. Once more, the wolf did nothing. Only when Kai rubbed its head did it do something, and this wasn't bad. The wolf wagged its tail, thumping it twice against the grass. Another whine escaped its throat, and this one seemed happy but still pained.

"That thing," Linda said in a flat yet confused tone, "has to have been domestic before it was let out here. HAS TO HAVE BEEN." She knelt down again and pushed Kai's hand away. "I want to try." Kai could see her a little more clearly now, and he could tell that she had wonder and excitement written on her face. Maybe she liked animals. Her hand ran along the wolf's head and a small smile played at her lips. 

The wolf's tail wagged again, this time three times. Linda ran her hand along its ears, and the tail thumped again. 

"Wow," Linda said at the same time as Abby, who had scooted closer. 

"He's so pretty," she said quietly, brushing her blond hair away. "Poor thing. Do we have to leave him here to die? I don't want the poor doggy to die alone like this. That would be terrible!" 

Kai nodded. "I honestly don't either..." He looked back to wolf, who's tail was wagging each time Linda ruffled his ears. 

Shintaro shook his head. "We can't keep that wolf. If we help it, it'll grow attached to us. We don't need a wolf following us around." 

"Please, Daddy?" Abby pleaded. "He's so cute! He doesn't deserve this! He's just hungry, and... Oh, this sounds terrible... but Chase's blood was what they smelled. It's animal instinct, Daddy. Please?"

Shintaro eyed his daughter. "He's going to follow us around. We don't need a wolf following us around," he repeated, more firmly this time. "It would be dangerous. You never know what could happen." 

The wolf let out another pitiful whine, as thought trying to convince Shintaro too. Kai rubbed his back and smoothed down his beautiful white fur. 

Shintaro groaned, seemingly defeated. "Fine. Let me gain some strength back, first." He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning a little against Luke. 

Abby turned to the wolf with a small squeal of happiness. "We're going to have a wolf pet! Oh my gosh! Do you really think he had an owner before?" she asked Linda. 

"Definitely," the older girl replied. "No wolf would act like this." She kept petting his head as Kai rubbed his back. This wolf really was a pretty dog. 

"We've gotta name him!" Abby yelped, making Chase moan and flop his hand over his chest. She quieted her voice. "What should we name this cutie?" She reached forward and stroked under his ear, glancing over at his wound. She reached for that, but the wolf let out another tiny warning growl and Abby backed off.

"Komakii?" Luke offered suddenly, perking up a little. He still looked really tired in Kai's opinion, but he seemed a little happier. "It means 'snow' in an older language." 

"Really?" Abby said, awestruck. "That's so cute! Komakii it is!" She turned back to Komakii and stroked his head again. "You're just such a cutie, aren't you? So sweet. I like the name Komakii. It suits you, boy!" 

Kai smiled at Abby, who was beaming so much that it looked like her face would crack. Abby was such an amazing girl. She cared about everyone and put them before herself, and she was just so nice. She was really cute. 

Maybe I am in love with her. 

~

Here's another chapter! I thought giving them a wolf pet would be really cute, so I decided to do it. I hope you all enjoyed!! I can't wait to get to thirty chapters! That will be the biggest accomplishment I've made in Wattpad!

Love y'all!! 

Peace!!~~

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