Back to the Start

Part IV

"You've got to do whatever it takes

 to protect the ones you love."

***

Finn had begged to come along with me.

I'd told him to stay, told him to stay just in case the pup was in pain. But he'd begged to come along, and his look of desperation was the one that made me relent.

So, we'd tucked up the pup in a makeshift bed, and set out to the pharmacy to buy some salve for her injuries, and aspirin.

The pharmacy was just across Rogers' and we were silent as we came to the crossing, waiting till the cars were out of the way.

"Where'd you find her?" Finn asked, the first words he'd spoken since we left.

"The forest. I tripped over her."

"Why'd you go to the forest?"

I shrugged. "No reason, I suppose."

We walked forward in silence, the pharmacy in view, before Finn whirled around to face me.

"Why do you always lie to me?" he demanded, his voice tinged with hurt.

"I-I don't lie—"

"You do. You always do. You told me you wouldn't go to Rogers' but still you did, and now you're telling me you don't have any freaking reason for going to the freaking forest!"

"Finn, I—"

I looked at him, wincing as I saw the tears he was holding back. There was no one else around. It was almost nine in the night and it was just us in the middle of the road. And I wanted to look at anywhere else but him.

That's why I saw it before it lunged.

Maybe it was the instincts I'd had to hone over the years or maybe it was just the fear that something would happen to Finn, but somehow, I managed to push him and me away as the wolf landed at the same spot we'd been seconds ago.

I pushed Finn back as he screamed, pulling him along as we ran towards Rogers' garage. I could hear the wolf closing in, and I pulled him harder, until I saw a red wolf creeping towards us from behind the building. 

Finn screamed as we looked to the left and saw the black wolf stepping towards us. 

We had no way to escape.

Except the forest. 

Finn realized it the same time I did, and we tensed, stepping forward the exact same second as we ran towards the forest with every ounce of strength we had. I pushed Finn in front of me, pulling him along as he lagged behind, twisting around trees, and running like hell. 

I heard the wolves behind me and I could see the clearing in front of me, so I did what I had to do and pulled Finn in front of me with every bit of energy I'd left and pushed him, so he went flinging towards the lake.

"Get inside the water—" I yelled before a heavy weight slammed over me and pinned me to the ground. 

I heard Finn screaming, and shut my eyes tightly, hoping he'd done what I had asked of him. The black wolf had pinned my hands to the ground, so I had no way to move, no way to struggle or fight back, much less escape when I saw them.

Those eyes looking at me. Hazel eyes, as beautiful as beauty could go.

There was this stunning brown wolf, standing a few meters away from me and a jolt of shock ran through my growingly numb arms as he howled.

It was like I could hear nothing else except that howl, which was in a way true, because the howl was louder than anything I'd ever heard before, drowning out Finn's desperate cries. And it terrified me.

I screamed out as the black wolf came closer to my face, then slowly backed away.

I felt the weight leave my body, and I twisted my head, exhaling in relief as I saw the black wolf stepping away. My mind snapped back to Finn screaming, and I scrabbled up, my eyes moving over to him flailing in the water.

The red wolf was in front of him, but his head was bowed in the direction of the brown wolf, and I lunged forward towards my brother, my brain going helphimhelphimhelphim and my legs shaking like hell before tripping, the back of my head connecting with the ground. 

In a second, the brown wolf was over me, and I felt my breath give out as I looked at his wonderful hazel eyes. His paws kept me pinned to the ground, and I felt a few tear slips out of my eyes.

It was a beautiful sight to see before I died. My only wish was that Finn survived.

I closed my eyes, hoping Finn would be able to escape, my heart aching as I thought of the promise I'd made to him.

That's when I heard the howl.

The howl, so completely unlike the one the brown wolf had had. It was the howl I'd heard a dozen times before, the howl of the pup. 

It had followed us.

It bounded over to me, the limp in her leg visible as she stood above my head, licking my forehead. 

If I didn't die from wolf bite, I'd definitely die from shock. 

The brown wolf growled at the pup, and the pup growled back, neither of them backing away, until the brown wolf stepped away from my body, crouching beside me and licking my fingers, before stepping away, his head down.

Finn had stopped screaming, and I got up cautiously, not daring to remove my eyes from the wolf, my back aching as I tore my eyes away to where Finn was standing. The other wolves had backed away, and I motioned Finn to gently get out of the water. 

The brown wolf was still beside me, and for the first time that night, I actually, truly looked at him. 

And he was breathtaking. 

I'd never seen before a wolf as beautiful and majestic as him.

His brown coat shined under the light of the moon, his long brown fur rustling in the breeze. His hazel eyes never moved from me and I could barely move mine form him. In the midst of all the brown, i could see a fleck of green.

Why was the wolf acting like this?

Why had he stopped the others from attacking?

Why had he backed away?

Why hadn't he hurt me?

I heard Finn behind me, and I got up, moving away from the wolves. I stopped as the brown wolf stepped forward and I held Finn by his collar, shielding his body with mine.

I'd die before I let anything happen to him.

The pup was beside the brown wolf, and I inched backwards when I deemed it clear that he wouldn't attack.

We made it till the edge of the clearing, before we turned and ran. 

Hoping they wouldn't follow.