Fang

Little Luna

Forrest leaned his head down to whisper something into the dying man's ear. After a moment of thought, Nash's eyes wandered the crowd. At last he shook his head with much effort to what Forrest had said.

Forrest nodded, saying something again, before clapping the man's shoulder as gently as he could. The men's eyes connected before he stood, turning fully to face me.

Anger was breaking out among the crowd that had gathered. They were getting riled up at the sight of their fallen brothers.

Forrest snagged my attention, bringing my eyes back to him. He stepped closer, the wolves parting for him without another thought. His hand came down on my shoulder and he inclined his head to speak to me.

"Clear the crowd, please. They are angry enough, which is good. But I don't want it to fester. I want to redirect it." I nodded, agreeing with him. "Nash wants to be put out of his misery. Meet me in my office afterwards. We have things to discuss."

"NightBlood," I brought their eyes to me as my mate left, his shoulders squared. "Go back to your homes. Spread the word, spread what AutumnForest has done to us. Prepare yourselves for war. We will have our revenge, but tonight we prepare."

I could feel their anger in my chest, sharp and painful like it was was my own. Their passion on my tongue. NightBlood would have their revenge in hundred-fold.

"Go," I said to them. "Ready yourselves. Remember this."

They waited for me to finish speaking before they finally broke away, the crowd slowly dwindling in size. The news would spread like wildfire. I had no doubt in my mind Kirch would be overwhelmed with wolves come morning.

Not only had AutumnForest chosen the wrong side, they had made themselves the first target. If they wanted to be a shield for MistFang, then so be it. They would be the first to fall.

Minutes passed until it was only me, a corpse, a mother, and a dying man.

Her tears were still collecting on her chin, dripping down onto her son's forehead. Her arms were shaking, though her sobs had gone silent. My heart clenched at the sight.

Death I could handle; I had seen much of it. But to comfort someone over death? It was foreign to me.

The woman made a noise, a sniffle, as she tilted her head up to look at me. Brown eyes rimmed in red stared back into mine, helpless and angry.

I took a step closer to her, pausing only when a growl rumbled in her chest. Those brown eyes now swirled with black, and I knew her grief had taken over her. Her wolf was consuming her, trying to protect the broken emotions of the human.

"I'm not going to take him from you," I attempted to comfort her, holding my hands out as it were proof of my words. Advancing closer, the rumbles continued but nothing else happened.

As slowly as I could, I lowered myself onto my knees in front of her, now level with her face. Her eyes tracked my every movement, cautious but allowing me to do this.

I couldn't form the words to comfort her. Her grief was one I hadn't learned yet, and hoped never to. Instead, I reached for her shaking hands which had now turned to claws. Some of her son's weight had shifted onto my lap with how close I was to her.

My hands trembled with the force of her shaking. Slowly but eventually the trembling began to ease, her eyes returning to brown. Another sob caught in her chest and she leaned forward.

I leaned forward as well, connecting my forehead with hers, supporting her head. A sigh left her mouth and we stayed like that for another moment, the woman closing her eyes.