All The Queen's Monsters (The Queen's Slave, Book 3)

Twenty-One: The Babies

"Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."

-Marilyn Monroe

"I wish u knew"

By: vaultboy

A Z A L E A

Blood pumped loudly through my ears, my paws flying across the ground. With our original plans to meet the rest of the pack in Utah falling through, I couldn't afford to waste any time. I panted, casting a glance behind me and catching sight of Cara's rippling gold form twisting in and out of the trees. The wolves had decided to run ahead to secure the area while Camille traveled the rest of the distance with the women and children. I was anxious about leaving them, but no less determined to see my children again. Returning to the forest was wonderful, healing something in me that I hadn't known was broken. Passing by long abandoned Victorian style houses that were buried beneath overgrowth and rubble, the forest had rebelled since the first war and it never failed to captivate me. We traversed through broken cities, overflowing highways forever marred with rusted cars and old memories, and perhaps to anyone else it would be a reminder of all the horrors humanity has suffered, but for me, I was grateful. Flowers bloomed and reached for the sky, the river roared its happiness as many animals came to drink or catch their next dinner. I looked at it all with fresh eyes, feeling as though I had been gone for far longer than a year and half. My heart twinged and I leapt over a fallen log, splashing through a creek, my thoughts occupied by my pups. I never imagined that I would be so nervous, I was their mother yes, but only in name, and for that I felt the most shame. Cara's fur brushed mine as she spurred onward, her ear flicking back in question and her mind skimming across my thoughts. I snapped at her with bared teeth and she swerved away, taking the hint. Shaking my thoughts free, I allowed my wolf to take control and in a second we had sped up, leaving the rest of the wolves behind. I relished the feeling of power as my muscles bunched and rolled and my body swerved and leapt to evade whatever object lay between us and our goal, the human in me smiling at her exuberance.

Nevada was a beautiful state, the air warm but filled with the scent of forestry and clear mountain air. My lungs were grateful for the change after so long of breathing dry desert air.

For the first time in a long time, I felt truly alive.

After pausing at a creek to take a drink, I soaked my paws, my ears pricked when a herd of elk blundered by. My interest grew when they stopped to stare at me instead of running away, their large brown eyes peering into mine and air trickling from their muzzles. A large male snorted, eyeing me and shifting to the side, lowering the great antlers and pawing the ground. My ears flattened but I held my stance, for some reason curious as to what he might do. The females behind him bleated and stamped, the whites of their eyes showing. Their flanks drenched in sweat and sides heaving, my heart softened when the herd split and three young calves bounded to the waters edge. I lowered my tail, relaxing my muscles and plopping onto my haunches. My head cocked to the side, my tongue lolling out of my mouth, watching this nervous herd trust me.

The moment broke when they suddenly scattered, bolting into the safety of the trees, scared away by a flurry of bronze movement. My breath caught, and I leapt to my feet, my heart pounding in my chest as I scented the air and scanned the forestry. I had just passed my gaze over a large boulder by the far side of the river when a little nose poked out, wiggling slightly, followed by fuzzy ears and beautiful eyes. Her short fur was fluffed up in apparent warning, and I watched in pained bemusement as a tiny growl vibrated her body. Her lip wrinkled in a snarl, and I lifted mine in a grin, my wolf body lowering into the river, all but crawling on my belly as I neared the embankment. My spirited little daughter kept on growling and even barked, and we played a heart-warming game of hide and seek and it wasn't long before she had lowered to her front paws, wagging her tail in the air. A piece of me didn't believe that this was really happening as we tumbled and rolled through the water, Cami chewing on my paws and ears, rolling onto her still mostly bare belly. My tail wagged and I licked her head lovingly, almost sadly.