Dogs of War

Chapter 11

Wolfs muttered words about having a problem penetrated my brain far too slow. Shane was already catching her body as she collapsed. 

"I tried to tell Price it was too soon to bring her out. She's not even been officially dismissed from the infirmary." Medics voice was harsh and low as she finished tending to my wounds. She seemed to have been expecting something similar from Wolf as she continued to focus on stemming the bleeding. When she was finally done, she gave me a cursory glance and then unholstered her gun and handed it over.

"I'll take Wolf. Even with Shane holding your weight, the pair of you will be able to shoot better." 

"Will she be ok?" I ask hesitantly, her slow to react attitude towards Wolf not reassuring me.

"I don't know. She smells ok, but she'll need scans."

I take the offered gun and she moves to take Wolf from Shane's arms. She staggers slightly as she shifts Wolf, the two women being the same size made it awkward for Archiel to carry Wolf comfortably, but the weight didn't appear to be a problem. Shane kept his gun in one hand, and the other hand wrapped around my back baring my weight easier than Wolf had, the height difference non-existent.

My eyes scanned Prices expression and I could see the guilt written all over it knowing he had bought Wolf for some reason. We would be having a thorough discussion back on base about this decision. His eyes met mine and hardened knowing that I was displeased with his decision to bring my War Dog to this fight despite still being hospitalised. He nodded once to let me know he understood and turned back to the door keeping the way clear for the rest of us. Medic stood behind Shane and I bringing up the tail end as Price led the way. Gaz from above kept the way clear as he moved along the catwalks of the high warehouse ceiling. The place was bigger than even I'd managed to see on my escape the first time. 

With gun in hand, I make sure to down anyone who even thought about getting anywhere close to my Dog. I can sense the approaching exit when Makarov appears. His eyes expertly survey the party, keen eyes focusing on Archiel, a sly grin forming until his eyes drop to the bundle of fur in her hands. His eyes widen in shock before turning feral and then flicking back to Shane who was still helping keep me upright. I saw the calculation in his eyes, he wanted all three of them. That wasn't going to happen. I lifted the gun and took the shot. I unfortunately didn't take into account my fatigue and blood loss. My movements were sluggish and the bullet hit he wall behind him instead. With his men left in tatters and chaos, Makarov chose to turn tail and run rather than allow any of the rest of us to take the opportunity to kill him.

Price cleared away another Konni soldier with ease and we were making our way out of the building. Gaz came barrelling out of the door soon after taking up the rear behind the two female hybrids. 

"Roger. Make your way to the evac point and make sure those bombs are ready to blow this place sky high." Prices voice was firm on the comms and I figured Soap must have confirmed he'd managed to place the bombs. 

Despite the darkness threatening to drag me under, I kept pushing my legs to propel me forwards. Soap managed to find us, catching up quickly. 

"You look like shite," he said grinning and clapping me on the shoulder.

"Go fuck yerself, MacTavish." I growled back and I knew he'd noticed the strain in my voice in the way the corners of his eyes tightened. He glanced towards Price frowning as we continued moving forwards. Eyes flicked to Shane holding me upright before glancing behind us to Archiel holding Wolf.

"Dè fo shealbh!" he curses. "What happened?"

"She just collapsed." I can't be bothered sparing another word when I was already struggling with pushing forwards, my breathing labouring under the effort.

"Shit, I thought she was ok. She attacked Price without even a sign of issue."

"She what?!" I stumble in shock almost taking Shane down as he tried to right both of us.

"She was pissed we came back withoot ya. Soon as she saw 'im, she leaped for 'im. Medic though stopped her."

"Not Shane?" I ask, genuinely curious. He snorts in response and shakes his head.

"Nope. She's a nasty cow when she's mad. She wouldn't hurt Archiel like she'd hurt me."

"So you let Archiel take the brunt of her anger?"

"I wouldn't say that. The medic won the fight."

"Only because she let me," Archiel piped up from behind us. "I felt the fight go out of her the moment I collided with her."

"See, if I'd been the one to interrupt, she'd have chewed me up."

I roll my eyes in response. Shane was probably right, especially upon finding me taken she'd have been unreasonable even as a human.

I can feel my body begin to slacken as the adrenaline begins to wear off, and Shane takes more and more of my weight. He lets his gun hang in it's sling as he uses both hands to help steady me. "Come on ya big bastard," he mutters. "We're almost there. I swear if you make me carry your shit brick house of a body the rest of the way to the helo, I'm pissing in yer shoes for the next month."

"Insolent mutt," I mumble.

"At least I'm not the dumbass that got myself captured," he retorts. 

I don't bother replying, trying to keep my wits about me and keep as much strength as I can to get to the evac point. By the end, it's sheer force of will keeping me upright. I don't remember the helo landing. I don't remember collapsing into the seat. Someone's buckled me in. I come in and out of consciousness throughout the flight back to base. Sometimes I feel hands running across my body, bandages being checked. Sometimes I hear voices. A soft coaxing feminine voice penetrates the darkness. A voice I wasn't used to hearing. 

"Don't frown at me like that, Ghost," she says sharply. I feel sharp little claws tapping at my cheek. My eyes open, blurred vision lazily focusing on the cute face of the fox medic. Her lip curled up in grim satisfaction. "There you are. Ceri would kill me if I let you die when she just got you back. Try and stay awake, yes?" She orders not giving me the option of disagreeing. I try to speak, my mouth feeling dry like it'd been shoved full of cotton buds.

"Why..." I croak. I cough trying to clear the scratchy feeling away. "Why are you and Wolf so close?" If she was going to force me to stay awake, I might as well try and get some answers.

She smiles and I think it's the first time I've seen her do so. It's a gorgeous smile, but like how Wolf has too many canine teeth for her mouth, Archiel has teeth too sharp for a human mouth and it's unsettling to see. A small laugh escapes her delicate mouth as she tries to come up with an answer. 

"I didn't know being close with Ceri would bring your protective instincts so close to the surface." She huffs out a laugh again. "Between you and Irish bar over there," she says nodding towards Soap, "You'd think I was trying to steal her away from you both. That is not my intention." She shakes her head, and the curls that have come loose from her tight bun bounce against her face, the sight hypnotizing. "Far from it. You should not concern yourself, Casper" she grins slyly at me, the look right at home with her fox features. "Ceri finds comfort in having another female hybrid on base. She is not trying to replace either of you. She is a pack hybrid, even more so than Shane or myself." She hesitates for a moment. "I just give Ceri a place to put her trust in. I have assets neither of you do, but the reverse is true also." I contemplate her words carefully. 

"Why do you accept her nature so easily?"

"You mean why am I ok with her turning into a living breathing fur blanket?" I nod in response, brows furrowed in curiousity.

"She accepted me without a second thought."

Ah. That unique tactic that only Wolf seemed capable of pulling off. "She does seem to be collecting more and more family members," I mutter, earning myself a small smile in response. The rest of the flight home the fox medic fought me every step of the way in staying awake. I often felt her claws poking me in the ribs urging me awake again and I growled at her every time. She seemed to sense the lack of venom to the growl because she kept at it until we landed again.