Laws of the Pack | Book #1 (SLOW UPDATES)

CHAPTER XIII

Pain flashed through the young wolf's shoulder, wrinkling his snout into a pained snarl. He could barely hold still and twitched at every touch of Silver's paw. Despite the pain, the youngster couldn't veer his attention away from Lunis. Their encounter with a rogue wolf had turned bloody, and now the young female had lost consciousness, left with a large gash on her head. Refusing to leave her side, Blaze had carried her back to the den, where he too had collapsed from exhaustion. Silver had offered him poppy seed to sleep, but Blaze refused, too occupied by Lunis' condition to allow himself to rest. Another strike of pain snapped at his shoulder, but he gave little mind to it, feeling as if he didn't have the right to complain. Resting in her own makeshift bedding, Lunis hadn't woken up since she'd collapsed. Although her wound was now patched and cleaned, the she-wolf was still in bad shape. Her strong frame seems to have completely collapsed, leaving a limp, lifeless corpse only betrayed by the soft, regular rise and fall of her chest.

If Silver hadn't nudged him prior, Blaze wouldn't have paid attention to his next words. ''You're all patched up, young'in.

- Thanks.'' Little gratitude shone through his words, pricking the elder's interest.

''Worried about Lunis?''

The young male dipped his head, eyeing the ground as he replied. ''She's going to be fine, right?

- I've never met a wolf as strongly stubborn as Lunis, she'll be fine.'' The old male chuckled loudly in an attempt to ease Blaze's mind, but the young male didn't seem quite convinced. Taking notice, Silver added more softly: ''Her wound will heal, I assure you.

Although Silver's words were meant to be cheerful, Blaze couldn't brush off his initial worry. ''If I'd catch up sooner... If I was there, she wouldn't have ended up like this.'' He swallowed his words at Silver's groan.

''Young'in you carried her back here, alone. Give yourself some credit instead of moping around, will ya?'' The Healer padded over to his supplies and carefully organized the remaining herbs as he spoke. ''You can't what's out of your control.''

The young male nodded in agreement, forcing down his rising sense of guilt. Silver's right! I can't help Lunis if I stand here and sob. Rising to his paws, the youngster padded to join the edler's side.

''How can I help?

- First, you can explain what happened.'' Stepping through the den's mouth, Navira and Rohan's eyes gleamed with concern. When Blaze and Lunis hadn't returned, the leaders left with a search and rescue patrol in hopes to find the missing duo when eventually Dash retrieved them with the news of Lunis' accident.

Blaze bowed his head in respect to his leaders, feeling guilt's icy claws reclaim his heart as he spoke. ''Lunis... She was in pursuit of an intruder. I caught up when he pinned her down.'' He turned his gaze towards his injured companion. ''She hit her head and hasn't woken up since...''

The leaders' head turned to the she-wolf, sharing the same look of concern in their eyes. Rohan was first to break the silence. ''I see. And what about the intruder?''

The tan wolf's heart clenched at the thought. ''I... I saw him run away but I'm not sure, he might still be in the territory- I-I don't know- I'm sorry. I should've made sure he was chased away-'' He paused when a gentle lick grazed his head.

''You've done well Blaze.'' Gazing up, the youngster felt relieved to see Navira's compassionate eyes. ''Rohan and I will take care of this intruder. You will need much rest to recover from this ordeal.''

Hearing the conversation, Silver craned his head towards his companions. ''On that matter, my old bones could use some help watching over her. Ain't easy being a Healer with two patients needing supervision-