Red Claw

Who will have the poor wolf

Sam was in shock.

There had never been a blessed wolf, or anyone really, that he knew of that had the ability to an animal from a human who was abusing them, as far as he was aware. So for Matilda to say that his daughter could do it, left him feeling skeptical.

"You are probably thinking that what I'm saying is untrue." Matilda said as she turned from the window, taking in all of their eyes on her." There has never been a documented case of anyone having this ability, that doesn't mean that it hadn't existed before. It does mean, however, that it is a highly dangerous and prizes ability. Imagine what someone like the previous Alpha would have done if he had known someone within his pack had that ability and had made it known to him."

The silence that followed was deadly. They all knew that he would have gladly taken that person and used them to death, forcing them to mold the pack into his ideal. The thought was a scary one. The amount of destruction he could have wreaked would have brought other packs to their doors, looking for the entire packs extinction.

"So, yeah, there have been those who have had this ability, but never those who had the others that she does. Nor the family that she does." She looked at everyone, smiling. Then her eyes landed on Cassie and Terry, who had somehow moved closer to each other. She sighed, and Sam had a bed feeling about what she might say next. "There is a few problems with this particular gift. They can take the animal from them, but they cannot give it to anyone who already has an animal. They can give it to a human, but that human was never meant to shift, and so the animal must understand that they will never shift again. If they don't know this beforehand it's almost a death sentence. The animal will slowly go insane and die. And the human wouldn't fair all that much better either."

"So, we can take her wolf from her, but we may still lose her?" Terry said. His voice was deeper, letting us all know that his wolf was also listening. They both sounded sad at the thought of saving her from Susan only to lose her in the end.

Ava suddenly sat up straight. "You could put her in me. Surely, that would be better then living and dying with Susan."

He smiled at that. It was a shame that she wouldn't be able to shift, she would have made an amazing wolf.

"That is a good idea." Matilda said, smiling fondly at her, before she frowned. "Unfortunately, Susan's wolf is mated to Terry's wolf. If you took her wolf, then you would be, in effect, mated to him. And he clearly wants the fox."

He frowned, and his wolf growled aloud.

He hadn't thought of that. If she did take her wolf, would she start to feel the pull to Terry that Sam felt to her? Would she want to be with him, even knowing that that the man clearly wanted the fox?

He had a feeling that Susan's wolf wouldn't want anything to do with himself as he had been part of the reason her human was causing her pain.

What were they going to do?

Ava deflated.

She was hoping to help them all, and if she was honest, she felt a little left out. Being the only one without an animal. She looked up and saw Cassie watching her, her eyes having an odd light to them.

"I have no desire to be mated with this man." Cassie said, a frown on her face. "Even though my human would very much like that." Ah, so it was her fox that was talking. Ava could sense the sadness coming from Cassie and wondered if she too had a small affinity to feeling others emotions, or if she just knew her friend so well. "That Alpha though is a different matter."

Ava frowned.

Was Cassie's fox saying that she would like to have Sam as her mate?

But he was supposed to be hers. Would he go for it?

Who was she kidding, of course he would. Cassie was an amazing woman, not only did she look like a model, but she was the most kind hearted woman she had ever met.

Her mood soured even more at that thought.

They would make an amazing couple, her eyes started to feel scratchy, as if she wanted to cry.

Suddenly, Sam was kneeling in front of her. "Ava, baby, I will never want anyone else but you."

She wanted to believe him, even if they weren't in a good place at the moment, but she wasn't worthy of him. She was just a human, and he needed a strong shifter by his side.

"If I may?" Cassie's fox called out, drawing both her and Sam's attention her way. "I had no intention to force my human to suffer a mate she doesn't want. I propose that I move into Ava and this Susan's wolf moves into Cassie."

"But," Ava said shocked. "That would mean that you wouldn't be able to shift ever again."

Cassie's eyes softened. "I know. I have lived a long life with her, and love her deeply. But I do not wish to see her suffer. There is a bond between her and that man, that I am not willing to ignore. And I am sure she would love being a wolf, just as much as she loves being a fox. I also know that she will do the poor wolf wonders. Her heart is full, and she will be able to heal the suffering wolf's spirit better than anyone I know."

Tears were falling down her cheeks as she spoke, it was clear to all present that she felt deeply about her human counterpart. "I am willing to be with you, Ava. Not only because it would allow my human to be with the man that she wants, or to save the poor wolf. But also because I also love you. All these years that you have been by our side, I have grown attached to you and the little wolves."

"You would be willing to do that?" Matilda asked. "It is a lot for anyone to go through."

Cassie nodded. "I have lived a good life, and would like to help with the situation as well. I know that I will never be able to shift again, but I will be alive. Happy to watch over those I love as well."

Matilda smiled and nodded. "You will be able to talk to Ava, and through her, as well. So you won't be cut off completely."

"How would Delilah do it though?" Sam asked. "She won't come in to her wolf for a while."

Ava was glad about that, she was scared about the whole shifting thing. She didn't want her children to hurt.

"They will shift soon."

Ava froze at those words. It can't be, surely.

Dread filled her just at the thought.