Feral Bonds

Chapter 43

It took another two weeks before Natania recovered enough to leave Rolf's care, which meant it was time she confronted Rigaldo. He had, surprisingly, left her mostly alone while she recovered, though Rolf told her he often visited while she slept, making Gretchen increasingly uncomfortable, but not speaking to the witch. She opted to approach him alone. Leaving Gretchen in the hospital to pack, she gathered her courage before stalking cautiously through the camp. The setting sun cast an eerie glow over the camp.

Rigaldo was lounging in the center clearing but stood up as she approached, shaking out his silver fur.

"Natania," he purred. "You're up. What can I do for you?"

Natania inhaled sharply. "We're leaving."

"The hell you are." Any pretense of friendliness immediately faded away. Rigaldo's chest rumbled with a growl.

"We're leaving, and the omegas are coming with us," Natania said, struggling to keep calm. She didn't want to have a huge argument in front of the pack.

"Over my dead body," Rigaldo snarled, fur bristling.

"That can be arranged." Natania's voice was cold as ice.

Rigaldo barked a laugh. "Are you threatening me in my own pack?" Their conversation was no longer private as he swept his tail around the clearing. Several of his wolves perked up, tilting their heads curiously. She didn't recognize any of them, and twitched slightly under their regard.

Natania growled. "However you want to take it, the result is the same. I am leaving, and you're not going to get in my way."

Rigaldo paced forward, until his muzzle was millimeters from hers. "You're not going anywhere," he hissed.

Natania swiped a paw at his face, grazing his cheek with her claws and Rigaldo roared with rage, leaping at her. They tumbled over, teeth snapping, claws scraping over and over again along each other's flanks, Natania's stiff muscles screamed in protest, but she didn't hold back. She sank her teeth deep into Rigaldo's shoulder until he squealed in her grip, and wrenched it out of place.

Rigaldo's weakness was the same as all powerful creatures, they weren't used to being in pain. Rigaldo ripped out of her grasp, roaring with pain. A stream of blood sprayed over Natania's muzzle. The other wolves gathered nearby stared at them wide eyed, but didn't approach, knowing better than to get between two enraged purebloods.

Rigaldo's injured shoulder buckled and he laid panting on the ground, face twisted with fury.

Rage curled around Natania like a vicious wave. "We're leaving. And if you or any of your pack try to stop us, or follow us, I will shred them," she snarled, baring her teeth at the surrounding wolves.

Yes. Natania twitched at the sharp growl in her mind. She didn't like the sound of that. Words spilled unbidden out of her mouth. "I will rip the flesh from their bones, the skin from their bodies and feed their eyes to the vultures. What happened to me will seem like child's play when I'm done and you won't find any shred of them to bury." Darkness leaked out of her paws, curling out of her like beckoning fingers and Rigaldo's eyes widened. Good, make him afraid of you.

Rigaldo opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated, staring at the waves of billowing darkness. He got back to his paws slowly, favouring his uninjured side. "You're insane," he said, backing up, the fur around his spine prickling.

"We will not be hunted." Her voice didn't sound right to her own ears.

Rigaldo balked, tucking his tail. Fierce satisfaction curled around Natania as the wolf that had tormented her for years cowered in front of her. "Fine, go," he hissed. "You won't last long. Batshit fucking crazy."