Dog Season (Discontinued)

Part I: Chapter Fourteen

     The strong scent of medicine herbs surged through Charity's nostrils and it stung her nose. She opened her eyes. The one remained close and the other began to adjust enough that she could recognize the Medicine Den. The Windhound sighed. Great. Now I look weak.
     "Hey you're awake." Thyme interrupted Charity's thoughts when she trotted into her den. "How are you feeling?"
     "Okay. Will I be able to use my eye again?" The Alpha asked desperately.
She stared at the Nurse, searching for any uncertainty in her eyes. Instead of unease, Charity she could sense joy.
     Thyme wagged her tail and nodded her golden head. "Oh yeah! Your eye's just fine. I laid a patch made of a thick layer of cobwebs on your eye just in case. Thankfully, the hoof only hit your eyelid, not your eye. The lid just swelled over. I put some celandine juice in your eye to reduce the puffiness." The female held a tiny flower in her jaws. Charity figured it must've been the celandine. "Once the swelling goes down, your eye will be as good as new."
     Charity carefully crawled onto her paws and gazed at her Nurse. "Thanks, Thyme. I'm so glad you're part of this pack." She licked the top of the younger dog's head; her nose got tickled by the small flower tied to Golden's ear. The Nurse smiled with pride shining in her eyes.
     With a last thankful glance, Charity padded out of the den. Right away, she was greeted by Cori, Kimora, Suzie, and Dash. Her Beta rushed over to her and pressed his neck to hers. "You're alright." He sighed with relief.
     Charity's cheeks began to burn. "I'm fine." She nipped Cori's ear playfully and pulled away from him. The Windhound turned to see Kimora, Suzie and Dash, who all looked ashamed of themselves.
     Suzie cautiously stalked forward with her eyes low. "We're so sorry, Alpha."
     Charity tilted her head. "'bout what?"
     Dash took a step next to Suzie's side. "We didn't follow your lead-"
     "Don't be. It wasn't your faults. I forgot about the signal and I completely miscalculated my jump."
Kimora joined her fellow Hunters. "Thank you, Alpha. And that was very impressive how you still got the deer!"
Suzie's brown eyes grew large. "Oh my gosh! That was amazing! The way you leaped to your paws and chased down that deer and brought it down!" The female dog sighed. "Yeah...that was awesome."
Charity nuzzled the young dog's muzzle and padded between Kimora and Dash, who she could not see from her one-eyed point of view. She started to trot up the cold, slick rocks to High Rock when her eyes spotted Scarlet sneaking into the Nursery. I owe her an apology. The Windhound thought sympathetically recalling how she acted when she found out the Setter's pups were Forest's.
Careful not to slip off the rocks, Charity shuffled down High Rock and jogged over to the Nursery. She stopped at the entrance, which was covered by a drape of leaves.
The Alpha inhaled a nervous breath. "Scarlet, may I come in?"
Ruffling was heard inside, then a quiet female voice answered, "Come in, Alpha."
Charity stepped through the leaves and saw the Red Dog sprawled across a thick layered bed of moss. Her eyes fell on the red, tan and black pups that nursed hungrily. They groaned and whimpered tiny noises while filling their bellies. The sight of the newborns spread a smile on Charity's face. They are pretty cute. "So how've you been?"
Scarlet licked a pure red pup on the head with a soft lap. "Very well. The pups are getting bigger everyday. I'm sorry for asking this, but what happened to your eye? I thought I was hearing some commotion out there." The Mother dog gestured towards the exit of the den with a thin, crimson muzzle.
"I tried to bring down a deer but I didn't jump far enough. It's hoof hit me on the eyelid." Charity rolled her eye at her foolishness.
"Oh my." Scarlet gasped, then shifted herself to lay on her hip. "That had to hurt."
"Yeah...listen Scarlet, I came in here to apologize about how I acted about your pups. That was uncalled for."
The Mother-Setter shook her red head. "No, Alpha. I'm the one who-"
"Forest–I mean, Omega told me about what he did; how he left you when you told him you were pregnant. No dog should have to go through that."
"Thank you, Alpha." Scarlet's ears perked up when the scrape of paw steps sounded outside the Nursery.
"May I come in?" Charity recognized River's voice. He's back... She thought surprised.
"Come in, River." Scarlet murmured, a tinge of uncertainty in her voice.
The male Golden's head appeared through the leaf drape, then his whole body. He greeted Charity with a nod full of respect and his eyes fell on his mate and her pups.
Before the dog could say a word, Scarlet spoke softly. "I'm sorry about everything that had happened. I know I lied to you about the pups. I should've told you the real story."
River cleared his throat with a growl. "What is the real story?"
Scarlet explained on how she met Forest before she met him and how he left her when she told the German Shepherd about them having pups together.
The Golden's gaze turned sympathetic then he dropped his head. "I had no idea....I...I shouldn't have left like that. I left my pack and my mate. Boy, what a cowardly thing to do..."
Scarlet rose to her paws, the pups tumbled off her with grumpy moans. She touched noses with River. "Are we still mates?"
The male Patrol Dog nodded. "Of course."
Charity slowly backed out of the Nursery to give the mates some space. She leaped onto High Rock, without walking up the rocky ramp, and tucked her paws underneath her thin body. The Windhound stared down at her packmates: Suzie and Dash laid in the sun and talked quietly while Kimora and Hunter hauled the deer to the middle of camp. Rosita padded into the Nursery to visit her sister, her eyes shone and her tail wagged. The former Omega, Toby scooted out of the Patrol Den carrying old bedding in his tiny, brown jaws. Charity scowled.
"Hey, Toby! That's not your job until the next full moon, remember?"
The scrawny terrier dropped the moss and he brightened. "Oh yeah! I forgot!" He called back and sprinted into the forest, probably going to find Macy.
     Where's Forest? That's his job!
Charity turned her head to glare at the Omega den. There laid Forest sleeping with his head on his paws and half of his body stuck out of the cramped den.
"Hey, Omega!" She shouted at her former-mate. "Get to work or I'll rip your other ear off!"
The German Shepherd's eyes slowly opened and he let out a huge yawn, his one ear flattened against his head. Taking his sweet time, he stretched
and shook his tan and black pelt.
"Keep that up and I will rip your ear off!" The Alpha snarled.
Right away, the Omega bounded over to the bedding Toby dropped and grabbed it with his jaws. He loped through the bushes and he disappeared with a flash of his fluffy tail.
     Good riddance, coward!
Claws scraped the stone behind Charity and she glanced back to see Cori. The familiar warmth in the Alpha's cheeks returned as her handsome Beta stretched. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him stretch out his muscles that bulged from under his tan pelt.
     A mischievous smirk stretched Cori's black jowls. "Like what ya see?"
     Charity's brown eyes bulged and she turned her head, avoiding the male's gaze. The Sloughi chuckled as he laid down next to her, their bodies touching made the Windhound's heart beat out of her white chest. Cori glanced at her then winked.
This dog will be the death of me. Charity thought as she laid her head on her Beta's back and snuggled closer.