Chase (Chasing Tails Rewritten)

TwentyOne - Blood

 Dresden finally catches up to Julie. He's panting and he's sweating but he finally has a hold on her and she's not going anywhere now. If it weren't for her slowing down, he might have never caught her when she fell. She scraped her leg but it's minor compared to the wound she created in the kitchen. She's in the same state he's in: panting and sweating but there's this heartbreaking expression on her face that has Dresden on his knees, ready to do whatever it takes to make that look go away.

Realization hits her eyes when the gold disappears and their umber hues take life back on. He quickly pulls on the shorts he dragged with him and caught her again just as her knees failed her. Leaning against the tree, she covers her face as he holds her up and when she tries to fall again, he lets her, joining her on the ground. She begins to cry, her tears pouring down her face like a rushing waterfall and Dresden becomes desperate. He holds her against him. He runs his hands down her arms, her back, through her hair. He kisses the top of her head multiple times. He pulls back every now and then, wiping the tears away from her face and trying to talk her out of it as if she could just shut the waterworks off with a switch. Anything he can think of to calm her down, he tries but it only seems to make it worse.

"I'm sorry," She mumbles against his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"No," Dresden pulls back, grabbing her face. "No, you don't say that. You tell me what the hell you're sorry about!"

Her umber eyes stare into his. They're red, swollen from her crying and for a moment, she doesn't look like she's gotten any better at all. Shame crosses her face as she backs away from him and he can see she's really struggling to stop crying.

"I lost my wolf."

Dresden sighs, brushing her hair out of her face. "I know that."

"But you don't know how." She argues, the mental and emotional pain evident in her eyes. He can feel it, how deeply it impacts her. His chest aches as he shares her pain. There's so much guilt there. He's never felt so much before. He's used to anger and to pain. He's even used to a hint of guilt but the way she feels is so strong, it seems like he's collapsing.

"I lost my wolf protecting my pack," She tells him.

Dresden wipes away the tear that falls, preparing to hear the full story. "Your sister's pack?"

"Our pack was in the middle of war. The others around us were fighting amongst each other until they were slowly taken down by a single pack. An all-Alpha pack."

Her eyes stare into his willing him to understand. It doesn't take him long. He knows exactly what she is talking about and the idea of her being anywhere near that, of being somehow involved in that makes him shake with anger.

"No," He refuses to believe it. He refuses to believe that Julie was anywhere near that. "You weren't there. Tell me you weren't there."

"Our pack was their last victim," She crumbles, covering her face with her hands. "We weren't going to make it. We had lost so many already and we were tired and hurt. There wasn't any other option."

"Julie," Dresden grabs her, his fingers digging into the skin of her arms. "What did you do?"

"What a werewolf shouldn't do..."

"No!" Dresden stands up, his mind running wild as he tries to come to terms with things. He paces in front of her, hearing her sobs as she tries to hide it with her hands. His heart breaks for her but he's filled with anger. He's not angry at her. He understands why she did what she did. He's angry because of the cost of it, because of the consequences.