Pack Warrior [EDITING]

Chapter 9

The walk back seemed neverending, just like the pain. But I tried to focus on Bailey. She needed me right now, so I had to keep going.

I was feeling dizzy, knowing I had lost a fair amount of blood. I knew I needed a distraction.

"Bailey." My voice was weak, but I tried to hide it. "Can you tell me what happened? How did you get so far out here?"

She lifted her head, and her blue eyes met mine. They were the exact same as Damien's, the only thing they seemed to share. Damien took after his father, and Bailey took after her mom, with her blonde hair.

She sniffed. "I was playing outside, throwing a ball around the garden. Damien had told me to entertain myself, to go outside while he played video-games-"

I cut her off. "Wait Damien?"

She nodded. "While Momma and Daddy were away, he was supposed to look after me. But his friends came and wanted to play video-games. I got really bored and told him I wanted to play outside. He said that he was busy and I should just go out by myself. I tried to get him to come, but he called me a pest." 

I saw how sad this made her.

She kept going. "So I went outside. I threw my ball too far, though, and it went into the bushes. I ran in to find it, but it wasn't there. I moved into the forest more and more. And that's when those... those.."

She started crying again. I shushed her, trying to comfort her. "It's ok Bailey, they're gone now. They can't hurt you."

She nodded and tried to smile at me. "They chased me, and I felt them bite at the back of my legs. One came too close, and bit me properly. It was really sore but I kept running."

This surprised me. They weren't really chasing her. It was a game, making her run when they could have easy caught and killed her. They had been toying with her. I felt anger rush through me, but pushed it back, knowing the scum were dead now.

She kept crying. "My Momma says I'm not supposed to go into the woods, but the wolves were chasing me in. I didn't want to stop and I couldn't go back." She didn't fully understand.

"I know you did, sweetheart, and it's good you did keep running. If you hadn't I wouldn't have found you." I smiled at her. "Now, try to sleep. I've got you."

She nodded, her eyes already drooping.

Within seconds she was asleep. I finally let the pain in my shoulder show. I winced as I walked, gasping for breath. This was harder than I thought.

I almost doubted myself, wondering if I was really cut out to be a fighter. But my wolf growled at me, even though my connection with her was still weak. And she was right. I had fought five males, rogues and managed to protect Bailey. I had come out with one minor and one slightly more major wound. I didn't know many males who could have done the same.

I started wondering then about how I couldn't shift. It was odd, something I had never experienced. But the air had seemed thicker, laced with something I couldn't place. It was something I would need to bring up with the alpha.

I didn't know how long I had been walking, but I could still smell the rogues, meaning they must have chased Bailey this way.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, I saw the trees parting and I stepped out into the backyard. It was oddly empty. Everyone must have been done with tidying. Most people were probably out at the mall or with their mates like every Saturday. Not many were gonna be outside with such dull weather. 

I let myself sigh now, thankful for being back. I didn't know how much longer I could have gone on. Whatever had prevented me from shifting had also slowed the rate at which my body was healing.