The Shadow Pack (Completed)

Chapter Nineteen

            I open my eyes to see Krista standing above me. “Hey,’ I say my voice horse.

            “Hey,” she says helping me sit up. “You’re an idiot.”

            “What happened?” I ask, not remembering anything.

            “You attacked a group of hunters,” she starts to explain. “You killed two of them before the other one hit you with a Taser,” she laughs before continuing. “You started flopping around like a fish out of water. Anyway, I took him out before her could kill you.” She finishes with a sigh. “Just another thing you owe me.”

            “I’ve saved you more times then you’ve saved me,” I tell her. “Thanks though. How long was I out?”

            “About an hour,” she tells me as I stand. “We should get moving soon. We can leave now if you’re feeling up to it.” I nod. “I’ll take point.” She moves off toward the east. I follow her thinking about what she told me. I have a strange feeling that she’s lying about something, but I can’t put my finger on it. She signals for me to stop before moving ahead.

            I wait for her to signal that it’s all clear. I hear the call of whippoorwill and start to follow it. I meet up with her and look around. She signals me to stay down and move to the left. I do as I’m told and she circles right. I see what we’re stalking about the time I get in position. I smile when I see the buck. It’s a nice 8-point, about a hundred pounds, and it’s grazing.

            I wait for Krista to howl and scare it towards me. I hear the howl and see the deer streak towards me. I leap out of my hiding place just as it tries to leap over me. I tackle it to the side and land on it’s back. I grab it around the neck and start to squeeze. I feel and hear the snap of the deer’s neck. It stills as it dies. I smile as I stand up.

            “Got it,” I call, throwing the deer over my shoulder. “We’re eating good tonight.” Krista comes out of the woods to my right. “You want to cook or should I?” I ask as we set out toward the tree that has the trapdoor.

            “You killed it, so that means I cook,” she says. “That’s how we’ve been doing it.”

            “I know,” I start. “I just thought that you needed a break.”

            “It’s fine,” She tells me as I set the deer down on the trapdoor. “I’ll cook.” The door drops and we fall.

            I hear voices around me. I can’t quite make the words out. I struggle to regain conciseness as I hear a door open and shut. I finally fight myself out of sleep and open my eyes. I see that I’m in the back of my car. I look down and find that my sleeping bag it covering me.

            “Ugh…” I say as I sit up. I look around and see Elisabeth sitting in the passenger seat. “How long was I out?” I ask as she turns around to look at me.

            “About two hours,” She tells me. “We’re heading back home.”

            “Who’s driving?” I ask, still rubbing my head.

            “Krista is. She wouldn’t let me drive,” She says pouting.

            “I passed out and you’re complaining about not getting to drive,” I say, laughing. She starts laughing. “So about that ass kicking that I’m getting, can it wait until I recover?”

            “That depends on how you answer my questions,” She tells me.

            “Ask away,”

            “Why would you take him on by yourself?” She asks me.

            “I felt it was something I needed to do by myself,” I answer as I get out of the car. I see that we have stopped at a gas station to refuel. “How’s Cyn?”

            “She was asleep last time we stopped,” she says getting out to stand by me. I put my arm around her waist and pull her close to me. “I’m going to get a drink,” she says kissing my cheek before pulling away from me. I watch her go into the store and head over to Quinn’s car. I knock on the window and Skylar gets out.

            “How’s Cyn?” I ask.

            “She cried for a while,” Skylar tells me. “She fell asleep about twenty minutes ago. How about you? Are you alright?”

            “I’m fine,” I tell her. “I just passed out. It happens when you become an elder wolf I think. I’m not to sure though.”

            “As long as you’re fine,” she says as the door of Quinn’s car opens again. I turn toward it and see Cyn stepping out.

            “Hey,” I say walking over to her. “I’m glad you’re ok.”

            “It’s all because of you,” She says hugging me.

            “And everyone else,” I tell her. “Why did they come back for me?” I ask as we break apart.

            “I made them,” she explains.

            “Well then we’re even,” I say. She looks at me confused. “If not for you, I would still be back in that house and probably would have been killed. Thank you.”

            “You saved me, so it’s only fair if I return the favor,” Skylar starts to laugh. Cyn looks at her. “What’s so funny?”

            “You two owe each other nothing. You’re even,” She explains.

            “She has a point,” I say. “So let’s just say that staying out of trouble from now on puts us even.”

            “Ok,” Cyn says as everyone sees that I’m awake. Everyone else starts to get out of the car. “So, since you’re an elder wolf now, lets see a partial shift.” I stand there confused.

            “I’m not sure how,” I tell her. “I’ll try though.” I focus on shifting just my hands into wolf form. They slowly shift into paws covered in black fur. It takes about five seconds for them to fully shift. “There,” I say, “I can do it now.”

            Everyone starts to congratulate me on becoming an elder wolf. I wait for it to quiet down and by then Elisabeth and Krista have returned. “I owe everyone my life,” I tell them. “With out you guys I would have died in that hell hole.” I look at Jason. “Even though you guys went against the plan, thank you for coming back for me.”

            Everyone laughs. “What were we supposed to do?” Damon asks.

            “Leave you to die?” Jessica continues.

            “You wouldn’t leave any of us so why would we leave you?” Allie counters.

            “That’s true, but I am the leader and you guys should listen to me,” I answer. “But even though you went against orders and your words, I still thank you.” Everyone cheers. “Now lets go home.” I say getting into my car.

            Everyone follows suit and as we point our cars towards home, I can’t help but think how lucky I am to have such a great family.