Dawn of the Wolf Dragons: Book one; A Dark Beginning (unedited version)

Chapter 24

I paced quietly across the cave, waiting. Red's mother had gone to retrieve some essential healing supplies we'd need. My friends were half awake. I was the only one focusing. 

My ears were pricked forward.

Listening.

My eyes were sharp and wide.

Watching.

My nose tilted upward.

Hunting.

My tongue

Tasting

the sweat dripping from my fur down to my nose.

My paws against the floor.

Waiting

for the vibrations of Ruby as she would return from her gathering.

Kiko snored on in a deep sleep. 

Quinn stood bleary eyed and stumbled over to where I was standing. He nearly fell on top of me so I had to stop him before he woke the rest of the sleeping wolves- or alerted the guards. Since the den was in the tree, we were well concealed in the dark bark as well as the drooping vines over the entry. There was also a several floors in the tree, since Red's mother is the healer. The medical supplies was on the second, since there was quite a bit, but some remedies and poultices were on the first. The patients laid in a moss bed in the first floor. The third and fourth were Red and Ruby's rooms.

We are on the fourth floor. Red's mother went to the second. We were up here because it is most far away from the entrance. Even though the vines are covering it, you could still hear and possibly see if someone peeked through and looked up the tunnel going to the other floors. 

These houses are nothing like what I live in at home. The residences there are either a cave or a tunnel leading down to an enormous burrow. We have to be mindful of where new houses are dug because of their size. there are several rooms in the homes. Wolf Dragons don't have Wolf Dragonets / pups often because of our lifespan. So, there isn't an abundance of houses everywhere. And you don't ever leave your house and get your own unless you move to a different village, with permission form a parent, or you get a job and find a partner. And yes, I do have a father. He works in a different village though. Work is essential to survival. He sends us money and food, although I hardly see him.

Quinn nudged me back to the present. "Thinking of the mission, or home?"

"How'd you know?," I wanted to know.

"You go all foggy- eyed and stare off into space."

"Oh. Yes, I was thinking of home. And about jobs and my own home and stuff." I replied honestly, looking away in embarrassment about having a family.

"I think about that as well. What if, the Dragons didn't care about Kiko and we never met Red and all of that." He spoke, softly. "We would have gotten our own homes. And our own jobs. And our own families." He paused. "unless there was only one family between us."

"What?" I asked. He said it so quietly and mumbly that I couldn't hear what he said, despite the fact that I was obviously (cough cough) watching for any signs of trouble.

"Nevermind." He muttered quickly. 

I shrugged.

"er.... Did you know Satin actually has a defect in her DNA?" He said.

"What?" I asked.

"I figured it out myself. Her Fur is was too shiny and light for it to be normal. SHe has something with herself that puts her above the rest of the wolves. I'm not sure what though. I mean, I might be wrong but, that's my suspicion anyways."

 I raised my eyebrows and shrugged again and excused myself to go rouse the others from their state of drowsiness. 

Red had been chewing on Cymry's tail during the short sleep, and she had gotten a nasty scratch in return. Saber eyed her daughter, frowning. Red glared at Cymry and strutted away to the other side of the room.

Oh no. If they fight now, We might not pull this off.

Just then I heard the sound of soft paw pads hitting the ground. Ruby!

But I was mistaken.

 As soon as we saw the forehead of the wolf coming up the tunnel, we knew it wasn't Red's mom. Although we only had a millisecond to act, the dark crimson fur was enough to know that trouble was coming. We flattened ourselves against the moss beds. I opened on eye. It was one of the guards. He started at us. He crept over and surveyed us one by one. He started to poke me. Kiko sneezed in her sleep. he jumped and cursed under his breath. He glanced at Kiko disapprovingly and exited down the tunnel. Red's mom stopped him. We saw her snap at the guard and claimed that he woke her. The guard bowed his head apologetically and scurried out of the tree.

"Thanks Ruby" I said gratefully. 

"I waited for the perfect timing." She agreed. "Now, he must be going back now. He'll be distracted telling the other guards what happened. I wonder why he came to check on us. He has no right to enter my  den."

"Okay, so I will go investigate the area." I said in my super effective spy voice. With a poof, I was gone. I teleported outside to the mountain top just above the prey bush. 

Wait one second.

I could have just teleported them all out here.

But would I have enough power?

It's hard to say.

I could have just done them one by one.

oopsie. 

I turned around to face the bush and was about to teleport back in to apologize when a large talon gripped my shoulder.