Fighting back
Few days later.
Belos growled in irritation. What was taking those idiots so long anyway? He slammed his paw to the ground. "If they won't come to me and report, I'll go to them!" he yelled getting up and trying to find their scent.
____________
Everyone guessed at least another month left of snow before this terrible weather was over and they'd be able to leave this dreadful mountain. Luz missed the soft feeling of dirt on her paws… and running through the trees…
And there she goes again. Why was it becoming so difficult to remember she hadn't always been a wolf?
As for the others, honey was full grown and allowed to go on hunting trips all the time instead of being forced to sit at the den day after day. As for flapjack , he was almost an adult as well—but the way he acted made you think otherwise—it was as if he still thought that he was a pup. As for the three pups, they have all grown a great deal over the last few weeks. Now that they were older and starting to eat meat, Ava was finally able to go out and hunt again without having to be near the pups all the time. But they were now starting to talk and were exploring life outside the cave.
Luz spent most of the time outside their home watching them, who started calling her auntie. She laughed as she allowed them to climb over her and bat at her tail like how flapjack used to do. Speaking of flapjack …
'Mom?' Flapjack voice called, and she looked up to see him coming out of the den. He bounded forward and stopped in front of her. 'Is it true that I can go hunting with the others again?'
'Yes, kiddo,' she told them as Riki was on her back and trying to keep his balance. 'Starting tomorrow. But today, we're all stuck watching the monster trio.'
The 'Monster Trio' was what they'd been taking to calling the three troublesome pups. Yuki and her brothers were constantly on the move and getting into all kinds of trouble. As she played with the sweet Yuki, flapjack wrestled with the boys.
But just as things were looking like any other day—it changed in the blink of an eye. Just at that moment, they heard it. Howling… she stopped playing and looked up at once in panic. She knew that howl—it was a warning. What happened to the rest of them when they went out hunting?
'Mom?' He said looking up as well—an anxious look to his tone.
'Stay calm,' she told him at once as the pups stopped playing and looked to them—wondering what was going on. 'Don't answer yet. Wait…'
Though she longed to run out and find amity, she knew that it would be unwise to leave all of them on their own. Just then, a small figure of a wolf was running up to her.
“Honey?' she cried and raced out to greet her.
'We've got to go!' She panted once she was near her.
'Why? What happened?' she demanded, licking her muzzle in worry. She seemed to be unhurt, so what was going on?
Belos!' She panted, looking back with a whimper. 'He'd been quiet all this time… I was wondering why that was, but as we were hunting another goat, he launched an attack! They came from out of nowhere! But the worst part is that he knows where we are! He's coming here! We've got to go!'
'But the pups…' Luz gasped.
'That's why we have to go!' She cried. 'We can't stay here anymore! Edric told us that we have to get off the mountain and back to the forest!'
'Now?' she demanded. She knew that it was risky. While the weather was terrible, there was no guarantee that the hunters were gone. And even if they were, she was willing to bet that there were still traps set for them.
Luz hesitated. She hadn't seen any humans since the day she climbed up here with the others… and she had no idea if hunting season was over yet. But… she looked to honey. It was dangerous, but if what she said was true, then what choice did they have?
'Alright!' she said, taking charge at once. 'Grab a pup and follow me!'
She ran back to the other four who were looking at her with scared eyes.
'Auntie?' Yuki's sweet voice asked before luz picked her up in her teeth. 'I'm afraid we can't talk right now, Yuki! We've got to go!'
She looked back to the others. 'Each of you grab one and let's get out of here.'
Flapjack blinked in worry before he also picked up Shiro by the scruff of his neck—though did it uncomfortably, having never done this before. Which left honey to pick up Riki —which caused the little pup to squirm wildly. She led the way away from the den, having to run much slower than normal for the other two to keep up with her until they reached the edge of the cliff. 'Now,' she said firmly. 'Just do what I do.'
It had been a long time since she had first climbed up here. But she wasn't the same person… she discovered that she was also a beast as well. And so, she slowly and carefully made her way down the side of the mountain. And not a moment too soon…
She could hear the howling rage of the wolves behind them and knew that belos must've found the den by now. Snarls, growls, and barks started echoing around above them. But they couldn't stop. She kept going, not daring to glance back. It wouldn't take long for them to pick up their scent…
She was still in charge of this group, and knew that all she could do was trust Amity and hunter with the others to take care of themselves. Yuki started to whimper, not liking being held over such a great height. 'Please, Yuki,' Luz begged as they continued making their way back down. 'We'll be on the ground soon. Try to be patient.'
It was like a vertical nightmare to her. She kept expecting one of her paws to slip and they would fall to their doom. But finally, they made it to the bottom and her paws touched down on ground for the first time in months—though she couldn't feel it through all the thick snow.
She then dropped Yuki, who disappeared into the snow as she turned to look at the others, who were still about halfway up.
'You can do it!' she called to them. 'If I can do it, then you can to!'
She kept encouraging them until they landed next to her. The pups were crying, not having the slightest clue to what was going on, but they couldn't stop here.
'Auntie!' Yuki cried as Shiro looked around them, and becoming uncharacteristically timid as Riki was now hiding between her legs, shaking.
She nuzzled Yuki's snout with her own and said soothingly, 'It'll be alright. We aren't going to let anything happen to you. But we couldn't stay at the den anymore.'
'But what about momma and papa?' she asked, looking around as if expecting to see her parents.
'They'll be alright,' Luz told her. 'But for now, we have to keep moving.'
She looked to the other two who were staring around them. 'Wow,' flapjack said softly, looking around at all the trees. 'It's been a long time since we've been back here.'
'But are the humans still here?' Honey asked worried, sniffing the air. 'Last time we were down here we were almost killed!'
'Don't know,' Luz answered truthfully. 'But you know this area better than the rest of us. Is there a safe place for us to rest and wait for awhile?'
'There's the old den,' Honey suggested at once. 'Where we lived before we have to leave…?'
'No,' Luz said at once. 'We don't know if the hunters are still here. If they know where the den is, that's the first place they'll check. Where else is there?'
Honey thought it over, pacing back and forth before she called out, 'Wait! I think I might know one.'
'Then lead the way,' she told her as she picked up Yuki with her teeth and they followed him along the same trail they took long ago. Luz blinked in realization when she saw that it was the same river that they crossed before. But here it was frozen over—hard enough for them to cross.
'Careful,' she said, slowing down to a walk and carefully began wandering to the other side. Honey made it very easily, but flapjack was having trouble and kept losing his footing.
Once Yuki was across, she put her down and went back to take Shiro, and flapjack slipped behind her as they made their way back to land.
'Sorry,' he muttered embarrassed.
'It's alright,' she answered as Riki whined. 'You aren't used to it. I know. But how far is this place, honey?'
'It's an old tree where I used to hide out when I was little,' she answered. 'Humans don't know about it… at least, I hope not.'
Luz nodded and was soon following her. It was harder to run than it had been before with all this thick snow, but she was so much stronger and was more than ready to deal with anything they had to throw at her. She had to be careful as to not hit Yuki on any low branches as they followed a twisting path. They kept going for some time until she could see it. There was a large and very old tree right in the middle of this forest.
'Here!' She called, dashing over to the tree and dipping down between large roots.
Luz was right behind her and crawled down deep as well. It was a very small space—with the tree acting as a roof over them, and the floor and walls were made of cold dirt. But as soon as she dropped down Yuki besides her brother, the two of them were staring around them as if the dirt was something from another planet. Then again, they had never seen anything like dirt before so it really wasn't surprising. Finally, flapjack had to squeeze in, but there was hardly any room for the six of them.
'What do we do?' he whispered as the three pups all huddled together in fear.
Luz looked up through the entrance and sniffed the air bravely. 'I have to go and look.'
'What?' they both whispered.
'I have to go,' she told them both firmly. 'Once of us as to go and see what's going on. It has to be me.'
'Then I'll go to,' flapjack started, but Luz forced him down with her paw. 'You both stay here take care of the pups. I'll go alone.'
She then got out and sniffed the air again. She didn't smell anything wrong… but that didn't help much. She looked back and could see their eyes looking up at her with worry. 'Don't worry about me,' she told them. 'I'll be fine. You just stay here and take care of each other. And no matter what, don't come out until I come back, and stay quiet.'
'But mom…' he whimpered, but she already took off.
_______
For the first time since she woke up as a wolf, she was back in whispering Woods. She dashed through the snow, knowing that she stood out like a sore thumb with her brown fur, but she didn't see anything else. She jumped over logs, feeling better than she had for a long time as she dashed through the trees and feeling the wind rushing through her fur in a more gentle way than it did up on the cliffs. She much preferred this home to the hard stone and high winds that she had been stuck with.
But just what happened up there to the others? Were they safe? How long would it be before belos’s wolves realized that they were down on solid ground again came after them? But that question was answered almost at once.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move, she turned and saw him. Adrian Graye Vernworth… the same wolf that she attacked. He charged at her like a bullet and tackled her to the ground. 'Got you…' he growled in her ear, teeth at her throat.
Furious, she bit him back, 'Get off of me!' she howled before she was able to throw him off and ran, leading him away from the Yuki , honey and the boys. On they ran, with the wolf behind her. She ran deeper into the woods, wondering what on earth she should do. If the hunters were here, they were bound to spot them sooner or… that was it!
She remembered there was a way to get him off her trail. If only it was still here…
She didn't like doing this, but she had to protect her pack and get him away from her. She made a sharp turn and went running off in a particular direction, knowing where she was heading. She could hear him running behind her—snarling all the way. She gritted her teeth—she was almost there! She could make it! She couldn't let herself get killed by him! She was a lupus wolf… she could outrun him easy.
She started picking up speed, now almost flying through the forest, where her once chance was waiting for her. When they passed a giant boulder, she knew that this was it. She took a great running jump and cleared a particular patch of snow, hoping that she planned this right.
The next thing she heard was a howl of considerable pain.
She spun around and to her delight, the trap that she had seen her friend’s father put up was still there, thus the metal jaws were biting deep into
Adrian’s leg. He howled as the blood poured down and he thrashed around, trying to get it off. She turned and ran, not giving him a chance to follow…..a gunshot was soon heard after she left.
She did a complete 180 and went off in the opposite direction, hoping that there weren't any other traps that had been added. Up, down, side to side, she ran, hoping that he would become lost and not go after anyone else. Feeling the wind, the rush of the trees, her heart feeling freer than it had been in months… she ran… but in her desperation to escape… she ended up running to one place she never thought she see again.
She stopped dead at the place she saw… panting for breath…
She was at the cabin.
The last place she had seen her friends . A pain she never felt to such a degree began to well up inside her, threatening to burst. Willow … Gus… their families … how where they? Were they still here?
She looked around, trying to get any whiff of humans… she sniffed the air—but she didn't smell anything. Why wasn't anyone there? Did they just get up and leave just like that? She cautiously walked forward, getting ready to run should anyone come back out. But there wasn't anything in the driveway, and nobody around. There was a slight scent of humans, but it was old… as if the house had been empty for some time.
When was the last time someone had been here? She cautiously walked forward closer to the house… she looked up to see the window that had once been her room… this was the place where it all changed for her… the place where she lost so much… but gain as well.
For that moment she wished that she was a human again… for her friends to open the door and welcome her home with a strong, warm hug. She felt tears beginning to form as she whimpered in longing.
How were they? Were they alright? Did they think she was dead? These questions and so much more plagued her mind as she stood there staring at the empty windows.
That was when she heard familiar howling in the distance. Luz sighed, getting to grips on her emotions and turned back. She had to forget for now… her pack needs her and she needs to be there for them.
With one last longing look at the house, and her former life, before she turned and dove back into the forest… to become the hunt-sister of the pack…
__________________
Elsewhere.
Oswald and his scout team was still passing through belos’s territory. The snow had ceased for a moment, which he was grateful for. Darius was from the southern region after all, and not very much used to it. However, he was soon drawn out of his thoughts by the sounds of a scuffle nearby. Following the sounds, Oswald quickly located a young female and her siblings being hassled by some more mutts. The youngest green wolf with purple bangs was struggling in vain to break free, but was not strong enough to break their hold on her.
The lupus narrowed his eyes, and called out, "Let her go, small fries."
One wolf , look like a cross between a Doberman and Lab, sneered, "This isn't none of your business, old guy. They’re belos’s property."
"Oh?" The lupus swiped his tongue around his jaws. He lifted his head and then replied, "Such nice werewolves is wasted on a small balls bastard like belos."
The Doberman-Lab cross looked taken aback, then grew angry. "Don't talk about belos-sama like that, old man!"
He came rushing forward, jaws opening.
The lupus reared back and collided with him in a fierce skull crushing headbutt, causing the mutt to crash into the snow. The last two rushing afterward, and were easily taken down with kicks to the head. That just left the blight siblings, who was now free and approaching him hesitantly.
Amity had a shy demeanor as she gave him her name and her siblings and quietly asked for his.
"I don't have much of a famous name, Emira, edric and amity... but I'm mostly known as Oswald the magnificent."
"I see... thank you for rescuing us, Oswald sir." Emira replied.
"No problem. I can't stand guys like this."
He started heading towards what he hoped was the other edge of belos’s territory. Amity and her siblings hesitated.
He turned his head, and responded, "There's nothing to be afraid of my daughter’s friends. I'll protect you, all of you."
The blight siblings nodded, and quickly followed the older lupus deeper into belos’s territory.
_______
After some time Oswald suddenly pricked his ears, and stopped listening to growling coming closer and closer.
“Damn it, you youngsters go ahead, find my daughter and get away from here!”
The injured Blight siblings had little choice but to nod and run away.
“Why are we defending Odalia’s brats?” Nook remarks watching the blight siblings running away.
"get out of here if you don’t want to fight the 100 soldiers coming are way."
"We're not leaving, boss." Darius shouts.
"Are you guys deaf, or complete morons? On the off chance it's both, that belos bastard is coming and you better get out of here before he does!" The lupus yelled.
Nook shook his head. "If you intend to fight his soldiers, boss, then please... let us fight with you."
Darius stepped forward, "We were old soldiers once... then our division was torn apart by the monster that destroyed our home."
Nook lifted his head and looked into Oswald’s eyes.
"We want to fight for paradise ... one last time."
Darius turned away, growling slightly. “We ... are dumb asses. But we’re brave."
Eberwolf suggested. “Boss, You need to go and help your daughter and leave this fight to us!”
“Brave souls all of you. Oswald sighs. Is There’s nothing that will change your minds?”
The three wolves: “no boss let us fight with honor!
It’s what we’re destined to do!
Go save your kid!”
“Look at you males giving me ,the leader orders.” Oswald sighs and leaves to follow the blight siblings.
Moments later.
Darius stood tall, while the other two took up positions beside him. Now, they would wait. They each knew that none of them had a very good chance of surviving the battle. They didn't care. All of them knew they would rather die as heroes rather than run off like cowards. Especially now that their leader was safe, and that the blight siblings had run off in another direction.
Soon, rows of werewolves began appearing, heading towards them in a blind rush with terra leading the way.
"Alright everyone..."
Nook grinned. More wolves appeared behind the first wave. "Get ready..."
Darius and Eberwolf dug their paws into the ground.
"Let's tear them apart!"
Darius roared, rushing to collide head on with the first dog in line. Without hesitation he grabbed the mutt's ear and ripped it clean off, dodging another mutt's attack and using his fangs to cut a wound into his side. He kicked another male in the face and shoved yet another aside with his shoulder. Eyes blazing, he took on two or three at a time, leaving his three allies in awe.
He smirked and picked up a fallen mutt, throwing him at the group leader before pounding another one into the snow. He felt alive, and young again. The blood was pumping in his veins, and he knew, that nothing could take him down now. He jumped from side to side, slicing mutt after mutt with his fangs. One black mutt came charging at him, but he reacted quickly. He cracked the other wolf’s neck and tossed him aside, roaring loudly.
Nook and Eberwolf all stopped in unison to gaze at the war-crazed purple werewolf , amazed at his fighting prowess. Then another wave of belos’s soldiers came charging at them and they were thrown into battle again.
___________
The battle felt like it took hours, and yet they were still fighting off more and more of belos’s pack. All three of them knew though, they couldn't hold out much longer. Even darius , who had been hurt worst but yet had the most stamina of them all, knew he was running out of energy. He cured his old age and injured state as he beat down yet another mutt.
Damn, this can't go on forever!
The mutt from earlier, the one whose ear he had sliced off, had him backed into a corner. He landed a blow across his muzzle, and kicked him in the gut. Darius gasped for air and nearly sank, but managed to land a blow of his own right between the other mutt’s eyes.
"Don't give up Darius!"
Nook called, trying to shake off a dog that was clinging to the back of his neck. Eberwolf rushed over and quickly dispatched the mutt, only to be kicked in the side by another dog.
Nook was fighting off a mob of mutts , and fighting bravely. However, he was soon pinned down by his now exposed throat. He thrashed and kicked, while the leader mutt Darius had been facing earlier cackled.
"Nook, you traitor! You keep switching sides!" Terra remarks.
Nook lifted his head and growled, "We were never part of your worthless pack! We were always under Oswald and edalyn’s leadership!"
Terra took hold of his throat, and squeezed hard.
"Even though belos’s has gathered a pack of so many through bloodshed and blackmail, his pack isn't a real pack!" Nook coughed as her fangs dug deeper.
"His pack will never be a real pack because he has built it around fear and destruction! He will never be the leader of paradise!"
Enraged, terra ripped nook’s throat open. He cried out in agony as he died, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Spitting out blood, terra scoffed,
"That idiot didn't know what he was talking about."
"The only idiot here, is you."
"Eh?"
"You listening, moron? No matter what you say, no matter what you do, you won't ever contain our spirit!"
Darius reared back, "Now whoever wants to die, bring it on! I'll send you all straight to Hell!"
__________________
Luz felt her blood rushing through her body as she ran through the forest again, the black trees nothing but blurs flying past her, the gnarled branches flying overhead, sometimes blocking out the blue sky. The cold snow, that made the dark trees look even darker, surrounded her on all sides, almost making her feel trapped. But through the snow, feeling freer than she could ever remember—so happy to be back on the ground again—but she kept a sharp lookout for Hakudoshi or anyone else.
She had to get back to them all… she was scared that belos might've found the tree. Flapjack and honey might be able to fight back, but they couldn't hold out for long. And as if she had willed it, she could hear the howling of a wolf in pain not far from her. Startled, she made a sharp turn and hurtled off in the direction of the whining, praying that it wasn't one of her pack members.
She ran for a short time until she saw them.
A particular large wolf had cornered flapjack , who was literally stuck between a giant rock and a hard place. There were large trees and boulders surrounded him from one side, and the wolf was backing him as far as he could as flapjack cowered against the stone.
The wolf Vitimir, had a tan and brown mix in his black fur. His eyes glowed an iridescent yellow and pearl white fangs glittered maliciously in the light, 'You stupid little pup. You think you can out run us? Do you think you can fight us off?'
Fury overtook her. 'You get away from him!' she cried as she charged ahead and leapt up onto his back so that she could bite his neck. Predictably, he thrashed around in pain, rolling on the ground, trying to throw her off and finally he did.
"What the…" he mumbled.
She cried out, "lupus killing attack" Luz once again pounced at him , her body beginning to spin against her will. She was now a spinning disk of fur, fangs, and fury. Her teeth finally sank into the wolf’s skull, tearing into the skin, and shattering bone.
"AHH. DAMNIT!" As he bleed out dying on the ground.
Finally, when she tasted blood, she let go and jumped off—before he even realized what happened, she screamed for flapjack to follow, and he did without complaint.
'What were you thinking?' she demanded as they ran for their lives as the dying wolf howled in pain/fury behind them.
'I'm sorry!' he cried as he ran with her. 'I'm so sorry mom, but I got scared. You ran off, and you were taking so long to come back that I thought that something happened to you. So I went out to find you… that was when he caught me.'
'When I tell you not to do something, you are supposed to listen!' she called as they ducked under some snow filled bushes and hid there for a moment so that they could catch their breath. She rubbed her head against his in a comforting way as flapjack peered anxiously into her face.
'I'm sorry,' he whimpered. 'But I lost my mom once, I didn't want to go through it again…'
At those words, luz’s anger disappeared to be replaced by sadness and shame. 'Oh, boy,' she whispered as she rubbed her head against his again. 'I promise you, that nothing will happen to me.'
He sniffled as he hid his face in her fur. Luz sat there for a short time, telling him comforting words… but soon, they heard amity’s howl calling for them to come back. She looked up and gestured for flapjack to follow her and they ran out to meet him.
They ran in the direction of the call, wondering if anything else had happened to them. Fear tore at Luz’s heart, scared out of her mind that something terrible had happened to amity and the others. Oh, and honey … was she and the pups alright?
She prayed with all her heart that they were safe. She reared back her head and howled back loudly, 'Amity! Over here!'
She then called back, 'I'm looking for you! Come this way!'
She picked up the pace and ran faster, almost desperate to see her….And there she was, sprinting towards them through the trees, like a green flash. Though she saw with horror, that she was also covered in blood.
'Amity!' she cried at once as she reached her and buried her nose in her long fur, to breath in her scent.
'You're safe,' Amity told her as she looked back up to her face.
'We're fine,' she told her as she stared at her. 'But amity … oh, you're hurt…'
'It's nothing,' she told her. 'Really, it's more their blood than mine right now. But that's not important now.'
'Not important?' she demanded angrily as flapjack caught up with them. 'But you're hurt! And what about the others?'
Amity didn't answer at first but she sighed and said, 'We're all alive but…'
'But what?' she demanded, just what happened up on the cliffs.
'Edric in bad shape,' and hunter is missing. she sighed. 'We managed to deal with some of the belos’s wolves thanks to your father’s help. Most of them fled… but we did get several of them. Edric got into a fight with one of them while we were making our way down here, and they both fell.'
'Fell from the cliff?' she gasped as flapjack whimpered fearfully.
'He's alive,' amity told them. 'But he won't be up for awhile, it wasn't easy moving him, but we found a safe place for the moment while your father looks for hunter. Emira and Viney standing guard. Where's the pups? Owen and Ava are freaking out.'
'What?' Luz asked confused, before she remembered and gasped, 'Oh, this way… we found this tree where they could hide, I had to lead the enemy away from them, and I don't know what happened.'
Amity tossed her head anxiously. 'No way in hell I'm gonna be the one to tell them if something happened to them. Let's go.'
And so, luz led the way, hoping against hope that the wolves hadn't found them… that they were safe…
The three of them sprinting across the mile, and Luz yelled out, 'There! That big tree!'
'Right!' Amity called as she picked up the pace and ran past her. Luz slowed down slightly, so that flapjack could catch up and they watched as amity stuck her snout down in the roots.
'It's alright!' She yelled. 'They're here!'
Luz felt as if a great weight was lifted off her shoulders as she slowed down and reached the tree. She ducked down at once, and indeed, they were there. Honey was sitting up, with the pups around her feet, whimpering in fear.
'Auntie!' Yuki cried as she went up to cry with her.
'It's alright,' Luz said soothingly. 'It's alright. We're going to take you back to your parents now. Let's go.'
She then picked the pup up and climbed her way out. Amity and honey each picked up one of the boys and followed her back the way they came.
'What happened, Amity?' Flapjack asked. 'We heard you all give us a warning and then…'
______
'We were out hunting,' she said angrily as pups continued to cry, staring around them in amazement at every little detail. 'We just cornered another goat when all off a sudden, they appeared out of nowhere and attacked us. We were caught off-guard and barely got out of that mess alive ,but thanks to Luz’s father we were saved.
That was when we saw several wolves ahead of us, and we just knew that they were heading for you guys. We gave you a warning, as we went back to fighting.' She looked at herself bitterly and said, 'Really, I got more of them than they did of me.'
'And Emira? Viney? Ava? Owen? What of them?' Luz asked hurriedly as Yuki called out, 'Mommy? Papa?'
'Owen wouldn't let any of them go near Ava, so she's alright,' he told her and the pups sighed in relief to know that their mother was safe.
'And Owen?' Honey asked, struggling to get up the steep hill that they were trying to climb.
'He's been better,' she answers. 'Just flesh wounds, he just won't be running for a few days. Emira and viney got pretty cut up too, but we're all alive. It's edric who's in the worst shape. He won't be up for awhile.'
Luz shook her head in despair. Why couldn't belos just leave them alone? If it's not him, they have to worry about humans coming into their territory and…
She stopped dead. There she goes again. For crying out loud, she is human! Or at least, she was… why was all this going in her head? She was scared… she didn't know what to do…?
'Auntie?' Yuki croaked out and Luz remembered that they had to keep moving.
'I'm alright,' she lied. 'I'm just worried about edric …'
Amity led them further on before she explained, 'We couldn't move my brother far… but we did find a small cave that will work. Nowhere near as roomy as our one up on the cliffs, but it will work for now.'
They reached the frozen river, and she led them upstream to a cave that was hidden by the brush… 'Out here you idiots!' She called to them. 'They're all here!'
At those words, luz heard a faint scratching noise, and Ava pulled herself up of the hole.
'MOMMY!' the pups all cried and wiggled around, until they were put down and ran over to their mother. Ava looked ready to cry with relief as she reached them and began to take them all to her as they crawled up onto her.
'Oh, my babies… we were so worried… we were beginning to think…' she said, unable to finish a complete sentence.
'Do it inside,' Amity hissed as she walked past them and ducked downstairs.
'Amity,' Luz hissed as she and Ava rounded up the pups and took them inside.
Amity was right. It was much smaller, and darker than their first cave… but at once glance at her pack, she knew that it was the best that they could do for now. Owen was lying on a pile of leaves, looking like he just barely escaped from a shark attack.
His deep brown fur was matted with blood.
'PAPA!' the pups all cried and his ears perked up at their voices. His head looked up as they ran over to him. As the little family enjoyed the reunion, luz looked up and gasped in horror. Edric was lying at the very end of the cave—unlike the others, there was no blood on him, but she could see that from the way he was shaking and curled up—that something was wrong.
Viney was lying next to him, taking care of him. She was also cut up, but it didn't seem to be too bad. Honey went over to her at once, 'big Sister?' She asked hesitantly, and she smiled up at her.
'I'm fine,' she whispered, but looked back at edric, his eyes were tightly shut and his face was screwed up in pain, as though he was having nightmares.
'Will he be ok?' Luz asked as she stared at him.
'We don't know just yet,' Emira answered back as she leaned closer to her brother, to keep him warm. 'The wolf we killed fell first and edric fell on top of him so he was spared death… but I don't think that he'll be alright for awhile.'
Luz didn't know what to do. She moved closer to amity, feeling safer with him here and began to lick her wounds.
'We've got no choice now,' she sighed as she also worked on her injuries. They all looked up at amity. 'We have to stay here.'
'But the humans,' honey began.
'We'll have to risk them,' amity finished bitterly. 'We can't move now… we just have to be extra careful, and try not to go out so often.'
She lowered her head onto her front paws, and didn't say another word. Luz leaned next to her , feeling scared. Why did any of this have to happen? No one said another word for the rest of the day, not even the pups as they curled up with their parents, wishing that this was all just a bad dream.