*
Taylor and Dominique returned after sundown, telling them that they had located a place for the pup. Isabella thanked Rose for her help, and they all left, leaving Isabella alone. Rain started to fall again, and the pup slept restlessly. Isabella wondered what was wrong, but he had been fed and his nappy was clean.
It wasn’t until a few hours later that he started to cry. Isabella checked him and found him feverish, his skin burning up. The little thing was shivering, and its lips were starting to turn blue. Isabella wrapped it up in the extra blankets she had and tried to sooth the little pup. The fever though, only increased, and Isabella’s worry grew when the pup seemed to lose consciousness, barely breathing.
Outside the rain was falling furiously, claps of thunder could be heard. Isabella felt panic building through her body as she held the pup in her arms. She tried to think of what she could do and the only person she could think of was Dominque. She placed the pup in a basket and started to shift.
Her bones and muscles contorted as she slowly turned into a wolf. Her claws and fangs erupted, and fur covered every inch of her body. Isabella grabbed the basket from the handle between her teeth and ran out into the rain.
The rain was falling so hard and the wind was blowing so strong, Isabella could barely see. Nevertheless, she persisted and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The pup was still not moving and lay quietly in the basket. Isabella could barely hear its heartbeat or smell its blood. She ran as fast as her legs allowed her, but the storm was vicious. The rain and the wind pushed her, compromising her vision, drenching her fur and making it heavy.
She managed to find a shelter near some trees, and she took refuge from the storm there. She shifted back and cradled the pup to her arms, trying to warm the poor thing. It was still not moving, and Isabella felt tears spilling down her eyes.
“Pup! Human pup!” she shouted, trying to wake him up, but the baby remained motionless. Isabella shifted again and started running. All she knew was she had to save the pup at all costs, no matter what happened. She started to run again; the claps of thunder sounded even louder than before. The lightning hit a nearby tree, which burst into flames.
Isabella felt a rise in her, the forest! She hoped the fire would die out, otherwise the entire forest would be on fire. Lightning struck again, and the tree collapsed, almost crushing Isabella. She dodged it as the trees around her started to catch fire. The wind was spreading the fire further. The rain wasn’t putting out the fire fast enough.
Then Isabella’s ears picked up noises. She could hear howls! Realising that she must be close to the pack, Isabella ran faster. She had to reach Dominque, she had to warm him about the fire. She needed to save the pup, whose heartbeat had slowed even more. She followed the howls through the forest, hoping that Dominque would somehow find her.
Suddenly Isabella tripped over something on the forest floor. The basket fell from her teeth and into a small bush. Isabella got up gasping, looking around for the pup, when she noticed what she had actually tripped over. A wolf lay on the floor, clearly bleeding, his stomach almost torn open. Horrified, Isabella ran towards it, turning it over. There was another flash of lightning and Isabella gasped as she realized.
The wolf on the ground was Dominique.
Chapter 9
Dominque
Dominque lay on the ground, the rain crashing down on him. Pain spread through his body, sharp, stabbing with every breath. He knew he was severely bleeding, and he couldn’t move, his body too weak with injuries. He could see George standing a few feet away, his red eyes shining in the darkness. Dominque had been on his way back home from the cave when George cornered him and challenged him to fight for the position of the leader of the pack.
Dominque knew that turning it down was not an option. George was clearly here with an agenda and a plan. Dominique accepted and the fight broke out. George was a vicious fighter, but Dominique was more powerful and stronger. It wasn’t long before Dominque had the upper hand, and he knew his victory was imminent. George sensed the same thing and realized that he couldn’t win this fairly.
Dominque had him pinned down, ready to deliver the fatal blow, when he was suddenly knocked down by another wolf. George had known that defeating Dominque wouldn’t be possible for him alone, so he had collaborated with Lucius, one of the other council members. It was Lucius who waited hidden for an opportune moment to attack, and it was Lucius who jumped on him from behind.
He sunk his long claws into Dominique’s stomach and tore it open. Dominque howled in pain as he tried to keep standing, but he was losing blood fast. Dominique knew that he couldn’t battle two of them at the same time, especially when he was so badly injured. The rain was falling down furiously by now, and thunderclaps could be heard.
Dominque wasn’t going down without a fight, and he lunged at the already injured George, pinning him down. He slashed his chest with his claws. He turned around in enough time to dodge Lucius’s attack and he sprung away. He growled at them. George was bleeding severely, and Dominque knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. The problem was Lucius. Even though not as strong as George, Lucius currently had the upper hand.
Dominque was slowly losing more and more blood, his mind growing hazy with pain. He knew he only had a little time left before the blood loss would leave him too weak to even move. He lunged towards Lucius, who met him midway. Dominque moved left at the last minute, managing to sink his teeth into Lucius legs. Lucius howled in pain, as Dominque tightened his grip on his leg and pulled, tearing his lower leg off. Lucius howled again and using his other leg, hit Dominque in his already torn stomach and wrestled himself free.
Lucius stood there growling, his torn limb bleeding. He managed to balance himself on three limbs. Dominque lunged again, and this time Lucius managed to dodge and slide under him, sinking his claws into Dominque’s wound. He slashed. Dominque’s legs immediately buckled, and he collapsed on to the ground. Pain hazed his mind, and he felt darkness approaching him.
Realizing that Dominque was down, Lucius limped towards George, who was bleeding severely.
“Don’t get up, Dominque. Stay down. You have been kind to me. I will let you live. Just stay down,” Lucius said.
“Why?” Dominque managed to gasp out between the pangs of excruciating pain.
“It’s time for a new leader. A better leader. One who can lead this pack to greatness. We are tired of living here, scared of those humans. We need a leader who will stand up to those humans, not cower here in fear!” Lucius said. “Don’t get up, Dominque.”
Suddenly, Dominque felt someone stumble over his legs, and another wolf fell to the ground. It took Dominque less than a second to release that it was Isabella. She got up, looking around wildly, and then she turned around and saw Dominque. Lightning cracked again, and he saw her eyes widen in realisation.
“Dominque!” she shouted, walking over to him. “Oh, Dominque, you are bleeding.”
“Do not interfere, woman,” Lucius growled, and Isabella turned around.
She quickly accessed the situation and growled, “You did this? Lucius? You and George?”
“I said, do not interfere,” Lucius growled.
