Page 93 of Oath of Revenge

Scarlet flew through the air and slammed into a tree with a grunt. The impact reverberated through her bones, causing an intense crunching sensation in her ribs. Gasping for breath, she fought against the pain and shook her head to clear the dizziness that overwhelmed her. Through blurred vision, she frantically searched for Wulfric among the trees and underbrush.

He was still locked onto the monster with his claws, one paw clenched deeply into a black shoulder while the other ripped and tore at shadows. The monster thrashed wildly, its long icy talons raking across the wolf’s flank. But Wulfric held on with dogged determination, shaking his massive head from side to side.

The ice monster let out an ear-splitting shriek as the werewolves’ razor-sharp claws tore into its crystalline flesh. Shards of ice went flying, tinkling as they hit the frozen ground. Black, viscous blood oozed from the deep gashes, steaming as it met the frigid air.

She took a few shallow breaths to prepare for her next attack and saw that Todd, Muddia, and Sasha were closing in. She had to end this now, before Sasha became involved.

She crawled low, wind battering her with ice and sleet slashing at her thick red fur. The creature twisted and shadows wrapped around Wulfric’s throat. Still, he didn’t let go of the creature, but just kept slashing and clawing.

If there was a time, it was now. Scarlet jumped, taking advantage of its distraction to dig her claws into its chest and lunge for the jugular. She clenched her jaws tightly together and thrashed her head side to side. Unlike the boar, it wasn’t a quick snap of the neck.

The ice monster fought back, slashing with icicles at them both. Thick blood filled her mouth, coating her tongue as she fought to keep her hold. It didn’t taste anything like the boar either. It tasted like coals, death, and decay. She gagged, fighting not to throw up as she shredded more shadows with desperate swipes of her razor sharp claws.

Shadows swirled freely into the icy blizzard, and her senses were overwhelmed. Jaw locked, she choked on bile as icy slashes cut her head, back, and legs. Wulfric moved at its back, then the neck under her jaw ripped. There was a sickening crack as the ice monster’s neck snapped. It let out one final gurgling howl before collapsing in her mouth.

She stumbled back, the unlocking of her jaw allowing the vomit to spew in an arc. Claws still slashing, she went down to the ground, turning her head so she wouldn’t throw up on herself. The wind and ice dropped like a washer woman tossing a dirty bucket. She gasped and covered her head even as she heaved again.

When all was still and she regained control of her gag reflex, she wiped the back of her mouth with a paw and looked up.

Wulfric stood on two back legs, half-shifted in a pile of snow and ice above her and the half-buried creature, holding its detached head high in one hairy hand, claws extended. When it died, the black aura had faded. All that remained was a solid white and icy blue creature, icicles sticking out from the hands, elbows, shoulders, ears, knees, and one remaining foot.

Todd approached with the other foot, holding it in a paw and spitting. “Bah, this thing tastes worse than shit.”

Scarlet scooped up a pile of snow with a paw and scraped her tongue with it, trying to remove the bitter after taste. “No kidding,” she said, voice low and shaky.

Wulfric’s eyes glowed as his gaze swung to her. “Mate,” he panted.

She scraped her tongue more but kept her eyes on Wulfric. She wasn’t afraid, but she didn’t know why he looked so animalistic, much more so than his normal Growler.

Todd stilled, holding his arm out to stop Muddia and Sasha. He said softly, “Luna, talk to him. He went feral, and you need to bring him back.”

She lowered her paw slowly, but Wulfric looked at Todd when he spoke. He growled at the other Growlers, ready to leap to her defense again. Before he could pounce, Scarlet kicked a spray of ice and snow, hitting him in the shoulder. Wulfric looked back at her and blinked slowly.

“That’s right. Eyes on me, wolfie.”

His breathing was too fast, and he stood ready to leap to her defense again. But he also seemed to be waiting for her, like he would burn the world down if she asked him to. She smiled, her stomach twisting and turning.

“Hey there wolfie. Did you have fun killing that stupid ice monster? He fucking deserved what he got, didn’t he?”

Wulfric grunted and his chest puffed out. He held up the head and shook it, black blood slinging around. “Good?”

“Yes, you did good, wolfie. Can you stop wolfing out and come back to me?”

Her chest grew warm even as she shivered. She really did want him to go back to normal. Was it possible for Growlers to stay feral? How long did it normally take? She had so many questions, and Wulfric was the only one she wanted to ask about it.

“We have so much to talk about, Wulfric. Come on now. We have to figure out how to take this thing back to camp so we can figure out what it is and why it was here. We need you, alpha.”

Nervously, she pushed more snow together in her paws. It was harder to make a snowball without opposable thumbs, but she needed something to do with her hands while she talked to him.

“Need you?” Ah, he’d said two words! That was progress, right?

He blinked and slowly lowered the severed head, gripping it by one icy horn. His hand was turning blue the longer he touched it, and she had to get him to let it go.

“Yes, wolfie. I need you. Drop the head now.”

He frowned and looked down at the head in his hand. He dropped it, but didn’t step away from the creature’s body. Todd yelped and threw the foot, shaking his own paw that was now blue from cold. Wulfric’s hair raised at the sound, and he crouched low, shifting into full wolf and turning to Todd with teeth bared.

She threw the snowball. Her aim was better, hitting Wulfric in the face. He blinked and howled, the trees above shaking with the vibration.

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