Page 94 of Oath of Revenge

She laughed, “For fuck’s sake, you’re the alpha. Snap out of it already. That’s Todd. He’s a friend as are his family.”

Wulfric frowned. “Friend?”

“Yes, friend. Leave him alone.” Scarlet took a wobbly step toward camp.

She swayed and shook her head, still dizzy. Perhaps it was the fight or vomiting or this being her first shift, but she was suddenly exhausted. She fell onto a foreleg, too weak to move.

Wulfric was beside her in a flash, holding her up on one side with his massive wolf’s body. She sighed, drawing warmth from him and shivering at the touch. He shuddered and slid his ears under her neck, whimpering and shaking.

“Mate,” he growled.

Scarlet panted, her head fuzzy. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just tired.”

“Oh you poor thing. You’re probably exhausted. The first shift always takes so much out of you, and to have had not one but two fights?” Muddia shook her head and stepped toward her, but Wulfric bared his teeth.

Scarlet nudged him to get him to back down. “Enough of that, wolfie. We need to focus, get back and get some rest.”

Sasha peeked behind her mother. “We can run to camp and get a litter for you. I had to be carried home on pa’s back after my first shift.”

Scarlet winced and shook her head. “I doubt the alpha will let me go long enough to ride a litter. Besides, I don’t want the tribe to see me being brought in on a litter.”

Wulfric wasn’t able to take control of the situation now, but she could. She knew what Knox would do in this situation. She stood, legs still shaking, and raised her head high.

“Todd, take your family and get help. I may not need a litter, but we obviously can’t touch this thing if it’s still freezing us with every contact. Do you think the Elders can identify it?”

Muddia nodded. “I’m sure. They know a lot of unexplainable things.”

Wulfric shuddered next to her, and Scarlet looked into his face, assessing. He wasn’t attacking, but just stood next to her, smelling her and running his nose over her neck and back.

She tilted her head for better access and tried to keep her voice even. “Go fetch a litter then. The alpha and I will stay here and guard it. Todd, we need to know if there are any other threats on the tribe, increase the guards, send messengers to the other tribes to see if they had similar possible attacks tonight…”

“Right. Was this a mindless creature with an attack of opportunity or a coordinated effort.” Todd nodded and moved back and forth on his feet, ready to run.

“Exactly that,” Scarlet said, glad the Growler thought like a soldier. She yawned.

Muddia pawed the ground. “Will you two be alright here with it? Stay upwind from the smell, don’t touch it.”

Scarlet wrinkled her nose, filling her nostrils with the woodsy scent that was Wulfric. It helped cleanse her senses from the ice creature. “Definitely. I might take a nap while we wait for you.”

“Right, a nap. That’s what we’re calling it now?” Todd snorted. “If it’s alright with you, Luna, we’ll send Sasha back with the reinforcements and litter. We could use the alone time.”

Muddia giggled, and nudged Todd. “Growlers always get a bit randy after a good fight.”

Sasha groaned. “Gods, how embarrassing. You didn’t even do the fighting!”

Todd shrugged and smirked, making Scarlet laugh.

Wulfric jerked and stumbled a step away, blinked, and shook his head. When he straightened, his eyes were back to their normal golden glow. She sighed in relief as he smiled, face still covered in boar’s blood and black ooze.

“Bunny,” he said reverently, bowing his body around hers as much as he could in their four-legged state. “You’re alright? Are you injured?”

She sagged against him, her body shaking. “Just so tired and cold, wolfie. Gods, let’s get a little farther from this thing.”

She stepped a few trees away with Wulfric beside her every step of the way, still able to keep the corpse in sight.

“Right, now that he’s back to normal, we’ll leave you two to guard it. Sasha will be back soon with help.” Todd said before the three of them bounded through the trees.

Scarlet sighed and sank to the cold forest floor. “Oh thank the gods. I was afraid I was going to collapse in front of your people.”

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