Wolves of Wrath

Chapter 3-3

The rain still hadn’t let up and they still hadn’t killed anything, yet Dalton felt a small measure of peace. Maybe it was the run or being a part of the storm. He wasn’t sure, but he felt clearer headed than when they’d set out.

They ran back, this time at a slower pace. Dalton thought about Jewel and about the day he would play in the valley with his own pups. He dreamed of the day when he would hold her as they slept and would wake her with a kiss. He would make many sacrifices in order to keep others safe, but letting go of Jewel and the future he wanted with her was not something he was willing to give up.

The next time he saw her, when she came back to him as she promised, he would tell her. He was willing to help her, support her, fight for her and with her, but he wasn’t willing to lose her.

~~~~~

Elle paced the length of the living room. She felt stuck. She knew Peri wanted her to keep an eye on the new wolves, but she felt useless babysitting a bunch of fur balls that acted like bored toddlers.

“Are you alright?” Sorin’s voice came from the entryway into the kitchen.

“We shouldn’t have left the pixie realm. We should have stayed with them.”

“If we sit around and think of all the things we should have done, then we are no use now.”

She felt her ire rise. “What good are we now anyways? I’m sitting here doing nothing. I’ve never felt useless, Sorin, in my very long life. I’ve never felt like there was nothing I could do to help.”

“Sometimes the best way to help is simply by being ready when it is time to act,” he said gently.

She didn’t know what to say to that. It sounded reasonable, but she wasn’t in a reasonable mood.

“Have you tried flashing to the pixie realm?”

She nodded. She’d tried a hundred times, and each time she was met with an invisible wall. “I feel like he’s winning and there’s no way to defeat him. He’s so much more powerful than what we’ve faced in the past.”

“But he’s not immortal,” Sorin reminded her. “He has weaknesses. He can be killed. We just have to be patient.”

“But in being patient, how many will suffer at his hands? Jewel, Anna, and any others they manage to change into witches. Must we sacrifice them in the meantime?”

“You know the answer to that question.”

“That’s not good enough, Sorin. It’s time we come up with a different answer.”