His Only Reward **Completed and Free**

Chapter 11: Saving*

“It is like I am telling you, Lord Raoul, I woke up and went to the kennels and they are right there! Right in the middle of a pack of Credion mountain hunting dogs!” Exclaimed the Kennel Master. 

Raoul had known Thorn for a long time and had never seen him so agitated. 

Credion mountain dogs were wild hunting dogs that could bond with a human if they deemed them worthy. They were Fiercely loyal and protective once they had chosen to bond. But until then they were extremely aggressive and dangerous.

 “Are they still alive?” snapped Raoul.

 Unusually for Lord Raoul, he was in a very bad mood. After all his efforts last night an agreement of sale had been reached: 25 Gold pieces, an insulting amount for a human life, and the cat had been thrown in for free! When Sam had gone to collect her, the girl had reportedly run away. Sam said that he could smell blood and it did not take a genius to work out something had happened. 

“Yes, my Lord that is what I am trying to say, they are protecting her like she is one of their own. I think the Alpha has bonded with her!” Thorn said.

“Her?“ Lord Raoul suddenly looked up.

“Yes, My Lord Raoul!” Confirmed Thorn.

“Sam we are going for a walk to the kennels, now!” Raoul ordered.

==========================

Lord Raoul walked to the Credion mountain dog pen. The area was about half an acre large with a boundary spell that prevented the dogs from leaving. There were ten dogs huddled and circling a body, alert for any signs of danger. As soon as Lord Raoul saw a large black cat pacing at the border looking furious, he knew it was Jamie. The fire-red hair confirmed it. 

“Get her the f**k out of there!” Lord Raoul ordered.

Thorn started to walk forward but the largest dog growled a warning, the rest of the pack followed suit.

Meanwhile, Jamie started to wake up and her body was flooded with pain. Memories of what happened came flooding back. She groaned and coughed up some blood. It was then she heard a growl. 

Jamie quickly focused her eyes and found she was surrounded by wolf sized bodies. But they were not wolves, their legs were far too long for a start. Their ears were very large and rounded and stood erect at the top of their heads. They were ready to catch the slightest sound. Their large jaws supported very sharp teeth. Their fur looked like It had been painted by the Sun God himself. There were blotches of white, black and brown. Each dog had a unique design on its fur, but the end of their fluffy tail was always white.

The largest dog turned to Jamie and mind linked, “ Are you ok?”

Jamie was surprised and replied, “You can mindlink?”

“Of course sweetheart! My name is Amaethon, but I heard you called Night -Song Fluff, so you can call me anything you like! ” Amaethon large tongue rolled out of his even larger head. He had a twinkle of intelligence in his black eyes.

“Oi, back off mutt! Jamie, you need to get out of there! These humans are going nuts, and they talking about killing the pack! The Lord also seems very taken with you! Jamie, you need to say something to calm them down.“ Fluff advised.

“It hurts to move, Fluff!“ Jamie complained.

“I know Love, but if you don’t innocent lives will be lost, even if they are dogs I don’t want to say that!“  Fluff said softly

Jamie managed to push herself up. She winced in pain as she felt some of her broken ribs protest. One of the other mountain dogs started to lick her wounds on the side. They had reopened in her attempt to move.

“Hello? Hello!” Jamie shouted as loud as she could. 

Raoul head snapped up and looked at Jamie.“Kitten are you ok?” He asked with his face full of concern.

“I am pretty badly beaten up, to be honest!” Jamie admitted. 

“Can you walk over to us at all, Kitten? Those dogs are mightily protective over you!” Raoul said. 

Jamie tried to get up and screamed. “I think my legs are broken!” Jamie shouted back. She was desperately trying not to faint. Lord Raoul ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He did not want to kill this pack, they were strong and showed great promise.

Amaethon licked her face and said, “Do you trust that shouting man ?” 

“Yes,” Jamie replied.

“Ok sweetheart, tell him that we won’t hurt him and to come and get you.“ Amaethon instructed.

“Are you sure?" Jamie asked. Jamie instinctively trusted him but they were nine other large dogs in here.

“I am Alpha of this pack and no one would dare disobey me!” Amaethon growled.

“Amaethon says you can come and get me. He promises his pack won’t touch you!” Jamie shouted.

“Who is Amaethon?” Lord Raoul shouted.

“The Alpha!” Jamie replied weakly. Thorn sucked in his breath, he never heard of a human learning a dog’s true name!

Lord Raoul did not look convinced, but Fluff lifted his tail and confidently walked over to Jamie. None of the dogs tried to approach him. Amaethon gave a low growl and all the dogs moved to the furthest corner of the pen. Lord Raoul quickly walked over and picked Jamie up bridal style. 

“Don’t worry Kitten you are safe now!” Raoul whispered. It was at this point Jamie passed out.

Lord Raoul passed the pen boundary and said, “Thorn, get the Doctor to meet me at my tent.”

“Your tent, my Lord?” Thorn said surprised.

“Is there something wrong with your hearing?“ Snapped Raoul as he started to walk to his tent.

“ No, my Lord!” Thorn said as he ran off to get the Army Doctor.

Raoul reached his large tent and entered. He slowly put her on the bed. It was only then he noticed that she was virtually naked. Raoul put a clean sheet over to protect her modesty. The black cat jumped up on the bed and sat at her feet. It was at that point the Doctor walked in. He was a tanned man with grey hair and he was carrying a large leather bag. 

“Ah David, right on time! Could please assess the injuries this girl is suffering from?“ Lord Raoul said far too calmly.

“Certainly my Lord!” David said as he bowed his head and walked over to the bed. He closed his eyes and held his palm out above the girl. He muttered a few words and Jamie’s body briefly glowed with a dark blue shimmer. David sighed.

“Well?” Raoul snapped. He was struggling to keep his temper in check.

“Wel, my Lord Raoul it’s not a pretty picture! I’ve seen soldiers come back from the battle in much better condition than this poor girl. She has four broken ribs, one of which has punctured her lung. She has one broken arm, two broken legs and has been beaten severely. There is some internal bleeding in her intestines, her nose is broken, she has a fractured skull and severe bruising. In my professional opinion, that someone has tried to beat her to death!" David said frankly.

“Has she been raped?” Demand Lord Raoul 

“Not that I could tell. But…” David said 

“What?“ Raoul snapped.

“I sense great magical power within her, more than I have ever felt before. She is under 16 because it has not been released yet. However, even suppressed they have helped her heal. Without them, she would most likely have died. You don’t seem surprised, My Lord!” David observed.

“No, I am not, to be honest. David, you have just confirmed my suspicions. Kitten stopped Black Winter in full attack mode and I’ve just had to fish out her out of the battle dog pen where they were protecting her. I have a Stable Master and a Kennel Master currently fighting over who is going to employ her. Treat her as much as you can. I know that injuries are severe, but make her comfortable enough that she can travel in the medical cart. We are leaving this chaos cursed place this afternoon, and she is not staying here!” Raoul commanded.

“Yes my Lord, I will start the healing process right away!“ David said with a bow.

“Thank you, David, your help is always appreciated, “ Raoul said.

David smiled and turn back to the girl. He started to mumble some words of a healing spell, and Jamie’s body started to glow dark blue again. Lord Raoul walked out and saw Sam with another personal guard, Garth, were waiting for him.

“My Lord, may I ask how Kitten is?” Sam asked, his voice was full of concern. 

“She has been badly beaten with a punctured lung and broken nose. But, she will survive and is in good hands with David!” Raoul replied.

Sam nodded. Raoul continued, “ Garth, please order the army to pack up. We are leaving this afternoon and I want to be in the capital in four days.” 

“Consider it done, my Lord!” Garth said as he ran off to make sure the order was fulfilled.

“Sam? Let me ask you a question; why would somebody dump a person in a field full of Credion mountain hunting dogs?” Raoul asked.

“Well my Lord, it would seem like they would want to kill that person and make it look like an accident. Credion mountain dogs are well known to be aggressive to strangers.“ Sam said.

“Exactly what I thought Sam!” Lord Raoul mused whilst stroking his chin. “Very hard to prove of course, but is it still illegal to break a sale agreement?” He asked.

“Yes, my Lord, it is!” Sam answered. Sam’s eyes were suddenly bright with excitement as he asked, “Would you like some company to the Crone’s Head to visit Aunty Judy, my Lord?”

“Yes, yes, I think I would Sam. Thank you for the kind offer!” Lord Raoul said.

“The pleasure is all mine, My Lord!" Sam said with a smile.

**