The doctors arrived around her moving him, someone shouted for an alarm to be sent to the Alpha, the warriors but Ava had already stopped listening.
She was out the door before she knew what she was doing. She ran. She ran faster than she’d ever run in all of her competitions put
together with a prayer on her lips that Adrian would be alright. That he would be fine.
She reached out to him on the pack link but she couldn’t and her panic soared higher.
BreAvvy stopped running and closed her eyes focusing on the bond. She has tried so hard to ignore it that it took her a minute to find it. It looked like a glowing twist. A slim, tiny, strong yet fragile twist. She yanked on it and opened her eyes then she followed it.
Ava heard the fighting before she saw the wolves. The scent of blood and death hung thick in the air. Wolves in different stages of transformation fought and tore each other apart. It was nothing like Ava had ever seen before. She hadn’t trained a day in her life for combat but Adrian was out there.
She shifted.
Using her snout, she sniffed out Adrian. He was in the thick of the fight. She leapt past fighting wolves, the fight was dirty and disorderly, nothing she had expected it to be like.
She raced forward. She could see Adrian now. His wolf was pitch black save for the white tufts of fur on his ears and down his snout. He was large and vicious, teGabbyng at and killing rogues left and right that tried to herd him. But he was injured and it was slowing him down.
He was one wrong step away from death and the rogues knew it biding their time and feinting trying to get him to expend his energy.
Ava receded and let Liana and her instincts take over. Liana leapt on the wolf nearest to her and tore out a chunk of its neck. It buckled and Liana jumped on another rogue and did the same thing. She couldn’t pull the same trick again however as the wolves were now aware of her presence.
She landed next to Adrian and brushed her side against his. In greeting, in askance, in concern.
Together they stood as rogues surrounded them and she felt Adrian reach out to her through the pack link. She let him in.
“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous.”
“Honestly speaking? I have no idea. Aren’t you glad to see me?”
“Ava.”
“Adrian.”
The circle of rogues around them grew tighter. The rogues were trying to get rid of their space to fight so they’d fight in close quarters. It would be bloody, brutal and possibly deadly for someone who couldn’t fight.
One of the wolves broke off from the circle and feinted at Adrian only to go for Ava. Ava startled and froze then Adrian was there taking the hit for her while simultaneously going low and getting the wolf in its underbelly.
The wolves seeing Adrian distracted attacked and they began to fend off attacks on all sides. It could have been seconds, minutes or hours later when they heard the howls from their pack mates flooding the border.
The rogues fled and those who stayed were killed mercilessly. Adrian herded her to a tree that held spare clothes for her to change. When Ava finished changing behind the tree, she found Adrian collapsed in his human form wearing shorts and bleeding from multiple wounds.
“Adrian!”
*********
When Adrian opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was her blue eyes sparkling with tears.
“Are those for me?” He raised his hand to her wet cheek wincing at the pain that arose from the simple movement.
Ava laughed. “You are so stupid and arrogant.”
“Hey.” He struggled to sit up.
Gently she held his hand and helped him sit upright in the hospital bed.
He noticed the blood on her clothes. “Are you okay? Where did you get hurt?”
“I’m great. It’s all your blood.”
“Mine… damn how am I still alive?”
“Shut up Adrian.”
Adrian looked at her and she looked at him. The moment seemed to span a decade. Her black hair was held back in the sloppiest bun he had ever seen on her. Her eyes were red-rimmed and tired and she wore one of the many unbranded shirts that were stashed all over the pack forests for hasty shifts.
“Thank you.” He whispered.
“For what?”
“For coming. For forgiving me.”
Ava looked faintly uncomfortable.
“I… I was in the area that’s all.” She looked away.
“And I haven’t forgiven you either.”
He smirked. “Sure whatever you say.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe how infuriating you are.”
“Adrian!” Gabrielle ran to his bedside and hugged him. Ava stood up from his bedside chair to make room for Gabrielle.
“Ouch.” He had bandages wrapped around almost his entire upper torso.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. How are you? When I heard…”
Although Gabrielle kept talking, all Adrian could see was the back of the girl in the stained shirt and ill-fitting shorts who might have saved his life as she walked away.
Towards another injured patient to help them out.