Wolf Runt

To Fight a Bear

To Fight a Bear

Beta's POV

Anger.

That one emotion can cause us to do the most crazy, unexpected and unthinkable of actions. It makes us act with out thinking, move our bodies while our minds will be miles away.

But anger isn't the only thing that propelled me forward unthinking. I felt the need to protect her, Layla, that it was my job. I saw something that made me remember sitting in the kitchen talking to Layla. It was one odd day out where we were sitting in the house alone, she told me how her brother fought off a bear for her.

In the instant Orion kneeled beside her, that memory racked my brain. The thick brown fur of a male grizzly storming through the woods, growls emanating from its chest. It made for a swipe at a small child cowering under a tree crying, screaming for help. I felt my mind propel forward in the memory, going between her and the bear. It was bigger than I was, it stomped noisily at me then reared back on to its hind legs. My memory growled back, the hairs raising on my back ready for a fight I wasn't going to lose. Distantly I could hear the cry's from the girl. I had to protect her, it was my job, I was her brother.

As those memories seeped into my brain my body moved forward without my control. I had to protect her, it was my job, I was her brother. That thought ran through my mind, blocking out the calls of warning that the crowed shouted out. I had to. My body moved on its own, a bear was attacking her.

I sailed through the blue light that formed the Honor Fight and landed heavily against Orion's side. The syringe fell from his hand. I snapped at it and flung it away from us. Taking a stance between him and Layla, bringing out as much size and ferocity as I could. My teeth were barred, sending out loud growls that only he could hear. "What? How?" he called looking at me.

Only a Blake can enter. This fact didn't shock me, I guess some part of me always knew, it was just hiding in the corners waiting to come out. Orion was too shocked, probably even scared to react as I advanced slowly on him. He stumbled and hit the ground with a loud thud. "I submit." He bowed dropping the whip and sitting on his knees in front of me. I nodded and turned my back to him.

The blue light faded and people swarmed us. Some of the remaining hunters pulled Orion to his feet, I caught sight of Josh approaching his father and patting him on the shoulder. I smiled and turned to Layla. She was still out cold on the ground, her breathing shallow and ragged.

Not waiting for the others to react, or call in runners I took hold of one of her front paws and threw her on my back, it was a race against time to make it back to the house. I could do it.

Layla groaned, her head laying over my shoulder close to my ear. 'Don't worry, I'm taking you home.' I whispered, glancing at her for just a second.

"John?" she growled out, her voice still very coated by wolf instincts.

"I'm right here." She mumbled something else before her head dropped back on my shoulder.

I leaped into the trees, jumping from branch to branch, instead of having to weave my body through dense thicket. Time was of the essence, I could feel the weakness of her breathing, the slow decrease in beats of her heat. Only could lead to one thing. Layla's blood loss was seeping her life away. Damn it! I needed to go faster! Why couldn't I have been as fast as Mike?

How fast could he go?

100m in 3.5s?

Yeah that was his time.

Let's see if I can match it through the trees.

I pushed harder, moving every muscle to move faster, harder I wanted to move through the trees faster then a silver bullet, faster than the beating of Layla's decreasing heartbeat. I had to make it home before they ran out.

Time, why did it always feel like it was racing against me?

Just in the distance I could see several thin orange lights that made up the windows of Alpha's house, so close. "J-john?" Layla stuttered coming into consciences again.

"Hush Layla, just a little big longer." I whispered back to her.

With one leap I broke through the crown of leaves and into the short trimmed grass. The back door opened widely and two women stepped out. I shifted, the contact making Layla shift as well. She slumped over my shoulder, and I bounded into the house, holding her up. "Get someone in here!" I cried loudly putting her on one of the beds, laying down on her stomach so that her back was exposed. The long slashes still seeped bright glistening blood, "Someone Get In Here!" I screamed when no one seemed to respond. In a second Alison was standing on the other side of her, her hands working to clean the blood away, giving her a shot so the blood flow slowed. She took complete control of the situation.

She didn't push me away either. She kept handing my strips of gauze as she stitched the slashes with quick and precise fingers. "You're a doctor." I stated, it wasn't a question, but she smiled anyway.

"We met while I was still in med school." She finished the final stitch cutting the dark black thread and tying it close to the skin. Taking a roll of gauze we rolled her over and back, sending the roll around her entire torso. It took three rolls to cover the wounds. Slowly we rolled her on her back and Alison began working with the scratches on her face.

"You wanted to help people." Bits of conversations we once had slipped into my mind. "Anything you could do to help." She nodded still smiling even as she patched up the scars along my sisters face. After that she began on the deep lines on her arms.  

"She won't scar, that's good. These ones will be a faint, you'll see them when she shifts because they were caused by silver, but human, don't expect anything. Nothing to scar her pretty little face." She grinned at me.

"You knew?" I finally asked.

"I know who you are, yes." She sighed sadly and finally finished with Layla and turned to me.

I sat down at the dining room table, tugging her hand to sit beside me. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked watching her carefully.

She took my hand and pulled a gold band out of her pocket. It was a wedding band. "You may not remember it yet, but when we got married you told me that you wanted to start over. You wanted to forget the pain of the past and move forward. We only ever talked about your family once while we were dating, and I promised you that I would never bring it up again. Your name became Talon, after me." She watched me, as if fearing how I would react.

I closed my eyes and let the memory of our wedding form in my mind. It felt right, yes. I knew her words were the truth. The pain of the loss of my family racking through my heart. With that thought I turned to look at Layla's peaceful sleeping form. Pain didin't crease her young face. She looked a lot like mom, but her eyes, were the same deep crystal blue of our father's.

"Wow." I breathed setting my face in my hands.