Part 19
As soon as Mystic and the hellhounds were out of the meadow the fighters all turned to look at Nitro. His ears drooped slightly as he met Black’s eyes, then he pointed them forward and huffed as he addressed the group.
“Obviously what just happened is going to be upsetting to the pack as a whole. Mystic hasn’t been here very long, but she is still a member of this pack. This also means our always fragile trust with the hellhounds is on even rockier grounds now. I need all of you to go speak with the pack, let them know what is going on. No one is ever to go anywhere alone, for any reason. The pups are not allowed to run as freely as they have been and there needs to always be at least three older pack members with them. I am going to start having you all run protection details, but I will speak to you about all of that later, right now we need to let the rest of the pack know what has happened.”
The fighters all nodded and headed towards the caves to speak with the rest of the pack. Black stayed behind with Nitro, his eyes still hadn’t left the direction that Mystic had gone.
“What ever you are thinking…give it a rest for a minute.”
Nitro spoke softly, but his statement was firm and Black turned to face him.
“You know what I’m thinking. You know what I’m going to do too.”
“You’ll do nothing by yourself. Listen…I know you want to make up for the past, but getting yourself killed is not the way to go about it.”
“I can’t let them take her…they won’t win this time.”
“Black…listen to me. You aren’t the only one who wants to bring her back but this isn’t like it was with Mali, this time-”
“This time….there isn’t going to be a this time. I’m stopping this now.” Black snarled at the mention of the name and his claws tore at the dirt as he sprinted away from Nitro across the meadow and towards the river. He paid no attention to Nitro’s calls for him to come back.
As he ran, he let the memories he kept so firmly in check come washing over him.
Mali…
The night he found her she had been curled in a ball shivering outside an abandoned building in one of the first cities they had lived near. Her blinding white coat blended in perfectly with the snow she was curled up in. She blended in so well he thought she was a wild wolf and he approached her slowly. It wasn’t until she looked up at him with her bright pink eyes that he realized she was a designer dog. She didn’t have much color, just the insides of her ears and the bottoms of her feet. What color she did have was a bright pink. He had seen something in her eyes that night that made him take her back to the pack, even though Nitro had said they couldn’t afford to take care of anyone else, he couldn’t leave her behind.
He didn’t know then that she would come to mean so much to him. She would come to mean everything. In teaching her to hunt and fight and be a member of the pack he had fallen in love with her. She was there when they moved the back to a bigger space and ended up right on the edge of the hellhounds territory. She had fought right next to him during some of their worst fights, before Nitro made peace with the other pack. It was then that Kane figured out how much she meant. When Black went racing across a meadow and nearly killed Axe to protect her. Looking back he realized it was that moment that had cost Mali her life…He shook his head to clear his thoughts…he couldn’t let those memories effect what he was doing now. He had to think clearly, he had to plan things better. He slowly realized what he was running in to and slowed to a walk then reluctantly turned back towards the pack. No matter how much he wanted to make things right, he had to wait. Nitro was right, things were different now. Their pack was bigger and stronger, but so were the hellhounds. He picked up a brisk jog and found a new determination as he headed home. He might have to do things differently, but he still was not going to let the past repeat itself, even if he had to die to stop it.
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“I can walk myself.” Mystic growled and dug her claws into the dirt as Axe half carried, half dragged her up the hill.
“Go ahead and let her go Axe, if she tries to run, we’ll just kill her.” Kane laughed and at his command Axe let go of her neck. She shook herself off and moved away from the two of them, not wanting to be any closer than she had to. Kane watched her from the corner of his eye.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to run away. I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction.”
“Good, because I have things planned for you Pretty Girl.”
Mystic’s stomach churned at the use of his nickname for her. Her mind raced of ways she could get away and she realized she couldn’t, not without being killed. There were two of them and only one of her, and they were much bigger than she was. She drug her feet and rubbed against trees as much as possible without making it obvious. She hoped she was making it easier for Black to track her. She also tried to pay attention to where they were going, but they were deep in the forest and all of the trees looked the same.
Kane changed his pace and jogged along side her.
“What are you thinking about?” She glared at him sideways and said nothing. The next thing she knew she was flat on her back, his weight pinning her to the ground and his teeth inches from her face. She tried not to let the panic show on her face but she knew he could feel her heart racing.
“When I speak to you, you answer me, understood?” He snarled, all of his teeth showing. She nodded slowly and he growled again, closing his mouth around her neck.
“Y-yes.” She stammered. He squeezed harder before letting go and moving off of her. She stood up slowly and shook the leaves off her back before glaring at him.
“How much I hate you.” She growled low in her throat.
“What?”
“You asked what I was thinking…I was thinking about how much I hate you.”
“That’s fine. You don’t have to like me, you belong to me either way. Your own pack made sure of that.”
He watched the look on her face as his words set in and he laughed before he turned to catch up with Axe. She blinked a few times before following him reluctantly, Black’s promise echoing in her mind.
“I’m not going to leave you with them. You just have to stay alive long enough for me to come get you.”She had no reason to believe or trust him but he was her only choice.
Side note, Mali's name means jasmine in Thai, and shes white, like the flower....anyhow. lol.