"Quin! Now what?!"
"Break us out of this!" Quin cried.
"I'm already trying! It's too slow!"
"Focus." Ward's calm and steady voice cut through everyone's panic.
Neoma stared at Ward for a full second. She took a deep breath and pulled as hard she could. She stared only at the webs. She thought only of snapping the webs. She began to feel a burn within her muscles. More and more fibers split and it gradually got faster and easier. Before she knew it, she disentangled everyone in record time.
"I did it! I di- Wait, not the time, let's go!" Words flew out of Neoma's mouth.
Just before Neoma leapt off the tree, Red shouted, "We're still stuck! Too sticky! Ugh!"
Quin's eyes darted everywhere. From the spiders, to the disheveled state of the webs that had twigs, leaves, and more caught in it, to the canopy around them. "Leaves! Stick the leaves on!" He finally shouted.
A split second after, a large pile of leaves rain
While the lizard ran, it sometimes screeched in a pitch so high that the wolves almost could not hear it. They shook their head in an effort to deal with the discomfort.“Let’s just fight it! Come on!” Red egged everyone on.“Can’t you see we’re at a huge disadvantage?! Not everyone’s like you, keen to lose your life for some meaningless excitement!”“Oh, come on. What could happen? It’s just a lizard on its home ground. We can make do.”“Right!” While everyone turned right at the same time that Quin shouted, Red continued to run straight ahead.“I knew you’d agree- Guys?!” Red dug in her heels and stopped dead in her tracks.“Red!” Neoma shouted. Her voice travelled down the tunnel the pack had ran into.“Ugh shit!” Red ran after them, thus placing her behind the lizard instead. Just as Red fantasized ab
Within five minutes, the pack found a clear spring within a nook of the mountain. Steam wafted up from the water. Quin and Red dashed straight for it without another word. “Please be careful! Valter apparently fell into the cave somewhere here!” Alma warned. “Got it!” Quin and Red said in unison while they happily dived into the water. The water was so clear that they could see the jagged rocks at the bottom of it. They doggy paddled all around. They shook themselves while they were still inside the water, to clean their thick coats. “Thanks for the warning.” Neoma said while placing Valter down onto the ground. She then jumped into the water with the other two. Alma looked at the three wolves in a daze. /They’re… Nice./ Meanwhile, Ward gently lowered Zira onto the ground near the spring. He slipped into the water, careful not to let any splash onto her. While in the water, he reverted back into his wolf form and he never swam t
Something gently nudged and nuzzled against Zira’s face, pulling her out of her slumber. She opened her eyes and confirmed the identity of the culprit. Ward changed into his human form, ready to carry her. Zira did too, at the same time, then moved away before he could pick her up.“My legs work fine.” She explained.Ward stared pointedly at her chest injury.“I’ll be fine.” She stubbornly said as she ran off with the others. Ward caught up to her and stayed close by her side.Meanwhile, another conversation went on at the front of the pack.“I still don’t get why talking to him will win him over. I mean, if it works, why didn’t we win him over earlier?” Red insisted.“Because you didn’t know his story before I shared it with everyone.” Alma gently explained.“Nope. Don’t get it.”“Now we can show Valter
The dim light of the moon barely illuminated the area while the pack dug in. Although the carcasses did not have much meat on them, there were more than enough dead hyenas to go around. It was like a buffet.Valter quietly studied everyone happily enjoying their meal. Everyone looked so relaxed that he felt ridiculous staying so tense. As time passed, Valter let his guard lower bit by bit. For the first time, he could enjoy his meal in such a simple manner.When they were done, the wolves stretched and lounged under the stars. Quin and Red laid on their backs. Ward, Zira, and Valter took a dip in the pool. Alma and Neoma rested against each other.By the time the three exited the spring, Red and Quin were knocked out cold. Zira reverted into her wolf form and curled up, ready to sleep. So, Ward did the same. Valter went off in a more secluded spot but found that Alma and Neoma were following him."What do you want?" He gruffly asked.
“But why would she?” Neoma whispered back as the pack huddled closer together.Ward looked at the pack then back at Zira. He felt like he should know what was going on, but he did not feel secure about leaving Zira alone at that moment. Understanding his dilemma from the way he behaved, Zira sighed lightly and returned the pack’s side with Ward close by her side."It's either to test our strength or a fight for territory or…" He looked at Ward and Zira huddling in with them. "Something personal."Just as Valter ended his sentence, the rest of the yellow wolves prowled towards Neoma’s pack with their fangs bared. Their leader turned back around and looked down at Neoma’s pack like they were small fry.Neoma and the others stuck close and bared their fangs as well. They stared at each other down, no one willing to back down.All of a sudden, Valter dashed forward and broke the impasse. Red followed clo
When there was no response or sound coming from behind her, she turned around to check if he was still there. He was, but he stood there with a faraway look in his eyes.When the focus returned to his eyes, he turned to look down at the valley and the other wolves. “I don’t understand myself either.” He said softly.Zira sat down and waited. She felt like that was not all he had to say.“Since you asked… I think it’s the way you fight. Desperate and stubborn. But not because you overestimate yourself. More like perseverance. It’s... Strangely enchanting. And inspiring.”Zira found the things he described oddly familiar. She had gotten used to hearing the familiar soul say such things to her, but she still could not understand what about that made her worthy of such devotion and love. “So what?”Ward finally looked back at her. Pink petals danced around her and made
The Pureblood stood their ground. However, the pack members were clearly losing their calm. Some had their fangs peek through and were poised for a fight. Others looked anxiously between Kaiser and Neoma’s pack. Only Kaiser looked unbothered.He overbearingly took a step forward with his pack backing him up. “I’m here to claim you as my fated partner.”Neoma’s pupils constricted in anger and her breathing picked up. Both took on their human forms and stepped closer to each other, as if daring the other to back down. They locked gazes for a long while. The atmosphere was tense. All of a sudden, Kaiser moved faster than anyone could react. His arm circled her waist and flushed her body against his. His lips pressed firmly against hers.The scene made Zira raise an eyebrow. /And here I thought that things were going to change./Everyone else watched with their jaws hanging open. Was the tension they fe
Meanwhile, it was a whole other atmosphere within Zira's head. BaoBao laughed like a madman and gushed over how Ward had instantly ran to Zira’s side when she collapsed. [I’m serious. This shtick will NEVER get old!]Zira ignored BaoBao with much effort and focused on her task at hand. She opened her eyes a little and looked at Ward. “I just need to rest.” Her voice was barely audible.Her breathing was weak.Ward tenderly picked her up then brought her down to the den where he knew there were softer beddings made out of fallen petals and leaves.Neoma wanted to follow them but the other Pureblood members advanced towards them in a threatening manner. Having had enough, Neoma rallied the other wolves together and defended the den as a pack.With renewed vigour and having regained their teamwork, they made quick work with the Pureblood members. No one got seriously hurt, though. Neoma's pack was just giving