Chapter 4 — Winter's Wolf

*Norma's POV*

Without giving her time to ask what in the hell was such a creature, I explained:  “It's an undead creature that feeds on the souls of its prey — both wolves and humans. It grabs and sucks out your soul. It's a hollow that takes on the form of a bear and worse, it's just as strong or even stronger than we are. Only the grand alpha was said to hold and beat one in single combat and that's because he's just as strong as the thirteen Alphas combined. We're yet to see another wolf do that and—" my sentence hung. I looked at her and then at Poppa before finishing it. "I don't think we make an ideal team right now."

I didn't want to add why I said that. That was mostly because I suspected she had no wolf. I was conscious of how hurting it would have turned out. Poppa seemed to understand and he simply let out a sigh. Then "It's all my fault," he said, "I should have remembered to renew the repellents. Haven't checked on them in a while and the year's due."

It was understandable. There was so much one had to think of that could make him forget to water the plants that we indigenes of the town used to prevent such visits. He reached into his pockets, took out a cigarette, and sunk into the nearby settee. I was born to the fact that he smoked so much that it didn't seem abnormal to me that he overdid it even though his brand was advertised to be harmless. They were just fragrant but I could bet there were some side effects they had or would have on him. He sooner had wisps rising above his head.

"We've got to finish this the hard way." He declared.

"The grand alpha of the packs," Winter inquired. "What's he like?"

"You mean Alpha Pompey? He presides over the thirteen villages that make up the town and dominates the alphas within. They're all answerable to him. He has a giant wolf which is the biggest in the town else he wouldn't be the grand alpha." then turning to Poppa, I asked if we could at least get a sharpened branch of the repellents to use as a weapon. I'd once heard that a group of wolves had also overcome the bear with a stab of the plant. I believed it could work.

"We could try." He said. "If only we could find one that was alive enough and fresh."

The repellents were flower plants. They functioned as both an ornamental plant and protective medicine against unwanted spirits with their very strong, harsh yet pleasant scent. It had a strong mix of mint and a slight pepper. Folk thought said they grew as weeds in the house of good people. I'd seen them grow as weeds before but not so much in or near the houses of folks I'd consider good. The packs had a name for it our general language but each of the thirteen villages had a dialectical variant. They were grown into thick walls by the townspeople at areas of boundaries between the woods and other large stretches of land where no one lived. As annual plants, they had to be watered continually for a week after death to be revived. They dried up in otherwise circumstances.

"It's arrived." Poppa popped up from the settee, peeping from the window. I could feel how much of his nerves’ balance he'd gotten hold of which boosted his confidence in his ability to handle the situation. It could have been the cigarette. At that point, I wished for Paco. If he were also present, there would have been at least, a slight ray of hope. The presence of two male wolves would have been useful. I'd grown up to know from Mom that Poppa was born an omega and not the gamma he was grown into now. I never saw him in that state because he was already enhanced before I was had but mom had said how slow his growth had been back in the day; how he'd been unable to defend his love for her against his mating rivals in duels till he clocked thirty. She'd loved him regardless and she and his brothers had to stick up for him against bullying then. Simply put, she was stronger than him at first. I'd seen what omegas in the pack looked like so I could picture.

Omega wolves were termed so not because they were born the packs' weakest, but because it simply took more time for them to grow into the strength level of those who were born gammas. Gammas were widely called the lowest strength level in the hierarchy of the packs as they were known to dominate young omegas only. An older and experienced born omega was equal to a gamma so they became seen and referred to as that.

I'd caught the bear's smell for the first time since he'd mentioned it, just when he stood up from the settee and announced its presence. Winter wouldn't have recognized and if she had she was sure to make a mental guess of what it was due to how horrible it was. It smelt like a complex mix of burning yet decomposing flesh.

I rushed to the window to see, beside Poppa.

                                               ***

"I'm guessing you don't have a wolf or do you?" I turned to Winter. Though I'd asked, my mind was already concluded on the subject. She didn't have a wolf. City-bred kids rarely did.

We'd caught sight of the bear emerging from the woods, picking its heavy steps and tracing our scents. It stopped to sniff now and then. Just like we wolves, it had the super sense of scent which was obviously what led it here — where it's possible next meals could be found.

The bear's being was made of a red fire that burned underneath its low-but-constantly-burning fur like molten magma. It resembled a huge walking ember. It left huge drops of ashes on its trails and let out a deep bass growl whenever he sniffed the air.

My desperate search caught sight of the repellent hedges. They were mostly browned, dead, and without blossoms. The hedges were the only fencing the mansion had.

"I do, actually," she replied.

"You do? Great!!" I exclaimed. It was such a relief.

"It knows we're here. It can smell us. We shouldn't let it reach the door." Poppa said, heading for the door.

"So what's the plan?"

"We have less time to talk or plan. We simply improvise. You could make for the flower plants, fetch us a stem we could use to end it."

"No you should do that, Norma," said Poppa in a raised voice as he went out the door, wolfing out.

"He's right. You're more familiar with the plants. I'll join uncle in keeping the thing busy."

The roles were meant to be reversed, I thought, because fetching the plants was more like a subtle chance to escape if push came to shove.

"Do you wanna live to tell the story? Then seize this chance." I nearly said, but she seemed so sure and confident.

"I don't think that's what you'd want Winter. You'd be safer..." I was saying instead.

Her reassuring hands were on my shoulders and, "I'd be fine. You gotta trust me." then she rushed out, following Poppa.

I took a window that faced the side of the house and desperately rushed for the plant dabbling between my wolf and human form. I found a fresh branch soon enough, sharpened its tail, and dashed toward the scene.

                                                 ***

When I got there, poppa lay sprawled on the ground. His slim wolf was visibly weak and waiting to heal so he could hopelessly charge again at the foe. It lacked the biceps that the betas had. The comparison sprung out of a need for such stronger males in this situation.

"Poppa! You okay? Look, I got the plant." A tear escaped my eye.

He clutched at his deeply wounded side. It was a burn from the bear's first blow. He briefly exposed it for my quick inspection. Its seriousness would only take more time for his regenerative energies to work out the situation and that was all.

"You should rest, poppa. I'll buy you enough time to heal."

And when I turned I could swear to the moon that I'd seen Pompey stand against the bear. I'd thought he was the one and had wondered where he'd come from or what in the heavens he'd be doing here.

It was an ongoing combat between two heavyweights and as the grounds were scarred by hind legs and shook, there was no time to ask for an explanation, just action. They seemed equally matched. Their forelegs were either locked or exchanging heavy blows. They both had ultra-natural energies that were visible. The big wolf emitted current waves of lightning. I'd run into the scene when a hard blow from the bear had nearly thrown it off balance and sent it on a staggering slide backward. In reflex, I'd shot myself at it with the plant aiming for its head. I'd missed and that was it.

I took a blow, crashed hard on the ground, and slowly slid out of consciousness. The last thing I'd seen: The big wolf's come-back with a spearheaded dive, wrapped in an unbelievable energy of lighting. I blacked out before it reached its target.