Page 11 of Cimmerian

“You think you’re so tough don’t you, Ava? A big bad Venator. But when push comes to shove, will you make the decisions you need to?” Even through the howling wind I could hear her voice, as clear as day. Taunting. I turned around brandishing her knife, only to see Monica standing with another knife at Merrick’s leg, blood running from where she was pushing. I could hear Jasper howling as he and Beau made their way back from wherever they had been thrown. It was just Monica, and me, and a decision between us. “I’ll give you a choice, dear daughter. Me, or him?” she snarled, sounding more like the beasts than the wolves I ran with, and she squeezed Merrick’s arm as hard as she could. It sounded like glass was shattering, and Merrick yelped, his eyes going wide with pain. She dropped his arm, leaving him to collapse to the ground while she backed away into the forest. “Your choice. Will you lead with your heart or your brain?”

Chapter Four

“Merrick!” I screamed. I only had a moment to decide. Would I leave the man who had come to my aid suffering in a storm? Or would I capture my elusive mother? There was no decision. I glared and sprinted to check on Merrick. And once more I watched the woman I had thought to be my mother run into the darkness, smiling.Fuck. I couldn’t think about that. I had to focus on Merrick’s arm. I had heard something snap, but when I picked it up to check, it was nothing more than a limp noodle in my hand. She had shattered every bone in his arm.How? Merrick needed to see a doctor before his accelerated healing set the arm completely wrong.

“Ava!” Jasper called to me down the bond, and I turned to see Beau and him running back into our small clearing. “Where the fuck is she?”

“She’s gone!” I screamed. I wasn’t sure what was rain and what was tears running down my face.

“I’ll go after her.”

“No!” The wind was picking up again, the drizzling rain turning heavier by the second. “We can’t stay here!” I yelled over the downpour.

“We need to go after her,” Jasper commanded. “She can’t get away.”

“There’s no time! If we stay out here we’re going to drown. Merrick needs a doctor. We need to head home. It’s over, Jasp.”

Jasper growled, and I couldn’t tell if it was out of anger or disappointment.

Beau knelt next to me. “Go. Get on Jasper. I’ll carry Merrick.”

“What about the gear?” The wind was howling, and I could barely make out what Beau was saying.

He shook his head. “I grabbed your blades as I went by the tent but as for the rest of it… you’re right. It’s not worth it. We need to get home.”

I nodded, leaving Merrick and making my way to Jasper. I tugged on his fur to pull myself onto his broad back. “I know you’re pissed, but please don’t drop me.”

A low chuckle echoed through my mind. “Hold tight, baby.”

I looked over my shoulder to see Beau already shifted, Merrick awkwardly arranging himself on his back. His bad arm hung limply at his side, but he clung to Beau’s fur with his good arm. Beau wouldn’t let him fall off. Once he was on, Beau gave us a sharp nod, and we were off.

We raced through the storm that seemed to be getting worse with every moment we lingered in the woods. The wind screamed, and the rain poured. Thunder boomed, getting closer every time, and I clung to Jasper’s fur. I could’ve sworn I heard someone calling my name. Every so often I would look over my shoulder, making sure Merrick was still clinging to Beau’s golden wolf. I could barely see them through the downpour, but I’d catch a glimpse of a big paw, or a hand, and I knew they were still behind us.

Lightning sliced through a tree right in front of us, forcing Jasper to skid to a stop and change direction. “Too close,” I thought. “Too damn close.”

“Worry about staying on, and I’ll worry about the lightning.” Jasper’s voice was calm in response to the thoughts I hadn’t meant to say to him.

I was soaked through to the bone, and my hair stuck limply to my face. I tried to wipe it out of the way, but the rain just pushed it back into place. I didn’t know how long we had been riding in the storm -- it could’ve been seconds, or hours. A moment, or a week. Time was nonexistent. There was just the wind, and the rain, and Jasper’s fur under my hands.

The lightning grew further apart. The wind stopped, and the rain soon followed suit. Up ahead, I could see the edges of the tree line. Somehow, we made it through. A quick glance back told me Merrick was still clinging onto Beau. If we didn’t get him to medical attention soon, the bone was going to heal funny and would need to be rebroken.

“Merrick needs a doctor,” I reminded Jasper, keeping my eyes fixed on the light growing brighter and brighter.

“We’ll take him to the pack house. There isn’t time to call an ambulance, and we can’t show up to the hospital like this.”

The four of us burst through the trees. I don’t know what I expected to find, but it wasn’t the bright sunshine of a new day, and pack kids playing soccer in the field. They froze, watching us as we didn’t stop racing toward the pack house. Jasper must have said something to Beau because he followed us unthinkingly.

As we neared the pack house, I leapt off Jasper’s back, shaking my dripping hair out of my face. “Help!” I screamed. “We need help!”

Beau skidded to a stop beside me, and I helped a wincing Merrick off his back. His arm still hung at a weird angle, but thankfully the bleeding on his leg had slowed. Alpha Dean’s secretary came racing out through the main doors, took one look at us and turned around, calling for the Alpha.

Alpha Dean stormed to the front door, where I was helping Merrick hobble up the steps. “What the hell happened?” He looked to Jasper for an answer, who I heard shift back into a human behind me.

“Monica, sir. We found her,” Jasper responded.

“And she did all this?” He gestured toward our soaking clothes, and Merrick’s arm. “How?”

“It’s a long story,” I muttered. “Can you help him? I think the bone is shattered.”

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