Chapter 29

T he temperature dropped with every step they took back toward camp. Scarlet stayed close to Wulfric, practically touching him with every silent step through the frozen tundra. Wulfric sniffed and turned slightly. The creature was moving toward camp and didn't seem to have noticed them flanking it from the west.

She could see its aura, or rather, its lack of an aura. While the Growlers, humans, druids, any sentient being had a distinct aura that she could see from a mile away in open land, the closer they drew to this one, the colder and darker it became. Its aura was like a shadow standing clear as day against the stark white of the snowy forest.

Gentle snow turned to icy sleet when they were a half mile away. It pelted their fur, and even with the thicker skin and her new ability to better regulate her body temperature, she shivered and pressed closer to Wulfric. He nudged her with his nose, and she gasped at the coldness of it. It was like ice.

He sniffed but turned back to track the creature. She shivered and let him stay a few inches ahead. The thing was definitely heading toward camp, but in an ambling sort of way like it hadn't quite committed to it or it was simply taking its time getting there. Wulfric kept them on a path to intercept, and now that they were a quarter mile away, she could see the other three's auras a bit further out.

The sleet pelted them, stinging ice that tiny knives not quite strong enough to cut but still painful. The wind picked up, pushing her into Wulfric and then trying to push her away from him. She battled the wind, trying to stay right at his flank, trying to keep touching him since the ability to see was diminishing with every step.

When they were close enough to hear it clomping loudly on the frozen grass, she pressed closer to Wulfric's side and squinted through the biting ice. It was smaller, barely the size of the boar, but the swirling ice around the empty black void of its body was hard to look at. It made her want to run away.

But she wasn't a scared little rabbit anymore. Wulfric crouched and drew closer until they were just a few feet away. The creature paused, and the wind swirled harder around them, growing to blizzard proportions. It was only because they were so low to the ground that they weren't thrown about with the wind.

Wulfric ran low straight at it, and a paw came up to swipe at it. Scarlet didn't wait but crawled low. Wulfric connected with its torso and it bent over, shadows coming up to where its head must be. She still couldn't see it through the shadows, ice, and snow.

She was working by touch only, but it wasn't the first time she'd make a kill without eyesight. She narrowed her eyes to slits to protect them from the sleet, then sank her jaws into its ankles. Her teeth grew impossibly cold, like biting a block of ice. She increased the pressure of the bite until she felt the crack of bone and with a forceful pull ripped the ankle, tossing a foot into the storm. Slick blood gushed from the wound, and the smell of rancid meat rushed over her as a shrill howl of wind set her jaw shaking.

Slick blood smelled like rancid meat, and a shrill howl of wind set her jaw shaking. Before she could draw a breath to relieve her senses of the nauseating odor, the bleeding stump kicked her in the throat.

Scarlet flew through the air and slammed into a tree with a grunt. The impact reverberated through her bones, causing an intense crunching sensation in her ribs. Gasping for breath, she fought against the pain and shook her head to clear the dizziness that overwhelmed her. Through blurred vision, she frantically searched for Wulfric among the trees and underbrush.

He was still locked onto the monster with his claws, one paw clenched deeply into a black shoulder while the other ripped and tore at shadows. The monster thrashed wildly, its long icy talons raking across the wolf's flank. But Wulfric held on with dogged determination, shaking his massive head from side to side.

The ice monster let out an ear-splitting shriek as the werewolves' razor-sharp claws tore into its crystalline flesh. Shards of ice went flying, tinkling as they hit the frozen ground. Black, viscous blood oozed from the deep gashes, steaming as it met the frigid air.

She took a few shallow breaths to prepare for her next attack and saw that Todd, Muddia, and Sasha were closing in.She had to end this now, before Sasha became involved.

She crawled low, wind battering her with ice and sleet slashing at her thick red fur. The creature twisted and shadows wrapped around Wulfric's throat. Still, he didn't let go of the creature, but just kept slashing and clawing.

If there was a time, it was now. Scarlet jumped, taking advantage of its distraction to dig her claws into its chest and lunge for the jugular. She clenched her jaws tightly together and thrashed her head side to side. Unlike the boar, it wasn't a quick snap of the neck.

The ice monster fought back, slashing with icicles at them both. Thick blood filled her mouth, coating her tongue as she fought to keep her hold. It didn't taste anything like the boar either. It tasted like coals, death, and decay. She gagged, fighting not to throw up as she shredded more shadows with desperate swipes of her razor sharp claws.

Shadows swirled freely into the icy blizzard, and her senses were overwhelmed. Jaw locked, she choked on bile as icy slashes cut her head, back, and legs. Wulfric moved at its back, then the neck under her jaw ripped.There was a sickening crack as the ice monster's neck snapped. It let out one final gurgling howl before collapsing in her mouth.

She stumbled back, the unlocking of her jaw allowing the vomit to spew in an arc. Claws still slashing, she went down to the ground, turning her head so she wouldn't throw up on herself. The wind and ice dropped like a washer woman tossing a dirty bucket. She gasped and covered her head even as she heaved again.

When all was still and she regained control of her gag reflex, she wiped the back of her mouth with a paw and looked up.

Wulfric stood on two back legs, half-shifted in a pile of snow and ice above her and the half-buried creature, holding its detached head high in one hairy hand, claws extended. When it died, the black aura had faded. All that remained was a solid white and icy blue creature, icicles sticking out from the hands, elbows, shoulders, ears, knees, and one remaining foot.

Todd approached with the other foot, holding it in a paw and spitting. "Bah, this thing tastes worse than shit."

Scarlet scooped up a pile of snow with a paw and scraped her tongue with it, trying to remove the bitter after taste. "No kidding," she said, voice low and shaky.

Wulfric's eyes glowed as his gaze swung to her. "Mate," he panted.

She scraped her tongue more but kept her eyes on Wulfric. She wasn't afraid, but she didn't know why he looked so animalistic, much more so than his normal Growler.

Todd stilled, holding his arm out to stop Muddia and Sasha. He said softly, "Luna, talk to him. He went feral, and you need to bring him back."

She lowered her paw slowly, but Wulfric looked at Todd when he spoke. He growled at the other Growlers, ready to leap to her defense again. Before he could pounce, Scarlet kicked a spray of ice and snow, hitting him in the shoulder. Wulfric looked back at her and blinked slowly.

"That's right. Eyes on me, wolfie."

His breathing was too fast, and he stood ready to leap to her defense again. But he also seemed to be waiting for her, like he would burn the world down if she asked him to. She smiled, her stomach twisting and turning.

"Hey there wolfie. Did you have fun killing that stupid ice monster? He fucking deserved what he got, didn't he?"

Wulfric grunted and his chest puffed out. He held up the head and shook it, black blood slinging around. "Good?"

"Yes, you did good, wolfie. Can you stop wolfing out and come back to me?"

Her chest grew warm even as she shivered. She really did want him to go back to normal. Was it possible for Growlers to stay feral? How long did it normally take? She had so many questions, and Wulfric was the only one she wanted to ask about it.

"We have so much to talk about, Wulfric. Come on now. We have to figure out how to take this thing back to camp so we can figure out what it is and why it was here. We need you, alpha."

Nervously, she pushed more snow together in her paws. It was harder to make a snowball without opposable thumbs, but she needed something to do with her hands while she talked to him.

"Need you?" Ah, he'd said two words! That was progress, right?

He blinked and slowly lowered the severed head, gripping it by one icy horn. His hand was turning blue the longer he touched it, and she had to get him to let it go.

"Yes, wolfie. I need you. Drop the head now."

He frowned and looked down at the head in his hand. He dropped it, but didn't step away from the creature's body. Todd yelped and threw the foot, shaking his own paw that was now blue from cold. Wulfric's hair raised at the sound, and he crouched low, shifting into full wolf and turning to Todd with teeth bared.

She threw the snowball. Her aim was better, hitting Wulfric in the face. He blinked and howled, the trees above shaking with the vibration.

She laughed, "For fuck's sake, you're the alpha. Snap out of it already. That's Todd. He's a friend as are his family."

Wulfric frowned. "Friend?"

"Yes, friend. Leave him alone." Scarlet took a wobbly step toward camp.

She swayed and shook her head, still dizzy. Perhaps it was the fight or vomiting or this being her first shift, but she was suddenly exhausted.She fell onto a foreleg, too weak to move.

Wulfric was beside her in a flash, holding her up on one side with his massive wolf's body. She sighed, drawing warmth from him and shivering at the touch. He shuddered and slid his ears under her neck, whimpering and shaking.

"Mate," he growled.

Scarlet panted, her head fuzzy. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just tired."

"Oh you poor thing. You're probably exhausted. The first shift always takes so much out of you, and to have had not one but two fights?" Muddia shook her head and stepped toward her, but Wulfric bared his teeth.

Scarlet nudged him to get him to back down. "Enough of that, wolfie. We need to focus, get back and get some rest."

Sasha peeked behind her mother. "We can run to camp and get a litter for you. I had to be carried home on pa's back after my first shift."

Scarlet winced and shook her head. "I doubt the alpha will let me go long enough to ride a litter. Besides, I don't want the tribe to see me being brought in on a litter."

Wulfric wasn't able to take control of the situation now, but she could. She knew what Knox would do in this situation. She stood, legs still shaking, and raised her head high.

"Todd, take your family and get help. I may not need a litter, but we obviously can't touch this thing if it's still freezing us with every contact. Do you think the Elders can identify it?"

Muddia nodded. "I'm sure. They know a lot of unexplainable things."

Wulfric shuddered next to her, and Scarlet looked into his face, assessing. He wasn't attacking, but just stood next to her, smelling her and running his nose over her neck and back.

She tilted her head for better access and tried to keep her voice even. "Go fetch a litter then. The alpha and I will stay here and guard it. Todd, we need to know if there are any other threats on the tribe, increase the guards, send messengers to the other tribes to see if they had similar possible attacks tonight…"

"Right. Was this a mindless creature with an attack of opportunity or a coordinated effort." Todd nodded and moved back and forth on his feet, ready to run.

"Exactly that," Scarlet said, glad the Growler thought like a soldier. She yawned.

Muddia pawed the ground. "Will you two be alright here with it? Stay upwind from the smell, don't touch it."

Scarlet wrinkled her nose, filling her nostrils with the woodsy scent that was Wulfric. It helped cleanse her senses from the ice creature. "Definitely. I might take a nap while we wait for you."

"Right, a nap. That's what we're calling it now?" Todd snorted. "If it's alright with you, Luna, we'll send Sasha back with the reinforcements and litter. We could use the alone time."

Muddia giggled, and nudged Todd. "Growlers always get a bit randy after a good fight."

Sasha groaned. "Gods, how embarrassing. You didn't even do the fighting!"

Todd shrugged and smirked, making Scarlet laugh.

Wulfric jerked and stumbled a step away, blinked, and shook his head. When he straightened, his eyes were back to their normal golden glow. She sighed in relief as he smiled, face still covered in boar's blood and black ooze.

"Bunny," he said reverently, bowing his body around hers as much as he could in their four-legged state. "You're alright? Are you injured?"

She sagged against him, her body shaking. "Just so tired and cold, wolfie. Gods, let's get a little farther from this thing."

She stepped a few trees away with Wulfric beside her every step of the way, still able to keep the corpse in sight.

"Right, now that he's back to normal, we'll leave you two to guard it. Sasha will be back soon with help." Todd said before the three of them bounded through the trees.

Scarlet sighed and sank to the cold forest floor. "Oh thank the gods. I was afraid I was going to collapse in front of your people."

He sank to the ground behind her, spooning his big wolf's body around hers. "Sh, I've got you, love. I'll keep watch."

She shivered, leaning into him as his warmth slowly spread through her.