The Children Of Maddeline

Thirty-Two

Jadzia

It was the same everyday for six months, we woke up and ran at Delton's pack house. Everyday was a different battle, half of our army was dead and the wounded refused to stop fighting. Seth lost an eye, Morgan was forced to kill his best friend, Tianna and Macenna joined our ranks but were out of commission only days later when they were badly burned.

I know what you're thinking: Why have you been fighting a battle for half a year? Here's the answer: This isn't just one single battle, this is war. And the war will end when either side wins or surrenders. Constant reinforcements arrived for Delton's army, but our army kept becoming smaller. I thought about Miracle, Tyler, Braydon, Eleanor, and everyone else I'd left behind back in America. My only hope was that I would return one day.

I sat on the grass, staring down at the body of Maria. I had barely known her; Conny had told me that she too had left behind a son, a child who now had neither of his parents. I closed my eyes and raised my huge head up to the sky, a hot breeze blew past and ruffled my fur. It carried the stench of death along with it.

"Jadzia, we need you on the front lines!" Morgan shouted.

I turned my head to look at him. He was standing just inside the camp clearing, covered in blood and panting heavily. I nodded and ran past him to the battle field. Where Delton's pack house had once stood was now a pile of rubble, enemy wolves sniffed around and dug through the debris to pull out their comrades.

I ran past Delton, completely ignoring him and engaging in a fight with a yellow-eyed wolf. No one attacked Delton, he was there for mum to kill when she was strong enough. He thought he would win because he was still alive, he was wrong. My opponent bit into the soft flesh of my neck, I struggled with all my strength until I caught his eye.

Yes. Yellow eyes!

"Caesar!" I growled loudly.

Caesar lost concentration when I said his name, his grip on my neck loosened and I flung him off. He fell to the ground, but jumped back to his feet and snarled. I could see confusion in his eyes.

"How do you know me?" He asked.

"It's a long story!" I shouted over the sound of the battle raging around us, "But we need you on our side, with the rest of your siblings!"

Caesar growled, "My Brothers and Sisters are dead! You killed them!"

I opened my mouth to protest, and that was when I noticed the sandy-blonde female wolf creeping up behind my brother. My eyes widened, she pounced, I pounced. My teeth sunk into her stomach and her jaw attached to my back, ripping my spine.

We rolled around on the blood-soaked earth of the battlefield, she snapped at my ear and bit a piece off, I yelped and dug my claws into her throat. As we fought, I never took my eyes off of Caesar. He stood to the side, watching us fight with his bright yellow eyes filled with fear.

He wasn't much older than me, maybe a year or two. And he was afraid, he needed his brothers to guide him like they always had. But they weren't here right now, and he was on his own.

The blonde wolf grabbed my neck in her jaw and kicked me in the stomach with her hind legs as I choked and gagged. Caesar was on her side, why had she come up behind him and attacked him in the first place?! My thoughts were reeling.

I struggled to breath, my vision was going black and I could feel my life ebbing away. I used my final bit of breath and last ounce of strength to scream out.

"Caesar!" He snapped back to reality, his bewildered eyes locking onto the she-wolf and a horrid snarl leaving his lips.

He barrelled her over, rolling through the dust and crashing into the fury bodies of other warriors who were fighting for their sides. He looked down into her blue eyes and ripped her throat out without skipping a beat.

He galloped back over to me, sniffing around my face and pawing me. He whined when I didn't move, I couldn't breath properly and half of my intestines were spilling out of my underside.

"C'mon... Get up, we have to get back to your camp." Caesar whimpered.

My legs twitched, I shifted my weight and tried to stand, only to collapse again and lie still. My eyes were open, I could see everything that was going on around me, but I couldn't move.

Caesar growled and fought off a wolf. He was protecting my body, keeping me safe. But I needed Morgan, he was the only one capable of getting me back to camp. I reached out to him with our sibling link.

'Morgan...' I whispered into the empty expanse of my head. It was only seconds later when I smelt him, his scent stronger then the smell of war.

"Jadzia!" I heard him scream, and then everything went black.