Nomad {Editing}

::Chapter 16:: Role to Play

Charlie couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He didn't hesitate.

His reaction was pure animal, the need to protect driving him more then logic ever would.

He lunged.

The rope around his neck barely deterred him as it snapped almost cleanly and trailed in his wake. He moved like a snake, starved by winter and maddened from hunger who had spotted his first opportunity at a meal.

By the time Charlie had landed, every set of eyes was on him as was every weapon.

With their attentions too focused on him that no one thought to see what the wolf had spotted. Too fearful for what Charlie could potentially do to them to think about the bigger picture.

Even Evie had turned to look at him in panic and she ducked out of his path, wrong direction.

Not noticing the danger, all Charlie cared about was the one posed to his sister.

Passing them with a speed which lightning would have envied. His paws found the edge of the stream and he leaped.

In his wake, Evie yelled as though certain he had leapt for her with every intention of killing her. She lifted one hand to cover her face and the other reached for the knife strapped to the belt of her dress and she raised that too.

Crossing the stream without taking notice of her, he cleared it like it was little more than a paw-print wide and landed hard. He tore threw the grass, biting and tearing as he went without care for who the man hiding might have been.

He had threatened Evie, and he wasn't going to let that go lying down.

A loud cry was cut off abruptly, and it was over almost as quick. Charlie all but tore the stranger in half as he drove his fangs through his throat and bit down. Blood spattering over his muzzle and filling his mouth with the metallic taste of blood.

For a moment, he didn't let go. Keeping his grip as though he feared that the stranger would still be alive. Very few things could have survived what Charlie had done to the man, but his anger didn't let him see that.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump and he leapt up, baring his fangs he would have lunged had he not realised to whom the hand belonged to. The very person he had done all of this to save.

She looked disgusted, but she seemed to understand in spite of it.

"He's dead, Charlie." She said firmly, but not without kindness. As one might have done a child.

Only then did he let the body drop.

Without looking back, Charlie jumped back across the stream. With noticeably less elegance then he had the first time but he landed carefully and he walked past the still gawping crowd. He didn't look back, he had a point to make.

Slipping past the gathered men and women, his tail held high in the hair behind him as he went. He found his way to the snapped rope left around the trunk of the tree, and sat down in front of it. Expectantly.

Alone amongst the roots of the tree, no one spoke for a moment. The look of astonishment identical on almost all of their faces, all except for his family and Evie. Their faces carried an expression he wasn't sure how to pinpoint.

They were all astonished by the display of control he had shown.

He was among them on that note. Not that he was ever going to tell them that.

Now the adrenaline was beginning to drain from his veins, Charlie realised how bad he was hurting. Whilst the stranger hadn't managed to land a bullet in him, he had landed a few more punches then he had realised and Charlie was now taking the tall.