Little Wolf

Chapter Seventeen

Jack continued to swing the sharp blade at the training dummy. Anger coursed through his veins as the sword slashed through the rough cloth of the dummy. His breathing was labored and his muscles ached, but he did not care. He was fueled by anger. Anger for who, he believed he was angry at Little Wolf, but truly he knew he was not. He was angry at himself really.

Faintly he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, but he did not turn to greet them. He continued to tear apart the training dummy.

"Jack! Hey, Jack!" He tuned out whoever it was, focusing on the training. "Jack! Calm down! Jack! Jack!" The sword was yanked from his hands and he turned his head sharply, glaring at the person. Thatcher stood before him, holding his hands out as if to keep him from attacking.

"Calm yourself. You tore apart the training dummy. Literally." Jack looked at the training dummy, realizing that most of his was scattered about on the ground about. He had not even noticed. He ran a hand through his dark hair, taking in deep breaths to try to calm himself. But anger still ran though his veins like a deadly poison.

"You okay? You look like you wanted to kill that thing. The servants were to scared to check on you. Hell, I was almost to wimpy to check on you." Jack chuckled slightly.

"Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind. I'm kind of angry too."

"Well, why don't you go calm down. Walk 'round the town and such. I'll send for you if you are needed." Jack nodded, panting as he looked around.

"Thanks Thatcher. See you then."

"See you. And Jack, don't come back till you are calmed down."

Silently he made his way around the town. His eyes flickered about, looking at each merchant stall. He faintly remembered coming here often as a kid. He had bought Fire-Flower the wolf charm here. He sighed. He felt terrible about what he had said, he had not meant that Fire-Flower was a monster, just the wolves. How could the humans even be the cause of this war? The wolves attacked the people and their flocks, so we fought back. That was it. Jack shook his head, unsure of what to do. He could just wallow in felt pity forever, regretting what he had did. At the moment, that seemed to be his only option.

"Perhaps this is all for the best." Jack muttered to himself. It was late now. Very late. The kingdom was bathed in moonlight, the stars above twinkling in the evening sky. He knew their friendship would have to end, and perhaps it ending with them hating each other was for the best. But Jack did not hate her. He could never hate her, if anything he-- Jack let out a quiet yell, smacking his forehead. He would not dare admit it. Never would he admit it.

His head turned slightly, his gaze peering into a dark alley way. Jack was about to continue walking when he saw something. A flicker of movement. He stopped, his eyes squinted as he struggled to see in the dark. Had he even seen something? He thought he had.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Jack called out. No one answered. He looked behind him, finding that no one was there or watching him. Jack looked back at the dark alley. Cautiously he crept into the darkness, acting like he was stalking a doe. He quieted his breathing as best as he could and silenced his footsteps. A feeling of uncertainty ran down his spine as he inched into the darkness. Minutes passes as he continued on, his eyes flickering around as he struggled to see. He heard the sudden rush of air and before he could react, something heavy hit the back of his head. He crumpled to the ground, his gaze quickly going black. But Jack could of swore he heard a faint 'sorry' just before he fell unconscious.

His eyes flew open, his head jerking upwards. His eyes darted around the unknown location, and Jack was quick to realize he was in a chair, his hands tied behind him. His legs were free though, and no cloth covered his mouth.