The Heat #WATTYS2019

Chapter 11

     That night I fell asleep to Fenris' gentle breathing as he licked my fur clean. To us Wolves, it was a great source of comfort and I was not immune to it. The continuous movement appeased me, and it felt as if I were but a cub again, being licked clean by my mother as she told me stories of soulmates and great Warriors.

     I had always been fascinated by tales of that race of fighters whose ancestors were chosen by the Moon Goddess to protect and go to battle for what was good. Alas, their Legacy had died down centuries ago, snuffed out by the selfish Alphas who were determined they could defend their Packs on their own. That was approximately when thoughts of the Heat had started, though under another name— the Run. Towards the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, however, Wolves had had a surge in numbers for reasons our scientists had not yet discovered. But then we had died down again, and in 1956 the first Heat was organized, the idea of soulmates abandoned because of the time it took to find them.

Fenris?

Yes, Little Wolf?

Can you tell me a story about Warriors, please? The real Warriors. Not the fight Wolves present in Packs nowadays. I want you to tell me the story of Amarok and Fenrir and Morrigan and Lycaon and the Beast and Geri and Freki.

You want to hear the Tale of the Last Warrior? It's not about the legendary Warriors, it's about the last of the Warrior Legacy.

Go on.

So it was with my ears pressed to Fenris' left flank, the steady and rhythmic beat of his heart echoing in mine that I relaxed and he started linking his story.

It was a night where the elements were wild with fury. The Wind was howling his hate at the Moon for creating the Alphas that were replacing and restricting his Warrior friends. The Water was sending billows of freezing gale and heavy snow that covered the Northern Tundra in a layer of death. The Fire was sending lightning so strong and fast that the trees touched by the deadly streaks burned up. The Earth growled loudly over everything and everything shook in terror— the rabbit, the sheep, the elk, and the wolves. Even the sleeping bears burrowed deeper in their dens.

But suddenly the four Great Spirits stopped and a deadly silence came over the snow-covered lands of the tundra and the Magic Spirit awoke. She was red-hot with anger and purple embers sparked everywhere. She was a powerful Spirit, almost as powerful as the Moon Goddess, and when the whimper of a lost pup echoed across the diamond sparkle of the tundra, Magic lowered her big head and blew on him. His black fur turned white and his eyes shone with the silver light of the Moon. He would be the last of the Warrior Legacy.

What was his name?

I heard his heartbeat quicken.

My mother would tell me his name was Fenris.

I could smell the lie from a fifteen miles away, but I shut up and let it slip. What his mother told him was none of my business.

Oh.

Can I go on now?

Yes.

So, as I was saying, Magic blessed the pup with the Warrior genes. She adopted Fenris as her own and raised him, teaching him the art of fighting. The other Great Spirits became guardians of Fenris and taught him their tricks.

Months passed and winter melted into spring as elk migrated. Soon spring morphed into summer and summer faded into fall. A year had passed, then two, then many as Fenris grew up. Finally, Fenris came of age. He was now sixteen and he was a fully grown Warrior Wolf—

I stopped being able to process at that moment as I fell asleep, blinking eyelids falling shut over my golden eyes. His words melted into a muddled mess before I stopped hearing them completely.

•••

I woke up shivering in the cold I wasn't used to. My fur was sleek and not as thick as it could have been and this fall weather in the northern-most part of the Western Lands wasn't gentle. And I was used to the usually warm weather of the Southern Lands. As I opened my golden eyes, I immediately felt something wasn't right. Where was Fenris? Slightly worried, though not too much, I sent a shake down the link.

You there Little Rogue?

There was no response. I frowned before hitting the link harder.

Little Rogue?

Again no answer.

Fenris?

This time, when he didn't give me a sign of being alive, I got up. I lowered my nose to the ground and started searching for any trace of the pine and forest fire scent that had been clinging to me since the third day of the Heat. I had grown accustomed to it and the absence of him hit somewhere deep. I had done something I'd sworn I'd never do. I'd cared about someone, and now it was biting me back in the ass.

     There! A faint trace of forest fire. Like an alcoholic latching on to a bottle of wine or a pit bull not relenting its grasp, I zoned in on the scent and started following it. I had always been a good tracker, as the constantly moving sand in the Sand Dune lands made everything more complicated. Here, despite the heavy stench of the humus and decomposing leaves, following the lead, however faint, was almost easy. But it was still with great care and concentration that I trotted after the trail, nose to the ground.

     It might have been fifteen minutes, and it might have been an hour, but after a while a coppery tang mixed with the pine and forest fire. Dark crimson splotches started to splatter randomly at first, and then at steady intervals. Fenris was bleeding. And with the amount of blood everywhere, it wasn't just a surface wound. Something had managed to pass through the barrier of thick layers of fur to penetrate the skin and hit an important artery.

     Filled with a sense of urgency, I breathed harder on my nose and accelerated. I had to get to Fenris. The panic swelling inside my chest like the rising tide brought on more panic as I realized that I had started to care, and for a male, of all. I almost stopped there, but my wolf pushed me on, growling. She felt a deep connection with the male and cared for him. A sense of confusion travelled down our bond as she seemed to realize that.

     So it was with a heavy heart that I stumbled upon a body half in half out of the rushing silver creek. Fenris was on his side, white fur soaked red with blood, and it reminded me of blood on snow. I tentatively stepped forward, ears straining forward. The faint, irregular beating sound of his heart and his shallow breathing reassured me and scared me at the same time. I had no training as a Pack Doctor.

Fenris?

     His voice was as faint as his heartbeat when he answered me.

Little Wolf. You found me. I'm gonna die though.

A/N) DUN DUN DUN DUUUNNN
Fenris might die. I feel like I'll have a lot of protests for this...
I know this might sound personal, and you don't have to answer, but do any of you have family problems?
My big sister hates my father, and my mother, younger brother and younger sister always badmouth him too. I'm caught in the middle because I love him and I love my mother too...
My little brother is wanting to commit suicide and keeps insulting everyone in the family
My older sister just came out if depression and is very fragile
So, yeah...
Anyways, hope you liked this chappie, see ya next week,
- Lexie
P.S: I discovered a Wade Poezyn look alike that takes the bus with me every Wednesday...
Stalker mode: ON