OLIVER

 

“Is he all right?”

The old fox ignored me as he continued to tend to all of Knight’s injuries. Claw marks all over his chest, legs and arms. Blood trickling from cuts on his face. Bite marks on his body.

“Tell me he’ll be all right.”

“How do you stop the snow from falling?” Baron asked me.

“What?”

“The snow,” the elder said. “Is there something you can do to prevent the snow?”

“I…”

Baron was treating all of Knight’s wounds. His question was so strange that I wasn’t sure he was talking to me.

“N-no,” I said as I shook my head. “I can’t stop the snow.”

“No, there’s no way to stop the snow. There’s nothing you or I can do about it. But does that stop anybody from worrying about it? Are there some who wish that the snow would not come even though their hopes would do nothing?”

“I… I don’t understand what you’re saying—”

He finally looked up at me.

“I know you care for him,” Baron said. “You worry about him. But your worry will not help me or him. Stay calm, Omega. Just know that I’m doing everything I can to make sure that he’s all right.”

I sighed a deep breath and nodded.

Knight had suffered so many injuries that Baron had to sedate him to slow down all of the bleeding.

“Let me work,” Baron said. “Perhaps speaking to some of the others will ease your mind.”

Nothing could take my mind off of Knight. But Baron continued to shoo me away. I reluctantly turned around and left the area.

The underground burrow we’d dug was spacious enough to house all of the skulk. There was only some light that came from a small fire that burned near the entrance. But it was more than enough for me to see the large men that towered over everybody else.

I walked over to them as they huddled in one corner of the burrow.

“You,” I said. “You know Knight.”

“That’s right,” one man said. “My name is Dexter. I was on the expedition with Knight. We were separated by the avalanche.”

“The avalanche… I was there when it happened. I found Knight.”

“It appears you did. We’ve been looking for him this whole time.”

“I’m sorry. I—”

“Don’t be sorry. Knight’s from the city. He would have been lost without you. He’s fortunate to have run into you.”

He gave me a big smile and slapped me on the arm.

“How did you find us?” I asked.

“My brothers and I live out here. It was only a matter of time until we caught his scent. There’s nothing quite like city jaguar stink.”

I looked at the men and still couldn’t believe that they were here.

“If you hadn’t come—”

“We did come,” Dexter interrupted me. “There’s no need to worry any longer. The fierce wolves have left. They won’t return. Their Alpha was defeated. They may be violent but they will honor the code of the Timberlands.”

“Then… Then it’s over. The threat is gone.”

“Yes, they’re gone. But… You wouldn’t know it from the looks of everybody.”

Dexter looked over my shoulder. I turned around and saw my skulk. They all looked slightly terrified, staring at the men next to me with concern in their eyes. Even Silas and Eve appeared to be shaking. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of them.

“They just had to deal with an attack by the fierce wolves,” I said. “I think they’re still recovering. As long as they have nothing to fear from you, you have nothing to fear from them.”

“I can assure you, we have no intention of harming any of you. We’re only here for the jaguar.”

“Right… He’s still recovering at the moment. I don’t know—”

“Knight is strong. If he survived this long, a few scrapes won’t keep him down.”

Dexter’s reassurance put me more at ease.

I put my head down and sighed a deep breath. We’d all been through so much. It was hard to believe that the threat from the fierce wolves was over.

“What do we have here?”

I turned toward the sudden voice next to me.

I saw Anita walking toward us with a slight smile on her face. Her head was bandaged but she didn’t appear any worse off.

“I suppose I have you to thank for what happened up there,” she said to Dexter.

“Knight defeated the Alpha,” he said. “He’d already saved your skulk. He’s the one you should thank.”

“Perhaps. But I don’t want to think about what would happen had you not shown up.”

“He hired us. We were just doing our job.”

“Your job… Then you are the ones he was traveling with. You’re searching for resources, as he put it.”

“That’s right.”

“Knight spoke to me of the mines. The mines that have been a part of this skulk for generations. He wanted to collect the ore from it.”

“If they are your mines, then we will not collect the ore from it.”

Anita shifted her gaze toward me. She and I both knew that the mines were meaningless to us. The metals inside were nothing but useless trinkets.

“I refused Knight’s request when he asked for the resources,” she said. “We couldn’t come to an arrangement on what would be appropriate compensation. But… Maybe now we can come to terms.”

“After everything we’ve been through, it’s the least you can do,” I said. “Letting Knight mine the resources will only foster peace between us and the people of Dirge.”

“I agree. But there are more important matters to deal with at the moment. The snow has come. We must leave this burrow and retire to our tents for the winter or we will all be buried in the snow.”

I looked at the bears.

“We don’t have enough shelter to house all of you,” I said. “I’m sorry but—”

“We welcome the snow,” Dexter said. “We will find a cavern and sleep through it. Our fur is as thick as our hides. Don’t concern yourself with our safety.”

The men all stood up from their seats and slowly made their way out of the burrow.

“We will return after the sun has come to melt the snow away,” Dexter said as he left. “Until then, I wish you well.”

I turned to Anita.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“I’m perfectly fine. I’ve never been better.”

“I thought you were dead when they brought you down.”

“No, just unconscious. I won’t go down that easily. Not even to a wolf.”

She smiled softly at me. It was still strange to see Anita so warm. I’d known her all my life and I never imagined she could possibly be any kind of caring.

“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for what you did. I made a mistake and—”

Anita put a hand on my shoulder and looked me right in the eye.

“You are a fox,” she said. “You are my brethren. I saw you as just an Omega but you opened my eyes. You and the jaguar. I now understand what it means to be a lead Alpha. Now I can set an example for the generations to come.”

“They will all hear the tale of when a fox stood up to a wolf. From here all the way to the city.”

I looked at the rest of the skulk scattered across the burrow. They still appeared to be frightened.

“What about them?” I asked.

“Their hearts will calm eventually. We will go up and hide in our tents until the snow passes. Being isolated, they will understand that what they just went through will make them stronger. It has made all of us stronger.”

She squeezed her hand on my shoulder.

“You worry about him,” she said. “I know you do. Baron is the best at what he does. Knight’s wounds will be sealed and he will recover. He will have all the time in the world to rest now that the snow is here.”

“I know,” I said with a nod. “I know he wouldn’t leave me so easily.”

“Come on. Let’s gather the others and leave this place. It will be harder to return to our shelter once the snow gets thick.”

Anita ushered the foxes out of the underground burrow and back up to the clearing. One by one, each of them headed up into the snow and retired to the tent that was prepared for them.

I stayed by Baron’s side and watched him continue on Knight.

“Oliver.”

Anita called out to me.

I turned around and saw that she was the only one left in the entire place.

“Come, Omega,” she said. “It’s time to take shelter. The snow is here.”