3

I grab her head and forces her into me, away from the window. I pulled her in for a hug, shielding her and caressing her head in hope that through some miracle I can erase this, take it from her. My heart is thumping in harmony with her sobs as her head rests on my chest. My eyes sting and burn as I stare out the window. They refuse to move from the dirty glass, as if forcing me to share her experience.

“Did you find her?” Cecilia’s worried voice clattered trough the stairs. Molly’s hair twists beneath my chin as I turn my head slightly towards the door. And even though I can hear my own frantic breathing and my heart and Molly’s sobs and the screams outside, I can’t move my eyes. There is a cable, stuck to my brain, strung tightly through my pupil and lassoed around every body, moving or not, outside.

“Yes,” I don’t scream though I want to, but Cecilia heard me. I took Molly’s hand in mine and gently dragged her out of the room. The tears didn’t stop. “Everything will be alright,” I’m not sure who I was trying to convince but when Molly looked up at me through glossy eyes I knew everything had to be alright. “Promise?” her soft voice broke at the end. I held up my pinky finger knowing she got the message. After hooking our pinkies, we bring our thumbs together and as we kiss them I say “I promise.”

We rushed downstairs and followed the rest out the back door and towards the forest. I carried Molly and held Jeremy’s hand. Even though I knew he didn’t necessarily enjoy it and usually would swat my hand away, he squeezed it tight and I knew I couldn’t let go and risk him not following. I hadn’t noticed but Cecilia had shifted into her auburn wolf and due to her massive size and strength, she carried 4 children on her back. If it helped or not, I didn’t know, but I kept yelling that everything will be fine as we ran. Maybe more to reassure myself than the kids.

After we breached the forest edge it didn’t take long before we reached the bunker. The pack had multiple bunkers hidden around the territory, exactly for occasions like these. The hatch creaked loudly as I opened it, Cecilia still in wolf form and keeping guard. I had to use some force as there was some rust, and after a few tugs it opened. The children scurried inside followed by me. I hurried to some shelves and quickly located some standard clothing and as Cecilia naked form crawled in I handed her the t-shirt and sweats. “Thanks,” she rushed out before looking over the children. I sat down in one of the beds and Molly ran to me, curling into my side. She was trembling, small whimpers would escape her lips regularly.

“It’s ok. We’re safe. I won’t let them harm you,” I repeated the mantra into her hair, both for her and my sake. It felt like hours, sitting there waiting for updates. Everything had happened so fast and it wasn’t until now, that we’re all settled in the bunker, that the events started to catch up to us. I was lucky, as I don’t have a wolf and therefore no pack link meaning I don’t feel people dying. However, I don’t hear the announcements made and am unknowing of what is happening outside.

Molly had calmed down and I thought she was asleep, but her tantalizing eyes flickered up to me. “Do you promise to not leave me? Ever?” Her small voice, nearly inaudible to my human ears, asked. Once more I brought my pinky finger to hers, locking it with out thumbs and, bringing our hands up to my face I whispered against them. “I promise.” It didn’t take long after that until she welcomed sleep. I knew I couldn’t break that promise even if I wanted too, or I would have to cut off my pinky.

A couple hours had passed, if I had to guess, and I was discussing the coming months with Cecilia. She expected more kids would be left orphan after the battle and we discussed how we could increase our capacity. More kids would need a home and there would be less wolves that would adopt. I could complain all I wanted about my life, but I would never know pain like these kids.

Cecilia’s eyes glazed over and I knew she was communicating through mind link. I took the time to quickly look over the children, settling my gaze on Molly in my lap. She was frowning and a small whimper fell from her lips catching my attention. Sweat was collecting on her forehead and I carefully placed the back of my hand against her face. She’s boiling.

I looked up at Cecilia, worried and slightly panicked as I had no clue on what to do. She was still mind linking. Trying to be logical, my eyes spot a bottle of water on a shelf in the corner. “Jeremy! Can you please hand me that bottle of water?” He nodded and while he got that, I carefully ripped a piece of my shirt. Later, I realized I probably could have found some other fabric to use but in the moment it didn’t matter. I prayed the water was somewhat cold, it was chilly down here before we turned on the heater.

I placed the wet fabric against Molly’s forehead, hoping I was doing something right and that it would bring down her temperature. A werewolf rarely got sick so she was most likely having a bad dream. Cecilia was talking to Candice now, but hadn’t said anything about what I was doing so I took it as a good sign. I slowly rocked Molly back and forth while humming a tune I remembered from… I am actually not completely sure but probably from my childhood.

The stars they shine so bright

The moon has decided this is the night

She will send a child

A daughter of the wild

A beautiful fur like silver

Eyes that shine like the sun

Her power will make you shiver

But her kindness will leave you stunned

It didn’t take long before she calmed down and fell into a more peaceful sleep and after an hours or so she begun to stir. Her eyelids fluttered and soon her beautiful eyes were staring into mine. “Hey cutie,” I said while placing a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked around, slowly remembering the situation before once more looking up at me. “Hi May, is it long until we can go out?” she asked. I answered that I truthfully didn’t know. “Go back to sleep, it will make time go faster.” She nodded and as she still wasn’t fully awake, it didn’t take long before she once more fell under.

After what felt like eternity, though I know it only was a few more hours, Cecilia said we could safely go back outside. Molly was still asleep, and I couldn’t bring myself to wake her. I placed one arm under her shoulders and one under her knees and carried her out of the bunker. I had to squint my eyes because of the bright light. I guess it was still day. There were no bodies, but you could spot blood around and the smell was unbearable. I can only imagine how awful it must smell for a wolf nose. The orphanage looked fairly intact, the outside a little roughed up. Some windows were broken, and the door were almost coming off the hinges. I can imagine hunters breaking it open and rushing trough in the hunt for wolves.

Once we were inside, I locked eyes with Cecilia to see if she needed me for anything, but as she saw Molly in my arms she nodded her head upstairs, signaling that I should get her to bed. The stairs were anything but silent as I walked up, and I held Molly a little closer. I made it into her room, or should I say the general sleeping quarters for girls as all the girls slept in here. Her bed was placed in the right corner. I tried to lay her down but she clutched my sweater in her finger and opened her eyes. “Please don’t leave.” I couldn’t protest to that even if I wanted to so I crawled into bed with her. She snuggled into my side, her head resting on my chest and my arm wrapped around her. The only sound we could hear was the rustling downstairs, the wolves outside and our breathing. Her body heat as a werewolf exceeded my usually freezing body temperature. It was appreciated, as I was slightly shaken from today and my body was shivering a little. With her sound breathing as a lullaby, I fell asleep.

“Molly!” I screamed but it drowned out as if I were under water. I couldn’t find her. I was running in the woods trying to find her, yet my feet has never been this heavy before. “Molly!” I screamed again. The trees, bushes and leaves were static, as if frozen by an invisible frost. However, I could feel the wind on my face and in my hair and it sounded loud in my ears. My heart was beating so fast. The thumping of my heart and the wind made it almost impossible to even hear my own voice, let alone my surroundings. And then everything became silent and I heard a sniffle. “Molly?” I asked in a much more soft voice. “Molly, it is ok. Everything will be fine, I am not angry,” I tried to reassure her, all I wanted was her back safe. “You promise?” I tried to find her, but her voice seemed to come from no direction. “I promise,” I answer, holding up my pinky to prove it hoping that she could see it even though I cannot see her.

“Where is that bitch?!” I woke up at the loud booming voice, a little disoriented from my dream. Molly was still cuddled into my side, a little drool from her mouth on my shirt. My attention was once more brought to what was happening downstairs.

“Where is she?!” It was the Alpha.