A Lifelong Marathon
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1: The courage of protection
Theodore James Collins
The forest passed by in a blur. A frenzy of greens and browns, the lighter shades being ignored in my periphery, they weren't worthy of my attention. There was only one thing on my mind and I had no intention of falling astray. The ground crunched beneath my feet and shook as I dug my claws in trying to gain momentum. My fur brushed the leaves of the bushes I dodged through and became soiled with my blood as a branch cut lightly into my side whilst I tried to bomb through a small gap between trees. I could feel the wind whipping into my face causing my canine eyes to water but I shook my head causing the unemotional tears to run free from my eyes. Nothing was going to stop me. My breath was coming in heavy pants as I tried to keep it regulated enough to keep my energy. There was no telling what sneaky tricks he might pull and I needed to be on my toes, on full alert to catch them.
All mutts are the same. Hell, I have shit loads of sneaky tricks up my sleeve, its how we've kept ourselves hidden for so long. I wasn't about to let some scummy little mutt ruin that for us. He caught our scents and of course he decided to follow them. They always do. The trick is simple. I let them find us, luring them into a trap, and then take them out. Well, I guess it sounds simpler than it really is. The stupid mutts retaliate as expected, but I always win in the end. There's no escaping me, not when it comes to protecting the one person I have left. I will catch this mother fucker. No one ever gets away from me. They discover the truth, they die. That's the rule. There is not one who has lived to tell the tale.
I knew too well that he could hear me behind him. My advance on him was hardly kept quiet and it was inevitable that I could do a silent approach. The wind was in his favour, brushing my fur against its natural run and blowing my scent upwards to him. I can just imagine his smug thoughts right now. He thinks he has the upper hand. Yeah right. He was definitely foreign to these lands and luckily for me, I knew these woods like the back of my hand.
I could hear his pace beginning to slow and I knew he was planning something but I also knew he was close to the south cliff so I dove left and made a wide circle around him. He would have to stop at the cliff and if he was as dumb as he seems then it would be easy. It would take me longer to flag him down but I was betting on him hesitating and lagging in his decisions long enough for me to get to him. Running round his perimeter, it was difficult to hear his movements to determine his mind set but I continued until I reached the thick wall of the south cliff. This time, the wind was in my favour. It was blocked by the dense amount of trees here and I could smell his scent in front of me. He hadn't budged but from the sound of his paws shifting in the dirt, he was hesitating on whether or not to make a break for it. It was easy for me to tell different movements now, I had so much practice. The only annoying thing is not being able to know what the damn mutt will actually decide upon.
I didn't wait for him to make his decision. I made a hasty beeline for him keeping as quiet as possible. The damp leaves that never received any sunlight but plenty of rain and damp air cushioning my paws as I headed straight towards him with one thing on my mind. His death. Damn mutt is gunna die.
I was metres away when the wind turned traitor, rushing around me and blowing towards the mutt. His head whipped round and he began to snarl but I was already set in motion. He was too slow to stop my teeth heading towards his throat and within seconds I had ripped out a large chunk of meaty flesh. The mutt fell slightly limp in front of me, his body twitching from shock and trying to gain the air and blood it needed to function but receiving nothing.
A wave of remorse washed over me as I saw his limp body twitching frantically and I knew it wasn't necessarily his fault. He had caught our scents and became curious. The only real fault he had was trying to take her away from me. The stupid bastard should have known better. It was obvious she wasn't up for the taking even if we weren't a mating pair like the one in the American pack.
Then again, no one knows of her. They all think that the only female werewolf is Elena Danvers, mate of the legendary Clayton Danvers, but they're all wrong. Luckily, no mutt has lived to tell the tale of finding another female werewolf and there are very few who had caught our scents because of how well we hid ourselves.
Most people would ask me why I bother. The mutts who cross our paths think that I keep her by my side for power and status. But if were not in the open and known by the supernatural society and we weren't holding territory then it has no point to it. She wasn't by my side for any of those things. The real reason is deeper than that. It's my fault that she's like this.
The only person I have left in this world and I fucked up her life. My life now revolves around protecting her at any costs. No dirty mutt will get anywhere near her. It is my life's penance to keep that in check.