Just the next day at the prison of Dai 'Ron, Cheryl was making her way up steps into the main entry way. She was on her way to meet Hubb and to face her father on behalf of this Quent Yaiden. This was also the final straw. She had said it many times but she was through giving her father the last of her money and tired of watching him waste his life away inside this miserable place. As she made her way to the last step, she paused. "Something isn't right," she whispered.
"Cheryl!" Hubb called out to her as he ran up the steps. He came to the last step to meet her face to face. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "You know, you can still back out of this if you want. I know it's a lot to ask."
Cher shook her head. "No, I've have my own words to say to him. Come on. I'm anxious to get this over with."
Hubb nodded and opened the door for her and gestured with his hand. "After you, Miss."
Cher rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile once she entered the building. This man would jump off the building for her. They walked the large halls together now side by side as a team. Cher had a serious look now preparing herself to face her father and get the answers they needed. She looked up at Hubb and saw he had a worrisome look too. "Something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. It's just unusually quiet in here. There's no guards or anyone patrolling the area."
Cher paused in her walk. "You're right. Something is not right."
"Oh I'm sure it's nothing," he tried to take the edge off the strangeness of it all. "Maybe everyone was called into a meeting...that I wasn't told about," he muttered the last bit. Cher raised a brow but continued walking ahead. They finally came to her father's office and as usual, she opened the door without knocking or giving any other kind of warning of her presence.
"Father I-" she paused right away seeing her father passed out on his desk sitting over his chair. She approached him carefully convincing herself he was passed out from drinking too much even though there was no bottles around.
"Cher, get back," Hubb said with great concern.
She shook his shoulder but he wouldn't stir at her touch. "Dad? Wake up!" She yelled. Her father only slumped to the side and slid off his chair onto the cold ground. It was then all made too clear what had happen to her father. His eyes were open but lifeless and on his forehead was where the bullet penetrated his skull. Cher's eyes shook in complete horror at the scene and she stumbled back taking short breaths from the shock. Hubb rushed to her side and grabbed her gently before she would collapsed on the ground.
"Cher, lets go back to the car now. There's a reason why the halls are still empty."
"Indeed, you're right," a voice came beyond the doorway of the office. They turned their attention to it and saw Ansgar standing in the doorway with an evil smirk. Hubb was in complete shock, not only for the murder but who had done it. Before he could react, Ansgar swiftly reached for his handgun aiming it towards the two and shot Hubb twice in his right leg. Hubb collapsed on the ground immediately clutching his injured leg grunting out loud in pain.
"Hubb!" Cher cried falling at his protectively. "I'm fine," he uttered still cringing in pain. She reached at his side pulling Hubb's gun from his belt and stood holding it up at Ansgar.
"What's the meaning of all this? Why'd you kill my father?"
"I believe I did you a favor," Ansgar sneered. "Doing you a favor is not exactly what I had in mind though." He lowered his gun at Hubb. "So this is the fool you gave up my son for? Whatever. Kill me now and be charged with murder. I can still shoot him even after you fire. How will you then explain three dead bodies to the other authorities and your fingerprints on the gun? I, on the other hand, can have your father's body easily disposed of."
"What do you want?" Cher hissed.
"Whether you marry my son or not, it doesn't matter anymore. You are working for the military once more. Your knowledge of the wolves and technology was too important to just let you go in the first place. Now you are needed more than ever."
"Why is military business of any concern to you?" Cher spat.
"Wolves are a great concern of mine." He stepped closer towards her. "We're more alike than you think, Cheryl. You're obsession for wolves never died."
"Don't you dare compare us!" She shook the gun in his face. "I never wanted to harm them! That's why I left!" She hollered.
"Cher, just run!" Hubb yelled. "You're too vital for him to harm you."
Ansgar raised his gun at Hubb with his finger wrapped tightly around the trigger. "Take one step further, I'll kill him."
" Cher, it's okay just go!" Hubb yelled.
"So what will it be?" Ansgar asked.
Tears had begun to form around Cher's eyes. She finally lowered the gun and dropped it to the ground.
"That's a good girl," he chuckled evily. He kept his gun raised walking towards her until he could grab her by her blouse and then jerked her close. She uttered out a cry by his brutal force. Tearing of her blouse could be heard as he pulled her behind him.
"Cher!" Hubb cried desperately. He tried to stand before Ansgar slammed his heavy boot into the bullet wounds on Hubb's leg. Hubb screamed clutching Ansgar's leg trying to maneuver it off but to no avail.
"As for you, I'm going to put you where you'll never see the light of day again. You know too much now!" Ansgar said menacingly.
The large pack of wolves moved slowly back through the thickness of the mountains to throw off the military and make them think they were going to cross open country. It was a treacherous path compared to the open county. Dalibor, however, knew the mountains well and knew how to lead the pack of wolves with the few wagons they kept. Everyone stayed in human form now so to pass safely through the mountain villages and not worry the humans that's dwelled there. They wore loose peasant clothing to add to their harmless look except for Kiba, Hige, Toboe and Tsume. Blue had given into the request first thinking it was best to do what they wish but saw she could have avoided it like the rest did. Dalibor could only talk them into wearing dark colored cloaks to hide their more modern clothes to draw less attention. Tsume especially, refused to dress in such a way but had to accommodate their wishes to wear an old hooded cloak but at least it was still black. Toboe and Tsume had succeeded in finding some wild horses to pull the carriages which didn't take long for the two wolves to tame. At first, Tsume kept scaring off the horses by demanding their time until Toboe attempted to talk to them. The horses immediately responded to his friendly nature and followed him back to the pack. Toboe had said little to Tala since her outburst in the carriage. He had led her on when he leaned in with the urge to kiss her too and snapped at her when she tried to do the same. Kiba, as usual, was eager to press on and quickly learned how slow moving the pack really was. These wolves were reluctant to leave these mountains behind and Kiba found himself leading the pack without realizing it. Dalibor thought little of it. If Kiba wanted to stay with the pack, he'd have to wait for them if he got too far ahead. Kiba ran ahead up an incline and found that it overlooked a small village. He ran back down the incline to report it.
"Yes, I know of it," Dalibor said. "They know us traveling gypsies. Stay in your human form. We're going to reside with them for a few days. With any luck, the military will pass their eyes right over the village and leave us alone."
Tala's face suddenly filled with new excitement. She ran ahead passed the other wolves to meet Elya, Dalibor and Kiba. "Can I run ahead?"
"Tala- " Kiba said impatiently before he was interrupted.
"What for?" Dalibor asked.
"Just...a few things I want to do. Can I run ahead?"
"Fine, take Annachie with you-
"No!" Tala blurted out. They all raised their brows. She cleared her throat. "I mean...can I take Toboe? He's two whole years older than me and a good protector." Toboe heard his named and raised his head in alarm. Was she already over the fact that he had been ignoring her? Tala spotted Toboe and ran by his side clutching his arm and pulled him forward to Elya and Dalibor.
"Tala..." Toboe muttered bitterly but she ignored him. Dalibor looked down at Toboe still not knowing what to make of him yet. He looked at Elya who then stepped forward gently taking hold of his jaw to raise his head. She was seeing how well he was recovering from the beatings and torture the soldiers caused him.
"How do you feel?"
"Uh..." Toboe stuttered and blushed at her gentle touch. Tala giggled. She lowered her hand resting it on his shoulder which made him cringe. They were sore from his wrists being chained up for so long and his chest bruised from the beatings.
"He's not fully recovered," Elya said. "But the village should be safe enough for the two to go on alone."
"Very well, run ahead you two. We'll meet you there." Dalibor grumbled and turned his attention to the rest of the pack. Before Toboe could say more, Tala sprinted forward dragging him behind her. He no longer had the strength or heart to snap at her so he obediently followed after her.
"How do you know that the military won't just attack the village?" Kiba asked Dalibor. "My experience is they'll do whatever it takes even if it means destroying their own kind."
"We can't get ahead of them," Dalibor explained. "If they continue pass the village I won't have to ride this pack so hard."
"We could easily stay ahead without these wagons," Kiba persisted.
"Remember your place," Dalibor growled. "You might have nothing to lose but that is not the case with my pack." He said then left Kiba to continue to lead the others.
"Kiba," he heard is name being called from behind.
"What?" Kiba spat in response. He turned to see Hige who was a little thrown off by Kiba's curt tone. "
I'm sorry."
"Everything okay?"
"I guess it's been awhile since I've been part of a pack," Kiba muttered. "What did you need?"
"It's about Blue. She's really worried about her owner and the safety of Russe."
"Why should she worry about Russe? He's as safe as he's going to get."
"Well Russe can't exactly go to paradise with us, can he?"
Kiba shrugged. "Look, let me be frank. Quent is old. He's probably not going to get out of prison before he passes away."
"How can you say that?" Hige raised his voice but was quickly realizing Kiba's point.
"Russe will be sent off to some orphanage and will be left on the streets when he turns sixteen. With us, he has a chance to enter paradise with Blue. Even if we broke Quent out, he'd have to live as a fugitive which is not a much better life for Russe. What do you think his father would really want?"
Hige didn't know how to respond. What Kiba said was the bitter he hated the guy for being so blunt. Kiba didn't sugar coat anything and was always to the point. He had no choice but to admit it.
"I see. I'll mention it to her but I'm not sure if she'll understand."
"It will be her choice. Not yours. You can still choose who to follow but we're all still going to paradise. I'm sorry Hige, we can't help her."
Reluctantly, Hige had to agree. There really was nothing they could do.
It made Toboe nervous to be around humans again even though they weren't of the military. He kept his head down not even looking around curiously like he usually would have done. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw mainly just log cabins used as homes or businesses. The villagers didn't seem to mind their presence and that of the others approaching them. Still, being tortured by humans had scarred him not just physically but mentally and he found had a slight fear being around these new strangers. "Most of the humans here are used to our presence and accustomed to our strange ways. They don't question us too much though because we bring in money for them," she giggled.
"You have money?" Toboe asked.
"Elya mainly watches over it in the vardos. Humans here will pay us to bring in meat we hunt and we use that money to dwell in these villages. Like stay at the inns," she leaned in to whisper in his ear, "some wolves will even spend it on these special kinds of drinks here."
"Alcohol, no doubt," he muttered. "No, something called ale." Toboe just stayed quiet not in the mood to go into details about alcohol in certain beverages like ale. He had his fair share of alcohol when Quent forced whiskey down his throat to supposedly help bear the pain he was in. He could barely stand the stench of alcohol now because of that night. He raised his head slightly when he felt her hand start to cradle his. Tala immediately felt him tense and watched him closely. He looked over his shoulder towards the direction they came and saw the wolves carefully coming down the incline to pass into the city.
"Tala," he groaned pushing her hand away and walked ahead. He pulled the hood of cloak up to conceal his face like he was ashamed.
She paused clenching her fists. "So that's what it is? You're afraid of showing your feelings in front of my pack?" Toboe stopped walking trying not to let his face turn red.
"Uh...Tala. Please not now. Why did you want to come here ahead of the pack?" "No, now!" she growled. It only made her madder when he continued walking ahead. She caught up walking pass him then walked backwards to stay face to face with him.
"You're being a jerk! I just wanted to come out here to spend quality time with you. I can't believe you're giving up completely just because you're afraid-"
"I'm not afraid Tala. I'm trying to keep the peace. Lets not do this here. We're drawing enough attention being complete strangers here." She rolled her eyes and suddenly turned on her heel running off between two small business houses and disappeared behind them. "Tala!" Toboe yelled impatiently knowing he was set with the responsibility to watch her. He ran behind the houses and saw she was no where in sight. "Tala! You're going to get me in trouble." He cringed when he heard the sound of a rifle cocked. He whirled around with anxiety expecting the worse but realized it was just a father and son headed out into the woods to hunt. They had come out the back door of their home and the father stood with his preteen son making sure they were ready to face the wilderness. He let out a breath of relief but looked around still unable to spot Tala. He spotted a shed a few yards a way and ran towards it. "Tala?" He approached the door and grabbed the knob but found it was locked. He shook the knob of the door. "If you're in there just say something!" He yelled desperately. No voice came. He backed away and ran around trying to find a window hoping she was just playing. He turned the corner and saw her leaning against the side of the shed with a smirk.
"Is this private enough?" Her smirk faded when she saw the anxiety and sudden anger in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Don't you ever do that again! You had me worry!"
Tala had to keep reminding herself that Toboe had just went through something traumatic and it was all still fresh on his mind. He had easily thought the worse was happening to her. "I'm sorry. My goal wasn't to worry you."
"Then what was it?"
"To..." She blushed. She reached her hand towards his face and clutched the hood he pulled up and gently pushed it off his head. She then fondly stroke the ends of his red hair. "To be alone with you. I expected that coming into our pack we would only get closer. Not drift apart." She stepped closer gently tugging her hands on his collar to pull him close. "But if it has to be a secret then so be it. We're safe here from any prying eyes," she said then let her back fall gently back against the shed as she pulled him close. He let her. He closed his eyes leaning in until she lowered her hands against his chest and accidentally pressed against a painful bruise.
"Ah!" He groaned and pulled away clutching her hand that triggered the pain.
"I'm sorry!" She cried. "I forgot that you're still in pain."
"It's okay," he whispered softly. He gently lowered her hands away from him and stepped away. "Lets go. They'll wonder where we've gone off to." He pulled his hood up again.
"But-" She was cut off when he trudged passed her and back towards the main road. She watched for a moment then leaned back against the shed crossing her arms and kicked her boot into the snow. "That was a disaster..." If only she hadn't hurt him... they'd be making out right now.
The rest of the pack that numbered about twenty in all entered the village. As Tala had mentioned, the villagers were no strangers to their presence. Some even welcomed them and hoped they would stay long, which the thought made Kiba irritable. Still others were made uneasy by their presence and wouldn't acknowledge them. Mainly those with businesses were the ones putting effort forth to be nice hoping to gain a little money from them. It had become completely predictable to these wolves but at least they knew what made humans happy. As long as they had money, the humans wouldn't question their presence. Hige examined the village carefully and noticed right away the radio towers hovering over a certain log cabin. The village wasn't completely isolated from the outside world. Still, if they had towers, that meant there had to be a phone available somewhere. Perhaps Blue could somehow make contact with Quent. If Kiba was right, Quent would tell Blue what she needed to hear. That she needed to stay away to better protect Russe from city authorities that would take him away. Tsume didn't seem to mind the village. He had missed living in the city, even missing his motorcycle and being back in the village had brought some of the memories back. At least he could enjoy a drink like he did back in the city bars. He had to stop suddenly when a small child suddenly ran in front of him.
"Hey watch it!" He growled.
"Oh hi!" It was a little girl no older than eight. She smiled right away having to tilt her head all the way up to meet Tsume's eyes. She held a platter of cookies and held them up to Tsume. "Cookie? There's oatmeal, chocolate chip, peanut butter-"
"I'll pass."
"I'll take some!" Hige suddenly appeared over Tsume's shoulder.
"Of course you will," Tsume muttered walking pass the little girl.
Just as Hige was going to take a cookie, the little girl lowered the platter in a glum watching Tsume walking away. Hige couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like someone has a little crush on you, Tsume!"
Tsume paused looking over his shoulder at Hige then the little girl. "Oh!" The little girl blushed when Tsume met her eyes. She stepped back then suddenly took off running back in the house she had first hurried out. She dropped a cookie in the process which Hige, of course, picked up. He caught up to Tsume waving it in his face. "You sure you don't want it? I think it was meant for you."
Tsume barely glanced at Hige and grabbed his wrist making him shoved the cookie down his own throat. "I'm sure, porky. Have at it."
"Your lost," Hige said with a full mouth. "On the cookie and probably the only girl that will every like you." Tsume narrowed his eyes then clenched his fist punching Hige in the side of the head.
"Will you two cut it out?" Kiba spat as he walked passed them.
"What's your problem?" Tsume asked.
"Dalibor is going to lay low here for awhile and hope the military will overlook this village."
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," Hige shrugged. "I'm tired from all this traveling."
"And what if they don't overlook this village? He's not only risking the lives of this pack but the lives of the villagers. Not to mention Amaris' life. If something happens to her, paradise could be lost forever."
"We'll just have to keep her safe at all times," Tsume suggested. "Scout the woods daily for the enemies. We can't expect a pack of wolves to do everything our way but we can take precautions."
"I guess we don't have a choice," Kiba mumbled. "I'll go scout the woods now and at least get more familiar with our surroundings."
"Great! Tsume and I will scout the bar," Hige laughed. "Come join us when you're done."
Kiba rolled his eyes and shouldered passed them back towards the woods. Hige shrugged. "His lost. Man you two need to lighten up," he said folding his arms behind his neck walking passed them. "I'm going to enjoy this little vacation as long as I can with my girl."
"Where is Blue?"
Hige lowered his arms. He sighed. "I noticed that there are radio towers here. I figured she could get in contact with that old man. We can't save him but maybe talking to him will give her peace of mind. She's over there now."
"What of his son? "
"Not sure but we can't just abandoned him. Come on, I told Blue we'd meet her at the bar."
Hours passed into the evening. The bar was crowded with the new visitors, wolves and humans together, though the humans were oblivious to being in the presence of wolves. Tsume was at the bar with his forth drink while Hige sat at the table surrounded by empty plates looking very content. Tsume was about to ask for his fifth drink when he felt someone lightly tug on his jacket. He looked down his chair and recognized the little girl from before who had offer the cookies. This time she had a mug of ale. She held it up proudly to him knowing how he loved the drink after watching him drank down his forth one. "I bought you one!"
Tsume raised a brow. "They let you buy alcohol?"
"Why wouldn't they?" She asked.
Tsume shrugged. "I guess villages have different rules than the city."
"I bought it for you anyway," she smiled.
Tsume reluctantly took the drink in hand and sat it on the bar. "Thanks," he uttered. She climbed onto the chair beside him and grinned. "I'm Lucille but you can just call me Lucy."
Tsume said nothing in response, finding the situation he was in a little awkward. Was a little human girl really crushing on him?
"What's your name?"
"Uh...Tsume."
Toboe was seen sitting with Russe on the ledge before a fireplace that had a roaring fire going. Kiba was no where to be seen yet. Tsume was sure he had returned by now but just didn't want to accompany them in the bar. Other wolves crowded the bar in their human form including Dalibor, Elya, Annachie and Tala. Village musicians gathered and began to play a lively, upbeat tune and chanted Elya's name raising their drinks to her. She gave a humble bow to her audience then raised her dainty arms above her head pushing her hip out to the side. It made the wolves, even the humans howl in excitement at the entertainment they were about to receive. Drums joined in with the musicians as Elya began to move her hips to the beat of the drums. Her long flowing skirt harmonized with her dance moves at it twirled gracefully around her. How she could move to the beat of the song made it feel as if her own body was making the music.
Tsume didn't care much for it but Hige watched, delighting in the entertainment. Watching Elya dance was sexy and Hige could easily admit that but nothing had been more sexy then watching Blue fight off the soldiers back in the cave. She could make fighting look more sexy easily. He wondered what was taking her so long in contacting Quent. Toboe laughed at the silliness of the wolves howling at Elya and her memorizing dancing but found himself clapping his hands with the music. . He had never been around so much joy and laughter like he was in now. It was also nice to see humans and wolves not fighting with each other like they do in the cities. If anyone in the city had suspected you a wolf, you could be dead or caught the next day. "Do you want to dance?" He heard Tala's voice. He turned away from Elya's dance and saw Tala standing next to him. He at first didn't recognize her. She was dressed similarly to Elya wearing a long flowing skirt and a loose blouse that fell completely off her shoulders. Her hair was down at her sides with gentle curls framing her face. She didn't seem like a little girl anymore. "Toboe?" She said when he had done nothing but stare. Russe nudged his elbow into Toboe's side to get his attention.
He blushed and looked back towards Elya. "I have no idea how to dance," he chuckled shyly and pulled his cloak over his shoulders as if that make him more invisible. "I'd prefer watching, thanks."
"I'll teach you, come on! Please?" She gently grasped his arm and tugged on it. Hige was passing by headed out to check on Blue. He smiled seeing the two young lovebirds.
"You two getting along?"
"I'm trying to get him to dance," Tala glowered.
"Well what are you waiting for?" He looked at Toboe.
"I don't know how."
"Oh that's nonsense," Hige laughed. He clutched Toboe's shirt, pulling him to his feet off the ledge of the fireplace. "And frankly, if you danced exactly like Elya...well it be scary and not nearly as sexy. So don't even attempt her style." The joke at least made Russe laugh. Toboe flattened his brow. Hige pulled him close and muttered, "Stop being such a downer. You'll regret it ten years from now. After the hell we've been through, we need all the female attention we can get."
"I'm not sure if her pack would agree," Toboe said getting a little embarrassed.
"I don't care what anyone thinks," Tala huffed and firmly took Toboe by his hand. "Just trust me."
Hige watched her dragged Toboe towards the dance floor where Elya was. At first, Tala entered the dance floor by facing the audience where Toboe had halted to a stop. She reached her arms up and bent backwards until her palms touched the ground and she swiftly brought her legs up towards the ceiling and landed her feet back on the ground. She got an immediate cheer from the surrounding audience in awe by her flexibility. She then gestured to Toboe to join in. He shook his head but it wasn't long before someone punched him in his back to better encourage him. "Whoa," he stumbled forward before Tala caught him. He tried to maneuver away feeling humiliated.
"Tala, I don't even know where to begin."
She put his hand on her shoulder and grabbed his other hand before resting her other hand back on his shoulder. "Just move your feet and I'll guide you." The second he started moving, he tripped on her skirt and even heard a tear. He looked at her succumbing to humiliation but she either didn't notice or didn't care. Laughter was heard from the surrounding audience. He started to pull away before she firmly pulled him closer clutching the side of his head. "Just look at me."
Tsume was finally entertained by the dancing watching her trying to break Toboe of his shyness. Lucille was still sitting next to him having chatted a bit but had also turned her head to watch the dancing. She loved watching Elya's dance and her skirt twirling in rhythm with the music. "She's so pretty," she said in a dreamy tone. Of course, Tsume days nothing in response. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Annachie suddenly moving towards the dance floor and not looking happy. Tsume immediately knew what he was going to do. He swiftly stood and lunged out at Annachie to reach his arm.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Annachie turned to face him already getting angry. "Teach that little pup to keep his dirty paws to himself or I'll make him."
"Are you that blind? She's the one that can't keep her hands off him."
Annachie tightened his fist ready to start a fight.
Tsume was usually ready to start a fight any time but saw starting one now would reveal their wolf-like qualities. "Back down Annachie. I don't know what your problem is with us but don't go spoiling tonight with your stupidity. We can fight later but I'm not letting you take a step closer towards Toboe. Dalibor and Elya don't seem to have a problem with their friendship. In fact, you're the only one with the problem."
Annachie finally relaxed a bit. "You four don't know Tala like I do. I know exactly what her father would have wanted and I tend to see his wishes come true." He spat before he finally walked away and stormed out of the bar. Tsume was not sure what he meant by that but at least he stopped him from making a scene. He looked back at the dance floor and saw Tala had pulled Toboe out if the spotlight and to a darker corner. She still held him close but wasn't trying so hard to make him dance to the fast beat of the song. It was just an excuse for her to hold him. He had at first been afraid to return the affection but now had pulled her close resting his head against her's. Suddenly it hit Tsume. He turned away letting out a laugh. Lucille raised a brow. "What's so funny?" He took another gulp of his drink still laughing in thought. Annachie was in love with Tala.
Hige hurried outside and spotted Kiba right away sitting on the porch gazing intently into the night sky. Amaris was with him taking in the night air but there was little light from the moon for her to soak in. "I was beginning to worry. Why aren't you inside with the rest of us?"
"I don't think it's the right time to be dancing and drinking first of all."
"It's not wrong to have fun during dark times as such as now. Sometimes that's the only thing that makes it bearable." Kiba said nothing in response. Hige looked down the road and saw Blue walking down the main street. She did not look she had gotten peace of mind. In fact, it looked the opposite. Hige ran to meet her halfway. "Did you get in contact with the old man?"
She shook her head sadly. "It took hours just to make contact. The prison in Listra said he was transferred to the prison in Dai 'Ron. When I finally got in contact with them...they could find no file on Quent Yaiden."
"What? How can that be?"
"It's like he disappeared from the face of the earth. What do I do?"
"Just stay with us Blue. For the sake of yours and Russe's safety, stay." He pulled her close tenderly holding her. "You know better Blue, he would want you to stay."
"Hige is right," Kiba said once he caught up to them. "You wouldn't even know where to start if you went now on your own."
"I'm not promising anything," Blue said pulling away from Hige's affection. "Russe for sure can't stay with a pack of wolves."
"Blue- "
She raised her palm to stop him and shook her head. "I'm sorry Hige, I've got other responsibilities in this world. Too much to just leave behind."
Hige was suddenly becoming heartbroken. He couldn't see his future life without her. Blue looked away unable to bear the pain she knew she was causing him. She stepped away and walked passed him and Kiba to retrieve Russe and put him to bed. Hige truly realized Blue loved her human owners more than she would ever love him.