Jurassic Park Broken Lives
Chapter 17: Trouble in Paradise
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park.
Silver Claw slowly awoke. The soft call of distant birds and the deep cries of the brachiosaurs sounded through the jungle. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the treetops and a light mist clung to the ground. Silver Claw looked around, the other raptor were already awake and moving about. He slowly slipped out from Amanda's grip and walked over to the other raptors.
"Good morning," Silver Claw greeted and bowed his head.
"How are you feeling?" Sunayana asked.
"Fine," Silver Claw replied. "The wounds a little tender but otherwise I'm fine."
"Are you well enough to go hunting?" Jack asked.
"I think so," Silver Claw said. "Are you leaving soon?"
"Yes," Jack replied. "Are you coming?"
"What about Amanda?" Silver Claw asked. "Is she on nest duty again?"
"Yes," Jack said. "Rebecca is staying as well if you come with us."
"Ok, I just have to tell Amanda," Silver Claw said and returned to his nest. "Amanda, you awake?"
"Now I am," Amanda moaned. "What is it?"
"I'm going hunting with the pack," Silver Claw said.
"Am I allowed to come?" Amanda asked.
"No," Silver Claw sighed. "Jack still has you on nest duty."
Amanda groaned. "Is anyone here with me?"
"Rebecca," Silver Claw replied and licked her cheek. "I'll bring some food back here for you."
"Ok, don't get hurt." Amanda smiled.
"I won't." Silver Claw slowly walked over to group of raptor.
Amanda watched as the raptors slowly walked off towards the lake. She sighed and rolled onto her back, looking at the female raptor tending to her nest. The female lifted her head as if she was listening to something. She showed her teeth and looked to Amanda.
"Hello Amanda," she snarled.
Amanda quickly sat up. "Hello… Rebecca."
Amanda examined the raptor. Her body was slender but muscular. Several scars covered her tail and a bite impression marked her neck. Her dark yellow eyes lie at the center of a circle of crimson red scales. Rebecca tilted her head slightly and showed her teeth even more.
"Time for you earn your keep." Rebecca smiled. "Get up!"
Amanda slowly stood up and stretched her back. "What do you want?"
"Get leaves and place them over the eggs," she barked. "Hurry up."
Amanda sighed and moved around the nesting area, grabbing leaves as she went. Amanda put a layer of leaves over one nest with eight eggs and immediately the raptor hissed at her.
"Spread it out evenly and do not put so much on, are you trying to kill them?" Rebecca barked. "Hurry up!"
Amanda rolled her eyes and pulled some leaves off. "You could help me." Amanda said politely.
"No, you have to earn your place." Rebecca hissed. "Hurry up."
"There, happy." Amanda said a little more angrily when she finished.
"Did I hear attitude," Rebecca snarled. "Are you looking to fight me?"
"No," Amanda said calmly. "Why are you so angry with me?"
"Do you know who my mate is?" Rebecca asked but Amanda shook her head. "No? It's Talon."
"Talon's being nice to me," Amanda said as she moved to another nest of nine eggs and put leaves on them.
"Too little, add more." Rebecca snapped. "Talon was only nice because Jack told him to be."
"Still, you could be a little nicer." Amanda said and moved to the last nest with six eggs. "It's not like being nice to me is going kill you."
"Was that a threat?" She hissed and raised her claws, "Because I'm just waiting for a good reason to end your life for getting Talon in trouble."
"What else do you want me to do?" Amanda said and exhaled heavily, trying not to get angry at the female.
"Replace the leaves in the other nests." Rebecca said and sat next to the stream. "Hurry up, you don't have all day."
Meanwhile the group of raptors reached the edge of the plain. The plain was empty of life except for a single creature feasting on a gallimimus carcass at its center, Loki. The smell of blood filled the air and it agitated the raptors even more because it would attract other carnivores.
Jack snarled. "I told him he was banished from our territory."
Jack quickly raced out onto the field, followed by the rest of the pack. Loki saw this and ran in the opposite direction, disappearing into the jungle. Jack slowed down at the kill and looked down. It was fresh, only Loki had eaten from it. Jack waited for Sara and soon both dug into the carcass, tearing off massive chunks of flesh. Before long, the rest of the pack joined in and started eating.
Silver Claw watched as the raptors ate. He knew he would not get in until they were finished but he was used to this because of his original pack. Even though his mother and father were the alpha pair for a while, he was almost the bottom rank. After Tyrannous killed his parents and the two females, Silver Claw only dropped in rank to the omega position.
The same was for Sophia though. She was only one rank above Silver Claw and it stayed that way when Scar and Erica, her parents, took over the alpha position after the death of Seth and Amber. After which, Sophia's parents took Silver Claw in because he was still too young to be on his own.
Finally, Silver Claw saw his chance to get in. He slowly walked up and sunk his teeth into the thick flesh of the tail. Silver Claw violently shook his head until the piece came free of the bone. He quickly moved away from the kill and laid in the grass, eating the chunk in large bites. As Silver Claw finished, he looked to see the kill diminished of edible food for Amanda.
The pack moved off to the grass and basked in the sun. Silver Claw looked desperately through the kill for anything Amanda said she could eat but he found nothing. Suddenly a roar erupted from the jungle and a tyrannosaurus broke from the trees. A familiar scar ran down the side of its head. Each step it took shook the ground as it quickly approached. The raptors scrambled to their feet and ran off into the jungle. Silver Claw paused for a moment, quickly checking once more for anything he could take for Amanda but gave up and followed the others into the jungle.
Silver Claw soon caught up to the pack and stopped. He sighed and looked at them to see them staring at him. "What?" Silver Claw asked.
"The rex was nearly at the kill, why did you stay?" Talon asked.
"I was looking for something Amanda could eat." Silver Claw replied and looked down. "I didn't find anything though."
"Don't do that again." Jack hissed. "That tyrannosaur sometimes chases what ever was at the kill until either it gets tired or catches what it is chasing."
"Oh, it won't happen again." Silver Claw said and bowed his head.
"Alright, back to the nests then." Sara barked to the group.
Silver Claw looked at the ground as he walked back to the nests. The distant steps of massive creatures echoed through the jungle. Silver Claw sighed and looked to the sky. A dark shape, too far away to identify it, drifted through the clouds.
Within an hour, the group reached the nests. Silver Claw looked around for Amanda but she was nowhere in sight. Rebecca was asleep in her nest. He slowly walked over to her.
"Rebecca, where's Amanda?" Silver Claw asked.
Rebecca yawned, exposing a large piece of grey material in her mouth. "What did you say?"
"What's that in your teeth?" Silver Claw asked. "And where is Amanda?"
"I have something in my teeth," She said and used her claws to get it out. The grey material fell to the ground near Silver Claw.
"This is from Amanda's cloths," Silver Claw hissed. "Where is she?"
"Amanda… hmmm…. I cannot remember. Who is she again?" Rebecca said and showed her teeth.
Silver Claw raised his feathers and claws. "Where is she?" He hissed.
"Watch your attitude towards me omega," Rebecca hissed and looked up to the trees.
Silver Claw looked up to see Amanda's leg dangling out over the edge of a flattened part of the tree. "Amanda?" he questioned quietly then called out. "Amanda."
Her leg moved slightly and her head appeared. "Hi Silver Claw," Amanda said but did not attempt to come down.
"Are you coming down?" Silver Claw asked.
"No," Amanda said in a calm tone. "Not as long as…. Rebecca…. is here."
"Why?"
"She made me do all the work around here then," Amanda said and took in a deep breath. "She attacked me and took a chunk of my shorts with her."
"She attacked you!" Silver Claw hissed and looked at Rebecca. "How dare you!" He raised his claws and hissed at her more.
"She also stole that stone you gave me and hid it in her nest." Amanda added.
"Did you do this?" Sara asked.
"No," Rebecca defended. "She lies."
"Check her nest." Amanda said from the tree.
Rebecca did not budge but instead she hissed back at Silver Claw.
"Rebecca, get up." Sara said, "If Amanda is lying she will be punished for it."
Rebecca slowly stood up. "See… nothing."
"Check under the leaves." Amanda said and shifted slightly in the tree.
Sara slowly walked over and Rebecca stepped aside. Sara stuck her claws in the leaves and dragged them around. She hit something. Sara tapped it several times before she reached in with her mouth and pulled out a knife in its sheath. She continued looking and soon found the blue stone.
"What is this?" Sara demanded.
Rebecca looked down.
"You did attack Amanda then?" Sara questioned.
"Yes," Rebecca admitted.
"Why?"
"She's a human," Rebecca hissed.
"She's your family." Sara hissed back and Rebecca ducked her head.
"No! She is not related to me."
"Silver Claw's mother was Fang and Elise's daughter as are you." Sara said. "Now Amanda is Silver Claw's mate, his family, and you will treat her with respect. Understood?"
Rebecca's head trembled slightly. "Yes."
Sara let out a satisfactory snort. "You are on night watch until I say otherwise." Silver Claw grabbed the stone and knife before walking back to his nest. He placed the objects by the bag and looked up.
"Are you coming down?" He asked.
"Could you find me some shorts to wear, these are ruined." Amanda said.
Silver Claw stuck his snout in the bag and pulled out something.
"No, that's a shirt." Amanda sighed. Silver Claw reached in and pulled out another thing. "Shirt… shirt… pants… socks… those are shorts, thank you. Would you come around to the other side of the tree please?"
Silver Claw slowly walked around the tree and looked up. Amanda slowly started to climb down. Silver Claw looked away when he saw the large hole in her shorts. Soon she reached the ground and took the shorts from his mouth.
"Do you mind?" She asked as Silver Claw stared at her.
He tilted his head. "What?"
"I want to change." Amanda sighed.
"Yeah," Silver Claw said and continued to stare at her.
Amanda sighed. "Could you go?"
"Why?" Silver Claw asked. "You are my mate."
"Yes but I don't want you seeing something." Amanda said.
"Like what?" Silver Claw said. "I've seen you changing before."
"You haven't seen one thing." Amanda said and blushed.
"What?" Silver Claw asked.
"A tattoo," Amanda said and looked down, her face reddened even more.
"What is a tattoo?" He asked with a puzzled expression on his face.
"You promise not to tell anyone," Amanda questioned.
"I promise my mate." Silver Claw said and licked her cheek.
"Ok," Amanda sighed and turned away from him. She lifted her shirt slightly and pushed down a little on her shorts. "I got it without my parent's permission and haven't told anyone about it until now."
"What is it?" Silver Claw asked.
"A butterfly," Amanda said. She suddenly felt his tongue touch her skin and she jumped forward. "What are you doing?" She turned around to see him smiling at her.
"Nothing my mate," Silver Claw purred.
"Don't do that again." Amanda said and used the shirt to cover herself while she slipped out of the old shorts and into the good ones. "There," Amanda said. "What should we do with these?"
"I don't know," Silver Claw admitted.
"Here, help me burry them." Amanda said. "That might be best."
Silver Claw watched as Amanda quickly dug a hole at the base if the tree and put the shorts inside. She pushed the dirt back and tapped the ground slightly. Amanda sighed.
Silver Claw moved his head next to her ear. "I love the tattoo."
Amanda blushed red. "Don't you dare bring it up again," Amanda said. "I only told you because you're my mate but I don't want anyone else to find out."
"Alright my love," Silver Claw purred.
"So where's my lunch?" Amanda said and smiled.
Silver Claw only looked down.
"Oh… that's ok." Amanda sighed and rubbed his neck. "Come on. Let's go back to our nest." She started to walk around the tree, followed by Silver Claw.
"I'm sorry Amanda," Silver Claw said. "Loki killed and animal so we scavenged off it."
"You saw Loki?" Amanda asked.
"Yes, Jack isn't too happy about it either." Silver Claw said and curled up in the nest.
Amanda picked up the blue stone and looked at it. Several new scratches covered it. Amanda picked up the knife and looked at the tree. She started cutting into the bark above the nest until she could set the stone into it. She stepped back.
"How does that look?" Amanda asked Silver Claw. "It's a good spot so we can always see it."
"Beautiful my mate," Silver Claw said and tugged on her shorts slightly. "Come lay with me."
Amanda slowly sat in the nest next to him. She looked into his deep red eyes and smiled. "I love so much Silver Claw."
"I love you too." Silver Claw said and curled his tail over her legs. "I think will have a nap."
"That might be nice." Amanda said. "I did a lot today." Soon both were asleep while the pack remained busy.
"Look at them," Sara said. "Just like us when we were young."
"Yeah," Jack sighed. "I wonder how long it'll last."
"What do you mean?" Sara asked.
"She is a human," Jack said as he nuzzled their eggs. "They are different species, they can't have children and she can't defend herself as well as raptor could." He looked at her.
"But love is love." Sara said and nuzzled him.
"Yeah," Jack sighed and looked back to the eggs. "How long do you think it'll take them to hatch?"
"A few weeks yet," Sara smiled. "If they all hatch we'll have eight more children."
"Oh the delight," Jack joked and smiled slightly, "Eight little raptors attacking me every morning because they're hungry."
"Yeah," Sara said. "You miss that don't you?"
"Of course," Jack sighed and nuzzled her.
On another part of the island, Tyrannous looked down at a beach. A group of humans walked about it. Most of them were dressed in white and held out food to several seated people. Off shore, a large boat rocked in the waves. The roar of crashing waves sounded from down the beach by the step cliffs.
Tyrannous sat on the ridge of a hill. He could not go near the humans incase they were armed as Amanda once was. He could not risk an injury like that when he was this close to the rex nest, not only that but he might be stuck on guarding the nest if he was injured.
"Why do they always stay together," Tyrannous asked himself. "It's all Amanda's fault I was hurt." Because of his age and previous injuries, Tyrannous had stayed the omega of the pack even though he could easily kill the alpha pair if he wanted to but the pack would not accept him if he did. Nearly and hour passed as Tyrannous watched the group.
Tyrannous watched as a young girl started to wander away. He smiled slightly but that turned to anger when an adult confronted the young girl. He could faintly hear them arguing but the young girl soon moved down the beech. Tyrannous moved along the ridge of the hill until he saw her heading into the jungle. She suddenly stopped.
"Come to me little human." Tyrannous said to himself. "Wander a little more away from your group and you're mine."
He watched as a compy jumped out from the bushes in front of the girl. She knelt down by the small animal.
"No," he hissed. "You're too close to your group."
He could her talking to the compy, although it was faint. She held out what looked to be food and stood up when the compy took it. "Mummy! Daddy! You've got to come see this! I found something!"
"No!" Tyrannous hissed. "Don't call them over."
Suddenly the girl backed away from the bushes as more compsognathus jumped out. She backed away more but the compies surrounded her.
In the distance, a female voice called out. "Cathy, darling, lunch is ready!"
The girl screamed repeatedly, throwing something onto the ground. No, Tyrannous thought. As the compies piled onto her, he could only watch as the group of humans came rushing over and pulled the compsognathus off. He turned around and hissed before he rushed back into the jungle. In the distance, he could hear that the pack was calling his false name.
Three weeks passed as Amanda slowly gained the respect of the pack. A few of the other pack members openly showed their anger towards her but most respected her enough to bring food for her on occasion. Silver Claw had since healed completely but Jack allowed them to stay.
Amanda stared at the morning sky. Silver Claw had his head on her chest and his tail over her legs. She sighed. Another day of nest duty, Amanda thought. Silver Claw stayed with her most of the time since Rebecca attack her but occasionally another one of friendlier raptors would stay in his place.
"Good morning Amanda." Sunayana said.
"Good morning." Amanda replied as she continued to stare into the canopy.
"Silver Claw still asleep?" she asked.
"Yeah," Amanda sighed and tilted her head to see that Sunayana was standing over her.
"Today's your lucky day," Sunayana said. "Jack said you are off nest duty and can go hunting with us."
"Really?" Amanda questioned. "I hope I don't screw up anything."
"You're hunting by yourself," Sunayana sighed. "He wants to see if you'll be able to hunt alone before he puts you in a group."
"Oh…. I've only hunted twice before." Amanda admitted.
"Yeah I know. You caught something both times." Sunayana said with a smile. "Try and make it three."
Silver Claw moaned slightly. "Good morning Amanda." He lifted his head up and yawned, noticing Sunayana. "Oh, hi Sunayana," Silver Claw said.
"Amanda is coming hunting with us today." She said.
"Really?" Silver Claw asked and looked to Amanda.
"I have to hunt by myself though." Amanda sighed. "Because Jack wants to see if I can hunt before he puts me in a group."
"Remember not to pick something big or dangerous." Silver Claw said, slightly worried.
"That would probably guarantee me to hunt in the groups." Amanda said and dragged her hands down the sides of he face. "I'm so tired of staring at these eggs all day, sure you or someone else is here to keep me company but I haven't gone more that a hundred meters away from the nests in over three weeks."
"Yeah, you must be bored." Silver Claw said. "This is a good spot because nothing comes here that often."
"Well she won't have to stay here if she can kill something big." Sunayana said. "Maybe… an adult gallimimus would convince him. I don't think he is expecting you to catch something that big though."
"I hope not." Amanda said. "Maybe I should make a spear?"
"As long as you don't cut your finger again," Silver Claw said. "Would a spear be able to kill an animal?"
"If I can get close enough, yes." Amanda sighed. "Where will I be hunting?"
"The field where we usually hunt," Sunayana said. "There are a lot of large herbivores there."
"You're going to do fine my mate," Silver Claw said and licked her cheek. "You've hunter twice with success each time. My first hunt I jumped over the animal and hit my head on a tree."
Amanda laughed slightly and rubbed his head. She looked towards the other raptors to see them gathering. "I think we're going soon."
Sunayana looked back. "Yeah I think so, you better get ready."
Amanda slowly rolled out of the nest and sat up. She dug through her bag and grabbed two knives. Amanda looked back to see Jack approaching her.
"You're hunting with us today," Jack said.
Amanda bowed her head. "Thank you."
Jack let out a satisfactory snort and walked away. Amanda, Silver Claw and Sunayana soon followed. They reached a small group of raptors.
"Rebecca and Mark, you are on nest duty today while we see if Amanda can move up in the pack," Sara said.
The two raptors bowed their heads and immediately started to tend to the nests. The group walked away and towards the plain. Silver Claw, Sunayana and Amanda stayed near the back of the group.
"No pressure hey," Amanda nervously laughed.
"Just try to make sure you don't let anything you try to kill get away," Sunayana said, "And you'll do just fine."
"I hope you're right Sunayana." Amanda said. "I'm pretty nervous though."
"Try to cut the neck or behind the knee," Sunayana said. "Those spots will bring most of the herbivores to the ground."
"Not the ankylosaurs," Silver Claw remarked, "Stay away from them though Amanda, the have a huge club tail that will break bones in an instant."
"Yeah, those things are too big for me." Amanda said. "What should I do when I'm hunting?"
"Well, try to stay hidden until you can get a clear shot at the animal," Sunayana said. "If you can, sneak up behind them."
"Also, watch for other animals because some will attack you on sight." Silver Claw added. "Try and go for the young, sick, and old animals if you can."
"Ok," Amanda sighed.
Nearly an hour passed before they reached the plain. It was full of life, brachiosaurs grazed off the north while the herds of gallimimus and other small dinosaurs grazed at the center, and triceratops fought amounts each other along the tree line.
"Alright Amanda," Jack said. "You go try and catch something."
"Maybe she shouldn't," Silver Claw said. "That triceratops herd is close to the tree line and the smaller animals are at the center."
"Don't worry Silver Claw," Amanda said and kissed him. "I'll be fine."
"Go prove what you're worth Amanda," Sara said. "We'll be watching from the hill over there."
Amanda inhaled heavily. "Ok." She began to walk down a slight hill and towards the herds of dinosaurs.
Amanda soon reached the tree line and looked out over the field. A strong breeze blew towards her so the animal could not smell her at least. Most of the gallimimus herd had moved off to the northern part of the plain but the triceratops were closer than before to where Amanda stood. She watched as two of the triceratops roared and barked at each other until finally they locked horns, it was terrific sound as the two animals pushed and against each other, roaring and barking until the smaller animal pulled away. Nearby, a large triceratops slept, its head marked with scars and a large tear through its frill.
"Well it's worth a shot," Amanda mumbled to herself and slipped into the dense jungle. She quietly moved into position, the animal was close enough to the trees that if it woke, Amanda might be able to hide before it got her. She pulled out both knives.
Meanwhile Silver Claw watched from the hill. He was becoming nervous after Amanda disappeared into the jungle and had not reappeared for some time. "Where could she be?"
"Amanda probably went around to the smaller animals," Jack said then saw her moving out towards the sleeping triceratops, "Or not."
"What is she doing? She going to get herself killed!" Silver Claw nearly shouted.
"Why is she going after a triceratops?" Sara asked. "Is she looking to die?"
"No, she wants to be allowed to hunt with us because she was bored out of her mind at the nests." Sunayana said and looked down. "I told her that if she caught something big, she might have a better chance of getting to come with us."
"I just wanted to know if she could hunt or not." Jack said, looking at his daughter. "She only had to ask if she wanted to hunt with us. I brought her with us because she was in the nests that long."
Sunayana looked down.
Amanda moved closer to the sleeping animal. A musty smell, like rotting eggs and fish, nearly made her puke as she approached the animal. Its massive size and smell intimidated her but she kept going. Amanda kept to the back of the animal so that the others wound not see her… hopefully. Large pebble like brown skin covered the body of the triceratops that would be too thick to cut with a knife so she moved forward. Amanda finally reached the front legs, though her legs now trembled. Every breath the animal took sent a chill down her spine.
Suddenly at the other end of the field, the gallimimus shrieked, followed by a raptor call. The triceratops awoke, though it did not see Amanda because she was still behind its leg. Amanda trembled with fear. The large frill swiveled slightly, exposing the neck on her side. Amanda took the chance; she moved around the leg and stabbed both knives up to the handles into the exposed creature's soft neck.
With a speed, Amanda never knew an animal could have, the triceratops stood up and spun its horns to face her. Her heart nearly stopped. Amanda stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. The triceratops lunged forward and Amanda rolled to avoid the horns. She felt herself forced to stop and looked to see one of the horns impaled through her shirt, pinning her to the ground. Amanda suddenly felt herself pulled up and she desperately grabbed for anything she could, eventually grabbing the horn that held her.
The triceratops barked and tried to shake Amanda off but every time it tossed its head to the left, it roared in pain. The loud calls of the triceratops made her head hurt and Amanda almost let go of the horn to cover her ears. She began to get dizzy and felt as if she would puke any moment as she flew through the air, holding desperately onto the horn. The triceratops started to run, shaking its head more violently as progressed into the field.
Silver Claw watched in horror as the triceratops twisted its head low to the ground and snapped it up along its left shoulder, sending Amanda into the air. Amanda landed a few meters from the right side of the triceratops. One last roar escaped the creature's mouth and it collapsed on the side Amanda had fallen.
"No," Silver Claw said and rushed forward. This is my fault, Silver Claw thought. All I wanted was to see her happy and now she could be dead. Silver Claw whimpered as he continued running. Why did she go after something that dangerous, was it something I said, was she trying to prove something?
"Amanda's going to be alright Silver Claw," Sunayana said.
Silver Claw looked away and whimpered. He quickened his pace to the point that the pain it caused was overwhelming. He pushed past a large fern and suddenly felt himself thrown over a log and to the ground. He heard a creak and his chest burst in pain but Silver Claw quickly stood back up and continued running.
As Silver Claw reached the bottom of the hill and started out onto the plain. In the distance, he could see the shape of another creature running through the tall grass towards the triceratops. He moved out into the tall grass, as did the rest of the pack but they fanned out.
Silver Claw quickened his pace and soon reached the triceratops. He jumped on top of the dead triceratops and before he could see what it was, he pounce onto the animal he seen running through the grass. Silver Claw let out a terrific screech and sunk his teeth into the creatures neck and was about to use his killing claw when he realized it was Loki.
"Get off me Silver Claw!" Loki roared as blood trickled down his neck.
Silver Claw released Loki and spun around to see Amanda lying in the grass, not moving. Her face was pale and her eyes closed. Her lips tinted a dark blue and several lines of blood streaked her face. A large dark spot on her shirt turned the surrounding grasses red with blood when the wind blew the blades up against her side.
Silver Claw slowly walked up to her. He gently nudged her cheek but she did not respond. He moved his head down to her side and found a tear in her shirt. Silver Claw slowly pushed the opening with his claws to find a large gash down her side, bleeding. Silver Claw sank to the ground and whimpered. The pain in his chest was insignificant to the amount his heart hurt. Silver Claw gently picked up her arm in his mouth and let go but it fell to the ground. He slowly moved next to her and nudged her arm onto his head. He closed his eyes and whimpered.
Around them, the pack had gathered and looked on, silent. In the distance, the low groan of a helicopter sounded over the island. Loki started to back away by the pack surrounded him. They hissed at Loki and he ducked his head.
"Amanda?" Silver Claw whimpered and licked her cheek. "I love you."
Author note: If I do not up date for a while, it is because I am on holidays and have little access to a computer. It might be for a few days or weeks, until then, another cliffhanger for you all to enjoy.