Choosing Violence

“Do you want me to carry you?” He asked softly.

“No. I’ll be okay,” I answered, wincing in pain as I took a step.

“Are you sure? You just had a baby. You really should be resting,” he tried again.

“Even if I hadn’t, time is the most important thing at the moment. We will move faster if I walk.” I looked down at my daughter lovingly. “Besides, her safety is my top priority. My pain is irrelevant when her safety is at risk.”

“And I’m assuming that you won’t let me carry your daughter either.”

“No. I’ll do it. She’s mine.”

He nodded as he pointed in the direction we had been heading. “We just go in that direction until we find them. I left markers so that they can find us. If we stray from the path, I’ll get us back to it. Move as fast as you can, but be careful.”

I turned toward him, carefully giving him a one armed hug. “Thank you, Jarrod. For everything. I’m glad you’re part of my family. I love you.”

He wrapped an arm around my waist, hugging me back for a moment before pulling back. “We shouldn’t linger, Annie. It really isn’t safe.”

“I know. I just don’t know if we’re going to reach Osprey and everyone else,” I said sadly, lifting my daughter up again so I could kiss her forehead. “Just in case I couldn’t say goodbye to everyone that I love, I at least wanted you to be able to pass on my love.”

I turned around to walk into the trees, biting back a sob when I heard him say, “You can tell them that you love them yourself, because you’re not dying, Annie. I won’t allow it. Your daughter needs you.”

As I walked as fast as I could down the path, I started to notice that every few feet, Jarrod’s paw prints were accompanied by a human footprint, telling me that while he was running to me, he was shifting back and forth. It was a skill that I had always wanted to have, but had never mastered. Not like Toya had. She took to all things wolf as if she had been one. Now, I was definitely wishing I had paid a little more attention to the lessons she tried to teach me.

I sighed. It was time to admit that all of my siblings, excluding Gerald, were better than me. They had all become either a beta or an alpha, just like I did, but their sleuths and packs weren’t hunted to extinction because of them. When a wave of pain rushed through my body, I stumbled, crying out as I cradled my daughter to my chest with one arm so I could catch myself on a tree before I fell. I expected Jarrod to help stabilize me, but when he didn’t, I looked over my shoulder.

“J-Jarrod?” I called as my worry rose when I didn’t see him anywhere. “JARROD?!”

Within seconds, he reappeared between the trees behind me, putting his finger to his lips as he effortlessly shifted back to his human form.

“Quiet, Annie. I am just backtracking to watch for signs that Gerald is following us,” he told me. “But from what Osprey told me, his scent has changed and I am not entirely sure that I would even detect him, so I really need you to be quiet.”

I stiffened as I began to scan our surroundings, inhaling deeply as I did so. “Do you think he is following us?” I asked worriedly.

“As of right now, no, but that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down. It is the difference between life and death. Now, come on. We should keep moving.”

“Just be careful while you’re watching my back. I would be devastated if another person lost their mate because of me. Especially Toya. She’s loved you forever,” I told him.

He smiled at me as he nodded his head toward the trees. “I promise we will be okay. Both of us. And when we get home, I will tell Toya how worried you were about me.”

I returned his smile before resuming my walk. Every few minutes, I glanced over my shoulder, watching him. When he left my sight to double back, I had to remind myself to keep breathing as fear made my chest tight, only to let out a relieved breath when he reappeared. After stepping through a particularly dense area of trees and shrubbery, I drew up short when my eyes landed on Mother Annaria, who was sitting on a vine chair in the middle of the clearing, smiling at me.

“Hello, Annie,” she said softly.

“Mother Annaria,” I cried as I rushed over to throw one of my arms around her as sobs started to pour out of my mouth.

“Shhh, Annie. Jarrod is right. You need to be quiet. How are you feeling?” She asked.

“I’m sore, and I’m scared. I don’t want to fail my daughter.”

She brushed my hair back. “You won’t, sweetheart. She will live a long and healthy life.” She tilted her head. “Let me see your tongue, honey.”

I hesitated before opening my mouth to show her. She gripped my chin to tilt my head back so she could look at my tongue closely. After a few seconds, she let my face go.

“Interesting. My vines have regrown livers, kidneys, lungs, and even hearts, but never a tongue. How does it feel?”

“Like a tongue? It doesn’t feel any different,” I said.

A vine sprouted up out of the ground, and Mother Annaria immediately reached out to touch it. It wrapped around her wrist, immediately sinking two thorns into her skin. Her head whipped around to stare to the left for a moment before gently removing the thorns from her skin.

“Give her to me, daughter,” she ordered.

‘What? Why?” I asked as I cradled my daughter closer to my chest.

“Gerald is coming,” she told me. “You will move faster without her in your arms. I promise you that I will keep her safe. Please, Annie. I can’t lose you. This is your only chance. Trust me and run.”

I looked down at my daughter as a tear rolled down my face, falling softly onto her forehead. “I love you,” I whispered as I lifted her up so I could kiss her cheek before handing her carefully to Mother Annaria. I brushed my fingers over the soft barely there red fuzz on the top of her head. “I will see you soon, my little Gilda Lonnaria,” I sniffled before meeting Mother Annaria’s eyes. “Please, protect her.”

She raised her hand to my cheek as a small pod came up from the ground. “I will. I love you, daughter.”

I reached up to cover her hand with my own. “I love you too, Mother Annaria.”

“Now, run, Annie, and don’t look back,” she ordered.

I took off to the trees on the other side of the clearing before stopping to turn around to watch her place little Gilda inside the pod. I swallowed hard as it closed around her before sinking back below the earth. Jarrod sprinted into the clearing, glancing around anxiously before stopping briefly to bow to Mother Annaria on his way over to me. His wolf nudged my leg as our link opened, obviously having picked up on the face that I had turned my daughter over to Mother Annaria.

‘Give Marsha control, Annie. We need to run. And we need to do it now,’ he said.

I nodded before pulling Marsha forward to shift. She whimpered a little as the process increased our pain for a moment before she shielded me from it. Once we stood on all fours, Jarrod’s wolf tilted his head.

‘Let’s go. Osprey and the others are close enough that we can make it.’

‘Lead the way, and I’ll follow,’ I linked back.

He shot off, weaving through the trees easily while I moved a little slower as I was wider than he was. I gulped hard when he disappeared from sight, but Marsha kept pushing forward, following the path he had created, praying that he would be okay. She picked up speed when our family’s scents grew stronger, alerting us to their nearness. Marsha uttered a low growl, calling to them. When they answered our call, both Marsha and I relaxed. We ran another mile guided by their scents before running into Godric as we rushed through a set of trees. Pain immediately swamped me at the impact, making Marsha pull back. I was sent tumbling to the ground where I curled up in the fetal position with my arms wrapped almost too tightly around my legs. Moments later, my mother was kneeling in front of me with my fathers, along with Elena and Osprey, peering at me over her shoulder. She ran her hands over my body before cupping my cheek.

“Where is your daughter, honey?” She asked softly.

“I–”

A loud, ferocious growl made my words die in my throat as everyone immediately took defensive stances around me, facing the newcomer.

“Come out, come out, Annie!” Gerald called. “You belong to me.”

I whimpered behind the wall of my protectors, too terrified to answer him. My father glanced at me before stepping forward.

“No, Gerald. Annie will not be going anywhere with you. Not again,” he said as fur rippled briefly along his arms.

Timothy moved to stand beside my father. “Submit to us, son. Please.”

Gerald gave a short, sarcastic bark of laughter. “War it is.”