The Broken Warrior’s Daughter by Cooper

Chapter 0315

I have to hand it to my girl. Running all day is not for the weak. I pushed us hard, knowing the wolves were trailing us. I haven’t heard them howling in hours, so I’m hoping that we have some time to relax.

When we get to a small hill near the Arkansas border, I find an overhang where I can put Grace to let her rest while I keep watch. I’m used to not sleeping for days or only sleeping lightly for a couple of hours. That is how my life has been, but that is not the life that Grace has lived. She needs her rest and she will be sore after pushing so hard today. I know we’ll have to go more slowly tomorrow, but once we pass out of red wolf territory, we should be safe to slow down.

When Maia collapses, I shift and pull on some shorts before walking over and picking her up. She’s a big wolf, beautiful in her coloring, black but with streaks of different shades of brown. I’ve never seen another wolf like her.

“I’ve got you, gorgeous.” I tell her as she whimpers when I pick her up. “You did. so well today. Louis and I are very proud of you. I know that was hard.”

I find some pine needles, small branches and vines and build a make–shift bed for her, laying her on it gently. I run my fingers through her fur, massaging the muscles in her shoulders, down her back and to her flank. Maia alternates between whimpering and purring at my ministrations.

When she’s half asleep, I lean into her, running my fingers in the fur around her face. “You rest, I’ll be back shortly.”

Her eyes open in alarm, and she begins to stand. I put my hand on her chest, holding her down. “No, stay here. I’ll be back soon and I won’t go far. You’ll be safe. Don’t shift, stay in your wolf form. Promise?”

She reaches out and licks my face. “That’s my girl. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I tell her before shifting and running off to find us food.

over the years. It was the only way

watch her until she finishes. When she’s done, she looks at them and then at us. Louis scoots forward,

IS BONOS

it as

it up, dropping it in front of Louis before laying down next to him. He leans over and begins licking her muzzle, cleaning her. When he’s done, he grabs the remaining rabbit and eats it in two bites.

make her, he lays down in front of her. She curls up beside him and lays her head over his back. I can feel her deep sigh as she settles in and eventually falls asleep.

I lay awake for a while longer, keeping watch from our makeshift lair. Eventually, the warmth of my mate and the sound of her even breathing lull us to

I can hear the sounds of creatures scurrying over the rocks,

of pine needles under a heavy paw. Louis lifts his head, taking a deep breath. I

wolves are close, we have to go. I turn my head to wake Maia, only to see her eyes glowing in the dark. She’s heard them too. She pokes her nose into my face, letting me know that she understands that we have

to our feet, climbing over the top of the hill, making no sound. The wolves will have to either climb up or go around, which gives us time

we get far enough away, I begin to run, giving Maia a few minutes to warm up to running again, before I begin pushing us hard. We cross into Arkansas and I push us through the morning and into the

from human hikers. I finally find a place where we can easily access water and there are rock. formations where Maia can hide while I go get us human food. When I find the spot where I feel like she’ll be safe, I shift back, quickly grabbing my

+15 BONOS