Chapter 93

As they gathered around to eat, the delicious smell of roasted lamb filled the air. Shannon had ended up making a lamb roast, which was cooked alongside a bunch of miniature potatoes. As was the case with most meats that Shannon had cooked up in the past few weeks, it was cooked rare. It was mostly still really juicy, but had a nicely seared outside, giving it a solid and meaty crunch as you bit into it. As it was duplicated to an extravagant regard for the wargs, everyone started to dig in. The lamb was not a small size thankfully, leading to it being the perfect size of a roast for a single wolf, when added with the potatoes. No one spoke or made excess noise throughout dinner, leaving only the sound of flapping jaws to be heard among one's own eating. Seeing everyone so singularly focused on her food, Shannon felt pride well up inside of her. She had felt particularly useless in the fight that critically wounded Bryden two weeks prior, and was glad to feel like she was able to take care of her new family. They had accepted her in as one of their own readily, but it was hard for her to accept it immediately. Thankfully, the last two weeks had helped show her how much she was cared for by everyone present. Holding back more tears of joy, she dug into the lamb roast herself.

Just by looking at Shannon, Natalie could tell her partners current feelings fairly accurately. However, she felt it would be a poor idea to bring up or point out right now. Though not because it would have much effect on Shannon's recovery. If it was brought up to the canines that Shannon still felt distant and as if she was an outsider, she was more afraid for Shannon's physical wellbeing. The most likely scenario was that they would pile on top of her to make her feel as loved as they could. And as every dog thought they were a lap dog no matter their size, they tended to get a bit reckless. Having someone as heavy as Sol jumping onto a woman who was not even six feet tall was just a recipe for disaster. Instead, she kept the feeling of happiness from her dearest friend's recovery progressing along. It was not as if there was anything she could do to speed it up, after all everyone had their own schedule for healing. Hers would only move as fast as it could, and all that Natalie and her pack of canines could do to help was just to be by her, supporting her as she started trying to walk on her own once more. It felt slightly crushing not being able to help in a more definitive way, but sometimes a helping hand could cause more pain then good.

As the pack finished up their food, most just lay down on the grass where they were, completely full and satisfied. There were only three who did not join in on just basking in the moment of being pleasantly stuffed. Edwin, Lucille, and Copper had already taken their post, keeping watch while their tails wagged from their enjoyment of the meal. It was a bit cloudier tonight, so the stars were only visible here and there as they peeked through the layer of clouds. That mixed the warmth from the dying fire beside them however, left the entire area feeling warm and cozy. The fact that the three coyotes were able to resist to the comforting atmosphere of the camp just showed how serious and focused the group came to be about jobs and tasks. When they could, fooling around happened regularly, but as soon as things were moving, it was precision focus on the task at hand. It was not until the embers of what remained of the fire started to dim that the entire group moved to the tents, feeling the need to sleep coming on. Bidding each other a good night, Shan and Nat went to their tents, that were sitting a bit closer together than they had previously. It took a few minutes for them to get comfy, but the warmth of the humanoid Maia and Kali that cuddled up to Nat soothed her into a quick sleep.

When her eyes next opened, Nat realized that she was once again in the dream world. Bits of mist floated about, as she was back in the forest clearing that she had not been in for so long. Forgetting which direction was which, she picked one at random and started moving. These usually had a message to show her, or things to worry about. She walked for what felt like hours past an unchanging forest landscape, until she came to the end of the woods. What greeted her was a familiar cityscape looming above. While the buildings looked more like ruins, cracked and desiccated, they still were the sights she remembered seeing from here years in post-secondary. The Calgary cityscape of down town felt so reminiscent, and filled her with both nostalgia and worry. Most times she had these visions, they had shown a darker future than one might wish. As if to prove her right, a roar came up behind her. Turning around, she saw a horde of monsters approaching her from numerous city blocks away. Gobs, hobs, orcs, ogres, and one more form were moving in almost unison. The final one she had not seen before, but it had to have been three times her height, judging by its comparison to the ogres beside it.

Remembering the last dream she had, she tried to call on the energy inside of her to shift into her hybrid form. However, the power inside of her refused to respond to her will, as if it was being beaten down and kept repressed. Looking around for an alternative, she saw her bow and numerous quivers of arrows laying at her side. Picking them up quickly, she nocked an arrow as fast as she could before letting it fly in the oncoming horde's general direction. It went clean through two goblins before it got caught in a hob. Arrow after arrow was sent down the street, dispatching the smaller monsters with ease, and even one of the shots getting lucky and landing in an orc's eye. Her next shot put the fear of death in her, as it hit the biggest monster in the group. The arrow did not even leave a mark, instead bouncing off the chest of the monster with a ding, as if it had hit a metal sheet. The monster looked down at where the arrow had hit, then tilted his head up slowly as a smile crept over his face. With a louder roar than before, he started running straight at Natalie.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Jake, Viktor, Nikolas, Saganatsu, Eeleater, Eric, Corgi, Lachlan, Adam, John, Nicholas, Jacob, Onean, Erudual, Hades, Krimson, Neal, Juuso, Sebastian, Sir Hellington, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

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