Vulfu (Primal #2)

Chapter 12

I hadn’t been wrong about the change in the season. Only a week later when I woke up with the sun, I could see my breath drifting in the air in a little cloud.

Oh hell no! I thought, and I burrowed under the furs immediately. I don’t know if it was because I was such a tiny person, but the cold affected me in the worst of ways. As much as I loved autumn, with hot chocolate, thick sweaters to hide in, and the beautiful colours of trees, a simple cold wind could knock me on my butt. But the moment I crawled under the furs and latched onto Vulfu’s side, I guess my cold hands had caught him by surprise, because he yelped and jerked away, pushing me back as he stared at my hands like they were bearers of evil.

“No, wait! I’m cold!” I begged and reached for him again.

“Mmuh, Stevvy!” His brows shot up, still watching my hands with apprehension. “Guh! Guh!”

“Are you serious?” I asked, almost laughing at the way he was avoiding my chilled digits. With a little smile curling up on my lips, I lifted a hand, wiggling my fingers in his direction like a threat. To see my big, strong Vulfu look absolutely horrified at the prospect of my tiny hand touching him was hilarious, and I was totally going to take advantage of this situation.

The moment I started reaching for him again, he let out that familiar curse I’d heard him use when Kray or Dow had gotten on his nerves, a growling, “Rup!” and took off like a shot to the corner of his hollow, glaring at my hand. Forgetting all about the cold, I laughed and chased after him, only to have him skirt away, managing to avoid me at every turn. Just when I thought I had him cornered, he bolted, running to the exit in a flash, and I collapsed on our bed laughing my ass off. To see big, leader Vulfu so scared of my cold hands had me rolling, and I promptly forgot about how cold I was. But now that I was alone in our little hollow, I shivered, grabbed a fur, and followed him out into The Dome, where the others were emerging for breakfast.

We all greeted one another with the usual gentle forehead touches while Vulfu did a perimeter check outside, coming back only when he felt all was safe so he could grab some food, too. I was wearing the speckled deer-skin again today, but I gathered a lighter fur to bring outside. The family climbed out together, with Vulfu helping me, and we gathered in our favourite spot by the creek for some sunshine. Out here, I could smell that rich pine scent of fall a little more heavily, and shivered on the moss as I wrapped the fur more tightly around my shoulders. I sat with Mowha, Veshy, and Krahu while Kray and Dow had disappeared into the trees, chasing each other, and Vulfu and Dahkha gathered at the top of the incline, murmuring softly to each other. The words, ug , vahsh , and gwod were the ones I recognized the most. Ug meant food, or eat. Vahsh meant fast, faster, or now. And gwod meant a lot, lots, or plenty. I knew they were thinking of the winter, and honestly, I was, too. Did we have enough to feed all of us?

They obviously have had their whole lives to experience it themselves, while me? I was nervous as hell at the thought of being out here with the cold and snow. How was it possible that they could survive? They were also built differently, tougher, having evolved to become so. But me? I was such a scrawny little thing that I truly worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up. I’d collapse at the first gust of icy cold.

I eyed Vulfu as he kept his eyes on the ground, listening to whatever Dahkha was saying to him in that deep undertone of his. In his hands, he played with that frightening looking deer antler he used as a weapon. There wasn’t a moment when we were outside that he didn’t have it within arms reach. Dahkha also had his weapon of choice… a club he’d made himself. It was a thick, round stone that had been tied to the end of a long, thick branch. The cords that wound about it to keep it in place open in three sections so that the edges of the rock could better batter at his prey. I was glad I hadn’t seen these two in action, but I had witnessed the results of their hunts… as their weapons were soaked in blood and had to be cleaned and refashioned after.

I wondered if they were going to hunt again this evening? They’d been heading out more often lately, taking advantage of the fact that animals were starting to move around with the change of season. Sometimes they brought Kray or Dow with them, but always left one at home with the rest of us as sort of sentries.

That moment from the treetops, I heard a loud clash of shouting from the two youngsters as they threw themselves branch to branch, and I chuckled to myself, rolling my eyes at their tomfoolery.

The others, however, all noticeably cringed, and I glanced to see the other women all suddenly on alert, staring frantically to the bushes and trees to the south. Confused, I glanced back over my shoulder to see Dahkha and Vulfu suddenly up and vigilant, everyone wary and tense.

Uhhh, okay? Where’s the memo? I thought as I looked around helplessly, my vision of no use to me. Mowha suddenly reached out then, firmly but gently taking a hold of my shoulder, and she pulled me back, hiding me behind her figure.

“Mowha?” I asked my adoptive mother, wondering why her fingertips were trembling. From behind, Dahkha and Vulfu approached, moving in front of the girls, while Kray and Dow went suddenly silent in the trees, lost in the leafy canopy, but I knew they must be close, judging by the few leaves that drifted down to the ground.

Only a few seconds passed before, across the creek, the shrubbery parted to reveal the ghostly white faces and black eyes of the pale men. I instantly cowered behind Mowha’s back, holding onto her tightly as my heart hammered at the chilling sight of them. Why the hell were they here? What did they want? Last time they’d raided us, but I thought it was to settle the dispute for the death of their fallen comrade, despite the fact that the fucker had been attacking me and then Vulfu after he explained his claim.

Fearfully, but ever curious, I peeked over Mowha’s shoulder and squinted hard, desperate to see anything.

It was the same group as before, all nine of them, all still pale-skinned like they hated the sun, their hair as black as coal, and all had that same sort of edge about them that was incredibly unnerving. One stepped out from the rest, an older male, with lots of grey in his hair, his face sunken like he’d lost his teeth, but when he opened his mouth to speak with a sharp, raspy, “Crah!” I could make out those yellowing, rotten teeth. Though his face looked old, sick and sunken, his body was still toned, still large in every sense of the word that he had been born and raised in these woods just like Vulfu.

“Crah!” he said again, nodding to Vulfu, who had oriented himself before the rest of us, his back to me. I had no idea what his expression was like, but I could only imagine how displeased he must be to see these others back here. In response, rather than speaking, he simply rose up as tall as he could and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting. He looked every bit a rightful ruler, especially when facing off with that disgusting man across the creek.

At Vulfu’s refusal to respond, the head of the other group glowered heavily, glancing over his shoulder to his stocky, rather beefy looking second-in-command, who’s dark eyes were moving over Krahu, past Veshy, and flickered uninterestedly over Mowha, to which I quickly hid behind her again.

“Vulfu!” their old leader called, his voice reminding me of a snake. “Hum gwukh ug!”

Home/family wants food.

Oh hell no! These bastards were coming to us asking for food? After the last time they robbed us nearly dry? I don’t freaking think so! Apparently Mowha was having the same sentiment as I was, because her body seemed to spasm momentarily before she gained her composure, though a deep growl rumbled in her chest.

“Mmuh… mmuh ug. Wahu guh. Mmuh hum a Vulfu!” Our fearless leader snapped in return, denying the request.

No. No food. Wahu go. No home of Vulfu.

Hell yeah! That’s my man! Don’t take his crap! I bit my lip listening to this conversation, glad I’d picked up so much of their speech. Though I will say, the words that the newcomers, the Wahu or whatever they were called, were entirely new to me. Vulfu’s refusal was met with a series of barks and hissing, the pale men furious with the decision.

Their leader, with his unusually raspy voice, screeched in a fury, snapping and snarling as he yelled at Vulfu, his words coming so fast I could only catch a few I recognized… Vulfu… mmuh aghaal… rrahg… vahsh. I muttered them over and over in my mind, deciphering his demand much slower than usual, but I was so nervous and anxious to see these men again that I felt like my head was spinning.

Vulfu… no leader… fight… now/fast.

Oh no…

My head instantly popped up then, horrified at the idea of Vulfu fighting one-on-one with any of these guys. I knew he was fully capable, but I still didn’t want to see him hurt. I knew these guys fought dirty. I remember that one Vulfu had killed the night I’d tried running away. They were vicious in a way that was more animal-like than anything.

“Guh Wahu! Guh vahsh !” Vulfu raised his voice to be heard, waving an arm to warn them off. Dahkha backed him, moving in a little closer at his side, ready to fight should they spring at his leader.

“Cht! Wahoe gweed hum?” The burly second from the other side suddenly jabbed the older, sickly looking one in his rib and pointed… directly at me.

Oh… holy… shit.

I cowered behind Mowha, completely forgetting that I was supposed to be hiding, and cursed myself for being so senseless. One of Mowha’s arms reached around to hold on to me, keeping me in place. I peeked just barely around her side, trying to see what was going on while trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

“Vulfu, wahoe?” The leader called.

“Mmuh. Mmuh! Cht jugra Vulfu! Mmuh Wahu!” Vulfu snarled, lunging forward on his fists as he smacked the ground angrily.

“ Wahoe?! ”

“Rup! Mmuh!”

I could feel everyone’s gazes moving from where Mowha and I were huddled and back to Vulfu again and again, like they were all assessing the situation. Just move along. Move along and forget about me. Maybe if they saw how skinny and tiny I was, they’d think I was a child still and lose interest? Or maybe they’d think something was wrong with me, like I was heavily malnourished and sick, and the subject would be dropped. I tugged on Mowha’s skin dress, trying to get her attention so I could try to communicate my idea to her, but she just gave my side a little pinch in response.

Nope. I was to remain still and shut up.

The older man across the creek began to laugh then, the sound hissy and chilling. There was no humour behind it at all. He shouted loudly for all of us to hear, “Vulfu gwouy aghaal. Vulfu brahda, mmuh khuhgwo hum. Mmuh garo ug a Wahu? Vulfu guh…”

Vulfu weak leader. Vulfu bad/broken. No protect home. No give food to Wahu? Vulfu go…

The hairs on my neck stood on end at those words and I wished I was bigger, stronger, a fighter. I wanted to attack these pricks and make them howl in pain, so they’d never think of coming here again. I wanted them to know what it was like to be scared. My heart was jackhammering in my chest, my breaths coming fast as my cheeks flushed. I was so enraged at these dicks trying to boss our family around, who come and take, and feel so justified in doing so, all while talking down to the one who protects and provides for us… well, I saw red.

“Wahu tar gweed hum. Vulfu mmuh ug? Cht gweed chomm a Wahu.”

Wahu take little home/family. Vulfu no food? It little comes with Wahu.

Wait… were they talking about me? If we didn’t give them food, then… they were going to take me? Now truly terrified, I clung to my mother tight, who reached around to hold onto me with both arms, crying out as she did so, yelling at the men. Drahkha even began to roar his disapproval and swatted at the air between us and them, a promise of injury should they come closer.

Vulfu, however, roared so loud that the birds in the trees nearby took flight, my ears ringing from the sound. Across the river, the pale-skinned leader pulled out a handmade spear and a blade, his dark gaze focused wholly on our leader, rose up on his feet, his back hunched, keeping him in his sights the entire time.

Mowha gathered me up and bolted up the incline, stopping at the top to watch, followed by the others, though Kray and Dow were still hidden away up in the trees somewhere. Dahkha stood between the women and the others, Vulfu at the forefront, his feet dug into the ground, ready to lurch one way or another. Oh my God… were they actually going to fight? Was this happening? No! No, I-I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, to hold him and kiss him and tell him how much he means to me. What if this crooked bastard manages to get the upper hand? What if he…

Before I could think any further on it, the gaunt opposing leader lunged, the movement so sudden and quick, it surprised me as I hadn’t expected someone who looked like they were so close to death’s door to have any sort of physical finesse. The moment he charged at Vulfu, however, I lost my head completely and screamed, running out from behind Mowha, but she effortlessly caught me round my middle and pulled me back. Crying hysterically, I screamed as I reached for him, wishing I could protect him from these men. Mowha covered my mouth with her hand and rocked me in her lap, hushing me and humming in her chest, trying her best to comfort me.

Vulfu, seeing the savage beast’s upcoming attack, effortlessly dodged to the side, avoiding first the spear, then ducked to avoid the sharp swing of the knife, which breezed just inches above his head. Vulfu whirled, bringing his huge fist up and smashed it against the leader's lower back, right into his kidney, causing his opponent to buckle. Vulfu backed away, his eyes never leaving his attacker for a second, actually giving him a moment to collect himself as he sagged over his knees.

“Mmuh rrahg?” Vulfu said, his voice booming loud enough for all to hear. He was giving them a chance to surrender.

Still weeping, though I’d stopped my hysterics for the time being, I watched as the elder steadily rose, fury evident in his black, soulless eyes, and I knew he wasn’t done.

With a piercing roar, he brought his knife up, rearing his spear back, ready to attack one move after another, but Vulfu was ready, seeing it, too. With a dive as smooth as an Olympian, he rolled to the side again, before lunging out of the way of the spear, turning to face the man once again, hunched over on all fours, his knuckles pressing into the ground, fists ready.

“Mmuh rrahg!” Vulfu yelled at him, like he was scolding the other for continuing the fight.

The pale leader spat onto the ground between them, his face twisted like he’d bitten into a lemon as he glared daggers at my family, finally resting on our alpha. “Mmuh, Vulfu. Rup! A’ rrahg agh morrde.”

Morrde . I didn’t know that word, but the moment he said it, I felt a chill, and everyone in my group became restless, anxious. I peered up at Mowha, tugging on her dress. “Mowha? Cht morrde? Wahoe?” I asked her.

She didn’t answer, but her eyes were watching Vulfu with such distress that my nerves were starting to get the better of me again. My heart was stuttering, it was hard to breathe, and I felt my face redden. Whipping my head back to Vulfu, I stared in horror at the look he was giving me, like he was trying to say something without words. Something so deep and full of meaning but did not know how to convey it. The way his eyes shone, the sad way the corners tightened, the grim set of his mouth… I could feel how much he wanted to speak to me with no barriers, no misunderstanding.

He said something then, his voice just loud enough for me to hear his deep rumble, just before the pale man lunged once more, everything slowing down so painfully, I could barely comprehend all that was happening in that moment, save for the one word he called to me.

“Luvv…”

There was an explosion of activity. I felt Mowha’s arms wrap around me, hauling me backwards as the head of the Wahu then smashed into his body, with Vulfu bracing himself upwards as best he could, his grip tight on the wrists of the elder to keep his weapons at bay. Their bodies were leaning into each other, spinning around, their muscles taught and strained as they fought like two elk with their antlers caught in the others, trying to knock one another off balance. Mowha, Veshy, and Krahu all raced back across the clearing toward home, and at first, I was bewildered as to why, until I managed to peer over my mother’s shoulder to see half of the pale men in pursuit, led by the stocky second-in-command.

Behind them, Vulfu was still locked with his opponent, both snarling and spinning, trying to make the other stumble, while Dahkha roared, his head whipping one way and the other. On one side of him, the women were being chased down, the other? Vulfu was now surrounded by the remaining pale men, all moving in close to cheat in his one-on-one with their leader…

Oh God… no!

“Dahkha!” I screamed, waving my hand high over Mowha’s back as she raced for home. “Vulfu! Save Vulfu! Khuhgwo Vulfu!”

Dahkha didn’t need telling twice. He spun towards the creek and barreled into the four remaining men, distracting them from coming up on our leader’s back.

Ahead of me, Veshy was climbing the boulder, her old hands still as strong as ever as she raced up the crack in the rock. Mowha, Krahu and I were about to follow when suddenly, from the treetops, two figures came flying down, knocking our pursuers down. All four men literally fell like bowling pins, and I cheered at the sight as Kray and Dow set themselves between them and the women.

“Hell yeah! That’s what you get!” I shouted as Krahu began to climb, though I noticed her cast a look of anxious concern at Kray’s back as he determinedly set himself as a shield to protect us. Heart hammering, feeling intensely light-headed, I tried to see Vulfu, to make some sense of the blurred figures by the creek, but it was just a mess of colour and fuzzy shapes flying about. My panic was rising as my mind started to catch up with everything that was happening. We were terribly outnumbered, surrounded by psychotic wild men who didn’t care whether we lived or died, and they wanted everything we had.

Mowha started to climb when a pair of thick, hot hands seized my waist and ripped me away from her. I screamed as I was hauled backwards, with Mowha showing her teeth and shrieking, reaching out to scratch at the man who was now dragging me backwards across the clearing. One of their guys was still knocked out cold from being knocked over by the boys, both of whom were locked in combat with two of the Wahu group. From behind me, at the creek, I could hear the sounds of screams, roars, and snarling, like a pack of wolves were going at it.

Vulfu!

“Let me go, you stinking… disgusting… pig!” I shouted as I squirmed in his arms, trying to make it as difficult for him as possible. My adopted mother moved in, her glare fixated on my abductor, rage absolutely searing from her eyes.

“Garo!” she shrieked, “Garo gweebruh cht morrde!”

The man holding me actually let out a strange sort of laugh, sounding more like a wheeze than anything. He wasn’t scared of her in the slightest. I suppose that was his biggest mistake.

Mowha sprinted at him with speed even I had never anticipated from a woman her age. It caught both my attacker and I off-guard and he stumbled back, falling and bringing me with him. We rolled onto the grass and my mother was on him at once, pounding her fists into every part of him she could reach. I did my best to roll out of his stubborn grasp and got my chance when she punched him right in his throat. He gurgled, moaning as he released me to hold his neck, and I scurried out of reach.

“Guh, Stevvy! Guh! ” Mowha commanded, pointing to the woods and resumed her attack on him.

I stared at her, then back to the men at the water, my closer proximity now giving me a better view of the situation. Vulfu had his weapon, his sharpened antler in his grasp, and he was swinging it again and again into a pale figure on the ground, sending a spatter of blood every which way. Dahkha was fighting off two of the others at once, spinning one way then the other to get a swing in. One of the missing men was running to our home, climbing effortlessly up the crack to get inside.

Krahu… Veshy!

Kray and Dow were both panting hard as the ones they’d been battling with broke away to follow their companion up the wall and into our home, but the boys chased after, screaming and shouting.

“Guh, Stevvy!” Mowha shouted again as she seized a handful of the man’s hair, lifting it up from the ground before smashing it back into the earth again and again.

Listening to my mother, I did as she said and ran.

I raced as hard and as fast as I could, putting as much distance between me and the danger at my back as possible. But with each step I took, I felt my guilt build and build in my stomach. How could I abandon my family as they fought for their lives?

But what can you do, Stephanie? You’re a scrawny, blind mousy little thing.

I can try to help. I can try to…

You’re weak. You’re a liability to them. You would just put them in more danger. Hide. Go hide.

I stopped running and stared back the way I’d come. The trees shifted in the light breeze, the sun having disappeared behind a cloud cast a cold look about the forest, and beyond my line of sight, I could hear the screaming, roaring, and cries from the fight in the distance.

What can you do?