Chapter 56 Fifty-Six
'Do you understand now?' The rogue wolf asked Danica as she began to come back to her senses. 'You are too weak.'
'I am not weak.' Danica insisted, trying to shake off the image of her dead mother. 'I am much stronger than back then.'
'Prove it.' The rogue insisted, baring its teeth once more.
'What do you want me to do?' Danica asked as she cautiously watched the wolf begin to extend its body, preparing for a fight. 'You want me to fight you?'
Danica wasn't quite sure if she was guessing right, but if she was, then that meant that this rogue wolf actually wanted to take her on while she was in human form. That would mean, in the end, the wolf had the advantage with its size, teeth, and claws.
'You've taken down a weak wolf, but you haven't taken down a powerful wolf yet.' The rogue said, making what sounded like a snicker.
Danica watched as the rogue began to circle around her. It was clear by the way it was crouched that it was ready to attack at any moment. Even though Danica didn't want to have to fight the wolf, given that it was still a part of her, she couldn't just stand around and let it kill her.
'Is this really the only way to do this?' Danica asked as her heart tugged for the rogue. 'I don't want to have to fight you.'
'Too bad.' The rogue snarled, lunging forward and clamping its mouth around Danica's arm.
Yelping, Danica grabbed the wolf's jaw with her other hand and began to pry it off as the creature attempted to hit her with a paw. Dodging, she continued to work her now-bleeding arm out until it was free, dropping just in time to avoid another swipe.
Rolling out of the way, Danica avoided the wolf pouncing on her before getting up and setting her body in a position of defense. She still refused to fight with the rogue out of fear of hurting a part of herself, but she also wasn't going to just stand by and let the wolf attack her.
'Weak!' The wolf growled, jumping forward towards Danica.
Grabbing hold of the wolf's midsection, Danica heaved, tossing it to the side before jumping atop it, pinning its muzzle to the ground with one hand while she used the other to wrap around the wolf's neck.
'You underestimated me.' Danica huffed from the exertion. 'I don't want to hurt you, so you need to go ahead and concede.'
'NEVER!' the wolf growled, trying to lift its muzzle to bite Danica, who continued to hold it down.
'Concede!' Danica ordered the wolf as she continued to hold it at bay. 'Do yourself a favor.'
'No,' the wolf snapped, continuing to try to break free of Danica's hold. 'I won't be a weak wolf! NEVER EVER!'
Snarling and continuing the struggle, the rogue wolf tried its best to break free from Danica's grip, only to find that Danica was much stronger than it.
'CONCEDE!' Danica bellowed, pushing down harder as a white light began to radiate from around her.
Whimpering, the rogue wolf immediately stopped moving, finally giving up its struggle against Danica. Letting out a long breath, Danica removed her hold before plopping down on the ground beside the wolf.
'Come, get up.' Danica ordered the wolf as she sat, catching her breath.
'That light....' The rogue began sitting up on all fours and narrowing its red gaze on Danica. 'Only one wolf has that light.'
'Only one?' Danica asked, confused. 'What are you going on about?'
'The moon wolf.' The rogue explained. 'She is the mother of all wolves, but why would she be residing within you?'
Danica stared at the black wolf as if it had grown a second head; she couldn't quite get what it was going on about. What in the world was the moon wolf, and why did that even have anything to do with her?
'Maybe you're mistaken.' Danica tried as the rogue let out a bark of laughter.
'There is no mistaking that light, nor your pure white inner wolf.' The rogue continued. 'How did the moon wolf's spirit end up within you, though?'
The black wolf cocked its head in curiosity as it examined Danica. Keeping her gaze firm, Danica stared back as she too tried to process everything.
'Can you tell me more about this moon wolf?' Danica asked, now unable to stop the question from escaping her lips. 'What exactly is it?'
'The moon wolf is the mother of all wolves.' The black wolf repeated. 'In legend, it was the moon wolf that created the wolves; it is the pet of the moon goddess and one of the strongest wolf spirits out there.'
'Then how could that possibly be me?' Danica asked. 'Weren't you the one who said I was weak?'
The wolf made a shrugging gesture, 'Even I can be wrong at times.' It said begrudingly. 'I think you need to have a very long talk with your inner wolf.'
'What do you mean?' Danica asked as she felt the earth beneath her beginning to rumble.
'Times up.' The black wolf said as it got up and made its way towards Danica. 'You must quickly bite my nape.' It ordered presenting the back of its neck to Danica.
'What?' Danica asked in confusion. 'What do you mean?'
'No time for questions, quickly.' The black wolf barked.
Not quite sure what was going on, Danica opened her mouth wide before biting down on the back of the black wolf's neck. She could easily taste blood course into her mouth as she did so, igniting all of her senses as the wolf began to glow and slowly disappear.
Pulling away, Danica looked around as the space she was in began to melt away and contort. The wolf that was in front of her had disappeared entirely, leaving Danica utterly alone as the world around her continued to shift until she found herself lying in the middle of a forest.
Looking around in confusion, she laid eyes on Mason, who was holding her tightly against his battered and bloodied body.
Danica opened her mouth to speak Mason's name, only to find that she was unable to. Confused, she turned her head to see that the body of a large black wolf with white swirls painted across its fur flowed down from where her neck should be.
Sniffing the air, Danica found that her senses were much more heightened; she could hear all the sounds within the forest around her and smell all the aromas of earth and animals alike.
Realizing the change in Danica, Mason lifted his head as she continued to look around curiously.
"Welcome back." He beamed as he pulled Danica closely against him.