work in progress - sci fi

The Beginning....


It was cold and he couldn’t stop shivering. Huddled against the hard tree trunk, Jo could simply stare at the snow gently sifting to the ground and coat the layer of blood. Only when he heard the distant howls of the pack did he let the panic seep away. Hoarsely he replied. In the minutes before they reached him, he silently took stock of the past two hours. His wound could so easily have been mortal if not for the woman. Everything had been going according to plan when gunfire had suddenly ripped through the forest. It had been a set up from the start. Bloody witches hunt right from the start! There was a traitor among them and Quinn needed to know as soon as possible.
It took almost the last of his strength to shape shift back into human form before the pack arrived.
Through a haze as a result from blood loss, he observed the ghostly forms of the white wolf pack approach cautiously.
The leader was abnormally large and the rest of the pack respected him for that.
Mid stride, in a blink of an eye, the most important of them, shifted into the shape of a man.
Kneeling down on bended knee, he firmly took hold of Jo’s shoulder, inspecting the severeness of his injury.
Telepathically questioning what had gone wrong.
Blocking off his thoughts was difficult because as their prime leader, Quinn’s ability was a great deal stronger than his own.
“…Later.”
He growled in reply to Quinn's silant query.
Measuring Jo with icy blue eyes, Quinn passed a warm healing hand across his shoulder, instantly stopping the blood flow.
“We should do the rest at the shelter, it’s not safe to be outside at the moment”
Jo halted further healing.
Again a measuring stare from their leader, before he nodded imperceptibly.
“As you say, little brother, it’s not safe to be outside right now”
He rasped.
Satisfied that the wound was contained, he helped Jo rise, keeping a firm arm under his arm.
“You make your way back, Jo and I will return in form. Get Kune standing by for surgery on Jo.”
Quinn briskly dismissed the waiting pack. A single wail was given in reply before they melted back into the forest.
“You’ll be able to make it back before Kune has time to worry herself into a state of anxiety. She is very protective of her love mate.”
Only nodding, Jo knew that no matter his state of health, Kune was sure to tear a couple of strips off him for getting hurt in the first place.
They had been making their way back to the shelter for almost half an hour and was nearing the entrance to the sanctuary before Quinn deemed it safe to speak again.
“You can safely tell me what happened with the mission. There is no presence of wrong here.”
In soft, husky words, he confirmed Quinn’s greatest fear.
They were no longer alone, and the humans knew them and were going to start hunting them…
For centuries, all had been safe, and now in one single night, their safety had been severely compromised.
'It was a set-up'. Jo whispered haltingly.
‘As soon as I arrived, the whole mission went south. There were at least five desolates waiting for my arrival. I did not even sense them until too late.’ Shuddering with pain, he called to mind the attack and conveyed it mentally to Quinn. The mission had been simple. Meet their informant; get the required information and go. Only it had not gone down like that. Hell, no! The shit had hit the fan as soon as he’d entered the empty warehouse. For the last four months the damn place had been secure and then, BAM! Chaos. Who the woman was, he had no idea, but she was more than human. Of that he was positive. Apart from the mental telepathy, she also had shape shifting capability. And he didn’t want to be the one to tell Quinn about her. Hell no. He valued his hide too much, but at this point he probably knew everything that had gone down, and the sad fact that she had more than likely saved his life.
Quinn had been following Jo’s thought process mentally and grimaced inwardly at the small sense of fear that Jo had in telling him about the disaster tonight.
‘Her message?’ Quinn demanded, in the silence that followed.
Wincing outwardly, Jo looked at Quinn. So, he had not gotten the final message from his mind. The words were leaden in his mouth.
"All she said was ‘ I need to see my husband"
A blast of ice froze the words over as Jo spoke them.
Very symbolic.... he grimaced
If at all possible, Quins face hardened even more.
"so, the time has finally arrived for it to come to an end" he muttered.
Since the day that he had taken her life, so saving her, he had known she would leave him.

At the haven, the rest of the pack had learnt about th attack on Jo.
Kune was waiting at the entrance, her beautiful face strained with concern.
Jo grimaced as she hugged him fiercely to her.
"Woman, have a care, I am injured" he grumbled