I chased after her as she went north. She ran through the town, dashing along the paths we had followed earlier. Passing over the hill in which our home was dug out, she continued, heading straight for our northern border before passing it. I stopped at the edge, unable to follow.

A rather colorful curse left my mouth as I watched her disappear into the forest. Everything inside of me yelled at me to follow her, to comfort her, to protect her. To let her know that I had gone through the same thing, that we could make it together.

The silver scar on the palm of my right hand reminded me of my duties. I couldn't leave, not even for her, despite how much I wanted to. Scents of enemy wolves became more frequent and closer to the pack borders.

I kicked a rock angrily. The little fox was going in the same direction that the Emio pack came from. She was running right into their arms, and I couldn't do a damn thing. Except...

The world around me dissolved as I teleported before I reappeared in a less used corridor in the packhouse. I made my way over to Sila's office and entered, not even bothering to knock.

"I'm requesting to leave the territory for a day," I stated as she looked up in surprise. My eyes met her amber ones.

"Why?" she asked, taking in my appearance.

"Zanixa ran away after the wolf pups cussed her out. I'm not leaving a defenseless fox out there." My voice raised itself involuntarily towards the end, and Sila looked at me disapprovingly.

"As much as I'd like to go after her, I'm hearing that she lit several buildings on fire and that the ones who didn't want her here in the first place were ready to throw her out themselves if she hadn't ran." She got up from behind her desk. "On top of that, you are our best warrior. We cannot miss you, not when Emio can attack any second. Everyone will die if you aren't there when they send in their full force."

I hissed at her, but I knew she was right. Still, I tried to sway her. "She's homeless, defenseless, and motherless. We can't leave her out there!"

"I'll send a pair of trackers after her, but that's it. You're staying here, and that's the end of it. There are more lives at stake here than just Zanixa's," she reminded me. With one last glare, I left the room. It was time to have a good talk with the parents of those pups.

Using my increased sense of smell, I quickly tracked down the mother of the wolf that had said they didn't want anyone other than werewolves nearby. Her eyes widened as she watched me approach, my fangs extended in anger.

"You. What have you been teaching your children? 'Wolves only here'? Does that exclude vampires too, hm?" I demanded, closing the last few metres between us until I was right in front of her.

"I-I..." she stuttered, looking up at me. I stood several centimetres taller than her, and though I didn't appear to have much muscle, she and I both knew I was stronger than any of Sharion's warriors.

I crossed my arms. "Well? Does it exclude everything other than wolves?"

"He's just a child having fun," the woman said, finally finding her tongue. "He didn't mean it. Besides, don't you see what she did? She lit half a dozen buildings on fire. Poor way to repay the shelter and protection we gave her."

"'The shelter and protection we gave her'? I didn't see you fight as Emio charged at us in the dead of night. I didn't see you help decorate our home. I haven't seen you near Zanixa or me at all." My voice started changing with my growing anger, every 's' sound turning into a small hiss. A red haze started appearing in my vision, but I paid it no mind.

She backed up a step, her heart beating faster. "He was just a child having fun and did nothing wrong."

"He did nothing wrong?" I repeated. "He did nothing wrong? A motherless child is now out there, in the wilderness, with no one and no thing to protect her! Shall I do the same to your son to see how he'd react to the 'innocent fun'?"

Before the woman managed to come up with another reply, the Beta stepped between us, facing me. "Stand down, Thoysal. Look at yourself. You have fangs, claws, and glowing red eyes. Is this really how you want to be seen?" she questioned me.

I hissed in reply, but quickly glanced at my hands. My eyes widened when found claws in their place. The Beta shook her head and softly said, "Come on, let's move. You can go mad on a tree or something later."

She led me to the side of the packhouse, away from the woman and the small crowd that had gathered while we... talked. By the time she came to a stop, I had managed to change the claws back into my fingers again, thankful there was no blood under my nails this time.

"Look," she started, "we understand that you care for the little fox, but attacking fellow pack members is not the way."

"I don't think she considered me a fellow pack member." I stared at the horizon, not wanting to look the Beta in the eyes. At the moment, I didn't feel like looking anyone in the face, not even myself.

She sighed. "All our warriors have fought by your side and have seen you risk your life for their families. They value you. The ones that don't simply do not realize all that you have done for them over the centuries."

"They treated me the same they treated Zanixa just now." I shook my head. "They haven't changed one bit, and I'm questioning if my presence has made any change whatsoever, aside from keeping them alive."

The Beta started to speak, but I interrupted her. "I think I am getting close to repaying my debt. I will stay here and protect the pack from Emio, but that may be the end of the road for me."

Before she could say another word, I let myself dissolve into magic.

Hey, everyone! I come here with a bit of a sad message. This will be the last Thoysal update for a while, as I first want to focus on writing Scales of Ice -- if I can write at all. I've been a bit down lately, meaning I haven't written much, but I'm sure I'll get back to it soon. And when I do, after I finish SoI, I can focus on making Blaze in the Darkness even better than before by rewriting it! It's going to get a complete rehaul in 2020, and I hope to start publishing it after Scales of Ice is completed and done.

So, for now, this is it. I'm going to leave you on this evil cliffhanger and mark this book complete once more. I will be waiting for you all in the comments and in the sequel. It was nice having you all along for the ride. Stay safe, wash your hands, don't panic, and don't attack fellow pack members.
~Jane