I bit back my tears as I held onto Uncle Andros, my cheek resting against his head while I stared at Angel through the glass outside of the ICU.

"It'll be okay, Anwyll. We can come back in the night and heal him then. There are too many people here." murmured Uncle Andros, and I nodded.

"It's all my fault." I whispered. "If I hadn't—!"

"Ssh," whispered Daddy, his hand rubbing slow circles on my back. "Don't blame yourself, my precious baby boy. Angel was only trying to—!"

"No, Daddy." I interrupted, moving my teary violet orbs to meet his dark green human eyes. "No, that bastard was aiming for Angel, not me. He knew I had some kind of barrier on me, so he aimed for Angel on purpose because he knew Angel cared enough about me to try to protect me."

Daddy kissed my forehead. "I know, baby. I know this is hard."

My bottom lip trembled. "Why am I so stupid, Daddy? Mama was right."

Daddy's eyes hardened. "No, Anwyll, stop it. That is enough."

I swallowed thickly, then hid my face in my uncle's neck. He cupped the back of my head and gently bounced me, but I felt my daddy move next to his brother.

"Baby, you are not stupid and your mother was not correct." stated Daddy, his fingers pushing through my hair. "Do not start hating yourself. This was not your fault."

I trembled, clutching tighter onto Uncle Andros. "It feels like it."

Daddy sighed softly. "I know, but that is not the truth. Angelique will not want you to blame yourself, so please stop."

I turned my head and pouted while I looked at him. "That's not fair, Daddy, using Angel against me."

He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "But that is the truth."

"Maybe," I muttered. "At least Clyde got arrested. I hope he rots in jail for doing that to Angel."

Uncle Andros' hand slid from my head to my back, and I relaxed into him for the first time in awhile. His chest rumbled with pleasure while I rested my head on his shoulder. Daddy smiled and stroked my exposed cheek.

"We will let him rot if you want it, baby."

I blinked, then shook my head. "Even he deserves a second chance a long time from now."

Uncle Andros chuckled. "All right, my little wolf."

I flicked my gaze past Daddy to Angel again, my heart hurting while he had tubes and wires hooked up to him. He looked pale and sickly, honestly. The heart rate monitor was beeping normally, which rang in my ears like a reminder of what happened.

The gunshot rang loud and clear as screams echoed across the building, I felt my heartbeat stutter when I watched Angel tumble to his knees, holding his chest. I couldn't breathe, let alone move for a few seconds because I was so stunned. I forced my body into action when Angel slumped over. I rushed to his side and ignored the blood on his hands to see his wound.

I put pressure on it, desperately hoping some kind of medical help was nearby. I could hear Daddy and Uncle Andros shouting to get help, then I felt warm hands on my head and back. When help arrived a few minutes later, Daddy scooped me up and held me tightly while I cried. Angel was in critical condition.

I had completely forgotten that I could heal him, but by the time I remembered it was too late. So now we have to come back when it's dark and no one's around to heal Angel and whisk him away back home.

"I know you are hesitant to leave Angel, baby boy, but we cannot stay here all day. What would you prefer: go home with me or stay with your uncle?"

I swallowed thickly. I don't have the courage to go back home yet and I promised my uncle I'd spend some time with him today. When I told Daddy, his eyes softened and he nodded with a small smile.

"I love you, baby. Everyone loves you too, and they do not blame you. Be good for your uncle." he whispered, kissing my forehead and cheeks before he left.

Uncle Andros rubbed my back. "Thank you for staying, my little wolf."

I kissed his cheek. "You're welcome, Uncle. Could we stay just a few more minutes? I want to do something."

Uncle Andros' dark green eyes flashed azure for a moment as if he was warning me to be careful, but he nodded and nosed my hair as I turned my head. I smiled and closed my eyes, then healed him partway. I opened my eyes and Angel already looked much better, which eased the ache in my own heart.

I imagined a card with a message in it for when Angel would wake up, and a vase of sunflowers that would stay fresh for a long time, then willed both onto a small TV table next to him. I pressed my fingers on the glass, then my forehead, and released a heavy sigh.

"I love you, Angel." I whispered into his mind, not at all expecting an answer.

"Let's go, Uncle." I said, kissing his cheek and tucking my head down again.

He nodded, patting my back as he turned away. As he stepped away from the glass, I heard a raspy voice enter my mind. The owner of it had a message for me that made me burst into happy tears.

"Love...you...too."

__________________________

"Ssh, my little wolf." murmured Uncle Andros, gently rocking me in his arms.

I blew my nose again, sniffling softly. "I'm sorry, Uncle Andros."

"No, little one, don't apologize. You were such a good boy today, and you even saved Angel with both your own physical strength and your magical kind, too." he murmured, kissing my head. "I was quite amazed."

"Mm," I mumbled, my face still hot from crying. Uncle Andros' kisses and touches were making me feel good, though. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere fun, my adorable little wolf."

I stopped rubbing my cheek on his chest and looked up at him. "A fun place? What kind?"

He cupped the back of my head, situating my form in the crook of his right arm as he opened the door with his left. Daniel, my uncle's driver, greeted us with a small smile.

"I'm assuming Mr. Michaels is okay now?"

I nodded, rubbing my puffy eyelids with a yawn on my lips. "Mmhm, he's better. Very stable."

"That's good news."

Uncle Andros pulled out his phone and texted someone with one hand, then I heard Daniel's phone ding up front. I frowned. Was that a coincidence or not? Uncle Andros buckled me into the mini seat directly next to him, so I was comfortably pressed into his side. I leaned into him more, my tail thumping on the seat next to me on my left.

Uncle Andros chuckled while he buckled himself into his seat, then Daniel pulled out of the hospital parking lot. I watched the scenery go by, listening to and feeling the steady thumps of my uncle's heart. It distracted me from the lingering fear I'd had from the shooting several hours ago.

I was so scared. Not for me but for Angel. His wound seemed to seep more blood with every heartbeat and his face looked ashen. I was scared of losing him. I've never been so scared before, so it shook me to the core. I'm still shaken from it all.

"Breathe," commanded Uncle Andros, and I did as told. "Lean on me, my little nephew, and sleep."

I felt unnatural tugs towards sleep, but I knew it was my uncle's magic guiding me to a deep slumber. He would keep me safe in my unconscious state, so I slipped away against his side.

When I awakened next, Uncle Andros was carrying me somewhere. I nosed his shoulder and yawned, blinking a few times to clear my bleary vision. I weakly clutched his suit jacket, resting my nose on his shoulder for a moment before turning my head.

"Awake now?"

"Mm, sort of." I mumbled, tucking my forehead against the side of his neck. "I'm so sleepy, Uncle."

The hand that was resting on my back slid up to my nape, which made me shiver with a soft noise of pleasure on my lips.

"Just rest for now. I must register us for the event."

"E-event?" I mumbled, nosing his shoulder. My tail wiggled ever so slightly.

"You will know a bit later."

I pouted, puffing my cheeks out. My uncle chuckled again, then he went into business mode as a woman's voice called out to him.

"Mr. Lucaon! You're a bit early for the reservation. Would you like to start now or wait until the desired time?"

"We'll wait."

"All right, then please have a look around while doing so. Perhaps the little boy in your arms will want to explore."

My tail flicked with annoyance. "I'm not a little boy," I whispered fiercely, clutching onto Uncle Andros.

He soothed me with a hand to my hand. I settled down and turned slightly, curling my tail over his arm. Uncle Andros nuzzled my hair and gently kissed my forehead.

"I know, my little wolf."

I tucked my cheek against his shoulder and sighed aloud, then noticed a young boy staring at me across the room. I blinked when he looked away and began fiddling with some toys on a shelf. Wait, where were we?

Looking around, I noted that we were in a wooden building that smelled a lot of dog food. It was quite warm inside, but it felt nice compared to the chilly outdoors. Uncle Andros began to leisurely stroll around the office, letting me look at trinkets and plushies, even chuckling when I commented something I noticed that was kind of funny.

"Mr. Lucaon, would you like to come through now?"

My uncle followed her through a long hallway that led a door, which opened up to what I believed was a petting zoo of sorts. But instead of zoo or farm animals, there were puppies. Lots of puppies spread out across a meadow beyond a spacious patio.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, my tail wiggling. "Puppies!"

Uncle Andros chuckled. "There is more on the other side, but not mere puppies."

"Yes," commented the woman. "This is actually a wolf sanctuary, but we have puppies here, too."

"Were they not able to be adopted?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Technically we foster a certain amount of puppies for about a week before they head off to their forever homes."

"Ooh, okay. That's good." I grinned, my tail flipping and flopping over my uncle's right arm.

The woman stared at me strangely as my uncle set me down. I ignored her and hugged my uncle's waist, and he rubbed my shoulder blades.

"Thank you," I said softly, and he ruffled my hair. I grinned when he petted my wolf ears. "May I go play, Uncle?"

He chuckled and took a seat on one of the outdoor chairs. "I brought you here for that purpose, Anwyll."

I beamed. "Thank you! I love you!"

He waved me off with a faint blush on his cheeks while the woman giggled. I tentatively stepped towards the puppies of age to be playing outside and around humans and the ones nearby stiffened. Their heads popped up and I was in awe of their cute little faces.

I squatted down on the grass and held out my hands, but there were no takers. I sighed softly. A long time ago, the neighbors' dogs were scared of me at first. I think it's because of my status as a wolf Emerged and a dragon hybrid. The puppies were instinctually scared of my scent or aura or something.

"I won't hurt you." I whispered, and one older puppy bravely ventured towards my outstretched arm.

It sniffed my fingers, then its soulful brown eyes looked into my violet orbs. It placed its snout in my hand, then gently licked my wrist. I smiled warmly and patted its head.

"Thank you for trusting me. I can't help how I was born, but I can guarantee you that I'm not a bad wolf."

The puppy's tail wagged and it leapt onto me, so I laughed and rubbed its sides. The other puppies relaxed and gathered around me for attention. I was getting licked a lot and pawed at, so eventually I had to escape with laughter on my lips. The puppies were yipping and barking while they ran after me, a few of the fluffy Pomeranians tripping over themselves.

I kind of felt bad, so I stopped running around picked up the ones that fell. I grinned at them, holding their cotton ball forms.

"So cute!" I whispered quietly, then kissed their heads and set them down.

Feeling an intense gaze to my right, I spotted that kid again. He was looking through the fence about twenty yards away. When he noticed that I had caught him staring, he hurried back inside again. He looked about seven or eight years old, I'd say.

Suddenly, I heard a commotion from behind me. I turned around and saw a worker exclaiming at the woman who remained near my uncle.

"They're escaping!" he shrieked, panicking with jerky movements. "Diane, they're climbing the fence!"

Diane, the woman who led my uncle and me here, looked stunned. "What made them? They've never done that!"

"I-I don't know! One minute all was normal, then they were howling and racing towards the fence."

"Are the others working on calming the pack down?"

"Tyler, Julian, Kayla, and Percy are trying to dart them, but the wolves are too agile and have been dodging each shot."

"Impossible." breathed Diane, then her head snapped up when she noticed me standing with the small sea of puppies around me. "No, not impossible."

I tilted my head with a small smile, then held out my hand. "Want some help?"

The worker scoffed. "Look, kid, we don't want any lawsuits on our hands. Wolves are different from puppies."

"I know." I chuckled and hopped forward, tilting my head with a teasing grin. "I am a wolf."

My tail brushed his leg as I walked past him. He released a shriek but it cut off when my uncle stood up and followed me towards the penned area for the pack of wolves. The puppies tried to follow, but I hopped the gate with ease and shushed the barking with a finger to my lips.

As the worker had stated, the wolf pack was literally scaling the fifteen-foot fence to climb out. His coworkers were hurriedly jamming darts into their guns, but missed every time due to nervousness, panic, and perhaps due to the wolves growling and snapping at them through the fence.

As I stepped closer, I felt my uncle's aura fade so that only mine stood out. And, as the pack leader reached the top, he howled loudly in my general direction. I rushed to the bottom of the fence, ignoring the shocked cries from the workers as I held my arms up to the wolf.

His golden eyes met my violet orbs, and he dropped down. I used my dragon strength to catch the wolf, cradling him like a baby while he licked my face. I laughed, my tail whipping back and forth.

"You just wanted to greet me, huh?" I asked, shyly licking his face in response.

The wolf pawed at my face, so I set him down and he rubbed his side along my body. His head reached my shoulder, so I petted his face and kissed his forehead.

The other wolves whined at the top of the fence, unsure of how to get down. I went underneath the alpha female and held my arms out again, so she looked at her happy mate and then succumbed to her will. She dropped down and into my arms, so I greeted her just the same as her mate.

I repeated the process with the rest of the wolves on the fence, then was crowded with the eager wolves seeking affection. I guess I was their king so to speak, so they weren't bothered by my appearance. Although I probably just smelled like a "strong wolf" that wasn't dangerous to them.

Uncle Andros chuckled off to the side. "My little wolf is a true pack leader."

I blushed and pouted at him while I hugged the alpha. "That's not true. They just wanted to say hello, Uncle."

My ears flicked around when I heard the stomping of boots. I bit my tongue as the workers began to crowd around. The alpha and his mate began to growl, and the rest of the pack was pissed off while we were rounded into a corner.

Finally, I'd had enough. "What do you want?" I growled, my ears going back.

Diane pushed through the workers, and the alpha went for her throat, but I grabbed his scruff and placed him back with his mate. He whined and curled around me, then glared at the woman. Her eyes were wide, but she smirked.

"I don't know how you trained them, but you aren't bad for a kid."

My left eyebrow quirked up. "Two incorrect assumptions."

"Hmm?"

"I neither trained the wolves nor am I kid."

Diane began to laugh and so did her employees. She bent over while the wolf pack growled.

"You're really funny. No wonder my master is interested in you." she glanced up with a sneer on her lips. "But I'm afraid someone with your talent needs to be removed."

I held out my hand and she stiffened, but I smirked as I began to clench my fist. She gasped for air, clawing at her throat. The allied people on her side went to attack me, but the wolves kept them from doing so.

"Ah, I see. So you're using the wolves as a blood supply for your master. How fascinating." I chuckled, then released the woman. "Your master had the gall to try to claim me as one of his possessions. I have to say that he's not going to get what he wants."

Diane coughed and gasped for breath as she laid on the ground. "Wh-what the fuck are you!"

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Not telling. Have fun trying to get blood for your master now."

I made an invisible structure and trapped all guilty parties of handing over the puppies to who I will now refer to as the Evil Spider. Those puppies were used as snacks between the meals of wolf blood. Anger boiled inside me. The day had already been a bad one in that Angel got shot, and now this fantastic news has set me off.

The woman tried to make a plea for help, but this was the last straw. Uncle Andros set a hand on my shoulder as I ended the lives of the evil people, then I sighed and made the evidence of their lives completely disappear.

"A few less allies and resources for the enemy, Uncle." I commented, since I allowed him to see the whole thing.

Uncle Andros squeezed my shoulders and bent down to kiss my head. I relished his comfort because I was fully aware of what I did and why I did it. It wasn't necessarily revenge for the wolves nor for the stolen lives of thousands of puppies, but rather it was to appease my angry mind after what Clyde did to my Angel. I wasn't about to justify my actions, but I wasn't going to deny them either.

The wolves whined softly, nudging my body with their noses and paws. I smiled gently and kissed all of their heads.

"No more blood will be drawn from your bodies and no more puppies will be fed to the Evil Spider. You're going to be safe now, although I wish you had a better caretaker."

Uncle Andros chuckled. "Your aunt Athena can take care of this quickly. She knows her way around animals quite well and has more than a few trusted friends."

"Ooh, that would be great." I said with a smile, starting to guide the wolves back into their large area of meadow. The pack followed without any protest.

Meanwhile, the staff was still frozen in shock the way I'd left them. Once I said goodbye to the wolves, I unfroze the good staff and walked away with my uncle. We headed into the main office to see where the shipments of puppies were headed off to and blacklisted all of the locations that I knew were shady. Not only that but I cancelled all of the wolves' egregious amount of blood draws every month, limiting it only to when they appeared to be ill.