Vesper was back at the borders of Inferni again. And, again, she was wounded.

This time, however, the physical scars went far deeper than her emotional ones. Her tawny pelt was tainted with crimson, though much of it was not her own. Her blood still drained from her gashes onto the earth, sapping her life energy and making every step weaker. By the time the skulls came into view, she was practically dragging herself.

With her vision growing darker every instant, the coyote hybrid understandably didn’t have many thoughts left to why she was doing this. Something told her to keep moving forward, even when she could make out the skulls hanging on the low tree branches.

Didn’t she know that the last time she approached the borders, she’d been attacked and driven off? Maybe part of her wanted to see that dusky jackal again, spit at him one last time, let him destroy her as he wanted to. If her death was quick, she wouldn’t mind. Perhaps in her next life, she’d do better.

The thought of finding help hovered in the back of her tattered mind, however, but why she was crawling toward a coyote clan was beyond her. The creatures who’d helped or wanted to help her before were young, often ditzy wolf girls, and she was certain she wouldn’t find someone so giggly and concerned here, in the clan of warriors she’d heard so much about.

But the clock was ticking. Vesper lifted her slender muzzle toward one of the wolf skulls and opened her mouth, as if to howl, as if to call for help. But instead she chuckled, even as her legs gave out and she crouched on the forest floor, shoulders shaking with irony and hate and pride and pain.

“Bloody beautiful.”

My damned pride… I’ll die with my damned pride.

The internal monologue was uncharacteristic for the coywolf, but if she was on the brink of passing out from blood loss and even dying from it, she might as well look back on her life a little bit. It didn’t flash by her eyes so much as hide from her as her exhausted mind searched for it, digging her secrets and memories and regrets and victories out of the crevices they’d scurried into. She soon gave up, however, instead letting her senses wander out to the present.

Such as the smell of another canine walking from the borders, the exotic scent of jackal mixed with other breeds and the overpowering odor of Inferni. One from the clan had found her, and it was all she could do to lift her sky blue eyes to his dark sangria ones.

The lean hybrid knelt, his deep voice informing her of his intentions as he stated he was a medic and for her to remain still. The pride that had gotten her into this mess did not flare up at the offer; pride was pointless if one was dead, anyway. Instead, she pricked her full ear, eyes seeking out the contours of his small body to identify him before she let them fall half-shut. She did not speak her thanks around, but her head dipped and she remained still.

Vesper was unfamiliar with luperci healing, but she did not protest as the bandages were wrapped around her deep wounds. She winced once, but she did her best to cooperate as the small, grey-brown man lifted her. Had she been any stronger than she was, she might have snapped at him and demanded to walk herself—but she needed this, she knew, and she lay still as possible in his arms. The fact that she was slipping in and out of consciousness helped, and she barely was able to take note of where they were going.

She was awake for only part of the time as the half-jackal went to work on her. She winced at the tug of the stitches and inhaled the more familiar scent of the poultice, lulling her back into sleep. She had no dreams, though she didn’t think she had the time to.

Sniffing the air, Vesper finally lifted her head and glanced at the man. A sweet herby scent pervaded the air, making her much calmer than she normally would have been, awakening in bandages and stitches, in dull pain from some of the worst injuries of her life.

“Thank you,” the coywolf said, her voice cool but not cold. She did not know what else to say, what else needed to be said. He had saved a stranger, presumably had brought her into the clan’s territory. What he would do with her once she was well enough to be out and about again, she did not know, but that wasn’t important for the moment.

“You’re…of Inferni.” The obvious statement was almost whispered. “Can I have your name?”

Vesper was somewhat glad she was used to pain; it was emotional traumas that really hurt her, and right now she was too exhausted to feel anger for the young bitch that had attacked her. She resolved not to move, very conscious of the stitches, and looked the medic over again. She had never met one with jackal blood before, though that was certainly what was dominant; she’d heard enough to know the characteristics. She could smell coyote as well, however, which only befit the clan. She remembered the runt she’d met at the borders saying that there were few coyotes, and she could tell now that she’d meant purebreds.

But she felt a certain kinship to these creatures. After all, she had not asked for wolf blood. Her creation was an unfortunate fluke, and while it leant her some strength and social instincts, she had always identified slightly more with her coyote side.

Enkiel informed her that she would stay here, and Vesper lowered her ears slightly. She was grateful for a place to stay, especially if it meant protection, but the self-preserving side of her had to question his motives. “You would house an outsider?” she asked. He didn’t seem like the altruistic type of guy—not against healing someone who needed it, perhaps, but she doubted he went along taking in every stray with a thorn in their paw. Ves might not have done the same, in his place, especially with winter coming.

She nodded when he mentioned something to ease the pain. It was tolerable right now, though she was certain that movement would reawaken the pain. And sleep—sleep sounded heavenly, drugged or not.

“Vesper,” she murmured after a few moments of silence. “My name is Vesper.”

The jackal hybrid pointed out that she could easily be sent away, and Vesper flattened her ears, fighting back a smart remark. She didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, and she realized now that her question could have come across as rude. It looked like her social skills weren’t as polished as she liked to think. “I’ll take my chances with the coyotes,” she said instead, the humor in her voice muffled by her exhaustion. Now that she was tired and had nothing else to focus on, the pain was creeping back up, and she was interested to know what herbs he’d be using. Her mother had taught her that seeds from the poppy flower helped, though she wasn’t an expect healer.

She sniffed the air as he turned, gathering whatever herbs he needed and preparing the drink. He told her that she was a patient tonight, and the freedom to do what she wanted after her condition had improved unexpectedly intimidated her. As much as she liked to be independent, the thought of going out into the rocky world of the neutral territories bothered her.

“I will stay,” Vesper said slowly. “I do not know how for how long. But I will pull my weight around for as long as you’re gracious enough to watch over me.” Working or at least being a model patient for the medic would make her feel less like this was charity.

She chuckled suddenly. “To think I wanted to meet Inferni coyotes… I didn’t think I’d go about it this way.”

The alertness of his ears made Vesper straighten, head slightly tilted, and he informed her that she just needed to rest. An awkward smirk flitted briefly across her face before she looked away. She still wasn’t used to this kind of treatment; her cynical nature prevented her from believing so quickly that other canines would go out of their way to help her.

She sniffed the herbal drink in the bowl when he offered it to her, letting the aroma waft into her nostrils before she sighed and scooted forward. She lapped at the liquid for a few moments before answering his question.

“I was always a loner. I ran with a coyote band when I was a teenager, but that was as far as I came to being part of a group.” The coywolf frowned slightly. “I have nothing against packs if they’re made up of equals. Some packs are just easy ways out for those who want others to pull their weight for them, or they’re led by tyrants hungry for power. Inferni sounded like it has a violent disposition, but one that was misunderstood; I just assumed that meant coyotes here were strong enough to take care of themselves.” She licked some drops of water off her whiskers, wondering if anything she was saying made sense or if it was answering the question. She doubted it.

“Long story short, I thought if I were ever to join a group here, it would be Inferni.” Her eyelids lowered as she drank more. “But I had pride as a loner. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give that up yet. My mother’s blood tells me I can take care of myself, but…” She frowned, trying to come to terms with the wolf half in her, her father’s half.

“Something was missing,” she admitted. “And you were the closest border I could find when some mongrel loner attacked me.”