Page 67 of Finding His Fox

The monster let out a roar of pain and fury. It twisted its body and threw me off, sending me sprawling on the ground.

“Cal, behind you!” Nate shouted.

I managed to get away in time as the wendigo’s claws scraped against my lower back. Panting heavily, I studied my opponent. Both of us had left scratches and bite marks on each other.

With a final burst of energy, I came at it again, aiming for a killing blow. I must’ve whittled the monster down because it couldn’t sidestep my attack. In a swift motion, I burrowed my fangs into its thick neck once more.

It howled, trying to throw me again. No, I thought in anguish. If the wendigo managed to toss me one more time, I didn’t think I had any strength left to launch another attack.

Nate surged to his feet, and I saw he was holding a thick branch. Yelling, Nate ran at us, then swung the branch over the wendigo’s back. It fell to its knees. That gave me time to finish the job. I ripped out its throat and blood spurted, spraying both Nate and me.

Finally, the monster went down. Its limbs seized for a moment, then it finally lay still. Nate and I stared at each other, breathing hard.

Then Nate wrapped his arms around my furry neck and pulled me close into a hug.

It didn’t matter we were both covered in blood. I licked at his face, unable to believe we finally did it. This monster had left its mark on both of us when we were children.

It finally came back for vengeance years later, but now, it was truly dead.

Nate gripped handfuls of my fur and didn’t let go as I led us out of the wendigo’s lair. I could see in the dark, but Nate didn’t have that ability.

Nate’s left leg was bleeding. I suspected it was broken. He stumbled a few times, but I pressed my body close so he wouldn’t fall on his feet. It seemed to take forever, but finally, we emerged into the open night.

Nate and I took lungfuls of fresh air. Max purred nearby. Nate picked him up and hugged him to his chest.

After telling Max what a good boy he was, Nate set him down and turned to me. He took a deep breath before saying anything.

“Cal,” Nate said. “I’m so sorry for the way I’d been acting. When you got hurt saving that little boy, I got scared. After losing my dads, I didn’t want to lose someone I cared about again.”

Nate broke into a sob. I shifted back to my human form because I wanted to pull him close and hold him.

Nate didn’t struggle. He simply buried his face into my chest while I stroked his hair.

I couldn’t blame Nate for having a breakdown. He’d been dragged through hell. Literally. I kissed the top of his head, breathing in his familiar scent.

Part of me still couldn’t believe it was finally over.

“Everything’s okay now. The wendigo’s dead and it would never hurt anyone again,” I told him. “You were so brave. No, you were amazing.”

“What?” Nate asked, rubbing the tears from his eyes. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were. You left a trail for me to follow and if you didn’t pick up that branch, I wouldn’t have been able to finish off that monster,” I told him.

“I don’t know how I managed to pull that off with my injured arm and leg,” Nate said.

“It was the adrenaline.”

Nate shook his head. “I knew if I didn’t intervene, you’d die. You were also incredible, Cal. You managed to fight that monster on equal footing.”

“I didn’t want to lose you either,” I told him. “Nate, promise me something.”

“What’s that?” Nate asked, furrowing his brows.

“Don’t distance yourself from me again,” I said. “We can talk things out instead.”

Nate nodded. “I promise.”

Chapter 20