Chelsea’s eyes flash, and now she tips the woman’s head back, digging her fingernail in deeper, and I’ve had enough.
“Stop!”
Chelsea stops, peering up at me. She hesitates, keeping her firm grip around the woman’s dread-locked hair.
Her brown eyes travel around the group until they land on Annabel. The blond wolf whimpers, giving her best pal her famous puppy dog eyes, and Chelsea finally lets go of the human.
“Fine. But if she dares disrespect us again, I will tear her throat out.”
Seems fair. No doubt Dreadlocks will continue to insult our species, but I can’t let Chelsea kill her, either.
We need to show her and the other two that we’re not monsters. That we can be reasonable.
Chelsea shoves the woman back to the ground, and now the human melts into the pine needles, refusing to look at me. I give her time to adjust. I’ve been at the receiving end of Chelsea’s ire, too; I know she can be scary.
I take a deep breath. “Please... we mean no harm. We only want to make peace. One of our elders has sent us on a mission to speak with your kind. We can come to some sort of compromise. It doesn’t have to—”
“Save it. I will never cooperate with a mutt like you. You all sicken me. Like hell I would ever trust a wolf...”
I purse my lips, and it’s time to be the bad cop now. I stand up straight, stepping away from her. “Then fine. We will take all three of you prisoner. If you’re not willing to cooperate, then we have no choice but to take you by force. You will thank me one day when our species are no longer ripping at each other’s throats.”
Seems counterproductive to our goals, but our only choice now is to take them hostage. We will make them take us to Raven.
I’m sure we will all be the best of friends in no time.
“Chelsea, tie her up. Annabel, Tiffany, do the same with the others too. We’re taking them with us.”
Dreadlocks scrambles to her feet, her eyes wild and fierce as she bares her blunt human teeth. “You will never make us surrender!”
She withdraws a small, hidden knife from Luna knows where, and my eyes enlarge when she reaches it up to her throat.
So, she would rather commit suicide than work with a bunch of wolves like us? Maybe she truly is a lost cause.
But I still won’t give up. I won’t let her end her life. She still has a lot to live for.
There are better options here than killing ourselves.
Before she slits her throat, Chelsea shifts, slamming her back down into the dirt, and we’re back to square one.
Befriending these humans is going to be harder than I thought.