#1-- Attack on Frost Enterprises

Attack on Frost Enterprises
Part Eleven


The gratitude and gentle thanks spoken surprised Adrienne, rendering her almost as breathless as Jared. Not only had it been unexpected, but seeing Jared like this, worried and concerned for a friend (startling in of itself, that the two men were friends), erased her feelings of bitter disgust from earlier.

“You’re welcome.” She responded quietly, then straightened. Before everyone gets all buddy-buddy, one must remember that there was a sick man, albeit one with a healing factor, who needed care.

“There’s a small lake a mile or so away. Near there is a cabin – the only building I’ve permitted here – which I use as storage. The poachers and hunters are good for one thing, that being their supplies. Undoubtedly, I have a few first-aid kits there. Probably some old clothes too, which we could use for rags.”

Creed’s awakening hunger concerned her greatly. The healing factor took up a lot of stored energy, and with an injury this bad… there was little food in the woods as it was, and she would not sacrifice any of her pack. However, if there was no other food, perhaps one of the much older wolves… she pushed the thought from her mind. They would cross that bridge when and if they came to it. Returning her attention and gaze back to Jared, she asked,

“And what about you? If you’re hungry, we could bring you a rabbit or… something.” She smiled, already guessing what he must be thinking. “There are matches and such in my storage cabin. It would be cooked for you.”

-

Jared made a face but then quickly smiled at the woman. “Thanks, but no. Think I might go vegetarian after tonight… Maybe vegan, even.” His smirk was quick and then was gone again. “Go get the kits and try to find a bowl or something to carry water in- when you get back I’ll get the water and you can watch him for a bit.” Well, perhaps he wasn’t too tired to dish out an order or two. He appreciated her help getting them here and would even play nice for awhile after this whole ordeal was over.

As Adrienne left to get the things he had asked for, Jared busied himself with rearranging Creed in the back seat. As they had tore away from the scene of the crime like bats out of hell, he had merely stuffed the injured mutant into the back, not concerned with comfort and the prospect of back pains once Creed did awaken. Taking more care now, he moved the other mutant into a lying position, his legs dangling from one side of the car and head resting at an odd angle near the other opened door. Peeling off his blood stained and completely ruined shirt, Jared folded it quickly and laid it beneath Creed’s head as a sort of cushion, then repositioned the arms to lie comfortably at the man’s sides. They were so very lucky this Saturn had a spacious back seat.

Wiping off a bit of sweat that had formed on his brow, Jared was also thankful for the warm night and extended his wings, stretching. A quick flight would have woken him up considerably, and it wouldn’t take long- but he really didn’t want to leave his leader’s side. Not that he didn’t trust Adrienne most of the time, but the woman would have too much to gain with Creed out of the picture.

-

An amused grin appeared at his obvious disgust. “Careful, rich boy. Your blue blood is showing.” She teased good-naturedly, winked, then was off. She ran as she shifted, not breaking pace even when she had to fall to all fours. She would obey the angel’s orders, but first, she had to visit her pack.

They were tense, ready to defend their territory. It was obvious the reason – they smelled not one, but two Unknown Things and they were not liking it. She howled, a long relaxing greeting call, and the wolves, eight adults and three pups, answered her with a howl of their own.

Five were sent off for the hunt, which left three to care for the pups. Those five would not come near Jared, hunting in an entirely opposite direction. Before departing them, Adri nuzzled with her mate, licking her behind the ears. The pups greeted their father with playful pounces and bites, and Adri returned the teasing in kind. She would return to them soon, but for now, Creed was the primary concern.

After nuzzling with each, she darted away to the cabin. As she neared the door, she shifted to human, and entered.

Inside, it was neatly organized, containing everything from matches to various types of guns; knives to boots; even a portable oven. Most importantly, there was a large cooler stored. That would be perfect for the water, however, there was no way she could carry it on her own. Well, she could, however it would take a while.

Returning to wolf, she carried the outfit back to Jared, returning within moments. After setting the rags down, she sat back on her hind legs in an almost regal fashion.

{There’s a large cooler in the storage area that would carry plenty of water. It would be quicker for the both of us to retrieve it, though you would have to fly it back once filled.}

-

Jared hated the prospect of leaving Creed alone in the woods, completely unarmed and unconscious like this. He shook his head quickly and spoke, “No, I’ll grab the cooler- you watch him. I’ll be back quick enough. Did you happen to grab matches for a fire?” His wings spread out around him, ready to take flight, and crouched low to the ground, ready to leap into the air. He certainly didn’t feel comfortable leaving the feral like this, but could see no way around it.

-

{No. They are there – you’ll find them easily, trust me – so you may bring them back.} Considering how honest he had been with her thus far, she added, {I visited my family before going to the shed – the needed to hunt – and… I forgot about the matches.}

She lay down on the cool grass, relaxing against it. The seedy and polluted subway, the filthy guttural bar, and the chaos at the factory… it all began to fade somewhat in her mind. Not to mention she has shifted more times today than she should’ve. With the day winding down, it was all catching up to her.

Before she knew it, she fell asleep, and was not in the slightest bit faking it. Soon after she had closed her eyes, her form had returned to human, and she lay curled up on her side, peaceful in this short time she could afford for a nap.

-

Jared gave a quick nod and flew into the air, above the tree line with two powerful strokes and heading in the direction of a lake not too far from their little camp. ’That’s fine, Creed isn’t in mortal danger and they needed you.’ He understood why she had to see them, but that didn’t make him any less upset at her. ’But keep watch over him now.’

The warm air seemed to stick only to the forest level, and out in the open sky again his naked chest was licked by the cold winds and he suppressed a shudder. Blood still marred his tanned flesh and wings, but he gave them no heed as the small cabin came into view. He swiftly landed just outside the door and went in, searching for the cooler. It wasn’t too large, but still big enough to be uncomfortable to carry, however, it would also hold a lot of water and Jared wouldn’t have to leave Creed’s side later to fetch more.

Jared spotted the small refrigerator and, on impulse, opened to see if it held any drugs or such that would help Creed. The angel smirked at what he found and grabbed two cases, laughing, “Better than Tylenol!” He left the small building, after grabbing up three packs of matches and a newspaper, and flew quickly to the lake’s bank, where the cooler was quickly filled and, albeit slowly, he began making his way back to the car.

As he reached the small clearing, he saw the woman curled up into herself and fought off the impulse to land on her head. Creed was right- she couldn’t listen to orders for shit. Landing quietly in front of her, Jared placed the cooler to one side and kneeled down two feet away, a contemplative look on his face. His wings fluttered at his side and he stood again, nudging his toe into her side rather harshly. “Boo, bitch.”

-

The small, harsh nudge was enough to startle her from the short slumber. Instinctively, she had her dagger pulled and aimed towards the intruder’s leg; simultaneously, she had rolled onto her side. It took her only a second for her vision to clear, and she retracted her dagger instantly.

“You should never startle a wolf awake. They’re liable to attack.” She said, without apologizing for her reaction. She sat up, then stood, all in one smooth motion. “Care for his wounds. I’ll start the fire.” She said to him and held out a hand for a pack of matches. After he handed one over, she walked a few feet away from the car and began preparing the fire.

Using only newspapers would not do, though they would help to keep it burning, so she walked about the area and retrieved fallen branches. Expertly, she set those up and lit the flame, feeding it with a few torn pieces of paper. That accomplished, she turned and observed Jared.

“You really should eat something. It will not serve anyone any good if you are weak from hunger. Besides, it would be easier to feed you now and Creed later, then it would to have the both of you starving.”

-

“Well the wolf shouldn’t be asleep when she’s on guard duty,” Jared murmured angrily and passed by her, going to Creed’s side and sitting the two cases of beer on the car’s floor near the man’s head. He opened one can and set it back with it’s brothers, in which the horrible smell would tempt the man into consciousness- at least Jared hoped so. Ripping up some rags, he pulled the cooler over to the opened car door and began cleaning Creed’s cuts, taking special care around the deeper ones. ‘All I need now is for him to wake up and bite my head off for touching him,’ Jared thought ruefully but continued cleaning the other man.

A few moments passed by in silence, and he concentrated on his task. Dirt had made it’s way into Creed’s wounds and it was all the smaller man could do to not yank to hard to get rid of them. Jared rolled his eyes at the woman as she spoke, even though she wouldn’t be able to see the action, his back to her. “Thank you, but I’m not hungry.” He paused a moment then continued; “If you’re hungry you can hunt down something for yourself. But don’t go too far away…” The flight had helped to rejuvenate his sense, but his body was still beat.

Turning away from the feral, after ruining three large rags and dousing the man in two bottles of antiseptics, Jared deemed him good enough and sat down beside the fire, his muscles sore and mouth dry. The comics’ section had been spared when Adrienne had set upon the newspaper and he thumbed through it without really noticing the pictures.

-

Creed registered sound, movement, and pain, but couldn't seem to open his eyes. His body was on fire, it was his healing factor, he knew from experience. With every breath he took in smells of woods, what the fuck were they doing here? A car, Jared, and wet dog… Adrienne. The last thing he could recall was jumping from the window and thinking 'fuck, this is gonna hurt', then nothing. 'Must be banged up pretty bad…' he tried to make a noise, but too soon slipped into unconsciousness again.

-

She doubted Jared told the whole truth when it came to his hunger, but she would and could not force him to eat. If he chose to go hungry, that was his business. After his allowance of her feeding, she nodded and stood, starting to walk away. The final aspect of his order, though, caused her pause and she turned back to him, her glare icy.

“Thank you for your kind concern,” she said, not sounding the least bit sincere, “but I feast only with my family.”

She turned on her heel and walked into the woods, pausing to shift, then breaking into a run. She didn’t tell him where her den was, as it was none of his business. These woods were hers, it was her home, and she needn’t tell all to her ‘guests’.

Adri walked calmly to her wolves, proud to see they had managed to bring down a doe. At the approach of their alpha, the other wolves backed away from the feast, allowing her to eat first. She set upon the throat of the deer eagerly, feeling her tiredness vanish as she ate. Once satisfied for the moment, she backed away, allowing the others to continue feeding. Adri’s mate was nursing the pups, so Adri made sure to bring over a tender leg to her. The pups, sensing fresh meat, stopped their suckling and set upon the doe leg.

She settled herself down comfortably to watch them. Their teeth still weren’t sharp enough to feast properly yet, so their mother, Adri’s mate, helped them. She tore off small, edible bits for them, ones that wouldn’t require as much chewing.



A/N: Just when they were starting to get along… Ah well… *shrugs* And poor Creed only got one post in! Tune in next time for more CREED! YAY!

~Cheers!