A Bolt
The three boys approached her in their wolf forms. Jay moved up next to Nova's growling wolf while the other two stayed back. He looked down at her and then leaned and pressed his head into her shoulder softly. The action quieted her growl and brought her head around to looked at him.
She met his eyes and her body just calmed down. 'He is okay.' Dawn whispered and she relaxed completely. Nova nodded before looking back a the now dark forest in front of them. The enemies were gone and so Nova threw her head back and howled in victory. The natural wolves recognized her howl and responded.
Her head dropped back down to look at the road and confusion started to swirl through her as the adrenaline faded. 'Why was she so worried about Jay, why could he calm her down?' Nova shook her head having no answer and turned to see Logan and Matt watching her with their golden eyes. She didn't know what they were thinking, but she decided to nod her large red-furred head to them. Jay once more brushed his head softly against her shoulder drawing her eyes to him. He nodded his head in a direction and started to walk in that same direction before looking back at her.
Nova smiled as she followed him through the woods. It was weird and unexpected but, at the same time, this moment felt right. Logan was following them on her left while Matt was right behind her. As they continued to walk, she felt a burning sensation grow in her mouth. It was extremely uncomfortable and she opened and closed her mouth to try to quench it.
Instead, it only grew worse. When she swallowed, the burning spread down her throat forcing a cough to erupt from her. Nova suddenly felt so thirsty. What is wrong with her throat? She coughed harshly again and Jay froze and looked at her with wide eyes. Then he jerked his head and took off running. Nova followed him along with Logan as Matt disappeared somewhere. As they ran, her breath started getting rougher as it irritated her burning throat. Jay kept running as they broke through the treeline and approached a group of buildings.
Nova's steps stumbled slightly as her eyes widened at the sudden sight. She had no clue this place was here, but it seemed pretty new so that might be why. Their paws pounded against the dirt as they flew paced the rows of houses and into an open space. Jay immediately angled himself toward the largest building in the area.
Another cough wracked through her body, causing her to fall and roll. Nova rolled onto her belly but remained crouching down and struggled to breathe as the coughs kept wracking her body. Eventually, they calmed down enough for her to catch her breath, but when she opened her eyes they landed on droplets of blood now splattered on the ground in front of her. Her eyes connected with Jay's whose worried eyes took in the scene.
Another cough racked through Nova and the sounds of popping fell on her ears. Before she could register what was happening, A pair of strong arms had swept under her and lifted her trembling form off the ground. Her body bounced as he carried her. His campfire and woodsy scent surrounded her like a comforting cocoon while heat and sparks seemed to fill her body from his powerful arms.
Maybe this wasn't the time, but she enjoyed the feeling of him carrying her. Plus he must be pretty strong if he can. Then again, werewolves tend to be really strong so maybe not super surprising. Another cough caused Nova to jerk in his arms. 'Dawn, why do I feel so weak? What is happening?' Nova quietly asked her wolf.
'I don't know, but it hurts. Jay can help us... Hopefully' Dawn's soft reply came with a hope that the burning would end soon.
"Jay! What happened? Who is this?" A strange voice said as Jay carried Nova into a building.
Nova felt a growl rumble from his chest as Jay responded, "Someone shot a dart at me and she caught it out of the air. I think it was coated in something, Matt went to get it."
The voice was much closer as he announced, "Ok, put her into this room. What is her name?"
"Nova", came the simple reply. Even in her weak state, Nova couldn't help the butterflies that filled her belly as he said her name. "Doc, please help her." His pleading voice broke slightly as his words softly left his lips.
The strange voice, who is probably the doctor was closer to her as he said, "Ok, Nova. This may hurt a bit, but I have to clean your mouth so the substance doesn't spread." A whine was her only response as her body started to beg her to fall asleep. Discomfort in her mouth and throat prevented her and she couldn't help the soft whines escaping her throat. Soon the discomfort stopped and Nova was able to close her mouth. She was just barely able to catch the doctor say, "She will be fine," before her mind slipped into a nice sleep.
When her eyes opened once more, she saw white. Nova quickly jerked in shock and found herself tumbling backward. A yelp left her mouth as she landed harshly, before slowly standing up and looking around. It looked like a hospital room, but the part that drew her eyes the most was the teenage boy who was watching her and barely holding in his laughter.
Nova ducked her head and gave a wolfish smile which just caused it to break through. His laughter boomed in the room and drew a smile to Nova's face. 'So I guess Jay and the other wolves weren't a dream after all,' Nova commented to Dawn. Excitement filled her and she suddenly ran in a tight circle before turning to look back a Jay with her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth.
He shook his head while a smile remained on his face and asked, "You feeling up for school?" Nova nodded and quickly padded out the door. She froze and looked left and then right before turning back to look at the dark-haired boy who now had an eyebrow raised, "Did you not hear me say school?"
Nova rolled her eyes before reentering the room and pushing her head against him toward the door. Although, to her surprise and partial frustration, the boy didn't even budge an inch. Alas, she hadn't pushed that hard, but he should've at least shifted his weight. She brought her head back and looked at him confused. Of course, Jay was only smirking and so Nova decided to ram into him harder and was satisfied when he stumbled and almost fell. He let out a bark of laughter before finally giving in and leading the way out of the building.