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Baylee gasped when the white blur caught his attacker roughly in the side. His ankle was torn up and the pain was flaring through his entire leg. The wolf’s teeth tore at the flesh when his foot was released and Baylee cried out in pain. To their credit the rest of the pack stayed still as the white and the gray wolf tumbled down into the water. The white one landed on its enemy and gave it a kick for good measure before running back to Baylee. It took on a protective position in front of him and Baylee could only watch the confrontation unfolding. The growling was menacing and horrifying; promising blood and death.

Dad was on his own. The white wolf never tore his gaze away from the darker pack. He seemed stronger than any of them individually in any way. He was well fed and larger than them. But as a whole, he didn’t really stand much of a chance against them as a group. Baylee knew that, and he was sure all the wolves in front of him knew it as well. The nearly black leader took a challenging step forward and Dad growled louder, his teeth bared and his fur puffed out. He looked even more terrifying than the wild wolves did with his blue eyes full of hatred and anger.

And then, just as the alpha took another step, Dad suddenly attacked. Baylee knew his father did all of it out of protection, yet the screeching yelps and the growls and screams of the wolves were absolutely terrifying and he whimpered in fear. He couldn’t really keep track of what was happening, but he could tell his father was suddenly covered in gray wolves. They bit at him and flew at his throat, but he defended himself bravely, even though he was on the ground. The wolves kept piling up on him though and Baylee fearfully wondered how long Dad could keep up with the merciless attack. Every few moments, the wolves would stop fighting and circle each other. Baylee could see his father shaking on his feet, his tail sweeping angrily at the floor.

And then they would start again. Dad would kick them off of him before they could do any considerable damage, but he could only concentrate on one at the time. The wolves slowly seemed to realize that as they suddenly started to attack with multiple at once.

Baylee heard his father yelp in fear as the alpha bit into his side, while another wolf clamped unto his shoulder. The white wolf sank to the ground immediately and the rest of the pack jumped at their weakened enemy. Baylee’s stomach turned as he saw the leader’s face was covered in blood. The rough barks and growls were deafening and incessant.

“Hey!” A loud voice suddenly joined the animalistic sounds, “Get the fuck out of here!”

Although a bit late, Baylee still felt relieved when Nick’s torches were swept at the dark mob of wolves.

The wolves backed away, growling fearfully at the fire in Nick’s hand. Nick threw one of the burning, thick branches at them and they yelped. Already, there was quite a distance between the pack and the motionless white wolf that lay in front of Baylee’s feet. The pack hesitantly and collectively took a few steps back before turning and fleeing the scene.

“Where were you?” Baylee screamed, scrambling towards his unmoving father the best he could with his bleeding leg.

Nick swallowed thickly. Now that the immediate danger was over, Baylee felt himself shaking with anger and fear and frustration as his father didn’t move at the sound of their voices. Nick threw his burning weapon into the water and ran over to the fallen wolf. The animal’s solid white coat was now interrupted with large, red splotches, the fur at some parts completely ripped out and the open wounds clearly visible. There was no doubt that the wolf was hurt very badly and Baylee didn’t stop the tears that ran down his face.

“Dad?” he said in a soft voice, laying a shaking hand on a rare part of the wolf’s body that wasn’t affected by blood or injuries yet. “Dad, I’m so sorry.”

The wolf’s large head moved as he touched his son’s leg softly with his nose. He was breathing in shallow gasps and the blood was quickly pooling underneath him, where it was sucked up by the soft forest ground. Baylee bend down, his face touching the wolf’s surly fur as he carefully wrapped an arm around his father’s neck. The wolf’s eyes opened slightly and the animal sighed deeply as his breathing slowed down as he leaned into his son’s embrace.

Baylee’s shoulders started to shake as he desperately tried to apply pressure on the various wounds on the wolf’s body. Nick leaned closer to him, “We should get him into the water,” he whispered, his voice unrecognisable.

Baylee swallowed and nodded; then cautiously let go of his father as Nick gently took the wolf in his arms.

Dad cried out in pain as he was lifted into the air and carried over to the edge of the lake, leaving an ominous trail of blood on the way. The cold water hurt even worse and the wolf whined pathetically as Nick laid him down in the lake.


Nothing happened. There was no magical light that suddenly turned everything okay again, like it would have in the various animated movies Baylee had watched over the years. He sank to his knees next to the brutally injured animal and covered his face with his hands.

“Please,” he whispered to the water, “Please. I don’t know what else to do. Please, I need him,” he begged, tears streaming over his cheeks, “I want him back, just as he was.”

He barely noticed Nick coming to stand behind him. The wolf was struggling for breath now, its wounded body heaving and panting as the ice-cold water seeped through his fur. The animal shivered and whined, trying desperately to get rid of the pain.

“You have done well, white wolf,” Nick said and Baylee frowned at the unfamiliar tone in Nick’s voice. He gasped as he turned around. Nick’s eyes were glowing and his skin had turned an inhumanly shade of white.

The Backstreet Boy bent down and solemnly laid a hand on the wolf’s white fur. “You may rest now.”

“No!” Baylee cried out, grabbing Nick’s arm. The man turned slowly, and Baylee couldn’t tell if he was looking at him, for the eyes were not directly visible due to their glowing nature.

“He has fulfilled his purpose, he saved your life,” the voice wasn’t necessarily Nick’s and its distant and unnatural tone were sending shivers of warning down Baylee’s spine, but still he held his grip on the man’s arm.

“He is my father!” Baylee cried, “I need him!”

“You must find your way without him,” the voice was slow and steady and held no emotion whatsoever, “Isn’t that what you wished for?”

“No!” Baylee spoke again, a sob invading his voice, “I was stupid when I said that, I never meant for this to happen! Please!” he screamed, as he noticed the wolf’s body had stopped panting altogether. The water had turned an ugly shade of red around its body and the animal was once again completely motionless.

Nick, or whoever it was, cocked his head to the side and observed the boy. After a few seconds, a small smile played at his lips and he nodded slowly. “Very well,” he said, “You have done as you must.”

Baylee frowned, but didn’t move as the man knelt beside the dying wolf in the water. His hand was glowing now too, Baylee noticed, and Nick slowly took off his jacket to cover the animal. His hand glowed brighter as he lowered it to the wolf’s head and closed his eyes in concentration. The glowing light seemed to slowly move from Nick to the wolf and Baylee heard his father gasp loudly and his body shook violently, as if it were seizing. The light enveloped the animal’s form and for a few seconds, Baylee could see anything beyond the bright whiteness that swallowed his father whole.

And then the light faded. And the wolf was gone.

Instead, Baylee stared at his father’s beaten and bruised body, which was now neatly covered by most of Nick’s coat. Dad moved slightly, trying to get up, but failing from the exhaustion that overwhelmed him. The most fatal wounds were gone from his body, only a few deep cuts remaining and Baylee’s heart surged as his father opened his eyes and looked at him.

“Dad!” He choked out, flinging his arms around his father’s neck and burying his face against his shoulder.

Dad groaned, slowly bringing up a hand to rest on Baylee’s back. “Baylee, you’re squeezing me,” he mumbled in a hoarse voice.

“S-sorry,” Baylee sobbed, a relieved laugh bursting past his lips.

A moan from a few feet further announced Nick’s awakening. He’d passed out immediately after the light had left him and was now staring at them through dazed eyes. “What the fuck was that?” he demanded.

“I guess it was the thing we came for,” Baylee shrugged, but was secretly beyond amazed at the magical transformation he had witnessed.

Dad winced as he let go of Baylee and sat up slowly.

“You okay?” Baylee asked quickly, concerned.

“Not very,” Dad admitted, “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Baylee nodded his thanks, quickly jumping up to help his father. “You look kinda beaten up,” he noted.

“I was kicking those wolves’ butts though,” Dad smiled tiredly and swayed only slightly when Baylee pulled him to his feet.

“You were awesome,” Baylee confirmed, then turned to Nick, “And you were pretty badass too.”

“Thanks,” Nick said, groaning loudly as he got up and stretched. “Now let’s get some sleep before I call 911 tomorrow.”

“You have reception?”

“I have a super duper phone.”

“You had reception the whole time?”

“Surely. But I’m not going to ask for help when the ultimate goal is transforming a gigantic wolf back to its human size.”

“Very good point. I’m just glad we don’t have to walk all the way back to the car.”

“You and Baylee can’t really walk all that way anyway, you look horrible, dude, we can tell them y’all were attacked by wolves,” Nick nodded at Baylee’s still bleeding leg. The bite was quite deep, but the boy had forgotten about it until this moment. He bit his lip as the pain flared up, back with a vengeance. He nodded sleepily, limping towards the half set up tent. They didn’t bother completing the tent properly and after Nick helped patching up Baylee’s leg and Dad’s various injuries, they fell asleep pretty quickly. They made sure to leave the fire burning outside of the tent though, in order to ward off any wild animals that may cross their paths.