Even for him.
He heard the hunters crashing through the snow and branches, getting ever closer and he turned swiftly and growled low.
It was his vast experience there were two different kinds of human hunters.
There were those who took what they called their “sport” seriously and behaved, in their way, honorably.
These, he knew, were not those kind of hunters. Therefore, if they weren’t careful (which they would not be) they could hurt her.
He couldn’t allow that.
In fact, he’d die to stop it.
The force of this knowledge startled him but he knew it instantly and instinctively straight down to his immortal soul.
The hunters crashed through the trees into the clearing where he stood and leveled their shotguns at him.
He growled again and advanced, giving them their target.
Surprisingly, so did the child and she did so rapidly.
“No!” she shrieked, taking the hunters’ attention and before he could move a muscle, she slid to a halt in front of him. She threw her arms wide as if to shield him with her body.
He tore his gaze from the hunters and stared at her in stunned surprise.
“My puppy!” she cried. “You hurt my puppy!”
“Get away from that animal!” one hunter bellowed, the barrel of his gun moving subtly, aiming away from the child.
“Jesus,” another muttered. “What’s a kid doin’ out here?”
“My puppy!” she shouted again, turned and lifted up on her toes so she could wrap her arms around his neck, pressing her face into the thick fur there. “You hurt my puppy!” she repeated on a wail as if her heart was torn apart. Then, not detaching her arms from his neck, her head rounded on the hunters again and she yelled, “Papa is going to be so mad.”
“Kid, I said, get away from that animal,” the first hunter ordered.
She ignored him. “Papa went all the way to Alaska to get my puppy for me and he got out tonight. He wouldn’t come when Papa called and called and whistled and called and we were so worried, so, so worried, we couldn’t get to sleep. We were looking for him, looking all over. Papa is just out there…” She took an arm away to point vaguely in the direction from where she came. “We were looking for him and Papa is going to be sooo mad that you shot my puppy!” She ended on a shriek, throwing her arm around his neck again, holding on tight and pressing her face into his fur, her body beginning to shake with false sobs.
Bloody hell but she was a cunning little human and, as a wolf, if he could laugh, he would.
Unfortunately, he could not.
Instead, he shifted his furry bulk into her and without delay she pressed closer.
“Fuckin’ A,” the third hunter mumbled, his eyes narrowed on the girl as he lowered his gun. “Is that Senator Arlington’s daughter?”
“Fuck!” the second hunter hissed, lowering his own firearm. “It is.”
“Kid –” the first hunter started in a soothing tone.
She pulled her face away from his neck and glared at the hunters. “Go! Go now! If you go now, I won’t tell Papa it was you.”
They hesitated, all their guns lowered now, their feet shuffling.
“Go!” she screamed, her child’s voice piercing the brittle air.
“Maybe we could talk to Senator Arlington,” the third one whispered his suggestion. “Explain things.”
“Yeah?” the first hunter asked sarcastically, turning angry eyes at his friend. “Do you want to tell Senator Arlington how we were out at night and you shot his precious daughter’s dog? Do you, Gary? Hunh?”