“Dawn will shine over the Darkest Forest”
[Valko x MC - hurt/comfort one shot from “Until You Come Home” series]
Sometimes her job was ugly. Things didn’t go as smoothly as the team had planned and they had divided to inspect the vast area. Moonlight shone feebly through full branches, making each step forward feel like walking right into the abyss, and long shadows criss-crossed each other as darkness appeared after every turn.
The soil felt solid under her boots as she stalked forward, her gun pointed ahead while her finger rested beside the trigger. But something felt off. She couldn’t hear the rustle of the leaves or the howls’ hoots anymore, the forest was too quiet.
It was the kind of silence that anticipated danger, her shoulders squared up instinctively. She came to a halt in front of a narrow trail split by moss-covered stones and on her left, the steep descent into rocky terrain. Her eyes narrowed when she caught something glistening below -it was running water. Then why couldn’t she hear that?
In a quick move, she removed the safety and glanced at her surroundings with more attention. Sensing no other movement, she decided to keep going and carefully made her way past the narrow trail. Low branches and fallen trees made the passage difficult, especially because the ground softened beneath her boots -mud and slick rocks making everything more slippery.
She found herself in an opening but she didn’t lower her guard. She noticed that old roots spurted from the soil, as if there had been many trees there before getting violently eradicated. She leaned down with the intention of examining everything closer, when her Hunter’s watch went off.
A loud beep broke the silence a moment before chaos stirred.
Things happened too fast for her to really understand what was going on.
In the blink of an eye, a hoard of Wanderers surged towards her, coming from any direction and she acted like she had been trained for years now. Right when she thought about calling for backup, the Wanderers beat a hasty retreat. She didn’t even have the time to breathe as a giant shadow cast over her, presenting a monster she had only ever read in reports about.
Fighting at best of her abilities and failing to call a backup because the overwhelming Metaflux made her Hunter’s watch act up, she hoped that the team would soon notice something weird happening and came to help. In the meantime, she defended herself and attempted to take down the vicious Wanderer -all the awkwardness she had noticed along the way were the monster’s doing to lure lost prey right into its den.
Bullets tore through the air one after another as she shot at the monster and immediately rolled behind the closest trunk to reload her gun. But she had to run fast, because the Wanderer uprooted trees with ease, lifting them high in the dark sky and throwing them around to not leave her any hiding.
Somehow, she managed to severely injure one of its limbs but with a loud roar, the Wanderer went mad and began throwing hits everywhere. Dirt, rocks, broken trunks flew and she was hurled among it all too. The impact with the ground stole her breath away, she gasped for air as she didn’t waste time retrieving her gun that had fallen not too far from her.
The Wanderer loomed over her almost immediately and she couldn’t do anything, helpless on the ground, but pointing the gun at it and shooting.
A metallic click echoed in her ringing ears and for a moment everything stilled. Even the monster cocked its head at her, showing confusion despite being deprived of any real expression.
Her heart sank into her stomach as she realised a beat later what had just happened.
It had been her last bullet.
But her gun hadn’t fired out.
It jammed, condemning her to a cruel destiny.
For the first time that night, her hands shook and tears glistened her eyes.
She couldn’t die like that.
Desperately, she threw the weapon at the Wanderer and then reached behind her to find anything that could allow her to keep fighting. Her fingers curled around a heavy rock-
A deep, furious howl split the forest.
The Wanderer never reached her.
Something slammed into it with enough force to send both monsters crashing through the trees.
It was dark and fast, too fast for her eyes to see it clearly.
And even for the trashing Wanderer that was being attacked from an inhuman, vengeful force without mercy.
Several trunks stabbed the monstrous body, and she blinked stunned when she saw them shining under the moonlight. They weren’t made of wood but steel.
The Wanderer collapsed onto itself under the fatal bite of sharp fangs and a wolfish growl died into silence.
She was still on the ground, covered in dirt and aching from the previous fall.
Her eyes met golden irises that glowed into the night above a dark snout.
A sigh of relief left her lips as she let herself lay on the ground, needing a moment to calm her still racing heart.
The big wolf whined lowly as he approached her and protectively stood over her, his tongue lapping at her cheeks to lick away dried tears and a bit of blood from a scratch on her jaw.
“I’m… good,” she murmured as she lifted a hand and stroked the fluffy fur around the wolf’s neck.
“'M good…” she repeated quietly when he gently laid atop of her and nuzzled against her neck to sniff her scent and feel her heartbeat.
There was a sense of powerless human nature carried within itself that the werewolf genes inside him struggled to accept.
That was what Valko felt as he had to leave her side when the Hunters had come later to rescue and he had to hide into the shadows because he had still been in his wolf form. He hadn't ever once made her disappear from his sight, though.
As soon as he could, he had turned into his human form and pretended he wasn't already in his car, racing towards the hospital, when captain Jenna called him because he was her emergency contact.
The doctors said she was fine but they handed him papers to sign anyway. For precaution, she had to stay in the hospital for the night and fortunately the nurse was fond of romantic gestures, since she helped him convince the doctors to stay in the room with her even if it wasn't necessary.
Seeing his girlfriend in a hospital gown, band-aids and bandages where her body had been scratched and bruised during the fight, squeezed his heart painfully. She had survived, she had fought till the very end... but if his sixth sense hadn't brought him into the forest, he might've lost her forever.
A lump formed in his throat at the worst case scenario and he slumped forward as he sat next to her bed, his hands cradling hers with tender despair.
He closed his eyes for a moment but it seemed like he had been emotionally drained out, because he had dozed off without realising.
The feeling of her fingers twitching against his had his wolf ears and tail popped up instinctively as he lifted his head from his arm and looked at her. His fluffy ears twitched as her breathing changed pace and his tail swished impatiently behind him when he saw her eyelashes flutter.
Her voice came out as a quiet, hoarse murmur as she stirred awake.
He replied reassuringly, his thumb brushing over knuckles in a gentle manner.
Her chapped lips curled into a soft smile, and Valko couldn't hold back the whine that escaped from the back of his throat.
"I know," she mumbled and squeezed his hand lightly. "I never doubted you would be."
Against his will, his eyes burnt from unshed tears and he rose from his seat to close the distance between them. Careful to not tug at any tube, his arms wrapped around her torso and his face buried into the crook of her neck.
"'M fine," she sighed quietly as she held onto his forearms, her thumbs caressing the muscles hidden beneath the fabric of his shirt.
"I was so scared," he muttered against the soft, warm skin of her neck, hating the smell of medicine masking her natural scent -the scent he loved dearly.
"I was too... but then you came. I knew that it was going to be alright," she kissed his temple and nuzzled her face into his hair. He smelled like earth, pine and something that reminded her of iron.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
Pulling slightly back, she blinked her eyes open and looked down at him, crouched over her like a protective shield.
Valko broke into a chuckle, both disbelief and fondness at her concern.
"I should be the one worrying here," he retorted as he lifted his head from the crook of her neck and met her gaze.
Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss on her lips.
"Scratched my palms and knees... nothing serious," he reassured her.
He shook his head before pressing another kiss on her forehead.
"Let me get you some water," he offered instead because he couldn’t bear hearing her words slurred and heavy anymore.
She sighed as she relaxed on the bed and let him have his way. She watched him move towards the counter where a pitcher stood next to a couple of clean glasses and, even if he had rolled his sleeves down on purpose, he couldn’t hide the bandages that crossed his palms from her. Knowing that at the moment he wouldn’t let her worry over him, she decided to ask him again later, once they were home.
While Valko filled a glass of water for her, she took in her surroundings and the stark contrast with the place she had left behind made her guts twist uncomfortably.
The room smelled of disinfectant and the AC blew cold air in, the silence was filled with the steady noises of the monitors attached to her. Her gaze moved from his broad back, his fluffy tail hanging heavily along his legs, down to her arms. And she frowned at the sight of bandages and the needle attached to the IV beside her bed.
His voice brought her away from her wandering thoughts and she shrugged slightly. The doctors probably gave her something because she didn’t feel anything throbbing where she was sure there were bruises on her body.
“No,” she mumbled and opened her mouth when Valko brought the glass’ rim close enough.
“Good,” he hummed lowly as he watched her drink and once she quenched her thirst, he put the glass aside.
Before he could sit on the chair, though, her hand reached out and grabbed his, pulling him closer. Valko didn’t need her to ask and went to sit on the edge of the bed instead, right beside her legs.
His wolf ears straightened up as he caught the change in her breathing. Her frightened gaze pierced his heart and he noticed her bottom lip wobble -she was trying to be strong, even when there wasn’t any need anymore. Valko shifted forward and wrapped his arms around her one more time, feeling her fingers grip onto the back of his shirt.
He cooed at her soothingly, his nose running along her jawline and his lips following immediately after to litter her skin with soft kisses. He tasted salty tears against her cheek and he let out a shaky breath of his own.
“It had never happened before. It terrified me,” she confessed between quiet sniffs, her arms tightening around him to bask in his comforting presence.
Valko blinked confused at the vague question, his gold eyes meeting hers as their faces were a few inches distant. His fingers reached to brush a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then his hand cupped her face, his thumb sweeping away her tears.
“How did you find me?” She questioned curiously, because she hadn’t ever expected to meet him there.
“My sixth sense,” he grinned softly at her when he finally managed to hear her chuckle.
“For real,” he nodded playfully and continued brushing away the last of her tears, caressing her flushed cheeks with a featherlight touch.
“I called you. Thrice. You told me that the mission should’ve lasted a couple of hours and I grew restless when I didn’t get any news from you… I was waiting and then I felt-”
The words failed him when he attempted to explain what had surged inside him -the uneasiness, the inexplicable fear, the instinct of checking it out on her as soon as possible.
“I used the tracking app of our phones to see where you were. When the last signal was lost without any movements-”
She leaned forwards and pressed their foreheads together, her eyes falling close as she rejected the vivid memories of what they had survived from. She was glad to have him in her life -someone who cared and loved her so deeply to feel when she needed them the most despite the situations.
“Thank you,” she murmured, her voice quiet and thick from emotion.
“You don’t have to thank me. You’re my mate. I’ll always find you and keep you safe,” he whispered back, nuzzling the tip of their noses together.
Tonight, his promise had gotten tested but… he had made it anyway, they were safe now.
She chuckled wetly at his words, remembering what Valko had once told her about werewolf’s beliefs and old traditions.
“Your mate…?” She echoed back, her tone more playful now in an attempt to return to their normalcy. “Didn’t you say they were just tales?”
He laughed warmly at that and kissed the corner of her lips.
“I did. But there’s a bit of truth behind every tale, after all.”
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ🐺*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧: *✧: *✧
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[This one shot is also published on AO3]
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