Talia smiled and patted Altira's arm in a very motherly fashion when the young woman thanked her. Thanks weren't necessary at all, but she accepted it gracefully regardless. She rose to her feet as her daughter did, nodding her head slightly. It was a relief to see Altira getting a hold of herself. Not that there was any shame in crying, breaking down, or having a moment of weakness, but she much preferred her family to be happy, confident, and strong.
"Yes, you should get dressed. You'll feel better facing things with some clothes on, especially as the company arrives. I think you were too distracted to notice, but there was some howling going on. My daughter Nerissa is on her way with her pups. Her mate, Cortland, is out running with Raff. They're all going to want to meet you and welcome you to the family. Do you know much about werewolf hierarchy?" Talia didn't want to overwhelm her new daughter with information, but she wasn't expecting to introduce her to Cortland quite yet, either.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Raff was breathing heavily when he padded to a stop in the place where he had claimed Altira the night before. Cortland was already there, slowly circling the area, pausing to sniff interesting scents – he'd lingered a long time over Altira's shredded clothing, the entire area was saturated in the human woman's scent, but even more overpowering was Raff's scent and the distinct smell of sex and arousal, though they were beginning to fade. There were also hints of blood.
With Raff now present Cortland began following the trail that Altira had left in her flight. They paused to examine the remains of the bandits that Raff had killed, but quickly moved on once more as those were hardly interesting. Human scum that threatened the mate of any member of their family were deserving of worse fates than death.
It was the initial crime scene that the wolves examined now. Last night Raff had been too consumed with claiming his mate and seeing to her safety and comfort to worry about figuring out everything that had happened. Cortland had a more level head and the distance of not having his own mate threatened to look at the incident more objectively. So far no humans had disturbed the area and bodies were strewn across the road, both bandits and soldiers that had obviously been guardians for Raff's mate.
They had a lot of work to do, with Cortland directing the clean-up. First the wolves found a suitable place to build pyres, constructing a structure for each of the fallen men that had been part of Altira's party. In their hybrid forms they lifted and moved each corpse with great care and respect. While not knowing any of these men personally, each had died trying to protect Raff's mate and both wolves treated the fallen soldiers with reverence. Each man's belongings were found, sorted, and placed upon his pyre before they were finally lit.
Both wolves howled mournfully as the fires burned.
The few corpses of the bandits were handled with far less consideration. Dragged off the road and partially covered with dead branches to hide them from general passersby, no other amendment was made for them. As far as the wolves were concerned scavengers could feast on their remains for all they cared.
Altira's belongings were found and set aside, Raff would take them to his mate. Surely she would be pleased with having her things returned to her. The scents of two women marked the remaining items, but there had been no female corpses to burn – which worried both wolves greatly. If the bodies were not here then the women had been taken. Considering the sordid nature of the bandits, they would be in great danger.
The women's belongings were secured to Raff's back and Cortland led the charge through the forest as they followed the trail of those bandits that had survived their assault. Two very angry wolves circled the bandit encampment, locating the bound, bruised, and weeping women before coordinating their attack. No mercy was shown when they struck, and against two wolves the wicked, cowardly men stood no chance.
Altira's maids were quite in a daze by the time the men were dead. Probably in shock from the sheer amount of trauma they had been through in the last several hours. In their hybrid forms Raff and Cortland helped the stunned women dress with clothes from their belongings. The two young women eventually began sobbing again and clinging to their rescuers, regardless of their beastly appearance. Both women were lifted and gently carried away – away from the den, and away from Altira, back towards human civilization where they belonged.
With their limited possessions in hand, the poor girls were brought to the far edges of the nearest town and gently left on the road, with encouraging nudges towards the town center. With final wide-eyed looks at the werewolves, they turned and ran, slightly stumbling, together to freedom and safety.
