The return of Natalie's conscience was heralded by  symphony of grunts and groans coming straight from her mouth. Her entire body hurt, and that pain was all she felt as she awoke from slumber. Her legs were the worst, screaming at her for all of the running they did after that arduous task of riding the wargs in haste. Her back and sides had what felt to be giant bruises on them, probably from the orc that got all of those hits on her as she was wrestling with its spine. And to top it all off, her entire body itched something fierce, while also having an unpleasant amount of soreness. Those she credited to the joining with Kali, as the newfound sensation of having fur was by far different to anything she had known. Opening her eyes, she saw she was in what seemed to be a nurses office, most likely still on the campus. While she did confirm that after seeing the symbol of the university while looking around, what she saw around her was far more eye catching. Four beds were lined up side by side, with hers at one end. On the other three were Shannon and the two other women that they found in that den of debauchery. Sitting at the foot of all three beds was a team of three, all female, all talking in whispers over a giant pile of sheets in front of them. Groaning as she tried to sit back up, Nat was surprised when one of them rushed over and gently pushed her back down.

     "We are glad that you are awake, but you need to rest. Your body has undergone severe strain and exertion and needs to recover a bit more." Surprised at the gentle nature, Nat did not even try to fight what was happening. As she laid back down, she noticed that the only door leading in or out was not only half the height and grey, but fully there and beige, sitting wide open. Luna, Seeka, and Sol all sat in the doorway, keeping out a vigil. Before she could raise a voice to ask what was going on, one of the other three walked over as Kali attacked Nat's face with her tongue, happy that her friend was finally awake. Calming down the happy wolf was not an easy task, but the approaching woman was patient enough to wait. Once she had gotten Kali to settle down, the wolf jumped onto the bed and lay down beside her, prompting Nat turned her attention to the woman walking up to her.

     "Good morning, my name is Doctor Michelle Smith, and I have been the one in charge of taking care of the four of you. I am already aware of the gist of the situation thanks to the other three, so I was just hoping to fill you in on what you missed." After getting a nod of understanding from her now bedridden self, Michelle went into describing what had happened after Nat had lost consciousness. Apparently, that orc screaming alerted everyone in the campus below and people stormed upwards, prepared to fight off monsters to protect their leaders. Instead what they all found was a room with a bunch of dead bodies and four naked women, all being guarded by large canines. Before either side escalated the situation, the two women that Nat did not know had started explaining the situation, and how the canines and the one woman had all come in and saved them from the abuse they had been suffering for most of the week. Most people doubted the story, until one elderly woman pushed past the crowd, hugging the two affectionately while crying. Apparently they were some of the people that were claimed to have been lost in night raids, and were thought to have been dead, as was Shannon.

     Once the story had been confirmed more by Shannon as she sat beside the Shepherd, a lot of people eased off, and then were promptly shooed away by ever female there. The fact that the four were naked caused every single man to back away. Slowly and carefully, women came in and slowly carried each of the women away and down to the nurses office in the same building. The only one they had issues with was Natalie, as when they attempted to approach her, the canines formed a defensive circle around her until Shannon was able to convince them that they only wanted to help. Apparently having giant furry guards managed to help deter anyone from saying or doing anything rash as the four of them were brought down. Some men who claimed to be doctors were quickly chased off and not allowed into the infirmary, causing everyone to question all female survivors to see if there were any doctors. Thankfully, there was one, as well as two nurses that stepped forward to help. Once they managed to get the canines to let them in, the three of them had been working almost tirelessly since the previous day to get all four of the wounded in better shape.

     After a quick thank you, to both the medical team and her pack, Nat closed her eyes and thought about what she had just heard. She had been out of it for almost an entire day and she still felt pain. Knowing that she was not going to go anywhere today, she let one of the nurses help her eat. Once she had actually consumed something so her stomach was groaning in protest at its vacancy, she took one look over at her best friend. What she saw made her believe that the worst was now behind them, for Shannon's face looked so at rest and peaceful that it was almost as if she was receiving a world class massage that was soothing to the bone. Images of Angie flashed back in her mind, causing Nat to resolve her self and come to an unwavering decision. She would not let her friend go quietly into the void. She would be there beside her, to help her grow and become stronger than she had been before. She would devote everything she could so that her friend would be able to live. Turning back, Nat closed her eyes and willed herself back to sleep, hoping the pain would be gone next she woke.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Jake, Viktor, Nikolas, Saganatsu, Eeleater, Eric, Corgi, Lachlan, Coen, Adam, John, Nicholas, Ty, Jacob, Sir Hellington, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 25 patrons, which I will then open up an official discord for everyone to come and discuss the story in and hang out!