Chapter 488

• Natalia could see the logic to Dara's words, but it was hard to ignore her protective instincts towards Pippa. All her life her mother and the pack had shown her what it meant to be pack, how the adults had to protect the young at all costs. Even though Pippa wasn't a part of her pack, she was just a child and therefore fell into the category of juvenile to be taken care of. If she allowed the experiment to go ahead, Pippa could be scarred for life, however if she didn't, her mother would surely die. It was an impossible position to be in and yet, she was really the only one left who could make the decision.
• Natalia tried to think logically, tried to work out the pros and cons of the situation, but in the end, it was a child desperate to save her mother that won the internal debate of right and wrong. Papa was already lost to her, and she would need to deal with the grief of his death at some point, but for now, she had to do what she could to save her mother. If she lost her too...Natalia didn't know how she would survive the double blow. It did cross her mind that Pippa had suffered the same heart-wrenching scenario only a handful of hours ago too. If what Dara said had any merit, that this course of action could help Pippa too, then surely it wasn't so selfish to see what happened?
• "Pippa, honey. You can come out of the tent now," Natalia called softly, moving to the opening to protect the child from as much of the gore in the campsite as she could. "Try not to look around you when you come out, sweetie. Just look at me."