Chaos descends upon the entire gathering like vultures on a rotting corpse. Mothers scoop up their pups, fleeing from the backyard while they wail in terror. Giselle is among them. The Alpha and Luna rise, Payne a few steps behind them as they rush to the cot. I follow them even though I don't know what to do - I'm not sure I can help. But I need to do something.
The warrior releases his mate, his head snapping towards Payne and his parents with frightening speed. In his yellow eyes there is no sign of a wolf. In fact, there is no sign of anything. Just empty cruelty that shines out like a glimmering knife. Blood covers his mouth, smeared over all of his face from where she struggled to get away.
The Alpha reaches him first, and a swipe of the warrior's claws digs into his arm, drawing blood and tearing through his flesh. Payne's father waits for him to swipe again and reaches behind him, digging his own claws into the back of his neck, trying to overpower him.
Whether it's the combination of his vampiric strength or something else, the male does not yield. Payne steps forward to assist; the warrior wrenches his arm around and slashes through his abdomen.
The smell of his blood is what makes me gag.
The female stumbles a few steps away from the scene, like she's confused. Blood spurts from her neck and onto the grass in lines of liquid red. She raises a hand to her bleeding neck, then pulls it away, staring with wide eyes. She hits the ground in a matter of seconds.
I need to do something.
If you're going to survive and help other's survive, you need to be capable. The memory of father's voice is almost like he's with me now. He never taught me to cook, or bake, or what berries to pick off of what bushes in the summer like mom. His advice was always different. How to skin a deer and keep the skin intact. How to start a fire. How to make a shelter if you were to get lost and need one.
I need to stop the bleeding. He taught me this lesson when I attacked a doe in our woods during the season of their rut. The other lesson was how important it was that we respect the lives of each animal. If the mothers do not live to reproduce, we will face starvation within five years time. He had said, making me taking the time to dress her wounds and release her.
Kassidy's dress tears like paper against my claws. I take as much fabric as I can while remaining decent, wadding it up and pressing to her neck. Someone from behind hands me a shirt, and I use it to apply more pressure. "Hey, hey, wake up." I use one hand to hold the clothes to her neck, the other to shake her awake. My heart beat thunders like a stampede of horses.
A breath of relief comes in when her eyes shift open, followed by the smell of blood. her blood, and her mate's blood, and Payne's blood all in a single inhale. Her pupils dilate and then contract again, unfocused. Like she's here and somewhere else.
"What's your name?" I need to keep her talking to me, with something simple. Her gaze turns to me, and it's like she's looking through me.
"Glen." I nod my head, giving her a big smile, trying not to make her worry. Trying to keep her calm. My gaze flicks up to see the warrior fighting against their grasp, his mouth stretching wide, blood and saliva dripping off of his teeth that are lengthened and come to a delicate, sharp point in the ends. Teeth once meant for tearing are now for puncturing; for extracting life from a victim.
I look down. Back at Glen. "Glen is such a pretty name. Where does it come from?" Names are important in Deadpaw, like most places. Her eyes that aren't really looking at me just stare. "It's very cold."
"Glen, talk to me. Where does your name come from?" I say again, a little more desperately. She just needs to stay conscious. Azora comes to kneel next to me. For just a moment the smell of flowers cuts through the blood.
"We can take her to my cabin. Nora, help us lift her." Nora is the next at our side, silver braids swinging over her shoulder. She's in leather armors that are engraved with symbols I don't recognize. "Keep the pressure on her neck. We have to move quickly." Nora and Azora lift her with little effort.
"Kriv! Have you lost your moon-given mind?" I can hear the plea in Payne's voice.
"This is no longer Kriv. End his suffering, son." I hear the Alpha's voice, sharp and full of sorrow. If his mind wasn't gone, he maybe could have been saved. I have to jog to keep up with Nora and Azora's pace, as they lead me a way in the woods I've never been - Nora does not speak.
Glen's face turns horror stricken. "He's not there." She points to her chest. "He's not there anymore." Her eyes close. "Glen. Glen?" There is no answer as her head goes slack.
The path twists and winds, getting darker the deeper in the woods we go. It feels like we can't get there fast enough. When we finally do, Nora kicks the door in, shattering the frame. Not a second can be spared.
Vines and leaves run through her walls, even blocking some of the windows up as they reach outside. She leads us into a room full of thick leaves. They slink back, flattening out. Azora and Nora lay her on it. The leaves shift into bigger vines right before my eyes, moving to wrap around Glen's entire body, growing right through the fabric and into her neck.
"Why is it doing that?" Nora hisses, stepping back and putting space between herself and Glen's body. She stares hard at Azora. We're both covered in blood down our midsection and arms.
Azora stares right back at her. No sign of fear, though I can see the strength threaded into Nora's body, muscled all over. It isn't so apparent with Azora. "It's helping her. It might be the only chance she has."
"I'm not leaving her or Thea alone with you. You can't be trusted." Nora spits. Azora shakes her head and laughs. There is a taste in the air that's strange - like raw cotton and metal shoved into my mouth. Magic.
"Would you like a seat?" The vines twist into legs, then a frame, forming a chair behind Nora, who then flashes her teeth in displeasure. Azora does the same, and every single one of them are sharpened. The growth twists into Glen, stopping the bleeding and holding her body still. She does not appear to be in pain. "So she's okay then? Or she's going to be?" I say to Azora, interrupting them. Their petty argument isn't helping anyone.
"We will have to wait and see. Even I can only do so much.. but if they can't help her, nothing can." Azora says, turning away from Nora completely. I look down at the blood all over me. "Where is your bathroom?" Azora glances down the hall.
"Second door to the left." I reach the bathroom and flick on the light. It's simple, but grown through with flora like the rest of the house. I refuse to stare at myself and the blood all over me, turning the sink on and getting as much of it off as I can. It is still soaked into my dress, but I don't want to leave those two alone to get new clothes. Who knows what they might do to each other if left unattended.
When I come back, Nora is standing vigil at Glen's side. Azora is sitting in the chair that she fashioned earlier. "Why was he feral like that? I thought vampires could be reasoned with and even talked to when waking up from a transformation?" As far as common knowledge goes, even while hungry, a vampire wouldn't be completely out of it's mind. They would at least recognize who they are.
"These vampires.. they aren't the same. Fighting them wasn't the same." Nora says, rubbing her hand through her braids, not seeming to notice the blood still on her. "They were faster. Stronger. And silent as ghosts."
YOU ARE READING
Half of You
Werewolf"I fucking want you, Thea." I've waited so long to hear those words come from his mouth. A sound leaves in return from the wolf, and no words need to be said. It's obvious desire. "Slow... this time." His eyes go down to my lips. ~~~~~~~~~~~ This i...
