Claws

Chapter Sixty-Two

I remembered the fear and horror coursing through me as I crouched in the tree just near the clearing, my heart pounding in my chest as I witnessed Zale being abused by his very own father, who I'd been told was dead since I was a child. The branches scratched at my arms, but I was too terrified to care. So many questions and thoughts were running through my brain. Zale's father was not only alive but the chief of the south pack. How long had Zale known he had the bloodline of a chief? How long had he gone through this abuse? From what it seemed, it had been going on for a long time.

The way that Archeus screamed at Zale about him not manifesting after 'all this time.' The way Zale took his father's beatings with a dead, expected expression followed by tortured screams. The way Zale looked at the syringe that Archeus had injected into his neck only seconds before with dreaded, unsurprised eyes as if he'd been drugged many times.

I, Mae Astor, had never been so horrified in my entire life. No matter how much I wanted to, I was unable to move as I watched the horrific scene unfold before my very own eyes.

After I witnessed Zale pleading for his father to stop beating him with my hand over my mouth and tears in my eyes, I felt my hands begin to shake. I wanted to move in and help him, but my body wouldn't let me.

"Alright, I'll stop," Archeus frowned with raised eyebrows as Zale continued to gasp on the ground. "You know what happens next, don't you? Actually, I heard you killed two of my men. So now, instead of just immobilizing everyone today, you're going to kill them."

"No." Zale stumbled back, glaring at his father with tears in his eyes. "Even if they're your own, I won't. Please don't make me kill anyone you have under your submission. They're innocent."

"I HAVE EVERYONE IN THE PACK UNDER MY CONTROL, BOY! YOU WILL KILL THEM, OR I'LL DO IT MYSELF, THEN GO AFTER LINDA AND ROBIN! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?" Archeus screamed. I cringed, feeling tears roll down my cheeks as Zale's father punched him in the ribs. I could hear his bones snapping with a loud crunch as Zale cried out, sobbing as he buckled to his knees. I closed my tear-filled eyes with a shaky exhale to keep from letting out a sob as Archeus crushed his fist into Zale's face twice. "UNTIL YOU MANIFEST, YOU WILL DO AS I SAY! THAT WAS THE DEAL! NOW STAND UP AND FIGHT!" Archeus' manic voice echoed through the trees again.

So that was his plan. To get Zale so disoriented and riled up, he'd go rouge and give in to his instincts, pulling his southern chief's bloodline traits to the surface. It was discusting.

My fingernails dug into the tree bark as I watched Zale struggle to lift himself to his feet, his eyes rolling back in his head as blood began to ooze out from his lower eyelids.

When they opened, Zale looked like a different person. His eyes had turned the same color red as his father's, as red and black veins began to spread beneath his blood-stained eyes and cheeks. His wolf-like k-nines manifested as a look of animalistic sadism filled his face. He looked at the wolves surrounding him and shifted into his Clas form.

My eyes darted to Archeus, who briefly coughed into his hand when he stepped behind one of his grey and white wolves, his face growing pale. As his fingers drew away from his mouth, he quickly whirled around with a sneer. My eyes grew wide as I caught the sight of a thick red liquid staining his palm. "What the heck," I whispered, squinting my eyes. Did he just cough up blood?

Before I could comprehend what I'd just witnessed, I was interrupted by Archeus's crazed voice again.

"Attack him!" He yelled, eyeing all the wolves with glowing eyes. Archeus then gave one last vile look at his son. "If your eyes aren't red the next time I see you, I will kill you and send my whole entire pack to kill your mother without batting an eye. Until then, enjoy watching the beginning of a war unfold before you. Just remember, when you see your comrades die, it's all your fault." His voice seemed weaker and grainy yet just as hostile and demonic.

Zale didn't seem to hear Archeus's last remark before he left the clearing. The wolves surrounding him immediately came charging forward, going for the kill.

I stood up straight on my thick tree branch then froze in shock again, unable to tear my eyes away from the gruesome scene unfolding before me. Zale had began to become locked in a brutal and bloody fight with a group of twenty other wolves. The air was filled with snarls and growls, the sound of flesh tearing and bones snapping.

I could see Zale fighting, tearing limbs off of wolves with no hesitation, his fur matting with blood and his eyes filled with a unfamiliar hunger for death.

Soon, the ground began to become slick with blood, the stench of it filling the air. The scent made me feel sick to my stomach.

The way Zale fought out there felt so similar to the sight I witnessed when he'd murdered the two southerners in the woods after they assaulted me, but this time it was worse. Zale's rationality was long gone. Each moment felt like an eternity, each strike and counterstrike more horrifying than the last.

Before I knew it, fifteen dead wolves with missing body parts were sprawled across the clearing along with a collection of blood and limbs. Although there were five wolves left to deal with, Zale had lost so much blood, he seemed to be half conscience.

"Move!" I thought desprately, digging my fingernails into my palms. The only thing that moved on my body were the tears sliding down my face. "What are you doing standing around? Go help him!"

I clenched my teeth as I saw a dark grey wolf clamp his jaws over Zales back left thigh, another swiping their claws into his back. Blood flew into the air out from Zale's fur as he whimpered, toppling to the ground.

That was when I found myself leap down from the tree I was in, bolting towards Zale--who was now on the ground in his human form, struggling to breath as the blood from his gashes seeped into his clothes and onto the ground.

When I entered the clearing with a loud snarl, my amber eyes glowing in the dark towards the five Southerners, they stopped circling Zale and directed their gaze towards me. When I began to charge towards them, I caught a glimpse of Zale's horrified gaze on mine, the blue pigment in his eyes returning. His face was bloodied, bruised, and pale, yet he still looked at me with worried, wide eyes. "Mae! What are you doing?" Zale heaved, his voice full of terror. "Get out of here! It's not safe!"

"I don't freaking care if it's safe or not. Especially not after what I just saw," I snarled, stepping in front of Zale's dishevled body. The five Southerners backed up, baring their teeth at me as I hovered over them, snapping my jaws. "They hurt what's mine and I'm effing pissed."

I didn't even give the five wolves a chance to move before I tore off their heads and limbs.