Chapter 69

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My legs burned as I willed them to turn faster and faster, trying to keep pace with the white wolf who ran before me. I'd never felt this weak since I'd been in my mortal body, and if anything, my current state was worse. My legs were thin like toothpicks, and if any of the wolves battling to our sides turned their attention to me, I knew I'd be good as dead. 

but I kept running, following Azure as she formed the path, weaving in and out of battles and leaping over dead bodies. I tried not to look at their faces too long, to the mouths open in eternal screams or glassy eyes staring unseeingly at the skies. I tried not to picture Zion or Alia's face on theirs, tried not to look back at the battle that was taking place behind us, the battle to buy us time. To buy me time. 

I hadn't even noticed we'd entered the cemetery until white headstones appeared in my vision. Crouched behind one, curled up in a ball, was a girl with curly golden hair. 

"Raina!" I half-yelled, half-sobbed. She jumped up immediately, and despite everything, I was relieved to see she was okay, at least from what I could see. 

"Turn," Azure barked, not giving her a second glance. Raina scowled in her direction but did as told, turning into a small, golden-haired wolf. If we hadn't been in the midst of battle, I may have taken my time to admire her gilded fur, to admire the emerald eyes that glowed brighter than the sun itself. 

Raina rushed to my side, eyes full of question and concern but she remained silent. Azure quickly sprung into the direction of the woods, little under a hundred yards away. That's when it hit me. Freedom. Sweet, breath-taking freedom. It was enough to spur my legs into action again, to push aside my concerns for just a few seconds. 

But we didn't make it far out the graveyard before two sets of rippling snarls sounded from behind us. The three of us whirled, Azure giving an equally-frightening snarl as we glimpsed who stood there. 

Two great, hulking wolves, their sizes telling me they were Gammas. The one with brown-black fur and red eyes took a step towards us, snarling, and I found myself taking a step back. Raina didn't move, and almost looked to be paralyzed with fear herself. Azure was the only one who stepped forward with challenge.

"Surrender, bitch" the other wolf, one with red-brown hair and blue eyes, called out to me. "Surrender, or we'll kill you and your friends."

"Killing her is against our orders, Caesar," the other Gamma said, as though having a conversation. As though they weren't talking about our very lives. 

The blue-eyed wolf didn't respond. I began to panic. It was a two against one, given how weak I was. And I wasn't sure of Raina's fighting skills, either. My best bet would be to run.

It seemed Azure had come to the same conclusion, too. 

"Run, Kyra!" Azure barked, charging ahead. Raina quickly followed in her footsteps. The Gammas' eyes widened with shock, but only for a moment before they engaged with them. If I'd been strong, I would've stayed back and fought by her side. But I wasn't strong, I was weak. So, without another thought, I turned on my heel and ran for the forest ahead. 

Curses and snarls sounded behind me but I didn't linger to listen in. I just continued to run, the blood roaring in my ears and my calves screaming with agony. My heart crept to my throat as thudding footsteps sounded behind, but I didn't allow myself to falter. I had to keep running, I had to--

A hard hit to my back, and I was sent crashing to the ground. I cried out in fear as I rolled over onto my back, pinned down by a great, red-furred beast. I tried to struggle, tried to escape his iron grasp, but I couldn't. An awful smile carved his lupine features. 

"I have you now, bitch," he snarled. I pinched my eyes shut, preparing for a fatal blow, but it never came. Instead, the wolf chuckled, the sound raw and guttural. "My, don't tell me those weeks down it in the catacombs have rendered you a coward. I used to like you, you know -- when you were being an obedient girl to our master Azriel. But now..."

His teeth grazed the skin of my neck. I whimpered, something that only turned the wolf's smile more ugly. 

"But now, I see it was all just a ruse. You still had that rebellion in you, and for that, I must kill you," He leaned down, and I could smell the blood on his breath. "You've caused so much trouble for us, bitch. So much more than its worth."

A gasp ripped from my chest as he pushed down on me. "But... but Azriel said not to kill me!" I stammered, grasping for anything to say, for anything to stall. "If you kill me, you're disobeying your master!"

A rough chuckle. I tried not to shiver as his lupine mouth leaned down beside my ear. "Do not get it twisted, sweet heart," he murmured, "I am doing Azriel a favour, more than he knows. Besides..." his next words chilled my bones, "No one will be able to recognise what's left of you, once I'm done."

His eyes grew cold, furious. I grit my teeth and tried to struggle as he drew his lips back, revealing rows upon rows of sharp canines. I sucked in a final breath as he opened his mouth, readying to strike. This was it. This was the end. Everything I'd done, everything I'd sacrificed to get to this moment... it was all for nothing. Everything people had done to buy me time, everything they'd sacrificed to get me this far... it was all for nothing, too. My luck had officially run out.

As he darted for my throat, I thought my mother. My harsh mother, who'd only ever been so strict to protect me. My sweet father, who'd counteracted my mother's flame with his calm. Both would have their daughter die today, something that would not make a dent in their lives. Something they'd never know. 

Alia, my best friend, my friend I'd cursed with the same curse that had been put on me... I could almost see the tears running down her face when she saw my mangled body, when she realised she was truly alone in this world of monsters. 

And Zion. Cocky, egotistic, insufferable Zion. A true friend, one that had been on my side this whole time -- even when I thought he wasn't. I'd die and everything he'd done for me, everything he'd sacrificed... it would all be in vain. 

Those humans, the ones I'd damned with such horrible fates... I'd never be able to pay them penance. I'd never be able to make up for what had been done, for what I'd been forced to do to them. 

"Kyra!" I hard a distant voice call. Raina. I'd failed her, too. 

In fact, I'd failed everyone.

I shut my eyes as rows of sharp canines consumed my vision, a silent sob ripping through me. With it, I breathed my final prayer.

I'm sorry. 

Crack!

I gasped. One moment, the wolf's weight had been on me, pinning me down. The next, he was being thrown off, the smell of burning flesh in his wake. His body thudded to the ground next to mine, a large crater simmering in his side, the hairs around it singed black. 

Tingles of electricity rang over my skin. What happened? Was that me?

"Get up, Epsilon."

I stilled. The voice tugged something primal in me, a primitive fear that demanded I run, hide. Something old. Something terribly, terribly old.  Slowly, I turned my head, a short gasp ripping from my throat as I spied him. 

His eyes... I recognised his eyes immediately. One amber, one violet. I didn't need to see his pristine-white fur to know who he was, nor did I need to acknowledge his size -- easily twice that of Azriel's.

This was the Delta, the strongest wolf of them all. 

And he was looking at me. 

I stared into those eyes, into the colours that showed two different worlds. Fury. Calm. Violence. Tranquility. A never-ending contradiction of emotions, all in one face, all in one set of eyes. I never thought I'd get to see something so complex, something that would take me years to even  begin to describe.

"Didn't you hear me?" he snarled, the sound sending zaps of panic through me. "Get up."

Slowly, I stood, not even my full height enough to level my eyes with his. I was faintly aware of the two beings that walked up to my side, the white wolf and golden wolf, both tired and hurt -- but alive. They, too, were staring at him with apprehension.

The Delta said nothing. More people were surrounded us, people I didn't recognise to be part of this court. I whipped my head around, realising we were now confined by a circle of strangers. Azure and Raina had their ears back, snarling in warning as they too realised what was happening.

Had we just traded one danger for another?


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