1
Rune
I stumbled to Eve’s side and frantically put my hands on the gaping hole in her neck, like that would actually help at all. I didn’t need to be a doctor to know she was dead.
I screamed for help, not letting up until my voice was hoarse. Where the fuck was everyone? It looked like something had torn a huge chunk out of her neck. Blood was still pouring out of the wound, meaning this was a recent kill. It coated the ground at my feet and was all over my hands. What kind of creature could have done that? It was certainly not like any wolf bite I’d seen, that was for sure.
I opened my mouth to scream again, but just then, a branch cracked from somewhere in the woods behind me. Shivers shot up my spine as I heard the sound of someone breathing heavily. I’d stumbled into something right out of a horror movie. I swung around, not wanting to be jumped from behind, but I didn’t immediately see anything out of the ordinary besides the swaying branches of the trees and shrubs as an unusually cold wind ripped through the forest.
More branches broke, and a giant shadow busted through the underbrush, coming close enough that I could make out its existence while still staying sheltered off the trees and away from the path. It really was some kind of shadow creature. I was unable to make anything out besides the fact that it was freaking enormous and had eyes that seemed like they were glowing.
I stumbled backwards, my bloody hands outstretched as my heart beat out of my chest. Fuck, why did I have to be so worthless with my own wolf?
A low growl sounded out from the monster. It reverberated around me, digging into my skin and sending dread spasming through my stomach. An itching sensation began to spread through my limbs, so intense, I was fighting back the urge to start scratching at my skin, even as I prepared myself to be attacked.
Something pulsed in my gut, once, twice, and then a third time. It felt like something was stabbing me from the inside. The sensation was so intense and strange, I fell backwards onto the path, the loose stones on the ground digging and cutting into my skin.
The shadow creature let out a sharp whine and disappeared into thin air. He hadn’t just moved deeper into the forest, he’d literally just vanished. There one second, and then gone the next.
The pulsing sensation had stopped, but my body was shaking from the adrenaline rush of avoiding certain death. My breath was coming out in gasps as I became aware of the rest of my surroundings once again. Like the blood touching my fingertips and the sound of yells and running footsteps approaching from somewhere farther up the path.
I scrambled up to my feet, hoping this was someone who could help and not something else. The path curved up ahead, and I jumped when a snarling grey wolf sped towards me, his mouth curled in a growl. A few people that I only faintly recognized from seeing them in town appeared next. They all halted in place when they saw me standing over Eve’s body. The wolf prowled forward and growled once again.
I belatedly realized what I looked like, standing there, covered in blood right next to Eve’s corpse.
I held up my hands beseechingly. “I just found her. I’ve been calling for help,” I cried. “I was bringing the catering.” I pointed to the dropped tray of food like an idiot, hoping it could convince them of my innocence.
One of the guys barked something at the wolf who was inching closer, and it stopped moving. The guy ran to the side of Eve and checked her pulse. “She’s dead,” he told the others, who all had various looks of grief written across their features.
“No,” one of the women gasped. She buried her head in the shoulder of the other man, a middle-aged guy wearing an oversized flannel with salt and pepper flecked hair. He glared at me, the pupils of his eyes expanding menacingly like I’d somehow become enemy number one.
“You’re the new girl in town, aren’t you?” he said roughly.
I swallowed and took a step back, sensing that the threat of danger wasn’t past. The man who’d been examining Eve stood up, his face pained. His eyes snapped to mine, and I watched as his eyes changed. His hands extended into long claws.
“Please, I didn’t have anything to do with this,” I whispered.
He snarled, his eyes wild. He’d obviously lost control of his wolf. I knew from experience in my old pack that it was all downhill when that happened.
A snarl ripped through the air, and suddenly, Wilder was in front of me, his teeth bared. As a Lycan wolf, he could only change on the full moon, unlike the Bitten wolf who’d been about to jump me, but Wilder was very much still a force to be reckoned with. You could feel his power reverberating through the air. The man who’d lost control immediately dropped his gaze and bared his throat, falling to his knees in front of us. Wilder advanced on him stealthily, snarling one more time for good measure. The other two people had also fallen to their knees and were looking down, throats bared. It took me a second to realize I should have had the urge to do the same, as I’d always done it in the past. Looking back, I’d done it with Wilder and Daxon at times since I’d been here.
The fact that I wasn’t feeling a pull to do it now was certainly an interesting development. I heard the snarl of a motorcycle from far away, and within what seemed like seconds, Daxon was suddenly there, intercepting Wilder’s advance on the other bitten wolf.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Daxon snarled at Wilder. I watched, mesmerized, as his eyes shifted back and forth from human to wolf. He was trying to control himself, and I hoped for everyone’s sake he would succeed. Neither Wilder nor Daxon seemed to have noticed the pressing issue of Eve. My heart squeezed in my chest as my gaze flicked back to Eve’s lifeless form. She was staring up at the sky, wide-eyed. She almost looked shocked. I hoped for her sake the attack had been unexpected and quick.
Daxon and Wilder were still having some sort of bullshit standoff, and the three other townspeople were eyeing each other nervously, like they were preparing to run if things got serious.
“Losing control of your people, Dax?” Wilder asked sarcastically.
Daxon threw a disdainful look at the three quivering people still kneeled on the ground. “I can handle my own,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Then why was Conley about to attack Rune?” asked Wilder, pointing a rigid finger at the man in question.
Daxon’s face went blank. His golden gaze turned cold, spine-chilling actually. I’d never seen him look like that. His eyes were usually warm, caring, sweet…with the exception of when he’d stalked me through the woods. The man in front of me was a stranger. There was something playing in his gaze, a hint of madness almost, that had my stomach churning with a mixture of fear…and lust.
I probably needed to talk to a therapist about that.
Daxon’s gaze flicked to mine briefly and softened as he examined me, as if he was making sure I was all right. I didn’t know how he could tell either way. I was covered in blood.
Whatever he saw must have been enough to reassure him that I wasn’t about to keel over because Daxon’s face transformed back into the scary, deadly stranger from before as he turned to face Conley. Daxon stalked towards him like he was prey. Conley was a sniveling, shivering mess at that point. Daxon squatted down in front of him, his nails on his right hand transforming into sharp black-tipped claws, much longer than the ones Conley had displayed. I watched in horror-struck fascination as Daxon gripped Conley’s jaw, tiny rivulets of blood dropping from Conley’s face as he did so.