AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 11
Meira
My wolf rips through me so fast and sudden, that panic grips me. I shuffle about, wincing, needing to somehow stop the pain burning over my body. It didn’t work. I’m still human, and part of me is freaking out that she’ll fully take control of me this time.
“Relax. Don’t be afraid of it,” Lucien’s voice floats around me, while my heartbeat thunders in my ears. I’m trying to concentrate on his voice and don’t seem to be doing a great job.
Sharpness digs through every inch of my body. My body heats up, almost as if I’m on fire and about to explode. It’s not different from the first time… transformations are damn painful, and my wolf is coming out harder than the first time.
“Meira, stop fighting it.”
I take in a sharp breath and thrash wildly, my clawed feet scratching the stone ground. I twitch all over and suddenly collapse on all fours, shuddering. My vision blurs back and forth from present to dark spots. Just as it had on my first transformation.
Seconds later, and I’m inhaling deeply, my pulse on fire, no longer in my human form. Now, I stand on four paws as my wolf, and I lift my head, sniffing the acrid smell of the burned-out fire, the muddy earth outside, the delicious scent that is all Lucien. There’s something freeing about being this way, except just as I have that thought, my wolf rises through me like a shadow. She’s always there, always pushing and pushing me aside.
I twist my head toward Lucien, and his approving smile is all I need to calm down.
He runs a hand down my back, the touch like the most incredible massage in the world, and I soften against him.
A sudden growl from outside the cave has us both snapping our attention to the opening, my pulse spiking at the threat of danger.
“They’re coming,” Lucien announces, and a spark of energy abruptly flares over me. His body shifts from man to beast in seconds, so effortlessly while mine felt achingly painful and slow. He meets my gaze, and I stare into familiar pale steel-gray eyes that don’t change in color from when he’s in his human form. Thick brown fur covers him, his long ears swivelling, taking in all sounds.
The air thickens, and a chill grips my spine. Gone is the peace with my wolf. Something different overcomes me—the heightened awareness of every sound, every movement, of survival.
Lucien pivots and darts out of the cave.
I scramble after him, desperate to keep up, my wolf pressing forward, steering me toward the enemy. Panic burns me, and with every inch of willpower I steer myself back around and chase after Lucien. Tensing, I concentrate on every step, every move, and part of me is convinced my wolf feels stronger.
Coldness wraps around me.
Around me, the earlier smells are now tenfold, smothering me. From the muddy soil the rain has stirred, the pine trees, the smell of fire smoke in the distance I assume is coming from the Ash Wolves’ compound.
I sprint right after Lucien, who swings left from the cave and we’re bolting down the slope between the trees.
I see Bardhyl running with us, his white pelt like a blur amid the shadows, leaping over shrubs, his frantic movements belonging to someone fearful. He’s an Alpha where little scares him, so his reaction terrifies me.
Our pursuers are close.
He swings toward us, glancing at me for a split second, a powerful energy swirling behind his gaze. The three of us in wolf forms leap down the hill, cutting our escape with extraordinary speed. It startles me how fast I move, not too different to flying, I like to think as my paws barely touch the ground as I lunge downward.
We pick up our pace and sprint over a rushing creek when I spot the same Shadow Monsters lingering not too far from where I’d sent them to leave me alone. And I clearly see there are four of them. Like before, they don’t make a motion to chase after us. The more I look at them, the more I can’t help but feel like I remember the one with the massive scar on the side of its bald head. Then the memory comes to me like a storm. It tried to attack Jae after I untied her from a tree. It’s the same damn Shadow Monster I fought and bit. Why is it acting this way now?
An ear-shattering howl from somewhere behind us shatters the silence in the woods, and I twist my head around.
Two figures charge after us. They have our scent and their call would alert others. How long before the place crawls with Mad’s followers?
Lucien doesn’t pause, and I rush to keep up with him. Bardhyl has fallen behind me, keeping me always in view. I can’t ignore how protective they are and how much I love that about them.
Ears alert, I listen for anyone sneaking up on us, for sounds, but the farther we race, the more my lungs tighten. But I don’t mind constantly moving. It keeps my wolf occupied.
I don’t know how long we’ve been running. Lucien never slows, and only when movement at the edge of my vision grabs my attention do I look around at the surrounding woods.
Shadow Monsters push through the forest, streaming forward from our right. Lucien lurches away abruptly at having noticed them too.
Crap! Terror floats on the back of my mind that we’ve ended up in a swarm of them. Maybe this isn’t the best path to run.
When I look behind me, Bardhyl is practically on my heels, our trackers closing in, except there are now close to a dozen in their wolf forms charging this way.
