Chapter 5

She is feral when she took control of our bodies. Snarling and snapping at every wolf that nears her five paces, she is chaos walking. They stalked her, circling as though she was a rabbit in a hole when they realized a strike upfront would not do. That pestered her mind. She felt the great need to put these dimwits in their rightful places.

Four enormous wolves, experienced ones, I have gathered by looking at their footing and stance - a lot different than the wilding she have tangled back in the village. Those were deranged - driven entirely by their lust for blood. Less five than before, but these are hardened male warriors, and intact. They move with preciseness and sharpness with their eyes.

She knew we are at disadvantage - perhaps our only edge was that we are bigger, being that they only reach the snout - but we are not backing down. Well, at least she is. I planned to escape, but with her hands on the reins, it would be difficult to convince her otherwise.

She waited too long for a strike, and so she took the first offence. She lunged an attack on whoever was near, a brown wolf in his bad luck, was thrown off far to the tree. Her feet were quick, too quick for a large wolf, so it surprises them.

One grey wolf was bold enough to reach for her neck, but she put him down easily with a bite on his limbs. This one was juvenile, although experienced, from the smell of his youth. It whimpers and fell to the ground. He will have a hard time moving anytime soon with that blood, so it is down to three. She snarled at the wolves waiting to have a bite baring her long and sharp teeth. They responded with the same rage.

They circled her again, this time they were more careful with their strategy. Under the moonlight and heightened senses, their body was clear to observe. The juvenile wolf, yellow in colour, remained on the corner, as he should be. But the two wolves grumbling as they preyed on her were much smaller than she anticipated. Was she that enormous, then? She would not have the chance to know how one of a beast she is if she did not encounter her kind. I felt her bitterness spilt hot on her belly. What life would be if she was free to run with her kin, but now she must survive fighting them off.

Then, she felt a poke, a soft one, like it was trying to enter her mind. It was tingling and new, so she let it in, not knowing what it was. Soon, he heard a voice. Low and baritone as it made its presence known.

"Yield," it said. She grumbled as confusion threatened her concentration. I, too, was aghast, but all the more unhinged. "Yield," once again, it whispered.

She blocked it with a shag of her head like a fly was just looming in her ears. Whatever it was invading her mind faded quickly as she regained focus. She roared at them, a bit annoyed at what they have done, and charged.

The two - one grey with a freckle of white and the other reddish brown - met her with the same speed and hungry eyes. One snapped at her feet, and the other went for her neck. The grey one successfully mounted her, its teeth buried in her neck but not so much as to hinge her movements. It hurt but she paid more attention to one nibbling on her feet. She bit the neck of the red wolf, her yellow-stained teeth went deep into the flesh, and she tore him off of her body. It flew a few paces from her. The part bitten bled, coaxing her black fur wet. The smell of blood hit her nose, enticing her more for a taste of it. She wriggles to remove the grey wolf from her body.

She jerked her body from left to right with force. She had tried to reach the wolf with her snout but he is too far behind her. He bit again, this time much deeper and tight, tearing her flesh to keep her steady. She jolted in pain.

Then, she felt it again. The poke, but this time, it was much harder. Pressing into her head.

"Surrender!" it was a commanding voice, and very much in distress.

The words echoed through our minds. Yield. Surrender. I have only known one defeat in my life, and it cost me so much.

No. I thought. Never!

She wriggle, like a worm, until she caught one of his feet with her teeth. She bit into it, bones cracking against the force of her jaw. He immediately released our neck with a grunt and she spun quickly away from him.

She felt the trickle of cold blood from the torn flesh. I hissed from my mind. It sure damn hurt.

Deeply aggravated, she lunge at an attack once again but a growl halted her. It was low and warning, deeper than what the others have erupted. The vibration was felt even on the ground, making the grey wolf stop in his tracks. He seemed to know this one, as he retreated with ease, tails tucked in between his legs.

The smell of the air was thick with musk and pure masculinity that it was all I could inhale, blocking my throat and twisting my stomach in an awful churn. My ears picked up a heartbeat, it was erratic and loud. She stilled her feet on the ground, feeling the threat looming from behind the lines of trees.

And there it was, leaping towards me in his massive stature. His flickering golden orbs darted through me like an arrow. His fur was a clean white, not a single colour tarnished its mesmerizing purity. His snout was long, ears were high and sharp, and stood tall as my beast. I caught a glimpse of his tail, firmly steady on his back. He was almost bigger, but I cannot say for a certain looking from a distance. He was majestic but there is an air of authority in him. His eyes are impaling that looking away feels like a sin. He has a scar on the left of his eyes, quite big and visible.

He was majestic but dangerous.

I was snapped back to reality when he stalked me, golden eyes locking with mine. He was a male, and I smell him to be strong and intact. He began to trot carefully, circling me but maintaining the distance, not wanting to provoke but to observe silently, and for once, I felt uneasy under his gaze.

More wolves appeared from behind him. They were quiet but their eyes were steady and bore intensity. One wolf approaches the juvenile I smacked earlier. He nudged his nose, and the juvenile whimpered. The red wolf was now standing on his feet, but I could feel him waning from the battle. The grey one obtained more gushes and wound, which was licked off by a female wolf. They brush at each other's side.

I counted them using my sense of smell. Nine males and a female, the one beside the grey wolf that has been giving us quite the stare the moment she stepped in. They smell similar to each other, but each has its distinct smell. Musky, wood, and strong. Like the smell of damp earth and misty forest. They are a pack. Or a tribe.

They stood firm in their places, watching as both of the two beasts studied each other - if snapping and throwing a glare would be called it - under the gleam of the moonlight. The leaves danced soothingly, and the wind once again whispered, bringing change in the air that seem to lift the tension.

I felt a poke. That sensation was starting to tingle my mind, but it was gentler and more soliciting. This time I got the hang of cutting it down. Unlike earlier, it stopped its attempt to enter my mind almost immediately. My beast regained her composure, not minding the tiredness slowly waning her bones, and began to respond to the indecent stare she receives with a snarl.

When the white wolf, silent stalking was now behind her and inched a bit closer to her liking, she turned around snappily with a growl of censure. She is not fond of being observed, especially by a male dominating her space. The beast backed down, his ears drawn back flat against his head. He quickly retrieved to his aggressive demeanour, though, and now not lacking any restraints to his approach.

I first lunge at him, a warning was all that I intend to show, but he did not take it that way, not when he pounced on me with the whole of his body. That knocked me down on the ground but I stood before his second attempt would be a success. The impact dazed my head, but I was too determined to live, and so despite the trance, I graze him with my claws, but he expected it as he sway his body to evade a rip of skin.

I tried to tangle with him again, but he did so much as to swerve and shun my assaults, almost as though he was merely dispensing a fly. Irritation surged in me as I grumbled at his cockiness, my beast, on the other hand, has grown a liking to his petty games and so being that she strayed far from our objective, I took command.

I lunge at him again. Despite the efforts to mask my movement in hopes I could catch him off guard, he was quick to read my movements. I clawed and felt satisfied when grazed a flesh of his. He did not seem to mind that, though, and spun for a playful bite at my rear. I kicked him when I felt his snout.

My beast grew impatient with my interference but I was adamant about following my plan to escape, and so we fought for control. We had momentarily broken from our offence which the White Wolf took notice of almost instantly I thought he'd use it to finally beat us, but he stayed in his place, his golden eyes following our every movement as though we were his prey; in the literal sense, we still are, not until we resolve this inner conflict that might just be the cause of our downfall.

We probably looked like a worm squirming and whining, shaking its head and growling at nothing but herself. I could feel the confusion dancing in the air as they look at us with such.

Amid an inner dispute, the poke began to enter again, and because I have been busy with my beast, it entered my mind quickly before I gathered my thoughts.

"You must not restrain the beast," it said. A gravelly calm voice echoed through the depths of my mind I had to stop my movements.

"I will not hurt you..." It whispered, and this time I recognized the mellifluous baritone of his voice.

In between the burdensome inner turmoil, I had found that golden, gleaming, and piercing eyes boring me a compelling glance. My eyes become clear as if I'm peeking through a spyglass, I could see every colour and hue of that alluring eyes. It was golden, but it had a touch of what seemed to me as rich earthy dirt. It must be him.

"Who are you?" I managed to reply using my thoughts. Not knowing if it could reach him the way it did for me, but when I saw his ears twitch and eyes lost in focus, I knew the message was delivered.

"Your destined, En Kara. Let us cease this quarrel."

For a fleeting moment, I was stilled on my place, his gaze burning something in me and I was all but in bliss of the fire. A movement caught my eye from my periphery. The grey wolf, taking advantage of my stillness, gnarred and unleash itself on me. The primal reflexes were too quick not to lose a hook of my jaw on his limbs. Perhaps I was in a state of shock, or confusion, that I lose myself to my instincts, breaking the bone of that wolf.

I heard growls directed at me as he whimpered under my bite. The others have been by it. But the white wolf quickly subdues the rising rage of the crowd with his beastly grumble, so low and threatening that I fail to believe it was from him. They retreat and bowed their heads in subordination.

In between their chiding, I found myself a getaway. An opening in which no wolf could bar me from fleeing, and so I gather my feet and ran as far as the wind could take me. Joyous of my sweet escape, I nearly forgot the path I was taking. I'm heading back to the port.

And before I could reroute, I heard the stomp of feet hurdling from behind. I slip in between the narrow passageway, trying my best to stall them with my scent.

Leading them to the port will do me no good. If anything, I'd be drenching the busy street with cold blood, and I could not afford to bear such guilt. If I continued forward the south street, I will tangle with those lots outside the inner gates. The garden forest is an owned land of Hagarins with hectares of unplowed fields. There, I could take them, if I am lucky no guards stand a foot to the entry. And as though gods have listened to me amongst the thousand silent whispers, the gate remains unwatched by any guards.

I swiftly leapt. The wall is not too high for my strong feet. I landed with a thud and seek to hide behind the tallest of trees. I shed the furs, bones cracking as the long snout was replaced by my plump lips. It was painful still, but no more as to whelp in agony.

I pay no mind to my bareness as I climb atop the tree. From this viewpoint, I could take a clear image of what or who enters from the poorly built wall of bricks. I leaned my body on the trunk of the tree, and there I felt the pain accumulating in my flesh. I inspect the infected wound. Blood, not crimson but in a terrifying hue of violet has begun to leak from the open wound. I gritted my teeth. Seems like wolves are not just what I must survive tonight. I've got new gushes on my skin, the claw of that beast did that, and I felt the exhaustion creeping into my bones. Yet, I dare not to abide by the weariness and the threatening infection.

And soon, I heard someone approaching. I had expected them to come full force, but I hear and smell only one. Him. And though he pursued me alone, his presence is enough to take my breath away and consume my whole thoughts.

Who is this man? He strangely feels different. And not in a way that I would prefer, but he is antagonizing in so many ways. His wolf form, though, is magnificent. A white fur, as pure as a blanket of snow, is too striking not to notice. His face bore a scar, too deep a damageI reckon it did not heal and left him with a more dangerous appearance.

He searched for me behind the shadows of the trees with his long snout, sniffing everything. Those eyes were scanning every movement, not missing anything in his range. His ears, one had been torn, perked up at every little noise. He did not make a sound, not even the way he walked, like an owl in the dead of the night. What made me confused though was his long tail swaying in ease behind his massive body, entailing that he means not to prey on me. I caught a glimpse of his sharp fangs tugging behind his mouth, and already I can hear the bones and flesh it could tear apart.

I kept my breathing steady and quiet when he neared the tree I was holding on to. He must've trailed the scent from here. He eyed the tree, and then circled it. I was to launch on him from the top, sure to strike in his nape, but he looked up just in time. Our eyes locked, and just as I felt earlier, I was astounded. Not for a long moment though, for he grumbled. Not a warning, but a telling that he knows where am I.

I retreated into the shadow, scolding myself for

"I have no wish to heed your demands. I have left you the crate, and thus, you best leave me," I spoke.

I saw his ears perked up. He gave an animalistic sigh. He appears to... relax. He then sat, his tail curling around his feet, and looked me up. And even when we are meters away, I could feel his exceeding dominance.

"Leave me and the city. Or I will slaughter you all," my voice was laced with coldness and authority, but he did was just tilt his head, listening but not paying to what my words entailed. He must've thought I was jesting, for truly I was no more battered meat as compared to his forces. But I would die trying than be locked up.

"You should be thanking me, not hunting me down. I have killed your perpetrators, and have done you a service without payment. I demand you to leave the city and take your damn crates,"

He gave a gruff and spoke to me in my mind. "You did it for your benefit. The law of nature was to take and give back. Have you given my people anything by executing those rats? No. It was not your duty to extend my mercy. But you have taken from us."

"I said I did not steal from you! That I was not the enemy, but those who now lie cold in their blood! I only take what was due of my people!" I spat with anger. "Those people of your kind have spread a disease in this city and you owe it to us to help!"

"Of that, the rouges have been a pester to us as much in human dwellings. We are not told they crossed the Kador Wasteland until merely weeks ago," He told me, rather too promptly to disclose such information.

"Not that I care, beast. Leave me!"

"No,"

I gritted my teeth. "No? Well then, you'll die trying to seize me,"

I let my body fall to the ground, having done this many times than I could count, I landed on my feet, maintaining my balance. His eyes flicked to me quickly. I could see how he started at my nakedness. I hiss at him, not liking any of that glances.

He stood, careful and watching, as I shift rather smoothly into my fur. The blackness of my hair blended in the shadows of the night, but I knew those golden orbs could see every movement I make.

I growled at him, low and lethal, one that I was certain stirred an animalistic instinct in him. I made him stand on his feet, alert, gaining some control over the brewing trouble. He seemed to notice my determination as I stirred more with the newly found authority.

He snarled at me, telling me to contain my thirst for a brawl, but I even intensified my threats and launch at him. He met me, but I managed to claw his chest. He retreated and bore me a very furious stare. His ears flattened in his head as he growled with viciousness, one that I wish to hear so that I may warrant to lash at him.

We clashed once again, and being that my body was bigger, I almost subdued him. He fell on his back as he defended himself from my attacks. I tried to gnaw on his neck but he clawed my face. I paid no mind as the blood trickled, but I made sure he does not sever my eyes. I kept on finding an opening to gnaw on his neck, but he is constantly on his defence that I release him of my hold to tend to my gushes.

But as I was retreating, my limbs were impaired, dotted black appears before my eyes, and my head felt lighter that I could no longer comprehend my surroundings, he thrust his massive body on me and I fell hard on my back. In a heartbeat, I was pinned down on the dirt. My eyes revert to their senses, but my head still suffers from a stupor.

"I do not wish to be challenged, En Kara. Yield now or I must put you where you belong," he grumbled as his eyes bore me a warning glare.

I wriggle under his body and clawed him, cutting flesh as he struggles to keep me in place. He growled but I snapped back. Then, despite the struggle and head-spinning movements, I see a different spark in his eyes. No, that is not rage. I knew fury when I see one. It is something rawer. More captivating. His eyes blink and the remnants of that unknown emotion quickly vanished in his golden orbs.

"You cannot win in this, woman! I will not leave this forsaken land without my female," The gnars

"I may well die,"

Indeed, He did not like that. He growled, and I found his teeth, sharp and long as it was, closing to my neck, and that was the last image that I manage to count before the oblivion swallowed me to its depths.