Chapter Ten

Vekra

Pain is all I feel.

My teeth are gritted and I dig my fingers into the ground and crawl forward, back the way I came from.

It is too far a distance from my home, I ran for too long.

All I can think of is poison. When and how did I come into contact with it? I have not eaten since we were sent out of our homes like criminals. I have not slept and my interactions have been limited to my pack.

My body seizes again and pain burns a fiery path through my veins. I whimper and fall to the ground, panting as I try to regain my breath.

I am going to die right here, alone and lost within this forest, I can tell.

And then the first bone breaks.

I collapse to the ground and I scream, blood filling my mouth, a sickening realisation hitting me with the force of a hammer.

I was so eager, so happy that I would go through my First Shifting soon. It is here now, and by the gods it couldn't have come at a worse time.

I have heard enough testimonies to know how this goes. This pain that is currently frying my brains is the easiest and most bearable of the Shift. For now, it will come in little waves and recede. The time between each wave will decrease as the intensity of the pain increases. Eventually, I will be buried under the pain, one with it as my animal finally comes out. If only she could have waited a few more hours.

The wave of pain passes and I stagger to my feet. My vision swims and I sway and grasp a tree trunk to steady myself, blinking furiously.

The night is too busy, too vivid, too chaotic.

A dryad blinks at me lazily, curiously, but she does not offer to help.

And then her eyes widen in fear and she disappears completely, taking refuge in her tree. It is my first inkling that something is wrong, just before the hair on my nape rises in warning.

Without hesitation, I throw myself forward and start running, my heart slamming into my chest with each painful breath, my heels nearly touching the back of my head. The forest seems to sense my urgency and parts for me. I clear roots and beaches, my hair flying behind me as I race back to the camp.

I can feel their presence now, predators with their eyes fixed on me, following me. I run faster and around me, they pick up speed.

I can sense them now that my otherworldly senses are awakening. I can hear the slight panting from their lips. They are spreading out around me, trying to surround me.

I push myself to run faster, somehow knowing that for them to catch me is for me to die. My legs grow wings and I run faster than I have ever run in my life, and yet it is not enough.

The first man appears a few feet in front of me, stepping out of the shadows.

I jerk to a halt, dust rising in my wake and our eyes connect. His mouth twists in a sick smile and the light in his eyes curdles my stomach.

I spin to the side and start running again, uncaring that I am turning away from the path to the Olive pack.

Another wolf steps out in front of me and blocks the path, a dirty grin on his lips.

I jerk to a stop once again, my mind racing.

My awareness suddenly increases and one by one, I feel each of the wolves and their positions. I am completely surrounded.

How far am I from my pack? Can Crawn feel my distress? I cannot feel him at all so I don't think he can feel me either. I ran too far from my pack. There is no help coming for me.

They take a step forward as one. I have the sudden clear premonition, these wolves are going to kill me deep in these woods, and the werewolf community will not give a fuck

I do the last thing they expect me to, I start walking forward towards them.

The man in front of me jerks to a halt and so do the rest. They watch me in confusion. 

My teeth are gritted against the pain and I pray to the gods to hold the next wave of pain until I am clear of these wolves. Hiding my broken fingers, I come to a halt.

"Identify yourselves!" I command, putting all of my strength into my voice.

The man stares at me in shock, and his mouth opens to answer me before he firmly slams it shut.

I can feel my stomach beginning to cramp, a little tightening beginning from my toes. Is it just me or is the sun beating down even harder from the trees?

"Who the fuck are you and how dare you ambush me?" I ask again, taking a bluffing step forward.

"Fucking outlaw." The man spits. "Your Alpha killed the Ultimate Alpha didn't he?" He sneers at me. "You do not deserve to live."

I raise a taunting brow, shoving the pain deep down where I can ignore it. It rears its head again and I fist my hand against my pants.

"My pack is already on the way." I lie. "They are angry and looking for someone to transfer their pent up aggression on. I would run while I can if I were you." I say.

The man smirks, not taking the taunt.

"I will enjoy ripping that pretty throat out." He says.

The words are like an initiative for the wolves and their clothes rip as they turn. Within a second, I am no longer surrounded by men but by wolves that have tagged me as their prey.

"Shit." I say and whimper as pain lances my belly again.

The wolves start bounding towards me, their vivid eyes fixed on me.

Adrenaline slams into my heart and my senses go into hyper focus. The wolf behind me leaps and I dive to the ground and come up with a thick branch. While the wolf behind me lands nimbly on his feet, I swing the branch at one from my left, slamming it into his head and sending him flying several feet away. 

I blink at the strength in my arms, the power running in my veins.

There is already another leaping from my right, from the front and from the back, most aiming for my neck, some trying to get their jaws on any other part of me to incapacitate me.

I am swinging and spinning faster than I can believe, my instincts faster than my eyes. I dive beneath a wolf and fall into a roll and then I stab a longer stick into the belly of another wolf who yelps and staggers away.

The wolves are huge, reaching my waist level. They are fast and they have the advantage of numbers. I am surprising even myself with my speed and my strength but it is only a matter of time before I am overwhelmed.

And that is before the next bone breaks. It is like liquid fire has been poured through my bones, liquidating them. I fall to the ground and try to contain my scream. Seeing me incapacitated, the wolves dance around me, sizing me up once again, re-evaluating me now that my power has diminished.

'Get up Vekra', an urgent voice at the back of my mind says.

I know I need to. Now that I am a diminished prey; the wolves are getting excited and they will end me with relish. I need to get up.

But then the next bone breaks. The pain threatens to drive me mad. I cannot see or hear anything from the severity of it.

I raise my head to the sky and I scream.

The leader of the wolves unhinges wide jaws, and then he lunges at my exposed throat.