[Chanel’s POV]The next morning, I sit with Anthrose, Tyson, and the other warriors at the airport. After handing the children off to Ulrick, he set up a flight for us on one of his private jets, and now we were waiting. Of course, he offered to let us rest for a day before leaving, but in the end we decided to leave immediately. I guess you could say that having a general idea of how to end what was happening was a pretty good energy booster.Now, I listen to the sounds of monotone voices talking over intercoms until our flight is announced.“Ready?” I ask, standing and grabbing my meager luggage. “Let’s get this shitshow on the road.”Beside me, Tyson laughs before snatching my bag from me.“Hey!” I gasp, causing Anthrose to jerk and shift his body protectively toward me. “What do you think you’re doing?”“Helping a lady.” Tyson easily responds. “Is that such a bad thing?”Was it a bad thing? No. It wasn’t bad at all, and usually I would enjoy this kind of treatment, but with the s
[Chanel’s POV]The feel of the plane jerking rouses me from my nap, and when my eyes fly open, I see mirrored looks of shock on my companions faces. Well, most of them, Anthrose being himself, remains calm while his body tenses, readying for whatever is to come next.“What was that?” I ask, shaking off the last bit of sleep that remains and turning my gaze out my window to find that a large black creature similar to the one that attacked Anthrose and me on the road flies beside us. “Nevermind, I see it.”Shit. I should have known that the bastard we were up against wouldn’t make things so easy, but if he thought we were going to go down without a fight, he was wrong. Even if it meant fighting in mid-air, I wasn’t going to let them take down this plane.“Come on,” I announce, unbuckling.“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Anthrose demands as I head toward the plane’s door. “Have you lost your mind?”“A while ago,” I admit, earning myself a growl. “Sorry, not the time for jokes.
[Chanel’s POV]A hiss of shock escapes me as claws rake along my skin, ripping it with each inch, but I continue to hang onto the metal of the plane.“You,” I growl, aiming my weapon at the large beast above me. “You’re ruining my perfect skin!”Letting out a snarl, I fire, landing a blow in the beast’s eye, and when it wails, it scrapes off of me, leaving me bleeding mid-air as it works to calm itself.“You deserved that.” I snap, preparing to fire again. “One more should do it.”Bracing myself and ignoring the pain that is racing through me, I aim again and then fire, but miss as another beast slams into the plan, causing it to tip, so I’m left dangling.“Shit.” I growl, realizing that there were just too many of these things. “Someone really doesn’t want us to get to that island.”I mean, I knew that, especially since the thing that would take them out was waiting on the island, but damn. However, this didn’t matter because I refused to let them stop us, not when so much as riding
[Chanel’s POV]I sit quietly, my head bowed as Anthrose lays into me, scolding me about my inability to properly consider my actions before I take them and how I acted like I had nine lives instead of one. It was the exact same scolding that I was used to from before, and in a way, it leaves me feeling quite nostalgic—at least, it would, if it weren’t for the fact we had a group of onlookers who were enjoying the show.“When we get to where we are going, you are going to give 100 push-ups; do you hear me?” Anthrose says as I shoot Tyson a glare due to his mouthing every damn thing that Anthrose is saying. “Chanel.”“Yes,” I sigh, knowing there was no point in arguing. “100 push-ups for thinking that I could sprout wings and fly.”“Are you making jokes right now?” He snaps, causing a small smile to spread across my lips. “You aren’t a child anymore, and...”“And you saved me.” I announce, lifting my gaze to his face, which still holds a slight look of relief despite his trying to be st
[Anthrose’s POV]I listen to the sounds around me and let the energy of the island press against my skin; it’s so thick and dark that it threatens to gag me, but I won’t let it stop me from getting to what I came for, not when the safety of everyone was on the line.“Do you know where we should go?” Tyson asks now, causing a twinge of irritation to rush through me. “We can’t just rush in blindly, that would be...”“My sort of thing.” Chanel chirps, and I have to stop the smirk that wants to come. “But I think this time we should at least consider properly.”“Then what’s the plan?” Tyson asks. “Should we break off into groups?”Groups. That was honestly the best decision since we didn’t know exactly where the temple was located on the island, but our numbers were very little and we couldn’t afford to lose anyone.“We should have had the kid tell us the location.” Someone mutters. “Was this a suicide mission?”“Who said that?” I growl, taking in all the energies around me. “Step forward
[Anthrose’s POV]I don’t speak as Chanel’s question flows over me, settling into the deepest pits of my soul along with the loathing and disgust that I’ve felt since the day the thing she is asking about happened, and as much as I would like to say, I know that I can’t.“The plague.” I respond instead, deciding that was a good enough explanation. “It affected my eyes.”“You’re lying.”Chanel’s response is firm, and I know that due to our bond, there was just no way that I would be able to get away with lying to her.“How did it really happen?”How? That was an easy fucking response, but again, I knew that if I were to speak it out loud, then there was a good chance it would dig out the skeletons that I was trying so hard to not think about anymore.“Anthrose,” Chanel’s voice drifts through my muddled thoughts. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”I did. But this was something that didn’t only involve me. It also involved her, and I knew if I were to open up about it, then
[Chanel’s POV]“Right.”I give Anthrose one last look before turning my gaze toward the creatures that are slowly making their way toward us. They’re different from the beasts that we’ve encountered until this point, but they’re also the same.These look almost like worms, but they have legs and buglike faces. I guess if I had to compare them to anything, it would be centipedes. Just watching them move gave me the heebie jeebies, but I wasn’t about to let them stop me from getting to what I wanted.Giving Anthrose one last look, I begin to shift, and once I’m in my wolf form, I move, surging forward and attacking the creepy crawly closest to me. When we clash, it immediately attempts to roll its body around me, but I leap out of the way.Landing on top of it, I watch as the rest of our group joins in the fray, beginning our first official battle since arriving on the island.‘Don’t get yourself killed.’Anthrose's voice reverberates in my mind, causing my heart to race and giving me t
[Chanel’s POV]I watch as the crevice above me grows farther and farther away until my body is hitting the wolf beneath me, who takes most of the impact. Together, we lay there, watching as the ground slowly begins to close once more, eliminating the little bit of light around us until we are plunged into darkness.Snapping out of it, I jump up and then look to the wolf beside me, taking him in while wondering what exactly he was thinking. And once I shift back into my human form, I wait as he stares at me.“What?” I demand, my annoyance flaring. “Don’t look at me like that.”Letting out what sounds almost like a huff of annoyance, he begins to shift until Tyson is lying on the ground in the wolf’s place.“What?” He asks as I narrow my gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”Why? Because he was the reason we were here right now. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was going when he saved me.“Do I really need to answer that?” I sigh, beginning to look around, taking in the tun