The journey into Wales had been far less stuffy and hot than my trip into London. I was rather thankful for a bit more space on the bus this time around. I had stretched my legs in the aisle for most of the journey, as no one had sat next to me. What was even more surprising to me was that I had even got a nap in for a couple of hours, so by the time we had arrived in the city; I was well-rested.
The hotel I was staying at was a short walk from where the trains and buses came and went. The area itself was rather open and even had a pub which also worked as a restaurant right near the corner of the street. My mother had been right, Cardiff was not as large seeming as London had been, but it was still quite busy for the late afternoon hours.
I looked at my phone to check the location of my hotel and nodded. Luckily, it wasn’t far away at all and I could easily walk there from where I had arrived. With a small smile to myself, I headed to the
The building seemed relatively normal for a pub, but something felt off about the place. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was a scent that my nose did not agree with. Despite the strange feeling and the odd smell, one other scent had grabbed my attention in particular. I could tell that it was at least a day or two old, but more than that, I wasn’t sure. It was familiar but also nothing like I had smelt before.Puzzled, I tried to mingle in with the crowds as best as I could. From what I could tell, everyone who came here was human. The staff, the customers, even the bouncers. I sat down near the entrance with a pint and glanced out the window. Several supernatural beings walked past, laughing and talking to one another, but when they spotted me, they looked surprised. As though I shouldn’t be there. I couldn’t explain it, but that was when I realised something was of
The next day I brought a little stuffed toy of a Welsh dragon, a box to put it in, a postcard which I wrote, a greetings message and a few other little trinkets. I then headed to the post office which I found by chance. The people working there helped with the steps I needed to take to ensure my mother got the package. With that done, I headed off to book a seat at TGI Fridays for later in the evening.With that done, I headed to the comic shop and got myself a few comics to read and a cute little keyring. I wasn’t a huge comic book fan, but I enjoyed a few mangas here and there depending on the plotline they had. Berserk was probably one of my favourites, but the volumes were always bulky so I usually ordered them instead.After some sightseeing, which included the castle, which I had to pay to get in - though apparently, those who lived or worked in the
As the evening sky turned to a rosy sunset hue, I exited the hotel. The clouds had a pinkish tint to them which made me remember the old saying: red sky at night, shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning. That meant the weather was going to continue to be wonderful, if you believed in the old superstitions, anyway. I smiled a bit. I hoped this was a sign of good things to come. With the evening summer air sparking my excitement, I couldn’t keep myself from humming to myself happily as I walked. When I reached the area which I had picked up my mate’s scent, I waited for any sign of a Hunter. The building was closed, but I could tell that there was still some activity within. I carefully made my way closer, trying to pick out the voices from within. From the little bits, I could overhear, they weren’t too happy about one of their members bringing in someone not fully human. I furrowed my brows. Something about that was oddly
The silence between us was deafening. I must have perplexed him by my statement, as he just stood there, peering at me. I was faring no better, not really. After all, what more could I do or say? The one whose scent had excited me and whose I had longed to find belonged to the one who could very well end my life here and now if he so wished. I dared to raise my gaze to his face. He was giving me the oddest expression. I couldn’t blame him for that. After all, it must have sounded beyond strange. There was something else in his reaction, however. A slight flush had formed on his cheeks and he looked as though he didn’t quite comprehend just what I had said while knowing exactly what I meant. After a moment, he raised his cigarette to his lips, took a deep breath in, then released it. He seemed to go back to his emotionless expression towards me as he said, “we
I reached the hotel I was staying at in an almost dazed like state. I had really met my destined mate, and he had been nothing like I had ever imagined. Realising what had happened to my pack, I knew I couldn’t tell my mother that he was a Hunter. At least not yet, anyway. I fell back onto my bed, took out my phone, and sent her a quick text. I knew she wouldn’t see it until morning, but that was fine with me. Me: I ran into my mate. It’s a guy, a little taller than me. I don’t know if he has accepted me as his mate or not yet, but he is human, so it may take a while for him to understand. Wish me luck! I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He hadn’t outright rejected me, but he hadn’t accepted me either. It was almost a cruel punishment, yet I was happy. I couldn’t explain it, but knowing that I would not be on an endless search had at least put my mind at ease. I could figure out the Hunter part later. I slept soundly that night, and
Silence lingered in the air between us as we sat on the bench as the world passed us by. I glanced aside at Rem and then looked away again before he could notice. The bond I felt kept pushing me to get closer, but the fear of his Hunter status kept me from going through with my desires. I wasn’t sure what to do. “Can I see it?” Rem suddenly asked me. His face was bright red. It stumped me at first. Was he asking to see me naked?! I looked up as I tried to keep my mind settled, but it kept racing with various thoughts, without control. I could feel my face growing warm from the fluster. “H-here? N-now?” I stuttered out. Surely he didn’t mean now. That was far too kinky! Rem let out a horrifying sound, his face an even deeper shade of red now. “You misunderstand!” He almost yelled out. “Your other form! I want to see your other form!” “Oh…” I said, sighing out of my nose in relief. I guess it was a little too soon for him to just
The first thing to change was my hair to fur. It held a similar hazel-brown tone as it did when I was human, and slowly the rest of my form grew just as furry. My jaw extended out and turned into a long muzzle while my hands and feet changed into broad paws. My tail was the last to grow out. Most of my fur was the same brown as my hair had been, all except for my underbelly, the fur under my tail and a little around my jaw. That was a more greyish hue. My brown eyes watched Rem’s reaction gently. At first, he appeared flustered by my naked form. Then it changed into fear and panic and I thought I had messed up. I was an enormous wolf, of course, he would be nervous of me. Then, as my front paws patted the ground, I lowered my head and my ears pinned back. “Do I frighten you in this form?” I asked. I kept my voice soft to not startle him further. It didn’t work. He let out a rather surprised cry. “Y-you can fucking talk!?” I had
After a while, Rem seemed to have gotten his fill of stroking my fur and ears and allowed me to transform back into my human form. He seemed like he might have spent all day just enjoying running his fingers through my fur, but he said it was too distracting for a more serious talk. I agreed though I wasn’t looking forward to the actual discussion.We both sat on the edge of my hotel bed in silence once I had dressed again. Even if I feared he would reject me here and now, I knew either way we would need to talk about things. He was a Hunter, and I was a werewolf. There was no getting around that.“So… what are pack structures like? You don’t seem like an alpha type,” Rem asked me. Apparently, the more serious talk was going to be postponed? “You’re more like… I don’t know, an omega.”I winced at that, then scoffed. “You humans come up with the most random shit,” I muttered, but tried to n
My gaze never shifted away from Arwen as he looked down at me still, the silence deafening. Nothing seemed to happen, and I wondered if maybe I had simply misunderstood what he was implying. The ground had since stopped shaking and the souls had all returned at the Gods’ demands. Taking in a sharp breath, I helped Rem stand up again, but my thoughts did not wane. I kept thinking over what Arwen had said to me. The God seemed to at least have the patience to allow me to do that much, but I knew it wouldn’t last long. Anxiously, I finally dared to look back at Arwen. His arms were folded across his chest, as though he was dealing with a schoolroom full of children. Despite who and what I was, he was still far older than I, by many centuries. Many cultures had their own version of Death, but most of them stemmed from the same legends spread over the world, twisted into their own versions. “What… sort of price?” I finally asked, unknowing i
Thousands upon thousands of eyes stared down at me from the black hole atop the shrine. Even with all of my focus set upon my attempts to hold the ritual back, the opening to Annwn was growing larger. The ground was shaking more, to where small pieces of the ceiling were clattering down on the ground below. Whatever glow I once had was practically gone now, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that was a bad sign.I was feeling drained and knew it wouldn’t be long now before my attempts failed completely. I relayed the news to the three behind me swiftly as the black hole expanded again. There would be nothing I could do to hold the souls back, but with luck, I might still find the strength to stop the ritual from completing fully.Or so I had hoped.A large earthquake rocked the area, causing the four of us to stumble. I couldn’t keep my balance long enough to refocus and the result was disastrous. Souls quickly started pour
The four of us turned our full attention to the shrine ahead of us. Although the tension between Rem and Rakesh hadn’t subsided, they both put aside their personal feelings of the other to deal with the issue at hand. I wasn’t sure how the other two were handling everything, but it relieved me to not have to stress over the issue just yet.The shrine was old, hand-carved from marble stone. Etchings had been carved into it, but it had been worn from time and was harder to see what it had originally been. I suspected it was more of the same markings that had been on the doors and entrance to this place. They had placed the candles in a horseshoe shape on the surface of the marble. Within them was some burning sage.Although these items were important for most rituals, I could tell right away that even if we put out the candles or stopped the burning of the sage, it still wouldn’t stop the summoning.Kayden looked towards Ra
Finding the entrance wasn’t too difficult, as it was where the Alpha had said it would be. Finding the new entrance, it was obvious that the digging of paws had made it. Therefore, it would require the two of us to crawl to get inside. I led the way, with Rem following close behind me.Despite the trouble that lay ahead of us, Rem couldn’t help but interject with, “at least I get a lovely view one last time.”I couldn’t look back at him, but I rolled my eyes. “Really, Rem?” I chided him for his childishness. Though in truth, I was glad that Rem hadn’t lost his quirky little sense of humour. “When this is all over, we can admire each other as much as we want. Promise,” I then added, a little quieter. I had hoped that after this war, we could finally find peace. Now I wasn’t so sure.Fighting mortals was one thing, but fighting what was essentially a God was something else ent
Once more, I take my human form. It seems to surprise the Alpha to find me bandaging his wounds. I hope that if we can convince him to no longer seek revenge, then he might turn into a more reasonable werewolf now that he no longer can be the fighter he once was. If we can salvage him and the others, then perhaps we can finally be at peace and no one else has to go to war on the other. Though with the loss of his mate, I wasn’t sure how the Alpha would react. At worse he would continue to seek revenge and at best; he might get locked up for the rest of his life under the Hunter’s care. “Why don’t you transform back now? It’ll be easier to patch you up,” I say to him, keeping my words firm but gentle. Ken doesn’t seem pleased with how kind I’m being to the Alpha, but after he has put silver cuffs on the Alpha to keep him weak as a precaution, he seems much more amicable to leave my side. I don’t even have to ask where he is going.
The pleasant late morning summer sun heated my fur and made me feel rather warm. It would have been an enjoyable morning had my mind not been full of adrenaline of what had taken place and was still going on even now. All around me, people were busying themselves with helping bandage the wounded. I, however, had no time to help. The Alpha had issued me a challenge, one that I could not really back out of.The two of us circled one another, each of us sizing the other up, but not yet ready to strike first. I was well aware of the Alpha’s skill and although he no longer knew the full extent of my own abilities; he was fully aware of who and what I was. He knew I was no longer the same half-blood he had easily overpowered in a fight before and was now much warier about what damage I could do to him.To make this a fair fight, I had removed the werewolf weapon that Rem had gone to the trouble of getting for me.Staying near me to monitor
It feels like it has been forever since this whole thing started, even though it hadn’t been that long since Rem and I had met and become mates. I had hoped life would have been simple, enjoying life blissfully, but life had other plans for me and Rem and life had sent this Alpha to shake up our two worlds. Now it had all boiled down to this.Looking around the new battlefield, it seemed with the few Ancient Ones having followed and helped with the fight to protect those who could not defend themselves; we had brought down all the Alpha’s pack members. The Alpha was the only one left still able to fight. I stood in front of the others, my tail held up in a challenging display towards him. I was sure that Ken would want to kill him, but I knew that if we allowed him to do that, nothing much would change. The survivors of the Alpha’s pack and allies would merely seek revenge and call our own pack and allies traitors.No. If I want
I can feel the gravel shifting under my paws as Rem and I run toward our family. The Hunters are trying their hardest to fend off the Alpha and his pack members, but the enemy outnumbers them. It was strange that this pack would be out this way, as it was nowhere near the direction of the mansion nor the field in which their allies had camped out. Rem doesn’t seem to know the answer to why they would be here either, other than they knew about the exit, but that doesn’t seem too likely.The Ancient Ones following behind us also confirmed that this pack’s thoughts were of a surprise to find the Hunters and werewolves here. So it put the thought that they had known about our plans aside completely now. It was a strange coincidence, and it made me wonder what the real reason was for. What was out this way that would interest this pack, if not the hidden exits for the Hunters?As we grew
I could no longer smell anything other than the blood that had scattered over the surrounding fields. I was breathless from the constant fighting, but far fewer enemy werewolves were now trying to fight back. We had lost a few of our own but compared to them, we had made it out rather well. I felt sorry for those here. None of them had really started this entire war, but all of them had paid some kind of price. Meanwhile, their so-called leaders were still nowhere to be found.With a slight limp, I made my way across the field to where I could find Rem. He had seemed to fair much better than most of us in this fight, but I wasn’t really all that surprised by it. He was a powerful fighter and smart enough to manoeuvre a battlefield. My memories might have returned to me, but I was never a fighter, not even in my previous lives.He smiled down at me and offered my head a few loving scratches behind the ear, which set my tail into a frenzy of