Three

Duncan Mirthorn

The siren went off, almost rendering the villagers deaf as it resonated through the air and alerted them of some danger. They soon began to latch their doors and windows to keep themselves and their families safe.

The hair on his nape stood like they were being propelled by a magnetic force, one that caused goosebumps to devour the entire skin of his arms and he glanced up from his smartphone, staring into nothingness as his throat slowly turned into a desert.

There's an intruder.

His wolf alerted him and he sprang up to his feet, squinting his eyes down the hilltop in an attempt to get sight of what was happening. From afar, he made out a tiny figure running into the forest and weaving through tall trees and thick bushes. Behind the figure were angry wolves who would stop at nothing to rip this person into pieces.

The wind slapped Duncan right in the face, carrying a strong smell of blood, a different kind that wasn't meant to be found anywhere near the Kresdian kingdom and his heart ached–she was wounded. He shrugged, suddenly restless at her limping sight. Wait, he narrowed his eyes at her and raked his fingers through his hair... How did he know it was a she when they all looked so tiny from this hill?

His heart thrummed in his chest when she tripped and dropped face flat on the floor. Duncan winced, feeling a tingly sensation that raced down his face like driblets of water, trying to imitate what the fall felt like. He continued to watch as she turned over, crawling away on her buttocks from the first werewolf that made it to her.

Duncan didn't know this woman but he felt a pull towards her, especially his wolf.

Suddenly, the werewolf gripped her neck and Duncan dropped on all fours, feeling adrenaline pump through his veins as the need to protect her surged through him.

Slowly, his bones made a cracking sound and he arched his back like a tensed cat. His head tilted up to the sky as he clasped his eyes tight and dug his nails into the dirt. His wolf growled, while his body size increased, making his shirt hug and highlight every muscle he possessed till it was too small then it ripped into pieces, giving birth to a hairy beast.

His heart plummeted in his heaving chest and his nose flared as he charged into the forest, two times the speed of an average wolf and twice the size of a human being. He ran on all fours, feeling the wind rush into his lungs with her essence and it reeked of fear.

"What are you doing in our territory?!" The werewolf that stood before her spat, increasing the grip around her neck and she squirmed, clawing at his hand but he was too strong for her. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she struggled to breathe. "Who are you?!"

"You're a pretty one, too bad you're going to die." He slurred, slamming her to the ground and Duncan could feel the wolf mind-linking the other werewolves to meet him there.

Duncan growled, saliva dripping down his jaw as he peered viciously at this werewolf sniffing her cheeks, and his jaw ticked. The werewolf swiftly craned his neck to glance behind his shoulder but Duncan sucked in a deep breath, activating his hidden powers and going invisible, becoming one with the wind.

Who's there?

The werewolf asked through the mind link, getting off the weak vampire who had trespassed. The moment he was convinced no one was there, he jumped back on the girl and she screamed, tearing Duncan's heart into fifty pieces.

That was it, that was the push Duncan needed to attack one of his pack. Duncan raised aloft the ground and turned visible; his muscles rippled as he roared in the air and launched himself at the wolf.

Duncan drove a nerve-wracking punch into the skull of this man, turning him back into his human form as he propelled him off the girl, sending him and the wolf into the bushes with thorns that pricked at their bodies but Duncan was numb to them, all he could feel was her pain, all he could hear was her echoing heartbeat.

Duncan knelt on the ground, watching the unconscious body of the naked man with a heaving chest.

Get the girl out of this kingdom, they are coming!

His wolf warned and he twisted his body, getting sight of her almost lifeless body on the ground. He inched closer on his paws, sniffing the ground and halting when he was a whisper away from her face. The yellow dress that adorned her pale skin was soaked in a pool of blood that gushed out of a wounded part of her stomach.

He lifted his gaze to her slightly parted lips, matching the color of the blood that mapped her dress. Her ebony lashes hugged themselves and she breathed infrequently as her life hung on a thin thread. She was beautiful, he had seen her face somewhere and for a minute, his heart seized till his wolf announced that they were close to being caught.

Duncan leaned in to grab her soft frame but something happened, she snapped her eyes open and her fangs elongated. Immediately, she sank them into his shoulder and he whimpered, flinging her light frame into the hardback of a tall tree. Too weak to run, she hissed like a snake in a bid to protect herself as she pressed her hand on her wounded stomach and struggled to get to her feet.

"I'm not going to harm you." He held out his hand, ignoring the sting from her bite as he tried to calm her down. "I'm here to help or else they'd kill you."

Her body shivered as fear racked through it and Duncan transformed into his human self then picked up a big leaf with which he used to shield his groin from her predatory gaze. She froze the moment her icy blue eyes locked gazes with his and her lips parted slightly as her eyes widened in fear that slowly turned into confusion. Her eyes struck a memory as she searched for answers in the debt of his green jewels.

She frowned a little and darted her tongue to wet her wounded lips, saying, "Darcy?" She reached out a hand but stopped mid-air, shaking her head slightly in disbelief.

"My-my name is Duncan," He stammered, unable to tear his gaze from her almond-shaped orbs, ones that made him feel like she could read his entire soul. "What is yours?"

"Erin," It came out like a whisper before her knees buckled and gave up on her. She blacked out and his masculine arms caught her fragile frame.

Protect.

Protect.

Protect.

His wolf chanted, ignoring the fact that her name pulled some strings, leaving him with a minor headache. Duncan let the waves of confusion hit him. Having no time to think, he changed back into his golden brown wolf and pivoted on his heels.

"There they are!" A voice announced from behind them but he didn't risk a glance, he kept running, increasing his speed each time her heartbeat slowed down. From the look of things, she was a vampire and vampires lived forever.

Duncan jumped out of the fence that separated them from the human world, searching for a place to keep her body safe.