Chapter 29
The Pack
On any other night, the trees were left alone to sway and speak to one another without interruption.
On any other night, the birds in their knew quiet comfort, saving their song for the first break of dawn.
On any other night, the ground was unburdened by bombastic movement, leaving the sly hunters of the darkness to prowl and feed in quiet bliss.
Tonight, however, was not like any other night.
Tonight, the jaws of hell seemed to have opened to release a fearsome villain.
Tonight, the wolf was awakened.
And he was mad.
Dominic, if he could still be called that, tore through the underbrush without feeling as thorns tore his skin.
His paws struck out at branches and tree trunks, not noticing the crunching as his bones made impact.
He howled and raged, waking every living creature in the area, and probably waking some of the dead creatures as well.
The forest itself was fearful, wishing it could uproot itself to get out of his way.
But nothing could stop the Wolf when it was free.
From the outside, one could say the Wolf was pure evil, destroying for the sake of it, with no motive beyond ruination.
But in truth, the Wolf was in pain. He had been hurt, deceived, betrayed long ago, and all he wanted was revenge.
It was just too bad that he would take that revenge on anyone and anything he met along the way.
The forest sighed and moaned, sending prayers to the greater gods for protection and preservation. Sometimes we can only wait for the storm to pass, hoping to hold onto whatever we can as it passes.
And so, when the woman appeared, you can imagine the profound confusion and chaos that ensued within the spirit of the forest and among its inhabitants.
Every being remembers those awful sacrifices of past generations, but surely we weren’t returning to such barbarism.
But this woman didn’t come here to give up her life in order to save someone of noble blood.
She had come to fight.
“Dominic!”
Her words sounded strange within the whirling cacophony of wind and trees and werewolf howling.
The Wolf had been ahead of her, but in the blink of an eye he was behind her. Time seemed to stand still as he circled her body, taking in her scent, questioning her motives.
“Who sent you?” a voice from another world came out of his mouth.
“No one!” Mira answered. “I am here to help you, Dominic, please—“
With one stiff arm, the Wolf swatted Mira to the side as she were a fly on his nose. She tumbled and fell to the ground, hands scraping on rocks underneath. The wind was knocked out of her lungs, and for a moment she saw stars in her eyes.
“Who sent you?” he asked again.
Catching her breath, she looked up to see the moon through the trees. Where the canopies had previously overlapped, there was a clear opening leading up to the bright sky.
The forest seemed to be helping her, giving her light by which she might see and guide this man out of the darkness.
She didn’t have time to wonder as this mystical phenomenon, because the Wolf had not forgotten her.
She managed to stand as he walked slowly to her, as if he was reserving his energy for something ahead.
“I came alone,” Mira said firmly. “I can help you, I can bring you back.”
“No!” he shouted at her.
With one stiff arm, he swatted Mira to the side with the effort it would take to swat a fly from his nose. Her body flew through the air and hit a tree.
Luckily, the trunk bowed gently to catch her before she fell to the ground. She made a mental note to speak more kindly to these trees in the future, if she made it out alive.
The Wolf was coming back towards her, and all she could do was scramble against the trunk of the tree that caught her. She could the trunk and branches creaking, as if wishing it could embrace her and protect her from her assailant.
“Please, Dominic—“ her voice was cut off as a large hand wrapped around her neck.
He lifted her like a rag-doll, pinning her against the tree, her feet dangling in the air.
“He cannot help you,” the croaking voice said, “he is lost to you.”
Mira’s eyes were huge as she fought to breathe. She pawed her hands at his massive arm, trying to break some of the pressure on her throat.
His eyes were red in the moonlight, dark as blood and almost black. She knew the end was near— of her life and his humanity— if she didn’t act fast.
She let one hand fall to her side as his face came closer to hers.
His breath was hot and foul, his teeth sharper than dagger points, his tongue heavy with saliva and malice.
“You’re mine, now.”
That awful voice spoke once more, and Mira knew that Dominic would soon be lost forever. His humanity was slipping away, this demon wolf was taking over, and there was no telling what havoc he would bring to the Pack and beyond.
As will happen in a moment before death, Mira’s memories flashed through her brain.
Her past, her parents, her pain, her passion for healing that saved her life.
And then Dominic, the weeks they had spent together. She thought of waking up next to him, feel safe for the first time in so many years.
These memories of the real man filled her with calm, and without even thinking, her body reacted.
She kissed the Wolf, hard.
Granted, it was not a beautiful kiss, but it was real.
And it was a kiss that distracted the Wolf just long enough for Mira to stab a syringe into the side of his neck.
In an instant, she was back on the ground. He had dropped her and grabbed at the needle sticking out of his flesh.
She thought maybe the medicine wouldn’t work, that she had the mix or the dosage wrong.
But then she saw the change.
The stiff in his body slackened, his eyes began to clear, and his howling voice was altered back towards a normal frequency.
Dominic, the real Dominic, looked down at Mira. It seemed he was seeing her for the first time.
He rushed to her, picking her up with such force that she flinched, expecting more pain from his hands.
Instead, fully conscious of his actions, he kissed her.
It was not a beautiful kiss, but it was real.
