Chapter 11
Emily
Natalia gives a soft laugh, "This is for your own protection. There is something I have to tell you Emily." I look at her with a curious expression on my face, "What's up?" With a sigh Natalia gives a solemn look and continues, "The head council is after you. The head council are a group of three cats that rule over the shifting world with iron fists and steel jaws. They want you dead because you are technically royal blood. And you can throw everything they have done out of control." I was completely lost, I was wanted dead by a high council of cats. How can they even know about me? I just discovered this about a three weeks ago, at least I think it was three weeks. "Natalia how do they know about me?" "They have spies all over the world, from birds to small animals. They have watched you travel through America and even the woods here. The big three are going to come after you, and that is why you see the wolves here." I nod, and she gives my head a pat, "Go back to sleep, we will discuss this more tomorrow." I nod once again and make myself comfortable on the couch.
Soon I drift off to sleep and dream about Hunter. The dream taking the same turns as before, but then it took a turn for the somewhat better. I saw Hunter making his way to a gate for a plane that said Moscow on it. The airport he was at was JFK, and that made me smile. The dream showed him sleeping in the seat of the plane and then it ended. He was on his way to see me, I was so happy that it caused me to wake up. This sense of happiness was short lived as I caught a whiff of unknown animals. Three were outside in the town somewhere, and curiosity caused me to move from the couch and make my way to the door. Once open I see a jaguar, cheetah and a lion, and all at once I realize that this is the head council, the big three. They begin to pull me out of the house by my clothes, ripping them as they pull me forcefully from the pack. I try to get away only to have parts of the cloth ripped away from the clothing, eventually feeling their breath on my bare skin as they try to bite my exposed flesh. I begin to hiss at them, trying to get them to back off but it is no use.
The three cats eventually make me so mad that I begin to shift, and that is exactly what they wanted. The cats stopped their attacks and watched me shift, their eyes seeming to have a deep hatred towards me. Once I was shifted all the way I begin to run towards the forest, the only place that I felt safe. Sprinting towards the line of pine trees I had the big three on my tail. But once we all entered the forest I started to gain speed, as if the trees were aiding in my escape. Giving me their energy and their stability, along with their knowledge. I weave my way through the trees with agile grace, only to have it ruined by the cheetah as it makes its way towards me. I look around and see a bent tree branch weighed down by snow near bye. I carefully step on the end, making sure to knock off a bit of snow with my body. Looking behind me for a brief moment I see the branch hit the cheetah square in the nose, seeming to knock the socks off of it, metaphorically speaking.
I continue to run as we come across some kind of river, or deep stream. I carefully make my way onto the slippy ice. And I know slippy is not a real word, but it is something commonly used in Pittsburgh, so just deal with it. Anyway I carefully begin to make my way across the river when the lion begins to get on as well. The ice begins to crack, and I give a yowl as a warning to the lion. The lion stopped for a moment and I continued to walk past the half way point in the wide river. Then the lion comes bounding towards me, feet pounding on the ice like a clap of thunder. The ice was beginning to creak and groan under its massive weight, until the lion suddenly stopped. Realizing that it could go no further I carefully take my steps toward the other bank. Making sure each step was sturdy before I took it was the only hard part.
I was about a yard away from the bank when the ice began to crack under my paws. Every muscle in my body tensed as I could feel the cracks travel beneath my feet. I wait until the cracking ceases and go to pounce my way to the bank of the river. But that one movement was the one thing the ice could not take. The ice instantly gave way and I was consumed by the black water that laid beneath the white surface.
