Twisted Fate

Chapter 47

Astrid

My first instinct- reach inside the harness. A short, disappointing journey it was, my fingertips grazing the vacant spot on my back. Of course, I didn't bring my sword to a birthday party. I'd deemed it unnecessary the two seconds it crosses my mind before I leave the house. I wish for those two seconds back now.

But I don't dwell on the missed opportunity. I run towards the edge of the woods, my claws and canines elongating.

It feels like time is playing against me, making the distance stretch longer, forcing the winds to push harder, and twisting seconds into eternity. Each second it takes me, her screams get louder and louder and LOUDER. His moves become quicker, more calculated, and more violent.

Clumps of flesh and blood decorate the ground, her lower half torn to pieces. You would never know she was pregnant after this vile man reconstructed her body.

The trees shake with the force of my growl, and my bones snap and re-shape themselves, auburn fur replacing my human skin. My wolf shows no mercy. I snap and claw at his limbs. Though he is like me, he doesn't call upon his wolf. He seems to be confident enough to take me on in his human form- alpha to alpha.

When he's down, I get the upper hand and bite a chunk of his rib. Except no trace of humane evidence comes along with it. I taste no blood on my tongue, and the sound of my canines clashing together confirms the absence of bones. It's the first time I realize I can't see my opponent.

A strange black haze covers his face. Red glowing eyes are the only indication that he even has a face. And I've spent too much time staring because he abruptly knocks me to the ground with a swift kick. He digs his claws into my side before I can stand up.

I'm choking from the grip of his hands around my neck. I shift back in his grasp, but he remains strong in position. I'm dangling in the air and scratching his arms, but it's no use. It's as if he is made of evil and wind, a man in disguise of darkness.

"You're supposed to be dead," He growls as his hands grow tighter on my throat, "I've killed you many times, but you keep coming back, infesting the prophecy with poison like the vermin you are."

My vision is blurry, and my body feels numb. All I can do is stare into those red eyes as the darkness takes over me.

"We won't let you win," He whispers close to my ear and then drops me like a weightless feather. The whooshing passes through my entire body, and I reach out my hands, desperate for something, anything to catch me. But it seems he has dropped me into a never-ending black hole. I'm falling-

"Astrid!" A hand comes down on my shoulder and wraps around my waist before the hole swallows me further down. I blink, and suddenly I'm standing at the back of Blair's car, gripping the door, the towels hallway spread across the backseat.

Confusion clouds my mind before I realize...I never left this spot. What the fuck just happened?

I look into Carson's worried silver eyes as he holds my waist, and they remind me so much of Arlo's. It makes me wish he were here holding me instead.

"It felt so real," I whisper, scanning the edge of the woods and pressing my feet firmly on the ground.

"Are you feeling sick?" His hand comes up to my forehead, and it feels cold against my skin.

I'm sweating profusely, and my head spins, the memory of that wolf's hands still on my neck. I brush my fingers against the red, sensitive skin. I can still hear his voice- "I've killed you many times" and the woman's screams ringing in my ears.