(MxM)Tales Of A Shifter (P2) - The Clan Celebration

Chapter 38 - Spiral

Chapter 38

Ezekiel didn't have time to think about the blood on his body, or the anger boiling in his veins. He turned from the carcass of the dead Ghoul and rushed over to the two still and silent bodies in the field.

The child was there beside him. Ezekiel didn't have to see the blood on the child's mouth, or the black branches of poison beneath the skin of his small body to know that the boy really was gone now.

With hair almond brown and eyes tinted green and frozen open the small boys chest didn't move. The sight of his small body stole over Ezekiel chilling him and numbing him at the same time. The parents would be devastated. Ezekiel knew that a lot of people would be filled with sorrow once all of the chaos had settled down and the dead were fully counted out.

A part of Ezekiel urged him to reach for the child and cradle him closer, but as Ezekiel stood leaning over the two bodies in the earth, all Ezekiel wanted to do was grab Brandon and rush him to his mother...because unlike the Child....Brandon was alive.

A small hitch of guilt tried to raise but it couldn't swamp the confusion and disbelief that was warring inside of Ezekiel's heart as he stared down at the breathing, bloodless body of a man who once more should have been dead.

Brandon quickly sat down in the dirt and lifted Brandon's into his arms, positioning him so that he was in his lap and Ezkeiel could look down into his unconscious face.

The first thing he noticed was that Brandon was completely and utterly....

Fine.

How this happening...His body is was just drenched in blood.

Ezekiel thought absolutly confounded and feeling slightly crazy. Slowly he put a hand behind his back feeling for the deep lacerations that he had witnessed the Ghoul tearing into Brandon's body. But all he found was the shreds of the back of Brandon's shirt. There was no missing flesh, no ribs cleaned of muscle by fangs....just warm skin. A sharp wave of relief had him clutching Brandon to his chest. His peppered scent and the soft raise and fall of his chest nearly had Ezekiel shaking in relief....but....

But I saw....I saw him getting eaten....

That Ghoul ripped him open....it was killing him!

Didn't I see that?

A hand slamming down onto his shoulder startled Ezekiel out of his thoughts and had him simultaneously snarling and wrapping Brandon even tighter to his chest protectively. Only for Ezekiel to realize that while he had been wrapped up in his thoughts, a small army of Leopards and his own family members and somehow converged on him.

Lander, who had put his arm on Ezekiel's shoulder, had a small frown on his face as he glared down at his brother. "Whoa Ezekiel calm down it's just me...." His sibling said, flashing a green look over towards Walter and Erin and Drin, who were standing just to the left, with Ezekiel's father. Then Lander looked back at him, his gaze locking onto the blood smeared across Ezekiels arms and cheek before asking "Are you okay?"

Ezekiel let out a slow exhale as he shook his head. "Yeah." He managed to respond with a small shake of his head at himself. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, I dispatched the final Ghoul. It's over there in the field dead." Ezekiel said and indicated the direction with a shrug of his shoulder before he glanced over at the rest of his family.

They approached him quickly, gathering around. Erin standing in hand with Drin. Walter casting an unfeeling look across the area as he took a solid spot next to Ezekiel and locked his gaze on the small body laying in the grass. Mantilo came marching strait up to them, with at least fifteen other Leopardess and Leopards from the Clan. It was instantly apparent that these men and women were volunteers.