(MxM) Tales of a Shifter (P4)- The Blood

Chapter 51- Reunion

The search lasted only for a short time but Ezekiel was less than happy when he and Nate managed to stumble across not only his parents but Walter as well.

He spotted them a mile before he actually got to them. And as he had feared the remaining members of his family were in need of back up.

His father stood shoulder to shoulder with Walter and behind them Ezekiel could see a small figure huddled on the ground in a ball. Instantly the smell of familiar blood touched his leopard's senses. He smelled his father's blood as well as Walters, but the smell of his mother's blood nearly stopped his heart.

Ezekiel could clearly see, even from a distance that Walter and Mantilo were badly out numbered. Five Ghouls of varying sizes had hemmed them in against the sheer face of a large boulder. Walter and Mantilo pushed back, doing everything that they could to protect Glen.

The smell of their blood must have reached Nate at the same time that it hit Ezekiel because both of them snarled viciously and raced forward like two arrows. Smelling the blood of their family, their Clan enraged them, made them lethal. Without hesitation, or worry for their own lives both brothers gave all of themselves over to the Shift.

Leopard and wolf galloped to find them

Nates wolf howled and barked, forcing the Ghouls to notice its arrival. At least two of the Ghouls turned from their attack on Mantilo and Walter to face the reinforcements. Ezekiel's leopard pulled ahead of the Wolf whose body was still badly injured. Powerful muscles and claws tore up earth and pine as its ferocious charge lead it right into the fray.

Chaos ensued. The leopard tore and lashed into the enemies surrounding its family.

Mantilo took this momentary distraction to quickly dispatch and behead two of the Ghouls that tried to duck past him and attack Glen, with his blade.

Walter took the time that the surprise attack had brought him and Shifted. A giant brown eyed leopard joined Ezekiels leopard in battle, while Nates wolf ravaged a Ghoul that mistakenly tried to flee into the woods.

As the leopard felt the bones of the Ghoul's throat shatter in his jowls he dropped the dead beast to the ground with an aggressive rumble and pounced on a second and third. He fought like a true Reaver. Finally panting, the leopard calmly sat beside its brothers, black blood staining its throat and tongue, tasted foul, and made the Leopard peel back its lips and grimace.

Knowing that the danger had passed Ezekiel took back the reigns. The Un-shift took place quickly. Fur turning to cloth and muscles lengthening and shrinking until Ezekiel stood in his mortal flesh. Nate and Walter followed suit and Un-shifted as well a few seconds later. Both of his brothers gave him and each other once overs with their eyes to make sure that they had all survived the fight.

Ezekiel ignored the blood he could feel flowing down his chest from the cut he had gotten while in leopard form. Already he could feel a foreign energy, an energy that felt like sunlight, traveling across his limbs and gathering around the cut. Brandon's power healing him from the inside.

Ezekiel instantly caught his mother's scent once more and ran over to where he could see his father kneeling beside her. Ezekiel and his brothers came up on them as his father wrapped Glen up in his arms and was lifting her from the ground. Ignoring the Claw marks and blood staining his own body.

As Ezekiel looked her over he wanted to tear something apart. She was obviously in pain, even though Mantilo was holding her delicately. Her right shoulder and arm had had been gashed open to the bone and tendons.

Razor sharp talons had flayed her skin open in five long deep furrows. The wound must have bleed profusely because his mother's chest and clothes were drenched in blood. As Ezekiel looked at the grievous wound he just had to thank god that there weren't any black branches of poison traveling under her skin.

A wound that big could have killed her but Ghoul poison would have been too much for her now traumatized system to combat. Ezekiel was reluctant to touch her for fear that he would cause her more pain so he reached out and placed his hand on his dads shoulder in support.

Mantilo held his mother close, listening to her shallow heartbeat. His father's eyes were filled with emotions that Ezekiel was shocked to realize that he understood. Because mirrored in his fathers eyes was all the fear and anger he had felt when Jacob had tried to take Brandon away from him. When Jacob had hurt Brandon.

And somehow thinking about Jacob made Ezekiel very uncomfortable just then. Like he had forgotten something important. Realizing that his father had been the last one to see Jacob he started to ask Mantilo for details..

"Dad, what happened with Jacob? How did mom get hurt!? " he began to say.

The heavy look that his father cast him after his questions....made Ezekiels heart seize in horror. He knew something terrible was about to transpire.