Werewolf Duel

The Blood on My Hands

The Blood on My Hands

The shift was a blur. A painful blur. First my bones cracked and shaped themselves anew. Then fur came pouring out from my pores. I couldn’t remember exactly how it had happened, the adrenaline rush made me forget everything but the pain. One second I was me and the next I was a wolf.

I felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped onto me. Everything just seemed to fit together. In this form my problems drifted away, and all that was left was a hunger; a hunger for the hunt, a hunger for power, a hunger for my mate. I wanted to run off right there, the consequences be damned. He was out there, I knew it. I could feel it. Before I could bolt my mother rubbed up against me, somehow she had guessed my thoughts.

With the pack behind me and my parents at my sides I felt boxed in. Panic set in, but a light growl form my father put me in place. I could feel my ears flatten to my head, my tail curl around my body in an attempt to show submission to him. I could sense Helios next to me but chose to ignore it as we were herded to the Lupus Reflexionem, a lake that was meant to show us our wolf forms on the night of the first shift. I glanced over at my mother; she was a white wolf with the black markings of an Altum Luna, a high Luna. The markings were very complex, and wrapped around her throat like a collar. As her mate, my father had similar markings.

The markings appeared to show your pack, your statues within that pack, and your mate. An Alpha and Luna pairing had the largest markings. Our pack’s marking was a thin black circle around the neck that met with another circle at the center of the chest. The other circle wrapped low under the chest and the met back up with the circle around the neck at the back. My mother and father had more markings around there body, on their hands and feet, up their legs and arms, even on their faces. In human form the markings were very faint, and only another werewolf could see them. Mates could clearly see each other’s markings; it was almost like they were tattoos. One of my older friends had even told me that the markings become darker and thicker when their mate was aroused, and that it was ‘hot as hell’.

We got to the lake, and I looked at my figure. I was pure white and had green eyes, just like my mother. Despite this, I was larger than her and only had the mark of our pack. I glanced over at my brother; he was also a white wolf and had the same markings as me. He was bigger than me and had blue eyes, but I knew that my smaller frame could work to my advantage.

Once my parents were satisfied, we were taken from the lake and stopped at the top of a hill. A breeze came my way and I could smell the deer miles away. Impatiently, I waited for my Alpha to give us the go. My father, a beautiful carmel wolf, looked from my brother to me with an indescribable look and then he turned from us to the Moon. He howled, the first to give his praise to the Moon, and then the pack joined in with him. The moment touched me deeply and as I howled with them I felt like I was truly apart of the pack. Then my mother joined in, and I listen closely, the second she stopped howling we would start the Hunt. She gave a long howl, it was sad and angry and painful to hear, but eventually she would have to let this peaceful moment move on.

Then she stopped, and we ran.

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As my father, mother, Helios, and I sped directly to the deer, the rest of the pack went to the sides of the herd. We would attempt to start a stampede, after that we would pick off the weak and young from the herd, and kill it. Once the herd was in sight I sped up with Helios on my tail. We passed the Alpha and Luna and now all we had to do was outrun each other. The herd noticed us and started to run, they knew predators when they saw them.  However they could not outrun us.

I spotted one deer near the back; it had a limp and was slow. I was going to kill it, but Helios seemed to has the same idea. We approached the doe and almost simultaneously jumped at it. The poor beast didn’t have a chance. It was down in a second.

We started ripping at the animal, growling at each other, and pulling it this way and that. Our ears and tails were pointed strait up, our fur puffed up to appear bigger. The animal forgotten, we started to circle one another. Our growling fuelled the fight of dominance between us. I was about to lung when the Luna came between us, her growl deafening. Almost instantly we lowered ourselves to the ground, and curl into ourselves. She shifted, and we did with her.

Grabbing our arms she dragged us to the doe, and with accusing eyes pointed at the animal with tears.

“Look at what you did! We are not animals!” The animal was torn up. Its guts were sprawled out on the ground, the white of the snow magnifying the red of blood. But somehow it’s was still breathing, still fighting for life even though nothing could save it now.

“Mothe-“ We both started to say, I feel guilt eating at me. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't

“No! Finish what you started.” Immediately we get to our knees and crawl over to the deer. It’s labored breathing increases and for some reason I can’t kill it, not when it’s looking right at me.

“Do it!” The Alpha barks. He doesn’t have to say another word; together we grab the animal’s neck. I look up into Helios’s face that is so much like mine. Something passes between us, and together we snap the neck of the doe. “ You two obviously can’t work together. Our hunts will be taken separately from now on. Let’s go!”

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When we get home I look at my naked figure in the mirror with shaking hands. My hands and chest are speckled with red and there is blood in my mouth and all over my face. Is this how it’s going to be when I fight my brother? No. No it will be much worse when to go up against my brother. I quickly hop into the shower, the smell of blood overpowering me.

I wash myself with soap, but the iron smell won’t come out. I scrub viciously at my skin until the blood is gone and all that’s left is my raw hands. I rub and rub but the smell won’t leave. All I can think about is how this will be Helios' blood one day. My brother, my twin. That’s how my mother finds me, rubbing my hands raw in the now cold shower. I barely notice her put her hand to her mouth as tears form in her eyes.

“Oh, honey.” She says as she grabs me, collapsing next to me in the shower.

“Mother, I-“  That’s all I get out before I break into tears. I try to stifle my sobs, but as my mother comforts me they only become louder. “I don’t-I-I just can’t-“

“-I know.” My mother says, and she hugs me until the tears are dry and the hole in my chest has been temporarily closed again.