Fantasy Land

Chapter 8

Him

Unknown

I follow the scent of blood to the edges of my territory. There I find two bodies. One is burnt beyond recognition; the other is missing its head. It looks like it was torn off by one of the night creatures. I recognize his scent as that of a rogue. I notice the drying pool of blood by a tree a handful of paces from the body. Crouching beside the pool, I dip my fingers in it.

"Alpha?" Asks one of my men. I rub the blood between my forefingers and thumb. It's still fresh, the owner likely close. I take a smell of the blood to track the person who decided to invade my territory, but the scent quickly shocks me. It can't be. I take a smell again and sure enough it comes back the same.

"Find the owner of this blood. They are to come back to the pack unharmed." I order as I stand, spotting footprints running off into the distance. I follow the steps quickly. Whoever lost that blood was surely starting to feel the effects of blood loss. I wasn't about to let this chance slip through my fingers. There's a burst of light and fire in the forest suddenly spurring my feet to carry me faster towards that direction.

Jayna

Fire spews from his hand as he spins in a circle around us. The flames burn through trees, grass, and disgusting human like creatures I didn't even notice hiding in the darkness. The man towers over me as he looks down at me. He hooks the axe somewhere on his back under the cloak before kneeling to my height on the ground. Gabie summons some water and uses it to put out the fire in the trees before turning to the gasping Lest still curled on the ground.

"Lest?" I hear her ask as I stare at the covered face of the man. She kneels beside Lest's no longer moving form. I can barely tell he's breathing. Gabie shakes his shoulder aggressively as fear floods her features. The man looks over his shoulder at Lest before turning his head to look at where we came from. I look with him, my eyes suddenly locking on a group of people that emerge into our clearing. The man leading the pack instantly unsettles me as his eyes lock on Lest and Gabie. It's his eyes, irises almost completely blending into his eyes leaving only the pupil visible clearly. The blue tint to his irises is the only think defining them.

In my focus I don't notice the man beside me get up and walk away.

"S-stay away." I say, standing shakily to me feet as I grip tightly to my stick. I point the stick at the man as my entire body trembles, but determination sets into me. I will protect my friends.

"I'm not here to hurt any of you." The man with those white eyes attempts to reassure me as he slowly approaches. Gabie has noticed their presence but is more concerned with her boyfriend to care. "I'm here to help if I can." He snatches the stick from me the moment he sees my bit of hesitation. I fall on my butt as I curl into myself, tears finally falling down my face. I sit there and weep as the man turns his attention to Lest and Gabie.

"Shit." I hear someone mutter. Before I can recognize the voice, someone presses something into my neck, and I lose all consciousness. I don't remember anything beyond that.

Gabie

My soul recognizes the man the moment I lock eyes with him that same way it did when I met Lest the first time. My heart constricts as I think of it. Lest lays in front of me unmoving and barely breathing. My eyes flicker to his battered leg he had me burn. Melt the flesh back together to stop the bleeding but leave him susceptible to infection. I look back at his face, the bandaged side facing me. My stomach turns thinking of the green puss-y mess under the bandages. If I knew what had poisoned him, I could try to cure it.

Then again, I know nothing that acts the way this poison has.

"Shit." Someone says pulling me out of my thoughts to reality. I look up to see a very worried Kyle, Jayna's cousin. Of course, this is where he's been hiding. "Knock her out." He orders one of the men behind him. They knock Jayna out quickly as the man gives Kyle a strange look.