Somber

Chapter 56: More than Life.

Dedicated to @demokratia for the lovely poster that you can see in the media section :)

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Chapter 56: More than Life.

Liam's POV

[London, 1998]

Howls haunted the night; the echoes traveling through the wind. They were near. He could hear them... and he could smell them. Their scent was particularly distinct. They carried over their skin the strong smell of rusting iron. Blood. Something that Liam had learned not that long ago. He also heard the crimson substance tasted that way as well. Like oxidized metal. Not that he had experimented with it, he trusted his source of information just enough to believe it without having to try it.

The details that he studied as he ran revealed to him that they had been hunting. And now they were after him. If he weren't so drastically awful at expressing sarcasm, he would say the whole situation was fantastic. Wonderful, even. But instead, he ran. And ran. And then ran some more. Stamina was one of his new favorite attributes from being a werewolf. But he disliked the idea that even now, with all of these powers surging through every cell in his body, he still had to spend his time running. He's been running his whole life. He was tired of it. He wondered if he would ever be able to walk without fearing what's coming after him. He prayed for the day when he wouldn't have to look over his shoulder at what awaited behind.

He kept moving. He knew he was dead if he dared stop. So he forced his legs to go on, even when city lights blinked away and trees appeared in his line of vision. His heart was galloping in his chest, but he realized it was from the running, not out of fear. He should be afraid. He was about to die. There was no one around, and he had just entered the small woods that bordered the town-line between this one and the next. He should be scared. But instead, he was oddly calm about what laid ahead.

So he stopped running. He stood on a dirt hill and turned to face the upcoming enemies.

"Did you just realize that this only ends one way?" the voice was delicate, feminine, sweet to the ear. As the blonde walked closer, moonlight washed over her face, accentuating her beautiful features. Looking at her face, one might feel safe, like no harm would come from meeting with her. But her bloodied fangs and clothes told you otherwise. Liam knew better. She was a predator. More monster than human. Her slim-looking partner stood next to her. His eyes were as dark as the bottomless pit of a well. He wore no expression. He was indifferent to the whole situation. She wasn't. Her eyes glinted with the rush of an exciting hunt ready to end. She was the reason they had chased him down for six miles and into the middle of nowhere.

"What's the point of evading the inevitable?" Liam asked in return.

The woman smiled, showing more of her fangs as she did so.

"Smart," was all she replied.

Liam shrugged and smiled as well. "I have my moments. Plus, I plan on taking one of you down with me".

The smile on her face weakened as she frowned.

"Stupid werewolf. Don't you know? Without a pack, you're no match for two vampires".

There was venom and anger behind her words, which only made Liam smile wider. "Let's just do this, alright."

And so they did.

The man looked almost bored as he approached him. The woman, well, there was no doubt that she would enjoy sucking him dry of his life force. Liam just stood there watching them get closer. He studied their postures. He knew the woman would do a straightforward attack, probably aim for his neck first. The man though, he would do something else, and Liam couldn't predict what as of yet.

As he had expected, the woman lunged first. A frontal attack. Liam was ready for her, with hands in front of him to push her away. She came at him again, clawing at his shirt and chest. He could feel the wolf inside of him protest inside of him. It wanted to fight. Liam pushed the female vampire off him and eyed the male one who was still watching him.

The woman stood up but took pause when she looked at his face. Liam smiled, and already he could feel his canines growing. Ripples of pain rolled through him and wove into muscles and skin. He was turning. He didn't stop it. He welcomed the pain and the change.

Surprise was the only reason they waited until he was done. There couldn't have been any other reason behind it. But once he was done, and Liam was driven by pure animalistic instinct, did they both charge at him, though cautiously this time.

Louis' POV

The foliage of the tree he was leaning on obscured the view of him to everyone in the battle. He watched with curiosity as the werewolf snapped and bit in blind rage at his enemies. Never getting the right grip to do real damage. The male vampire threw calculated hits. At Liam's eye, his heart, his leg. He hit his mark more than once. The woman always went for the neck, and Liam always saw it coming. Still Liam was losing the fight. Not from lack of will though. He was fighting for his life. He was determined on taking one of them down with him, but they were two and he was a werewolf who had never killed another living thing before. That first kill is always the hardest. Louis knew this awfully well. But he watched until the woman made a mistake and got too close while her partner stopped back. This one stupid mistake cost her. Liam's teeth were tearing though rib and lung before she knew what was happening. The other vampire jumped to her rescue quickly, but it was too late. She was dead in a matter of seconds. Louis smiled. He knew Liam had potential. He wouldn't watch him so closely if he didn't believe it. But he wasn't great yet and when the male vampire growled away his pain at losing the woman, Louis knew it was time to step in, or Liam would die. The vampire had been holding back this whole time. All of this merely a game to him because he wasn't taking Liam seriously. Now, he would be ready to kill.

"You're dead," the vampire said through gritted teeth. Pain and tortured anger filled his gaze.

"I don't think so," Louis said lightly as he stepped out of the shadows. "Papa wolf is very protective of his cubs," he added in a joking manner. Realization hit the vampire, that this new upcoming threat was the alpha. It didn't look quite as confident. But still, ignored Liam and lunged towards fully human Louis. A smile grew on Louis' face before he let the vampire find its mark. The vampire's mouth was ready to strike Louis' neck, but he had let him come for a reason. Now he pulled him back by pulling at his hair. When he was away from any uncovered skin, Louis did a tsking sound with his tongue and said, "what a shame," as his hand pressured against the vampire's neck, until he heard it snap, and the head went slump. He let go and the body fell to the ground, almost without a sound. He stared at the man for a few seconds before he turned to Liam. He was laying on the ground in a pool of sweat. He was human again. He approached him without caution and offered him a hand to help him up.

"How many times can a man be saved by another and not owe his life to this person?" Liam asked in between gulps of air.

"It took me decades to understand that life is never ours to give," Louis remarked. "You're too young to understand that now. Wisdom comes with time and experience. You don't owe me anything."

"You're wrong," Liam said. "I owe you everything".

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A/N: If you follow me you know that I've been working overtime for almost 2 weeks without any days off in between which is why I'be been MIA. So yeah, it was not that I forgot about you. I would never. Thank you all for your patience and support.

Also, if you want to make posters for this story, whether about the book or your favorite characters. Please do so. Just send the link to my inbox and I will put them in the new chapters along with a dedication to you. I love fanart <33

Take care my lovely earth family,

Liz.x