a Goddess among Men

Long road trips

It had started raining, soft drops patter down on my wide brimmed hat as I ride down the road. My horse shakes off the water from his head as we trot along, Sylvie will be so happy to see me this early in the year. A small sigh escapes me as we travel slowly down the road; I love my mistress very much but it was nice when she allowed me to visit the village. Phillipe gives a soft whinny of protest as the rain starts to fall harder, night was slowly starting to descend upon the countryside as we traveled. Natashia would be getting lonely by now and probably travel out to the rose garden.

The world spins as a scream hits my ears, am I falling? Who screamed? I hit the ground with a loud thud. The wind is knocked from my lungs and I sit up gasping, Phillipe charges through the mud running like death was after him. Groaning and slightly sore, but otherwise unharmed, I pull myself from the mud and to my feet a low growling noise reaching my ears.

"Ah, young Dante, what are you doing out here so far away from your mother's watchful eye?" I know that voice, I hadn't heard it often but I knew who it belonged to.

"Verin sent you didn't he, Landau?" I turn to face the behemoth of a man my eyes barely reaching his chest. He looks down at me with a wicked smile set into his dark face.

"How did you guess, little boy?" He gives me a wolfish grin and his eyes flash a predatory yellow. I look up into the darkening sky on instinct. Damnit a full moon, how could I be so stupid? "Now are you going to be a good little boy and come with me or do I have to make you?"

"Come with you where, mutt? Did your master send you out to play fetch by yourself?" I glare up at him feeling a small sinking feeling in my stomach as all of my courage drains out of me. Another growl rips from his throat making what little defiance I had left leave me completely.

"Looks like your blood-sucking mother didn't teach you good manners." He growls out trying to strike a nerve. Sadly, it works, I get pissed as soon as he mentions Natashia.

Not even thinking it through I slam into him with as much force as I can muster pulling my dagger from its sheath. He twists and falls in surprise his broad back hitting the ground with an earth shaking force. Not giving him a chance to recover I bring my dagger down to sink into his chest. Landau's massive hand wraps around my wrist in a bone shattering grip stopping the dagger just as it pierces his flesh.

"Did you honestly think that you would be able to kill me? I am a fucking werewolf! You are a pathetic little human, I could rip your heart from your chest and devour it." He growls obviously pissed.

Not even flinching he pulls the dagger from his bare chest and tosses it aside like a toy. Still glaring at me he tightens his grip on my wrist and lifts me off of him, tossing me to the side like I weighed less than the dagger itself. Something crunches as my back collides with a tree, the wind once again knocked from my chest. I crumble to the ground as waves of pain radiate from my back. Landau moves in, having gotten to his feet after throwing me, a small crunching and ripping sound coming from him.

Fur starts to grow as his bones begin to break and stretch, blood and teeth falling from his mouth. The creature before me lets out a soft growling whimper as his skull starts to elongate and form. The shoulders snap back and drop down while his ribs swell making him twice as large as he usually would be. Doubling over in pain the beast expels more blood and teeth before going still. The smell of rot and decay reaches me, the pain in my body still too great for me to run or even attempt escape.

Landau stops whimpering finally and slowly starts to lift his massive head, those piercing yellow eyes lifting up to the sky. Sniffing around he lowers his head from the sky to look directly at me, he was nothing but a predator now. I was his prey, and I couldn't get away. My only saving grace was the fact that his master wanted me, alive I hope.

Lumbering towards me the massive wolf lets out a soft growling sound, his lips curling back to reveal dagger-sized fangs. I manage to pull myself backwards through a small hollow in the trees away from him and his snapping jaws. Snarling and scratching at the trunks of the trees I had squirmed into Landau tries to tear at me, his massive claws digging into the flesh of my leg.

Pain. Horrible pain burns through my body as my leg begins to bleed, painting the dark ground black. My heartbeat accelerates as my body starts to pump itself full of adrenaline, am I going to die so far away from Natashia? I feel a comforting presence in the back of my mind, a calming sensation washes over me. It starts to search through my mind and recent memory looking for what had caused my heart to pick up the way that it did.

Dante?

Dante, where are you?

Natashia? My clouded mind tries to grasp what she was saying. I could feel her panic

Yes, sweetie, now where are you?

Mother, I'm scared. I can't manage to control the pain and fear anymore. The large wolf digs and tears into the trees protecting me like they are mere saplings.

I know, darling, I know. Don't worry. I will come find you just tell me where you are. I feel the concern in her voice. A feeling of calm washes over me, she was trying to calm me down, to protect me.

He attacked Phillipe and I right on the path to the village not even a mile from where the road forks leading to Verin's castle. A feeling of dread leaks into my mind as I tell her this. She was afraid of that man, afraid of how unstable he could be.

A loud creaking and snapping sound brings my attention away from our conversation and back to the beast trying to rip my throat out. Landau had managed to claw his way through about half of the trees in front of me and he was a lot closer than he had been before. Natashia feels my panic and sends me a soft loving song, the lullaby she used to sing me when I was a baby. The pain and panic inside of me slowly starts to wash away her hypnotic music filling my mind and calming me despite the beast tearing at the trees in front of me.

A flash of red streaks through my vision and the wolf is gone. Replaced now by red hair and milky skin. Natashia? Her red hair is tosseled and she looks wild. Howling sounds throughout the wood and the sound of running paws thunder in the underbrush. A massive pack of werewolves charge in to protect their alpha. Natashia is quickly taken down and I am snatched from my spot by hard ivory hands.

Everything goes so fast. My head spins. A sharp pain hits my head. Everything stops.