The Brotherhood

21

Finley looked up at the sky, bored for about the thousandth time that night. Unfortunately the night was so dark that she couldn't see any stars glittering in the sky. It was just empty blackness staring back at her. Finley sighed deeply out of her nose. She'd hoped that tonight wouldn't be as heartbreakingly boring as the previous nights. She should've known better.

Titan had scampered off into the woods to go hunting. She'd let him, knowing that there was likely nothing out there. He'd been gone for a long time though. Finley had no idea where he'd gone or how deep in the woods he was. Dread gripped her throat like a vise. She needed to go looking for him. He could be dead. No. If he was dead, she would've felt it. 

Finley kept reminding herself of that fact as she focused her energy on the soul bond that linked her to Titan. She felt a pull coming from the woods to the east. That must be where he'd gone. Finley rose from the boulder she'd been sitting on for the past hour and made her way into the forest. She kept a tight grip on her sword. She was terrified that she was going to run into some sort of beast. 

Off in the distance, Finley heard a twig snap. She stopped in her tracks, breathing shallowly. Her heart hammered in her chest, desperate to escape. Her gaze darted back and forth. There was nothing there. Not a single living creature. What the hell made that noise? 

Finley took a deep breath and started walking again. She kept following her soul bond with Titan. It led her deeper and deeper into the woods. It probably wasn't a very good idea, to go into the woods alone. She should've called for one of her brothers to follow her. Hell, she probably should've called the whole pack to come with her. Instead, she'd started walking into monster infested woods all by herself, without her bonded. She was a fucking idiot. 

Another twig snapped. This time the sound was closer to her than it'd been before. Finley froze. There was no way that she was letting herself die in these godforsaken woods. If she was going to die, it was going to be in a spectacular way that impressed everyone. She was going to be remembered dammit. 

That's when the leaves started rustling off to her left. Finley spun toward the sound, her hand gripping her blade in a white-knuckled grip. She waited, barely breathing for a hideous beast to appear. Instead, the forest became complete and utterly silent. There was no logic to it. One second there were twigs snapping and leaves rustling and now, nothing. 

Finley closed her eyes. She felt deep within herself, taking hold of the soul bond, searching for Titan. She followed the soul bond all the way to the other end, feeling Titan's emotions start to mix with her own. Finley took hold of the soul bond and tugged it toward her. She felt Titan's resistance. Whatever he'd found out in the woods he wanted to keep playing with. That wasn't an option though. Something was out here, something dangerous. She needed him by her side, now. 

She tugged on the soul bond again. This time her effort was greeted with a growl from Titan. Finley was getting irritated. She didn't ask for him to go so far away. She thought he was just going to hunt close to where she'd set up her watch. Finley tugged again and this time she felt Titan relent. He was on his way back to her. 

Sighing, Finley opened her eyes. And came face to face with the most hideous creature she'd ever seen. It was huge, with sharp, needlelike teeth that were bared in front of her face. Its body was as black as the night around them. It had massive hands that were gnarled into a hideous shape. Its fingers were just massive claws that were twice the size of Finley's body. This was the creature that had murdered Daniel's bonded. This was the monster that she wasn't supposed to kill under any circumstances. This was the monster that had struck fear into the heart of the Mother. 

Finley didn't dare to move. She didn't even let herself breathe. She was afraid that any movement would startle the monster into movement. That wasn't a risk she could take with its teeth bared so close to her face and throat. Finley needed to find a way to escape, to run to get the others. She needed to find a way to pull her sword free to attack this hideous beast. She needed to warn the villagers to get the hell away from the woods. She needed to tell Kane that she'd seen the beast and there was no way that they could let it live.