Mark of the Damned | 18+

Dirty Paws

Climbing faster, the rocks dig into my hands, cutting and slicing them until they bleed.

Cooper is behind me, pushing me faster.

The howling is growing louder, and closer. Fear grips my throat. Every movement is instinctual; my feet move on their own. I can't think over the need to get away. Each step toward the cave is a step closer to safety.

Cooper can't fight all of them alone.

If I don't make it to the cave, he's going to die trying to protect me, and we'll both be torn apart. When I reach the small plateau in front of the mouth of the case, I'm flooded with relief. I made it.

Stumbling forward, I'm knocked to the side by Cooper. He pushes in front of me and lowers his head to the ground, growling into the trees in front of us.

I hear the low rumbling sound before I see the glowing eyes in the darkness. First one pair, then another, and another. They're all here.

I know I won't make it into the cave, but I try anyway.

Stepping quickly to the side, I'm cut off by several snarling wolves emerging from the darkness. Cowering back, I sink down into the crevice between the rocks and the cave. My body trembles, and my eyes dart between theirs. Silently, I beg them to remember me, to find the control inside themselves.

A large gray wolf comes out of the shadows and snarls, lowering its head. That must be the captain. There is a shift, a palpable change in the air. The rest of the wolves stop, sitting down to watch. Snarling, they wait to see what Cooper is going to do.

If I thought Cooper was big, I don't know the measurement to describe the captain's wolf. He dwarfs him in every way.

He lunges forward, a growl cutting through the air as his bared teeth snap into the captain's side.

With that, chaos ensues.

The rest of the crew is on their feet, pacing, and watching with ears back and tales straight out. To my shock, they don't try to intervene. They have all spoken about their lack of control when the beasts take over, but that doesn't seem to be the case now.

Cooper and Captain Cormac are loudly rolling over one another, snapping their teeth.

My hands come up to cover my mouth. I have to physically hold back the screams that want to escape.

Their bodies slam into the rocks as they fight each other to the ground. Cooper has the upper hand, then he doesn't. The sound of bones crunching, pained whines, and teeth scraping together as their faces clash are too much for me to take.

The captain's fur is matted with blood, and Cooper is hobbling, his rear leg obviously injured.

Circling each other again, they launch forward at the same time, their faces smacking together violently as they bite into one another.

The sounds are sickening. Every time one of them whines, it's like a barb piercing my chest.

The captain's wolf grabs Cooper by the neck and starts to aggressively shake his head, his sharp teeth ripping into the skin. When he drops him, he's motionless on the ground.

I swear he's smiling as he takes a step toward me, blood dripping from his teeth. My blood rushes in my ears. I'm defenseless against him. I can't tear my eyes away from him, I just watch as he takes slow, almost teasing, steps. Behind him, I hear several sharp whines from the crew.

Feeling around on the ground, I find a rock and press it into my palm. It won't do much, but I won't just let him kill me without even trying to hit him.

He crouches, ready to spring forward, but instead, he's dragged backward. Cooper has him by the foot, pulling him away. With fire in his eyes, he jerks his head, forcing the captain to thrash against the ground to try to free himself.

When they break apart, both of them jump up and back away from each other.

Cooper looks at me for a split second before tipping his head back and howling, long and low, mournful up toward the moon. The air seems to shift again. I watch as everyone seems to drop down to the ground as if they are bowing. To whom, I'm not sure.

Jumping forward, he bites down, hard enough for the crunching of bones to make my stomach roll. He's got him by the neck so deeply that there will be no breaking away. Cooper shakes his head until the captain stops fighting until he goes completely limp. His body hangs, by the neck, from Cooper's razor-sharp teeth.

When he finally drops him into the dirt, his body thuds against the ground but doesn't move. Blood pools beneath him, flowing out onto the rocks.

All eyes are on Cooper as he walks toward me, his teeth bared to everyone.

When he starts to pace back and forth in front of me, they lift their bowed heads up into the sky.

Poised and ready, they wait.

When Cooper lets out another howl, they join him. The air is filled with it, like a cry in the night. It's so haunting and beautiful that it makes my heart ache. Not for the captain but for all of them. For the curse they thought was broken and the hope they had for returning to a normal life.

There is something calming about all of their voices, joined together. The fear I felt before has melted away. They won't hurt me now. With Captain Cormac gone, I'm safe among them.

Cooper's wolf paces in front of me for the rest of the night, keeping watch. The others sit, unmoving, waiting.

When the light from the sun starts to streak across the sky, signaling the new day, he finally sits beside me.

Bones splinter all around me, and everyone transforms from beasts to naked men in an instant.

"Get him down to the beach, we'll send him out to sea." His voice is hard and cold as he commands the crew.

"Aye, Captain," Big Jones scoops the dead wolf up from the ground.

Captian? My eyes go wide and I jerk my head up to look at him.

"By the time I get down to the beach, the fucking row boats had better be on shore. Whatever damage is done, start fixing it."

"Yes, captain," they shout over their shoulders as they hurry toward the beach.

As soon as we're alone, he grabs me, searching for injuries. His fingers gently run over the dried blood and cuts on my hands.

When he looks into my eyes, I'm gripped by fear. He's not going to hurt me physically, but the pain is coming. I can see it. He's going to break my heart. My chest already feels like it's slowly being ripped open.

"Don't," I whimper, tears already spilling down my cheeks.

"I have to, Niamh."