Shadow Bands

VIII. Zenith

 The cold air was noticeably piercing, signifying that winter drew near. Kaelen's footsteps staggered on the cold stone beneath him. Most of his wounds have healed, but the wounds inflicted by the silver were still present.

He stopped at the large pool of water, looking at his pitiful reflection. A bucket lay near him, and he picked it up, scooping the water into it. He took a deep breath that burned his lungs and held it as he poured the freezing water over himself. Kaelen felt the burning of a thousand suns as the water entered his wounds. His teeth clenched again, but his primal mind took over. He felt his body break itself, but he resisted the urge to give in. Kalen punched the ground, bloodying his knuckles until they were bone. The pain only aggravated his primal instincts. His mouth let out a howl, signifying the loss of the control he had, but he cut it short. Kaelen clawed at his chest, realizing that his hand turned into a werewolf's. He focused on his pounding heart and felt the boiling in his veins simmer.

Before anything else could happen, he hurried home, which was still across the city. Kaelen did his best to avoid any patrols but ended up running short on luck, crossing paths with one of the night patrols. They were all in their wolf forms, cackling and scoffing at the sight of him.

"You should've been an obedient dog and listened," a familiar voice said. Kaelen looked up and saw that it was Alder. "They're going to have your head for this."

Kaelen knew better than to speak up against him, but there was some truth in his words. Feeling the pressure, Kaelen walked away. The wolves laughed at him again.

"I don't see why I can't start for them."

Alder swept Kaelen's feet from under him, forcing him to collide with the ground. The pain from all his wounds shot through his body like an echo in a cave. Alder took the moment and bombarded his stomach with kicks. Kaelen spewed blood from his mouth as he tried his best to block his kicks.

"You're a disgrace!" Shouted Alder. "You're nothing but a shadow—" He abruptly stopped himself. "No, you're less than that!"

Kaelen felt his blood boiling again, just when he thought he had it under control. The primal body within him burst out, and his consciousness pushed back.

He lost control.

The beast within forced Kaelen to watch as it grabbed Alder's foot and pushed him back. His body howled, then its eyes narrowed at Alder. It charged, and Alder readied himself, but in a quick second, the beast changed its course and used its claws to deal a successful blow to Alder's body, piercing the body armor and leaving five large holes at the stomach. Clenching the armor, the beast pulled Alder and attempted to bite his throat, but he moved enough to only feel the graze of its chin against the bottom of his jaw.

Alder growled and barked at the other wolves, who stood by. They all charged into the fray, but the beast lunged at one of them, pummeling their head to the ground. One soldier struck it from behind. The beast turned its head slowly, snarling at the soldier. He tried to run, but the beast stabbed its leg with its claws as he turned, and it clawed erratically all the way up the soldier's back, shredding his armor. Alder regained his footing and tried to put the beast in a hold, but it easily overpowered him, breaking free from his grasp, and with a quick twist, it had Alder's throat within its grasp. Alder kicked at it, but nothing fazed it.

A sudden blow knocked the beast away, forcing it to drop Alder's almost unconscious body. He coughed, holding his throat to make sure it was still there. When the beast got back up, Kaelen could recognize the golden-hued armor.

It was his father.

"Grab your men and go, Alder!" Knhaul commanded. "I'll handle him."

Despite Kaelen's irrational fear of his father, the beast charged forward with no hesitation. But despite its efforts, Knhaul lowered his stance and jabbed at the beast's throat, forcing it to choke. The fight was over, and Kaelen's body slowly came back to him. Without wasting a moment, Knhaul grabbed Kaelen and carried him in both his arms.