The Huntress Race

Chapter Five: Friends and Foes

I watched Iris, looking for any trace of greed. No one ever talked to me other than my pack, why would this time be different? Let's just say, after being kidnapped, scared out of my wits, having to fight of a Death Bringer because the people in the races didn't have proper battle training and having to admit my identity, I was not having a good day. I was going to find that my day got a whole lot worse. I looked and saw that Iris had a swollen, blood soaked ankle. " May I look at your ankle?" I asked. She nodded with a wince and I knelt beside her. I saw the marks of a Death Bringer's claws and I sympathised with her. I placed my hands on her ankle and she cried out in pain. I ignored the cry and closed my eyes tightly. Power thrummed in my body and I yelped as her pain struck me. When I blinked open my eyes Iris was staring at me like I had grown horns. " How did you do that?" She breathed. I was about to reply with something totally smart but then my eyes were swamped by darkness and I lay on the ground, feebly clutching at the grass. I was finding it really hard to breathe, I was still sick and I knew it. I don't know why I had used my power but I had done it. " Are you okay?" Iris asked in concern. " Do I look okay?" I growled between sharp intakes of breath. " Okay, I'll admit, that was a pretty stupid question," she relented. I decided that I needed my pack, they could get me home. The only trouble was, to contact them would mean using my powers and that probably wouldn't help my current situation. Still, the odds would be better if I contacted them. I pictured Shadowed Moon and Breaking Dawn in my mind and their hazy images formed in my head. Judging by their surroundings they were close by. The leaves on the trees looked similar to the ones around me. " Help, I am close. Gather the pack and find me at the sky tree clearing," I said. The wolves looked sharply at each other and raced off towards the other two pack members. I was relieved, they were coming to take me home. I blinked and the image faded, Iris was bending over me. I felt a cold feeling in my fingers. Black frost was crawling up my fingers. It moved up my left arm and I gazed blankly at it. For some reason I felt only powerful. I flexed my arm and felt all the power I possessed threatening to explode forth from me. I was ready to do some fighting, I was strong, nimble and unafraid. I was Alex, The Huntress. My eyes sharpened and I smelt every scent around me. I was the strongest predator of the forest, I was going to hunt and be the best wolf ever. A voice at the back of my mind was screaming at me. " Do you even know what you are thinking? You are going to expose the best kept secret you have ever possessed. Don't scare off your only human friend, control the power!" The voice screamed and I knew my conscious was looking after me. I felt the power about to enfold me and it was too late to control it. Iris was frozen beside me, her eyes were fixed on my face. " What's happening to you?" She asked shakily. I wanted to help her, to tell her it would be okay but I couldn't speak. Iris just stared and I knew what she was staring at. My eyes, they were switching colours again. I have always had the tendency to sometimes wake up looking different because of specific things. On a stormy day I might wake up feeling angry and will be wearing grey. On the day that the temperatures get increasingly hot my clothes will go even deeper red as the heat wares on. I wish I always looked the she but sadly that was a side effect of being able to destroy the world with a flick of a finger. A surge of power gripped me in its powerful clutches and I shivered. I watched blankly as my pack exploded in to the clearing and ran towards me. Silver Frost licked me gently and I felt like a child again. The power started to slowly die down and I breathed deeply again. " You took your time," I wheezed painfully. " Just lie still dear, it will get better soon," Silver Frost said gently. " Want to go home," I said with a croaky voice. " Then we'll go home and you can get some rest before we move tomorrow," Shadowed Moon said reassuringly. "What about Iris?" I asked. I watched her huddled in the corner, her eyes were wide and amazed. I sympathised with her. It couldn't of been an easy night, and now she had just found out that her target, The Huntress, was a ten year old girl. " Iris can come, that is if she wants too," Tall Oak said. Iris nodded slowly, she was afraid of the other horrors this forest might be hiding. " Come one then, let's get you up," Breaking Dawn said briskly. Silver Frost and Breaking Dawn helped me to my feet, their muzzles under my arms. " Hop on," Shadowed Moon said as she bent down. I stumbled on to her back and flopped forward, holding her neck fur securely. Iris was nudged up on to Breaking Dawn's broad red, brown, furry back. I flashed her a reassuring smile and she smiled weakly back at me. I held on to the glimmer of hope that we could still be friends, I had always yearned for a human friend. I smiled as I felt the familiar feel of a running wolf underneath me. I relished the feeling of being able to feel the wind in my hair. I saw the red streak of Breaking Dawn running beside me, the silver shape of Silver Frost grinning at me as we ran. Tall Oak ran beside me with a panting laughter. Shadowed Moon was a white smudge below me as we ran home. My home.