Little Red Wolf

Chapter Thirteen~

  

                                                                            Chapter Thirteen~

Rebecca's howl made the hairs on Archer's arms stand up as if he'd been doused by a bucket of ice water. It was the menacing sort of noise that nightmares were dreamt out of. And it was coming from the mouth of what had been only a few minutes ago the most beautiful girl he'd ever known, and who he had thought was dead.

"Look at that," The mayor whispered, not seeming to realize that he was talking out loud. "The Ainslie girl isn't crazy after all." He chuckled nervously, his eyes darting around as he watched Rebecca continue to howl. "I s'pose we'll have to apologize to her and her father," He added with what Archer thought was a scowl.

Rebecca heard the conversations, but they were muted as if a thick cloth was cutting her off partially from them. She shook her head out and wiped a paw across her muzzle. Looking up, Rebecca caught the eye of one of the men standing in the back. He looked absolutely terrified by her, and she was almost pleased at that. An odd sense of pride filled her and she would have gasped if she'd been able.

The darkness, it was swirling around her still, but it was outside of her body. It wasn't clawing its' way up her throat, or trying to squeeze her insides so tightly that she would lose control.

Rebecca had already lost control, and now everyone else was going to have to pay the consequences.

Rebecca advanced, her lips pulled back from her teeth, and circled the men. She walked with a lithe grace that left her steps silent. She felt almost as if she were rounding up cattle when the men pushed together, trying to stay close to each other, but keep someone other than themselves on the outside.

Only Archer didn't move. He seemed to be paralyzed, unable to move from fright or disgust, Rebecca wasn't sure. She wanted to exclude him, cut him out of the circle so that she wouldn't be tempted, but the darkness caught her.

Images filled her head of all the people she knew with their skin hanging in strips from various parts of their bodies. Blood pooled beneath the bodies, running together and creating a stream over the cobblestone in the main square.

With a growl, she pounced. Rebecca lunged and propelled herself through the air, landing in between Archer and the rest of the group. She turned her back on the men who squawked like headless chickens.

Archer's eyes glinted in the darkness and Rebecca growled again.

"Rebecca, please," Archer whispered, holding up his hands. Blood stained his palms and fingertips and Rebecca took a step closer to him. "It's me, Archer," he tried, "Remember me? Come on, Red," The nickname made her falter a step, but she recovered quickly and took two fast ones.

Archer's breathing was growing shallower and the scent of his blood had Rebecca sniffing the air with a deranged wolf smile.

"Rebecca please," Archer pleaded desperately. His face was turning pale. He swayed on his feet and Rebecca readied herself to pounce on him. She planned to rake her claws down his face and see the blood drip onto the ground.

"Please," Archer whispered. He seemed to find strength because he stopped swaying and clenched his fists. "Rebecca, I love you," He whispered.

Rebecca stopped, staring at Archer in the darkness. Their eyes met and she let out a whimper. This wasn't her. She didn't want to hurt Archer. But she was soo hungry and she needed to eat.

When Rebecca didn't change back right away, Archer lost all his strength. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the ground. Rebecca stepped towards him when a shape came flying out of the trees at her head.

"Miss me, Red?" Heidi grinned with her hands on her hips. "I told you that you wouldn't die," Heidi said smugly. "And I won't let you do this to Archer because I know that you have a heart, and I know that in your heart you love him too." Heidi smiled almost fondly at Rebecca.

"I also know that you need to eat," Heidi continued and her voice started to shake a little bit. "That's why I'm offering myself to you."

It was silent after Heidi's words and Rebecca stared her down, trying to see if it was a trap or a trick of some sort. She stepped towards Heidi and then heard her father crashing through the forest crying her name.

"Please," Heidi whispered, stepping closer to Rebecca. "I don't want you to hurt anyone."

Rebecca didn't hesitate again. She gave in to the darkness and she proceeded to kill Heidi then and there. When Heidi was dead, Rebecca fastened her jaws around Heidi's torso and dragged her away from the watching men. She wanted privacy.

As she munched on Heidi's flesh and bones, the sweet taste of her blood lingering on her tongue, Heidi heard Mr. Ainslie crying over the loss of his daughter.

When she had finished, she curled up and felt the fur recede. She became nothing more than a girl who was warm and had a full belly for the first time in fifty years. Rebecca sighed in peace and fell asleep next to what remained of Heidi Ainslie.