What am I

19: Must keep you safe

Zekiel's POV:

Watching from the shadows, I could see Harry pull Seri from the back of the house. It was only a matter of time before someone found her. Though I was surprised it was this soon, the charms I had place around the house should have kept their kind away.

Someone close to Seri isn't to be trusted. I'd have to find out who but first, I had to get rid of these lower lever demons. Seri could take of them easy but I needed her to refrain from using her power so soon.

Her powers were already waning, the physical pain she now felt when shifting was a sign that soon the transformation would be permanent. He couldn't allow her to stay here as a 'human' therefore the more she shifted the greater the chance she wouldn't be able to morph back into her human form.

It was his insurance.

But it seems now he was taking other precautions. I could see their darkness creeping in as the smell of burning flesh creep through my nose.

It couldn't be. He would never send him here. It was too dangerous, Malphas couldn't be controlled. The fact that he was here proves time is running out and he was growing desperate.

"Fallen one, I smell you. Why seek refuge in the shadows when you know my demons will find you?" his voice called out as he neared the house.

Stepping out, I could see his wicked smirk. "Malphas, leave now and I will spare your life. Continue your search for them and I will send your pathetic soul to furthest gates of Hell." I told him calmly. This was not the time to fight.

His laugh thundered throw the woods as he step closer to me.

"Fallen one, you have no power over me here. The hound grows weak and the gifted one has yet to gain his abilities. We both know you, alone, are no match for me." He grinned, the calmness of his voice telling me he truly believed his words.

"Perhaps...but you underestimate me yet again. Did you really think I would leave him alone with just the hound to protect him?" Raising my brow as he allowed my words to sink in.

Seri's POV:

There was an odd smell surrounding us as we made our way through small forest just behind my cottage. The foul rotting stench coming from the demons that were not far behind us, mixed with a sickeningly sweet smell of sugar and a touch of spice.

A smell I knew quite well, a smell I had lived with for decades.

Freeing my hand from Harry's, I stopped and spun around. "I know you're there Kaleus, show yourself!" I growled. This was not the time for a reunion, not with the two demons so close.

"What gave me away?" the figure dropped down from one of the braches a few feet from us. Her warming smile matched the playful tone she held. Her eyes quickly fell on the boy behind me as her grin widen, the look of adoration evident in her stare.

"Harry." She breathed out just as two dark shadows circled around her.

"Leave her! You've come for me." I calmly spoke, knowing they could hear the power in my voice. Harry cutting me off, "Seri, we have to get you out of here! She can take care of herself!" He yelled as he tugged at the material of my shirt.

He was right, she could take care of herself but I so damn hungry and these two were stupid enough to cross my path.

Pushing Harry back, I lifted my shirt, throwing right in his face. Before he could process what was happening, the air around me vibrated as I felt my bones crack under my skin. Shifting out of place as my body heated up.

The pain that now accompanied my change was worse than ever. I could feel ever bone break and move as the tiny tears in my skin gave way to the fur trying to push through. Falling to my knees, grinding my teeth as I tried to hold in my cries and screams.

My wolf trying her best to quicken the change, she knew the pain I felt, along with the danger we were in as the process dragged out.

Harry's POV:

The moment Seri dropped to her knees I panicked. I could see the air around her moving and vibrating, signaling her change but this was different from the last time I had seen it happen.

The last time was in my dream, but even there I could tell the process was slightly painful for her. This time, I could see the tears well up in her eyes as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. I could see the red gather around the fangs that now grew, she was biting too hard.

Her tiny hands clenched as her bones continued to break, the sound so horrid I felt bile raise in the back of my throat. "Seri," I yelled as I ran towards her, I didn't know what to do to help but I couldn't stand there and watch her wither in pain.

"Harry, no!" she growled lifting her eyes to mine, her face contorting along with the agony I knew she felt. I froze in my place when at last, her skin seem to burst into, what looked tiny grains of sand, away from her body and there in front of me laid a weak wolf.

Her head in her...paws, small whimpers and pants escaped as she rose.

Harry, don't be afraid. I would never hurt you. Her voice cut into my head. I looked at her with a confused expression. I can sense the fear in you... she looked away. Even now, her blue eyes held something familiar, one of the more predominate emotions I see in her...shame.

She honestly thought I was afraid of her, that I would be terrified at what she had become. When truthfully, I was in awe of her. The way her new body flexed and her eyes seem to glow brighter, not the shinning orbs I was used to but as if the sun had come out and its rays danced off her color. It was beautiful.

The only thing I was afraid of was how weak she looked, I didn't know how to protect her so if anything happened it would be my fault. The fault of a pathetic...whatever it is I am...who was too stupid and ignorant to know how to save her.

They would rip her up right in front of me and I would never know what to do to stop them. I would only be able to stand by and watch the pain in her eyes and hear her screams.

You're afraid...for me?! I heard a gasp, looking up Seri was now face to face with me. Her hot minty breath fanned over my face as she tilted her head to the side. "Of course I am." I whispered. Dropping her gaze, I stared down at a pair of massive paws in my view.

What? No faith in me, Harry? Her voice rang in my head as I looked up to see the left side of her muzzle pulled up over her fang. Even as a wolf she smirked and even as a wolf it was...adorable.

Before I could replay a dark shadowed fell over her back, it didn't make sense. The shadows fell over everything but seem to not touch anything. They cloaked the woods in darkness but they weren't whole, they couldn't touch the trees or grass, they couldn't pick up a rock and hold it in their hands.

Yet when they reached Seri, they could very much touch her. I could see the mist like creatures harden as they touched her. Forming a kind of skin that made them whole.

Seri yelped in pain as one of them found the soft layer of fur and flesh between her shoulders and clawed at it. Lifting its filthy black hand, I could see the drops of red stringing down from its claw like fist.

Run, Harry! She screamed at me as I looked around trying to think of some way to help her. She used her muzzle to nudge me back, spinning around, she used her head to try and knock the creature off her back.

Kale, get him out of here!

In an instant the female was at my side, pulling my arm in the opposite direction of Seri. "NO! We have to help her!" I yelled, yanking free of her grasp. "Little one, trust me, she can handle those creatures on her own. It's your safety she fears for, you will only distract her." She said, pulling my arm once again.

One of the black figures crept its way toward us, Seri was so focused on the one still on her back while she frantically searched for this one. Once she caught sight of it, a loud growl escaped her throat. The menacing sound so deadly the creature stop in its tracks.

KALE! GET HIM OUT OF HERE! HE CAN'T SEE THIS!

"See what?" the words feel out of my mouth as I was yanked back. I didn't have time to get my answer as a man appeared behind Seri.

Zee! Help, Harry! Seri screamed once again. The man was instantly by my side, "Come, Harry." Was all he said as he picked me and threw me over his shoulder. Though he allowed for my gaze to still be fixed on Seri as he ran through the woods with me and the woman by his side.

I could see Seri, enclosed in black as those creatures tackled her to the ground. Something about the way the impacted hit her told me she allowed them to take her down.

With one fast swipe she had one flying through the air as her sharp teeth sank in to other one. The screeches coming from the creature sent shivers down my spine. I could barely see her head lower and as if she were lovingly nuzzling against the creatures neck as she grazed the skin.

Black ooze seeped from the figure as she continued to pull at it. Finally when the wound she inflicted was large enough, her tongue came out to lap up the blackness creeping out. With one finally look over her shoulder at me, she turned and ripped at its chest. Lowering her muzzle in between the torn flesh, she pulled out...its heart? Without a second thought she let the small, black organ slide down her throat.

Before I could think about what I just witnessed, there was a kind of static in the air. I could see the small tangible slivers surround us as the temperature raised. There was a moment of blackness before everything around us quaked and we were now standing in a strange bedroom.

******

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?" I screamed, it'd been hours since we left the woods. Kale and Zee had told me Seri was just taking care of those creatures and would most likely be cleaning up anything that would give away what happened out there.

I had a feeling they were trying to convince themselves more than me. "She's just covering her tracks, Harry. She's trying to keep you safe." He kept saying but by the fourth time he'd said it, I knew he was growing just as worried as I was.

"It was just those two demons, right? In my dream, there was a large man with them, but I didn't see him when the demons came." I felt like an ass for not asking this question earlier. It should have been one of the first ones I asked. Instead I got stuck on what was happening and how we'd came to be in strange bedroom, which turned out to be Zee and Kale's.

The most important question though was who the hell were these two, though that one still remained unanswered. They simply said, "Friends of Seri's." I knew they had to be, otherwise, she wouldn't have told them to take me away.

"Shit!" Zee whispered, the panicked tone of his voice pulling me out of my thoughts. "What? What is it?" I thought maybe he could sense something was wrong with Seri. He stilled for a moment before looking at Kale.

"Malphas was there. I assumed he left but..." he started as Kale finished for him with fear in her voice and wide eyes, "he didn't."

Who the hell is Malphas and would he hurt Seri? I though as I looked between Kale and Zee. The look on their faces telling me that yes, he would indeed hurt her.

"We have to go look for her!" I got up, grabbing my hoodie and running for the door. "NO! If he has her than that is exactly what he wants, for you to come and try to save her." Zee what at the door in a flash, standing in front of it, blocking my only way out.

"But you have to remember, Seri, as weak as she may be, can take care of herself." It was Kale who came up from behind me, placing her small hand on my shoulder. "It is your safety that means the world to her. YOU, Harry are her everything and for her, we must keep you safe. She loves you and would gladly give her own life to protect yours"

Her tone was soft and kind but the words she spoke weren't true.

"She doesn't love me...she doesn't care about me." I said, my voice laced with the heartbreak of knowing even though I cared for her, she would never return those feelings. Kale and Zee shook their heads while chuckling.

"My dear boy," Zee said while taking a step closer to me and placing his hands on my shoulders, "she loves you more than anyone will ever love you, though she thinks her feelings will endanger you further. That is why she will never tell you just how much you mean to her." He gave me a sympathetic look while letting me take this small but massive piece of information in.

Finally, Kale cleared her throat and walked over to Zee. "He hasn't sealed the connection with her...but there is the bond, will that be enough?" She asked as I looked at her like she just grew two more heads.

"You know about the connection?" I asked incredulously, "And what bond?" I sighed when they just continued to stare at each. "HELLO! Can one of you answer me?!" I growled, literally! Seri was rubbing off on me and I found that animalistic tone tangle with my voice.

They stood shocked for a second before Zee opened his mouth to speak. "Yes, we know about the connection. Most...beings from each realm can make the connection with a 'human'. Though you and Seri are different. There is a bond between you two, one stronger than any connection. The strings you feel tingle when she is in your head are the normal connection...the strings you feel in your heart are something...more." He trailed off smiling.

I still didn't get what the big deal was, yeah sure I had feelings for her and maybe...if they were right, she had feelings for me but that didn't help in this situation! I couldn't see her, hear her or find her the way I would have been able to if we were connected.

As if reading my thoughts Kale spoke up, "You can find her, in a way. This bond goes further than just feelings, look for the string and follow it in your mind. It will tell you what you need to know." She smiled and led me back to the bed.

Sitting down, I closed my eyes. I didn't know what the hell I was doing but I was going to try. If this worked then there was no way in heaven or hell I was going to leave the connection unsealed. Whether she liked it or not, she was stuck with me and I'd be damned if I let something happen to her while she was trying to protect me. We needed a way to always know what was going on with each other in case something...bad every happened. That was the main point I was going to make to her when I found.

Maybe leaving out the part where she fills my every thought when she's not near me, the way her smile tugs at my heart and I can't help but think of more ways to get her to smile again. The way her laugh sends tingles down my spine or the softness of her skin when it brushes against mine can fill me with such a lovely burning I never want it to end. Or best yet, the simple way she can say my name and instantly images of her laying underneath me, hands tangled in my hair while our tongue move in sync as our bodies connect with so much love and passion I feel the images alone will cause me to exploded...yeah best to leave those parts out. I thought.

Not because I didn't want her to know how she affect me, but because if told her all this, she would never agree. I was still skeptical about her feelings for me but I knew her well enough to see that if this wasn't for safety purposes only, she would never agree to it.

Just as the warm feeling spread through me at the thought of us making love because we cared for one another instead of for tactical reason came to mind, I could see Seri.

She was still in the woods but now she was alone with the large man from my dreams, Malphas I would assume, sending blow after blow to her fur covered body. Something shiny in hand as he pinned her to tree. The instant the shiny blade hit her stomach the air around her vibrated, making her shift back but with a large pool of red leaking down her flat belly.

There was a slight breeze followed by a loud, horror stricken gasp. My eyes shot open only to see Seri laying in Zee's arms on the floor with her tiny hands covering her stomach while red stained her pale skin.

Immediately her eyes met mine, she did her best to smile but it came off as more of a grimace. Scrabbling to knees, I moved her hands away to see how bad it was. To my shock, the tiny blade used to pierce her flesh left a gaping wound so wide I honestly wondered how she was still alive.

Tears suddenly sprung from my eyes, I could feel the wetness falling down my cheek but couldn't be bothered with wiping them away. She was going to leave me soon, she was going to die and it was all my fault. I couldn't help her, I couldn't keep her safe.