The Wolf Girl

Chapter Thirty Six

  Alex's POV

  "We're not leaving," I growl. I stagger to my feet, my legs feeling weak from the spell. I glare at Zack, pulling my sword from its sheath. Nikki rushes up behind me, a katana in one hand and three throwing knives in the other. He flashes an evil smile and raises a hand.

"Surrender," Nikki commands sharply. But instead of raising his other hand, he snaps his fingers. A ring of fire surrounds the three of us, excluding the others. I whip my head around, beginning to panic, when I feel a hand around my neck. I cough as my windpipe is squeezed shut. I look down to see Zack.

"Let me take Molly, and I'll let him go," Zack offers calmly. I claw at his hand, desperate to get air into my lungs.

"Take me!" Molly cries. "Let him go!" I silently plead her to stop and let me die.

"Well, now, we need your friend's approval," Zack chuckles, turning his head to Nikki.

"Dreaming Wanderer!" Molly shrieks. "Please!"

She looks from me to Molly, a pained and conflicted expression on her face. I train my wide eyes on her, trying to tell her to leave me.

Nikki opens her mouth to speak, but Zack smirks. "Too late." He lashes out with his free hand, and the force pushes her small frame to the ground. Tears begin to blur my vision.

I kick out, hitting Zack in the side. This takes him by surprise, and he staggers to the side, his grip faltering. I slip from his grasp and instantly gasp for air.

Breathe. Cough. Cough. Breathe. Cough.

"Alex," Molly whimpers, crawling to me. She puts a hand on my shoulder, and I stare at the ground, on all fours. My heavy breaths are unsteady. I grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut, an unfamiliar feeling stirring in my chest.

  "You hurt my friends," I mutter through my clenched teeth. I open my eyes and look straight at him. Rage boils in my stomach, and I leap to my feet, almost knocking Molly over. She looks up, confused, and her brown orbs widen.

  "Your eyes," she breathes. "They're yellow."

  I ignore her and glare at Zack, curling my hands into fists. I feel a tight pinch in my palms coming from my fingertips.

  "You hurt my friends!" I repeat, lunging at him, arms outstretched. I tackle him and shove him to the ground. Long, black claws stretch from my fingers. Wolf claws. Extremely long ones, at that.

  I feel my wings flutter from my back, but they feel lighter than normal. At the same time, they bear a heavier weight than normal that I can't put my finger on.

  "Any last words?" I grunt, lightly clasping one hand over his neck while the other grasps his left arm, pinning him down. He grins and brings his knee to my stomach, hard. I shout and bring his head up before smashing it back onto the grass. He grunts and struggles, but I tighten my grip on his neck. His eyes bulge a bit. I smirk.

  "Seem familiar, Demon Boy?" I hiss. I bring his head up again and repeat the action. He gasps, his legs flailing for a moment. "Any last words?" I repeat shamelessly.

  "This is more fun than I thought it'd be," he chokes out after a moment. He plants his feet under my shins and uses pressure to launch my bottom half into the air. The rest of my body is yanked along, and I land on my back a few feet away with a thunk. He chuckles and approaches me. He kicks me, and a blistering pain screams in my side. I start to sit up, but he leaps on top of me, pinning me down. He starts mumbling under his breath again, and I start to squirm under his red-eyed glare. It isn't long before a deep crimson color flickers in my right eye. I struggle even more, knowing what's happening.

  "Alex!" Molly shouts, over and over. "Snap out of it!"

  Red swims through my right eye, and I stop struggling, suddenly feeling calm. The blood color that overtakes my vision in one eye doesn't seem so bad anymore.

  I feel relaxed as I lose most consciousness, red screaming in both of my eyes.

  Molly's POV

  "He'll make a good Demon," Zack mutters, standing. He looks back at me with a childish smirk. Tears fill my eyes, and I sprout my wings again.

  "Let him go," I growl, pulling an arrow into my bowstring. I feel lightheaded from the smoke, but I force myself to stay vigilant.

  "And lose the opportunity to bring two prizes back?" he scoffs. "No, thanks!"

  "Please," I whisper. "I... I want you to leave all of my friends. Remember what I said? Leave my friends alone, and I'll let you have my power. If you let my dad go, I may even join you without any hesitation."

"Nope."

"I hate you!" I jump to him, ready to pin him to the ground.

"The feeling is mutual." He holds up a fist which is engulfed with fire and hits my arm before I can hit him. I scream in pain as I crumple to the ground, my arm throbbing and burning.

Sleep seems nice right now.

Don't fall asleep.

I clench my teeth and sit up, feeling weak because of the fire and smoke surrounding us. Nikki is still out cold from Zack's blow, and I wonder how much strength he could have put into that one punch to leave her out at all, let alone for this long.

I hear a groan, and my eyes travel to Alex, the source of the noise. He hoists himself up on one hand, and my heart swells with hope.

"Alex?" I whisper. Zack looks over at him.

"I expect you to bring her to me," Zack purrs before racing right through the fire on the opposite side of our friends, zipping into the trees.

"Are you okay?" I ask uncertainly. He doesn't respond as he sits straight up. "Alex?" He looks at me, eyes narrowed, and my heart stops.

Angry, red eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holy flippin' cheese and crackers. I just did that.

Why did I do that?!

Someone help...

Thanks for reading, and stay heavenly!

~Mabel