Hell is empty
and all the devils are here.
― WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, THE TEMPEST |
The night is upon us. The moon's children are impatiently waiting, frantic in their cages; their human shells. All eyes stare from the windows, through the branches of the trees, along the winding streets – they await the rise of the moon.
The moon reaches its zenith when some of the wolves begin their nightly perimeter check. Tonight differs from any other night, the moon's pull is greater than any one before it, plucking at each atom, making them vibrate and sing in harmony. The blood flows quicker, heartbeats restlessly crescendo, muscles quiver with amplified power, stamina clearly infinite. Howls roll over the hills in haunting waves and swells of power rise up in their throats.
A light rain pattered through the pillars of trees holding up the star speckled ceiling. The air smelled of more to come.
An uncharacteristic scowl creased normally amused features, furrowing ashen brows and twisting pale lips into an unnecessarily vicious sneer. He hated the rain. Already in a foul mood, it didn't take much to set him off when an unfamiliar scent permeated the moist air, a small growl rumbled in his chest. Slipping from the dry corner he'd tucked himself into, Elijah set off after whoever had just crossed into the territory.
"Fucking rain," He growled as he reached over his head and pulled his shirt off before tossing it into the dry area. The youthful wolf quickly pushed through the low bushes to avoid the rain as he rapidly prowled the forest, his sapphire eyes locking on anything that dared to move.
Stepping into the forest robbed you of one sense and heightened the others. It was disorientating to be almost blinded but given the ears of a wolf. Even the soft whispers of the branches felt heavy in the ears. The sense of smell was sensitized, the loam in the earth and the decomposing leaves made the atmosphere close and thick. The blackness nurtured a sense of claustrophobia inside you even though the woodland stretched unbroken for miles. The narrow path, which was made uneven by the knotted roots that crossed it, branched at intervals. There was no map to follow, but even if there was the perpetual dark would prevent you from using it.
His eyes would flick around the area cautiously with every new sound, it was pretty obvious that he was new to this whole thing. He was stiff, calculating each move he made. "Come out, come out wherever you are." He growled as his steel blue-grey eyes burned. Elijah could feel the darkness drawing closer to him and pressing down, suffocating him slowly as he stepped carefully through the thick maze of woodland. The densely packed trees loomed high above, but remained still despite the breeze that continued to flow around them.
Away from the lights, surrounded by nothing but darkness, he could see the stars. He stopped for a moment, neck bent sharply backwards as he stared up at the sight of twinkling white specs, shining in glory amongst the depressing black of nighttime. It was peaceful where he was.
Silent.
Being so far from light made the stars stand out more. Elijah stared up, feeling himself slowly become at ease. He sighed heavily, still staring up to the sky when a twig snapped behind him.
He spun around as fast as light, eyes bleeding black and scanning the dark trees as he remembered why he was there in the first place.
Another twig snapped, this time behind him again. He spun, seeing nothing but black. His claws slipped out of his fingers. If it was another werewolf, Elijah had a chance. He'd been taught well, grew up amongst most of his family and pack mates where they had evenly challenged each other for practice.
Through the darkness came the glow of two intense cobalt eyes. They moved with a slight sway, as if the unseen body prowled like a large feline. Elijah stood in the semi-shadow, his heart a steady rhythm. He knew no fear; he liked it that way. To be at the top of the food chain was his piece of mind, his warped version of serenity. This was his first pursuit and he knew that he would enjoy remembering it forever, no hurry, no hurry.
From the shadows came a colossal wolf with fur that shone like the sea at night, the black strands utterly white where the ghostly rays fell. As it moved, so did those brilliant bands, like echoes of the northern lights. The wolf's movements were fluid and without apparent effort, every powerful step it took rattled his bones and struck his heart.
An Alpha.
Elijah's stare on the wolf before him wasn't intentionally cold, his face somehow lacked the mobility others had. His eyes would rest on a point, even a person, and he'd stay like longer than the average person would. Others would alter their paths not to cross his and stand further back than was customary. It was like the elongated eye contact demanded a greater degree of physical separation. It wasn't something he ever noticed himself, but to his brothers, it was obvious and they felt a spark of contamination by association they weren't proud of. As Elijah continued to stare absent-mindedly at this powerful beast, the sound of bones forcibly cracking was heard throughout the forest, they moved so drastically that they achingly ruptured through the wolf's skin. Suddenly, a voice ripped through the dark, snapping Elijah out of his thoughts immediately. It was low, with an agreeable trace of huskiness and with a hint of more power than the young boy would've guessed.
"You know, staring at me isn't going to make me disappear and it sure as hell isn't going to do any physical damage if that's what you're going for." The young man mused from the darkness, almost purposely trying to spite the wolf. A voice that was low and soft but powerful enough to send chills through your body.
Distinctive.
"If you want to keep all your limbs, I suggest you turn around and get the hell out of my sight," Elijah warned, flashing his silver eyes at the faint silhouette. For now the werewolf moves as if only a flowing outline of black, but the light will come, it always does.
Finally, the young man's body comes from the shadows. As he strolls toward the light of the moon he's all broad shoulders and strong limbs. The scene was quite unbelievable, shocking really.
Elijah's mind was sent reeling, unable to comprehend or process why this Alpha was so familiar. Elijah looked away, then looked back to see if he was still there.
He was.
He had tousled dark brown hair and his face was strong and defined, his features molded from granite. And then his eyes- they were deep and catastrophic, a vivid blue as a great body of water that softly melted into a milky green. There was a moment where the young wolf's face washed blank with confusion, like his brain cogs couldn't turn fast enough to take in the information from his wide eyes.
Something flashed beneath the surface of the other male's hardened expression and Elijah hurried to investigate the sudden shift. It was too late, the emotion disappeared before he could identify it, like reaching desperately for an escaped balloon; the string dangling so tantalizingly close but the wind pushed it away and it's lost forever.
Seconds pass as Elijah takes him in, struggling to comprehend that he isn't one of the pictures his siblings keep close, that he is real. Every muscle of his body just froze before a roguish grin crept onto his face as he finally recognized the young leader standing before him.
"Matthias."
"The one and only, brother."
YOU ARE READING
Seven Devils
Loup-garou❝ His white figure stood in biting contrast to the dirt on his body and the red splatters that covered the rest of him. Some of them were definitely wine stains. Some of them were definitely not. Blood had clotted in the ends of the mess of midnigh...
