Cursed Prince

Chapter|19

A twig snapped way too loudly for her comfort. Viana froze, and everyone around her did as well.

"Shhh." Luke hissed.

"You shhhh." Viana snapped back.

"Both of you shush!" Morgan butted in.

The all continued the long treacherous journey through the night until Kyle suddenly stopped. Almost ramming into him, Morgan huffed in irritation.

"What? Why did you stop?" she demanded.

"Listen," he said softly, motioning them all to quiet down.

The crunching of leaves could be heard from a distance.

"Okay headcount. 1..2..3..4.. yep that's all of us. So I don't know who that could be." Luke whispered, adding more unhelpfulness to the tension. His blond hair was thrown to the side from the sudden breeze that was picking up.

"Morgan do some witchy magic or something!" Viana cried out alarmed.

"What?! Who do you think I am? I don't even know what to do. Go ask Kyle." the fiery red-head snapped back.

"Luke! Can you tell us anything else from past events?" Kyle was taking charge now, every muscle was tensed in his body as his eyes darted around the forest.

"Hmm...let me think...did we ever end up in a dark forest with a stalker. Could make a good horror movie..but no. No, we haven't."

"Wait, guys, it stopped." Morgan pointed out, her voice strained.

They all took a 360-degree turn. Another twig snapped way too close for anyone's comfort.

"On the count of three, we all run straight up the hill okay?" Kyle murmured, keeping his voice low. "1..2.."

"RUNNNNNNN!!!" Viana screamed, cutting off the countdown, and full on sprinting blindly away from the group. Startled, Morgan screamed too, and they all took off running; the guys easily surpassing Viana.

Whoever was behind them picked up their speed, and soon a chase had emerged. No matter fast, or how hard she ran, Viana could see herself drifting farther from the group.

"Okay Viana get on my back, Luke make sure Morgan is okay!" Kyle didn't wait for a response, he just scooped Viana up, as she clutched tightly to his shirt.

The rest was a blur of the night sky and forest floor as trees zipped past them. Twigs seemed to poke from every direction on every branch, and the running seemed to go on forever, no one every losing breath; energy that probably came from adrenaline, fear, and well..supernatural abilities.

"I see a place we can hide out in. It's an abandoned barn that's a little east from where we are now." Luke screamed back at Kyle, who was already faltering slightly. The quick-paced blond had already darted ahead, scouting the area for any nearby safety zones.

More feet pounded the dry ground, and the four of them broke out into a clearing. Sure enough, a barn could be seen in the distance. With the rest of their strength and Viana still superglued to Kyle's back, they all made their way to the sketchy looking building.

Getting into the moldy building was a little tricky, and they all squeezed through a hole in the wall, before crouching on the barn floor in silence and fear.

Trembling, Viana averted her gaze from the hole they had entered through and looked around. Everone else was still panting hard, head lowered, and she could only make out outlines in the darkness.

"Let-do-another-headcount," Luke said between short gasps. Somewhere near him, Morgan cleared her throat. "We just ran a solid 20 miles I'm pretty sure. I think we lost it. We're okay." she assured them.

"Really? Then why is there do I see five of us huddling in the dark?"Viana trembled, pointing at another shadow crouched in a corner.

"Guys, it's in here with us." Morgan finally spat out.

☽☽☽

The air was stale, every living thing was silent, except the blood pounding in their ears. Whatever was in there with them, made no move. No sound. It just sat there. Viana scanned the room once more. She identified where everyone was. To her right sat Kyle, his body trying to shield her from everything. At her left, both Morgan and Luke's eyes were transfixed at the intruder.

"Who are you." Luke's voice was surprisingly strong; there was no quiver.

Finally, the figure moved. It seemed to stand up and straining hard to see in the darkness, Viana could barely make out four legs. Four legs, and a tail. It stepped close to them, its eyes looking at each of them, and stopping at Viana. Beside her, Kyle stiffened, and let out a low growl.

The wolf merely shrugged, unaffected by the growls, and let out a growl of its own. Then, lifting its head, it let out an ear-splitting war cry of its own.

"Crap." Luke shook his head. "we are in some deep shit."

"What why? It's not hurting us I don't think. It's howling. That's good, right? Howling is good?" Viana was talking too fast. She kept thinking the same thoughts in her head. Is this it? Is this where I die? Oh god, we can't fail. Please no. Then Morgan will disappear with me. And Luke will be stuck here for the rest of eternity, stuck in a never-ending cycle of my deaths, and my rebirths. If I die, there will be too many losses. I. Cant. Die.

"Howling gives the other pack members your location. Whoever this is, just alerted the rest." Kyle explained, there were doubt and fear in his voice as well. This wasn't a good sign. If Kyle was scared, this shouldn't be good.

The wolf looked at the four of them amused. A wold like a smirk played on its lips as it lifted its head in another cry.

"Do something! Someone shut it up." Morgan growled. No one moved, everyone just looked at everyone else. What was there to do? Finally, Morgan lifted her hand and sent the animal flying across the barn door. It landed with a sickening thud, and a loud whimper bounced off the old, moldy walls. The walls groaned from the sudden impact and caved in slightly.

"Wow okay. That was something alright." Luke noted, staring at her in approval. The witch forced a smile, breathing hard.

"That was stupid on my part. I'm already dying being in my own curse. Using magic is only making my death day come just a little bit sooner." She winced, and let out another gasp of pain.

There was no time to comfort her, no time to do anything really. The other wolves had already found them. There were so many of them, more creatures in one room then Viana had thought possible. There seemed to be more intruders coming in; a wave of furry bodies.

"Well, there goes the fighting option." Kyle sank a little lower, still clutching Viana warily.

With so many approaching them so fast, Viana only had enough time to scream as teeth sank into cloth, hauling all four of them to their feet.

☽☽☽

Like a line of prisoners, they kept their heads low as the swarm of growls and headbutts guided them back out into the night.

Luke was still standing strong. He knew he had lost, but he didn't let it show. He gave a couple wolves a hard time, resulting in a painful gash in his right thigh. Kyle, on the other hand, had clearly admitted defeat. It showed in his eyes, his facial expressions- Viana didn't know much about what Kyle was, but she knew enough to understand if someone like Kyle, a super high ranked beast like him was admitting defeat, they were all screwed. This was what it felt to lose; a prince in the hands of an enemy.