Violet String {EDITING}

Wounds

Destruction. Ruin. Flames.

That was all the young boy could see as he sat just inside the treeline, his grey eyes wide, staring out across the city he'd once called home.

There was nothing remotely familiar left of the place.

It was gone.

Like a giant, from one of the fairy tales his mother had used to read to him at night, had appeared and crushed the city underfoot.

Buildingsthat had once risen proudly into the sky were demolished, wreckage lining theonce brightly lit streets. The smell of blood way thick in the air, leaving anoddly metal taste on the boy's tongue, even from where he sat – a good fewhundred metres away from the city borders.  Flames crackled in the dying light, dotted around the rubble like beacons signalling for aid.

There was none, though.

The red-eyed monster had made sure of that.

A six-year-old Finn had seen it.

Glowing red hair streaming out behind the crazed fanged creature, glowing red eyes searching the landscape for new prey and soon after they'd landed on the terrified boy.

"Go away." He whispered, his entire body shaking as blood dripped from its fangs.

Blood that didn't belong to it.

"Stay away..." His back met the nearest tree, hands fumbling for some sort of weapon, a whimper escaping his lips as he realised there wasn't anything he could use to defend himself. "Mama... Papa... Help me..." His legs flailed out in front of him, his head shaking as the monster edged forwards.

His eyes screwed shut, his shoulders bracing themselves for whatever was to come, a small whimper sounding as warm breath brushed against his skin.

Red glowing eyes met his, alarmingly close as he reopened his terrified ones, blood rolling down the two gleaming fangs, droplets landing on his cheeks.

It happened then.

Something inside him snapped, like some sort of limiter in him had been released. "No." His breaths came in ragged gasps, flames bursting out of every pore in his skin.

The fanged creature leapt back, letting a bloodcurdling hiss.

Finn felt no fear, his burning wolfish grey eyes locking on the red ones as he stood his ground, despite the flames swirling around him.

They weren't burning him.

The fire wasn't even eating away at his clothing, much to his relief, but he wasn'tpreoccupied with that. He was more worried about the red-haired fiend standing across him, red eyes betraying a hint of nervousness as they stared at the flames.

The fires that he controlled.

Thanks to them, he was no longer prey.

The comforting warmth gave him confidence, so much so, that he spoke calmly and clearly as he faced off against the creature.

"Leave."

His request was met with another hiss.

"GO!" He roared, snapping his own teeth, his eyes glowing even brighter.

Surprisingly enough, the monster obeyed his command, leaping back towards the city, leaving a small crater in its wake.

Finn backed away slightly, his knees starting to shake as he realised what he'd just done.

He'd won.

He'd scared the creature off.

But that didn't mean it wouldn't come back.

Finn knew that, even in his addled brain, he knew he wasn't in the clear yet. So, instead of standing there stupidly, he ran.

And he kept on running.

He didn't know where he was going.

He didn't care.

All he knew was that he had to get away from there.

Away from the City of Flirit.

***

Finn didn't know how long he ran for. He didn't know how long he'd been walking for either. His eyes had shut at some point on the way, so he was left stumbling along blindly.

He soon snapped out of the odd haze he'd been trapped in, and there was a reason for that.

Voices.

He could hear voices.

"What are we doing all the way out here?"

"Leo asked us to check up on something-" the second man paused. "What is it?"

"Someone's coming."

Finn trudged closer, an odd sense of relief creeping through his bones as he felt the presence of other werewolves.

"It's just a boy, Blythe." The first man sighed, folding his arms. "And..."

"Finar!"

"He's injured."

"He could be a threat."

"Oh, shove off." Footsteps trudged closer. "Hey, kid." He crouched down in front of him. "Would you mind telling me your name?"

"Finn."

"It's nice to meet you, Finn. I'm Alpha Finar." He spoke calmly, easing the boy's nerves as he easily struck up a conversation with him. "You seem to be quite injured..."

"Understatement of the year." His partner, Blythe, muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Would you mind if I took you somewhere where I can treat you?"

Finn half-collapsed into him in answer, his legs having finally given out.

Strong arms lifted him up, green eyes glancing down at his matted hair as the Alpha carried him down the forest trail and into a carpark.

Not that Finn could see it.

He was far too exhausted.

"Finar..." Blythe spoke, glancing over at the boy as he sat on a nearby bunch. "He's got some sort of headwound... You ought to have a look at that first."

"What?" The other Alpha was back at the boy's side in seconds, staring at the blood rolling down the boy's cheeks.

He had Finn's dirty brown hair swept up out of his face in an instant, shock crossing his face as he stared into a set of wolfish grey eyes.

"Blythe..."

"What...?"

"Are those what I think they are?"

"Huh?" The Alpha stepped closer, freezing as he spotted the blood leaking down from the corners of the boy's eyes. "You've got to be kidding..." He muttered, finding the wolfish grey eyes staring blankly into space. "Those are..."

"Alpha Eyes."

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