Raised By Wolves

Chapter 24

“Ella!” Devon’s strangled cry cut through the darkness.

            I hurried over, sticking to the shadows whilst being as close to the ground as possible. I heard a twig snap underfoot a few hundred meters away to my left. Straining my ears, I heard a man mutter something inaudible under his breath; his feet hit the ground loudly in the deep silence of the forest. I debated going and hunting him down but Devon’s pained, irregular breathing broke my heart.

“Ella…” Devon called quietly.

            The scent of his wet, metallic blood filled my nose the closer I got.

“What happened?”

            Megan’s scent drifted towards me from behind. I froze before shifting into my wolf body. Slowly, I stalk behind her then pointed at her, snarling. I bit her before I knew what I was going.

“Hey,” she struggled beneath me and I growled before shifting shape again.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I snapped at her.

“I followed my dad; he was the one who shot Devon. I had to know what was going on,” Megan explained.

“Ella…” Devon mumbled.

            I could hear weakness in his breath with every intake.  My attention immediately flew to Devon and I carried myself swiftly to his side. I took his hand in mine and he stared into my eyes with his which were alarmingly fogging over.

“Reduce the amount of bleeding,” he choked, “That way I can heal.”

            I grabbed the first piece of material I could find and placed the shirt to the bleeding wound. A shallow sigh left him as I applied more pressure to his wound. Megan fell onto her knees next to me and assisted me in applying pressure. Soon enough, Devon’s breathing evened out and a long sigh left him. He struggled to sit up and once he did, his body shrunk slightly. His eyes studied the mark where he was once bleeding and rolled his eyes.

“Great, another scar,” he mumbled.

            He went into his backpack and produced a box of matched. My eyes followed him as he lit the stick on fire. I took a step back and watched as the flame passed onto the t-shirt. He allowed it to burn for a while before lobbing the bundle of flames into the lake. We watched as the water engulfed the fire.

“Can’t have people knowing my scent with such depth. Okay Megan, please enlighten me with your thrilling story to why you were here, when I was shot,” he raised, his voice for the last sentence.

“No need to be so mardy,” she moaned to him, “I went to that meeting with my dad and the nes is not good my friends. M dad is planning to kidnap whoever is in the house at the time. In other words, we have to get away now.”

            She put a hand to her head and a long sigh escaped her lips. She walked herself back to the trunk of a tree and slid down. I watched her as she placed her head in her hands and moaned again. I watched in horror as fur pushed its way through the back of Megan’s hands. That was when I realised what I had done. Her fury hand reached her throbbing neck, when she removed her hand, it was covered in blood. Her eyes fogged over yellow. Oh no!

“Ella-Mae,” Devon roared, I hate it when he uses my full name, it means he’s made at me, “You bit her!”

“Well never!” I shouted back.

“Doesn’t make it right,” Devon argued back.

“Guys,” Megan chocked, “What’s… going… to happen?”

“We were born with it, it will be different for you because it comes natural-“

Megan released an agonized cry that pierced through the night.

“For us,” Devon finished, “But I guess you don’t really want to know about it.”

            I observed her transformation carefully and watched as her body completely changed its structure. Her eyes winced in pain and her breathing quickened. Devon’s face stretched in horror as Megan’s body rose onto her feet. Her legs snapped and re-knitted themselves backwards. I took a step forwards to attempt to help her but Devon held me back.

“It’s best to leave it to her,” he whispered.

            I sighed and Megan let out a small groan. Her back arced and a rippling howl left her. Fur broke through and created a thick coat which covered her body. She fell onto all fours and her face lengthened into the muzzle of a wolf. Her wolf was small and timid compared to mine and Devon’s. Her fur portrayed her human hair colour which is a muddy brown. My eyes met hers; the brown which use to clear her eyes had streaked yellow. But her eyes glow yellow and it showed cautiousness.

“Ah don’t worry Megan, you’ll get use to it,” I cooed, patting her head, “It will be alright. Don’t forget this is what you wanted.”

            Her eyes reached my face and they suddenly closed. Megan’s body morphed back into her human form and a long sigh of relied left her.

“Come on, we best get home,” Devon urged, helping her up.

            We darted through the forest. Megan’s wolf abilities were shinning through and she could easily keep up. The night was dark against the trees and a gut feeling hit my stomach. Once we arrived back, the whole house was trashed. They’d already come for them. A note taped to the door. Devon ripped it off and observed as his eyes scanned the piece of paper. His hand released the now crumpled paper and his body tensed. I watched as his eyes fogged over a bright yellow and I knew instantly that Megan’s father had attacked.