Emberborn

Are we free?

We ran for hours on end, never stopping.

My beast would constantly look over to check on the little she-wolf who was much stronger than we thought. She wasn't as fast as us, but damn she was fast.

Her wolf was small and slim, but very agile. We weaved in and out of trees together, and I would catch her glancing over at me, staring at me in disbelief.

I don't think I will ever get used to that.

My body started to give out on me as soon as we reached a clearing. Ronan noticed the sudden change in my energy and slowed to a stop. I was able to trot up to her before my legs gave out.

I collapsed to the ground and let out a quiet whimper. I felt a familiar pressure begin to build in my head. I looked over my shoulder to see Ronan looking at me pleadingly. She was trying to link me. I took a deep breath and opened my mind to her.

"Seraphina! Are you alright?"

I tried to shake the dizziness from my vision, but I failed considerably. My beast let out a huff of annoyance.

"I... I can't run anymore. I've lost too much blood. My body is too weak."

She looked at me apologetically before her head snapped around. My beast's ears perked up at her sudden alarm, but we couldn't sense anything because of the state we were in.

"I don't think we have to run any further..."

She whispered into my mind.

I rose to my feet slowly, my wolf on edge and growling out as a warning to the potential threat we faced.

I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye.

I snapped my head around to lay eyes on the threat, but they were the ones who were watching us. A strange glow was coming from the edge of the forest, multiple glowing eyes were watching us from the shadows.

"S-Seraphina..."

My beast let out a deep growl. She didn't like these strangers lurking behind the trees.

"Stay behind me."

None of us moved for a few moments.

My wolf was getting pissed off at these people and I dared not to try to hold her back. I had a strange feeling about this, but neither of us could figure out whether it was good or bad.

I slowly took a step towards the glowing eyes and a threatening growl followed. I quickly matched it with one of my own, one that widened their eyes and sent a few stumbling backward.

A large black wolf slowly emerged from the tree line a few moments later.

He reeked of an Alpha and his stormy blue eyes stood out against his midnight fur. He had a similar look of disbelief in his eyes, but it was something about that look that ran deeper than just my wolf.

It was like he saw a ghost.

He took another slow step forward and I matched it with a low growl.

The Alpha wolf stopped in his tracks and stood there for a moment before his fur began to recede. His midnight coat was replaced by tan skin and toned muscles.

He was an older male who looked to be around forty. He has short, sandy blonde hair that matched his short beard. His stormy blue eyes bore holes into mine, stirring up memories I had long forgotten.

One of the other wolves ran up to him with a pile of clothes in his mouth. He dropped a pair of shorts in front of him, then slowly trotted over to me. I eyed him the whole way and saw him shutter from the hum of my veins. He hesitantly placed the clothes at my feet and scurried away.