Daughter of a Demon

CHAPTER TWENTY - Hoarfrost and Fur

CHAPTER TWENTY

Hoarfrost and Fur

The sun was high in the sky by the time I stopped for a break.

Thankfully, today wasn't as misty as yesterday and you could even see a few patches of blue hiding among the bare branches of the trees.

The world seemed to be upside down as all the leaves from the trees above lay lathered on the ground. The only exceptions were for those few trees who were fortunate enough to be classified as evergreen.

After I had woken up in the clearing I had decided to continue walking and just hope that I wasn't heading towards Caneo's house.

The wolves had also stopped howling but, disconcertingly, I found a pair of fresh tracks that had circled my sleeping form, much to my discomfort.

If the werewolves had found me then why didn't they tell Luna?

She could be watching me right this moment.

I shrugged off the thought and started jogging, just to wear down a bit of the adrenaline that had slowly built up.

Shadows followed me lazily but at their own pace as I was no longer in the shadow world. Some lay on the ground, bent to the will of trees, while others hovered over dead leaves and rotting wood, feasting on nothing.

Leaves swished and swayed as a breeze combed through them. A few unlucky ones fluttered to my feet and I danced to the side in an attempt to catch one.

Suddenly I was reminded of the one time where I did exactly this in the underground caves and Ignis laughed at me. I could feel his eyes watching me now. That intense gaze that seemingly wreaked havoc.

I stuck my tongue out at the air and ran along, prancing around every now and then.

My feet had grown numb from the cold mud but it didn't bother me as much.

Sunlight flickered across the forest's floor and it seemed to come alive in the form of some sort of ballroom.

I smiled as I slowed down to a walk and admired the intricate dances each sunlit speck obsessed over.

They effortlessly leapt over fallen leaves and twigs and then seamlessly swayed back the way they had come.

I looked up at the hidden sun and challenged it with a smile that was more bared teeth than pure glee. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply through my nose, exhaling in contentment.

My eyes absentmindedly drifted over the surrounding foliage and I froze when a loud crack echoed amongst the tall trees.

It wasn't that loud but the silence I had been basking in just a few seconds ago made it seem so.

"I know you're here, wolf" I taunted the creature that I couldn't see.

A low growl emanated from the brush and I stepped back cautiously as a large grey wolf stepped out of the shadows.

It was my wolf.

I couldn't help but smile as I gazed into his familiar amber eyes. He growled and licked his nose, slowly wagging his tail.

Shadows swirled around me but I ignored their warnings and knelt down in front of the wolf. He stared down at me in curiosity and slowly inched forward until I could feel the warmth of his breath.

He was bigger than me, I realised as I knelt in front of him. If I were standing he would be nearly my height.

I smiled sadly as I knew it was his instinct to kill me.

He could do it now. Just rip my throat out.

But instead he licked my nose.

I laughed as I saw the joy in his eyes that he had hidden so well. What else was he hiding? 

Careful not to make any sudden movements, I tentatively held my hand out for him to sniff.

He pushed his cold wet nose into my palm and then gently took my hand in his jaws and growled softly.

I stared at him curiously and decided to speak, but it felt wrong and I almost regretted it.

"Who are you?" He looked into my eyes as I let the question hang in the little air that separated our two life forms.

He shook his shaggy coat and trotted a distance away and then he changed.

It is hard to describe the transformation from wolf to human.

I watched in stunned silence as his bones broke and reset and shifted into their new positions. I watched as the wolf's coat disappeared and was replaced by bare human flesh. And I watched as the naked boy stood up and stared back at me.

Slowly standing up, I let the shadows disperse around me.

The boy had dark brown hair that hung just above his shoulders and, by the looks of the uneven edges, looked like it had been cut short with a sharp stone.

His nose was slightly crooked as if it had been broken and had not been reset properly. From the distance I viewed him from, I couldn't tell if that was stubble on his cheeks or just mud.

He stepped forward and my gaze immediately shot to his eyes. They were the same warm amber and that some how calmed me.

Something inside me dared myself to be brave and speak out.

"Who are you?"

He smiled warmly, "I am known as Cuan by my pack. But you may call me Elizah, if you prefer. It was my human name"

"Where are your pack?" I shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze.

He grinned, "Hunting. For you"

He slowly began to walk forward, stepping over stones and logs he had so easily avoided as a wolf.

"Why aren't you?" I nervously wrapped a shadow around me and he grunted in surprise as I disappeared from his view.

I carefully leapt over the stones and sharp twigs and, when I was barely inches from his face, I let go of my shadow cloak and watched him step back in surprise.

I cocked my head to the side and stepped forward cautiously, "Why aren't you hunting me?"

It had grown colder as the day progressed and I watched, slightly entertained, as my question changed into the form of a white cloud that engulfed his face.

"I don't know. You seemed different than all the other people Luna sent us to hunt down" His eyes haunted me and I found myself mesmerised by his every feature.

I nodded as a sign of acceptance and spun around to walk away but he grabbed my shoulder.

"Celeste - "

Snarling, I cut him off and whirled around.

"I no longer go by that name. I am Ceres now"

He backed down but remained adamant.

"Let me go with you. I can't return to my pack now that I have disobeyed my alpha"

I was tempted to ask why, but a small part of myself wanted companionship. After a while, shadows start to draw on you and you become just like them, a shadow.

"Ok" I had started to become aware of a certain part of his body that was dangerously close to my leg.

Stepping away, I looked up at the darkening sky.

Looking back at him, I sighed in submission, "Where do you propose we sleep?"

His whole face lit up as he smiled and I couldn't help but smile back.

Some how, my world just became a little bit warmer.