Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Forty Four - Wolves

Perhaps it was wrong of her to lure and lock Filos in the laundry the moment that she spotted them but it was instinctive and, if she was a little honest, suicidal. Sang had felt their eyes on her from inside the house and had known that they talking about her, judging and probably trying to decide when and how she was going to die.

Knowing that she needed a true moment of solitude, Sang had murmured softly to the large black wolf and gotten up to trail through the snow until she was facing the woods at the back of the house.

And then she had seen movement.

Any normal person would have screamed or maybe tried to hide but she was literally at the end of what she could handle. Adrift in a world that she had no idea about, the only people around to guide her were the ones doing their absolute to avoid even the most casual contact with her.

And so by the time the Immortals realised that she was no longer on the porch, Sang was standing in the middle of the opening whilst staring down the pack of wild wolves that she had been warned about while Filos howled and tried to break through the wooden door containing him.

Immediately recognising how precarious of a position she was in, Owen and his brothers fanned out so that each animal was covered while ensuring that the alpha currently threatening Sang didn't feel challenged.

"Sang," Victor crooned, eyes sparking as he allowed the power of his voice free reign to ensure that nothing jarred the wild creatures into attacking the small figure standing amongst them. "Walk towards me now."

"Can you hold them?" Sean asked Owen quietly even as his eyes never left the devastated expression on the human's delicate face.

Eyes narrowing in concentration, Owen had to give a reluctant shake of his head, "Not all of them."

"I'm not going anywhere," Sang announced, silencing the conversations circulating around the group. "This is my decision now. You should leave."

"What are you thinking?" Dakota questioned, knowing what she was going to say but still disbelieving. "You cannot think to..."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking, Immortal," She bit back. "I am not a toy or stupid. It's been a week and I know that you're just biding your time to see if I go feral. I already know that eventually I'll die but it comes down to when, how and why. If I stay here, you'll spend every moment searching for a reason to label me as dangerous as the hybrids, while if I run, I'll either die from exposure or the terrifying wolf creatures will capture and rape me." She threw her arms open wide, exposing her soft middle to the slavering predators surrounding her. "So, I'm making a choice. I'll die in an appropriately gruesome way and save you the trouble of having to suffer for my existence."

"What foolishness are you spouting now, woman," North growled, rage flickering darkly from where it usually sat contained within his chest. Unbelievable as it may be but nothing had ever gotten to him more than stepping out from the shadow of the house to see the fragile female offering herself up to the wolf pack's attack.

Sang lifted tear filled eyes, making sure to make contact with each of them as she gave an almost silent sigh. "I don't want to do this anymore. I thought that maybe I could change your minds or make you realise that no matter what I turn out to be, I'm not a threat to you but I know now that it won't happen. To all of you, I'm just a filthy hybrid and I'm tired of the fear and the guessing game of how you might hurt me today." She wiped roughly at her face, trying to turn her pain into anger as they deserved. She was not devastated to be forced into leaving them! She wasn't! She was meant to be enraged about how they had destroyed her life, how everything was so unfair to allow her a short glimpse into the wide world before taking it all away. "Just let them and you can all go back to your depressing existence while debating whether to ash yourselves."

"Sang," Owen soothed, raising his hands in a non-threatening gesture. "You're right. We have been poor hosts but you are not the only one shocked by the news of your origins. Although it is not a good excuse, we just needed a few days to assimilate and plan what to do next."

Her face grew hard and stormy as the sounds of Filos' rage grew louder, "And I needed what? To be ignored while the men older than dirt threw tantrums?! Screw you, Owen. I should have just let you die instead of actually caring. You deserve nothing from me and I won't give you another minute of my time."

"Her mind is chaotic and full of pain," Gabriel murmured, being careful to shield Sang from possibly hearing their conversation. "There will be no talking her down from this path, brothers."

"We have forced this upon her," Sean added sadly, easily able to see and feel her resolve. If they couldn't move quickly enough to prevent the wolves' attack, there would be nothing left of the vibrant young woman who had begun to bring them back to life except blood on the snow.

"She will survive," Nathan demanded. There was no other option after everything they had already faced together. Hybrid she may be but never in their short time together had he seen inherent cruelty or a feral need for destruction in her. "And then I will take great pleasure in taking her over my knee. Perhaps it is time to show her exactly how archaic we are."

"Excellent idea," Lucian replied with something close to sarcasm in his tone. "Spank the already annoyed female as though she doesn't know where we take our death sleep."

"Idiots," North hissed just as the alpha's stance changed. He had always been a hunter and recognised the warning of an imminent attack. Normally it was quite easy to take control of animals but this male wolf had abandoned reasoning and allowed himself to revel in the enticing scent of willing prey.

Just as each of them made the decision to eliminate the pack – native predators which had called the area home for many a century – the growls coming from the laundry turned into a trumpeting roar which echoed for miles as a good portion of the structure blew outward, wood spraying in a wide arch as everything seemed to freeze and a monster stepped forward.

The nine Immortals had kept a close watch on the seemingly average untamed wolf, their investigations finding nothing suspicions but the thing now bristling savagely bare feet away was like nothing they'd ever before encountered.

Obviously it was Filos but he had grown into a towering monstrosity of black fur, glowing blue eyes and teeth longer than any of their arms. He easily stood over six feet tall, muzzle pulled back as his gaze locked directly on the suddenly cognizant pack.

"Filos?" Sang breathed, unsure and once again presented with something which shouldn't exist.

In answer, the young male wolf who had been nothing but gentle with her –except for the one small accident– growled a warning, his chest rumbling so viciously that she swore that she could feel it beneath her feet.

Silas looked at the others, trying to decide whether they should label Filos as the larger threat or continue to watch the alpha as he tried not to cower underneath the supernatural gaze of the much larger creature.

"Owen?" Victor asked gently, not wanting to jar anyone into attacking prematurely.

"I have no answers," The ancient replied, mind coming up blank as he attempted to draw upon his vast well of memories and identify the changeling's genus.

As Sang went to move towards her friend, the stress on the wolf pack snapped and the alpha leapt at the unprepared girl before any of the Immortals could move in.