Spirit Wolves Book 1 -completed-

Monster

Crimson opened her eyes to see blood dripping from the side of a white wolf with black paws, ears, muzzle and tail tip.

"Ryan?" She asked.

Tristen's teeth were buried in her brother's fur. And Ryan's face was twisted in pain

"Let go of my brother you bastard" She growled and then jumped onto Tristen's back and bit where her teeth were in between his ribs forcing him to let Ryan go. He yelped and Crimson felt pain at hurting him. Then slammed his body into the ground, crushing her. He then bit her muzzle and clawed at her throat. Ryan rammed into him, last second, causing the dark wolf to fall. Ryan bit the back of Tristen's neck and pulled, tearing the skin and taking a chunk of Tristen's neck. He yelled and convulsed in pain and dug his razor sharp claws into Ryan's leg. Ryan swiped at his face and hit his jaw. He bit Tristen's leg and pulled as hard as he could, knocking him off his feet. As Ryan bit towards his throat, a solid black wolf slammed Ryan. At the same time a hazelnut brown wolf bit Ryan's tail and slammed him into a tree with a sickening crack and Ryan fell to the ground unconscious.

Crimson realized she recognized the two wolves. She looked for white paws confirming the black was Trace, and the brown was Aiden. Trace would be 17 and Aiden would be 16. She ran to Ryan and saw even unconscious, his face was twisted in pain. She felt a murderous rage blossom inside her heart as she saw the cuts on her brother's leg pulsing blood and his back unnaturally flat. The rage grew and erased all thoughts other than "kill" when she saw how Ryan's sides were heaving over broken ribs. She growled, lower than any wolf she'd ever heard and her senses sharpened. She could see the pine needles on the trees around her and could hear the wind rustle to leaves on the ancient Live Oak Tree nearby. Her old friends looked astounded by something and She noticed her fur was glowing darkly, some parts the color of blood. She growled in that low tone again and jumped at them. She ripped open the side of Aiden's neck at the same time she raked Trace's side with her claws.

She whirled around when her paws touched the ground and jumped on Aiden's back and tore it open with her claws. Tristen jumped at her to get her off his friend and she cut him from his jaw to his belly. Crimson dug her claws deeper into Aiden's back to slice again, and he screamed. A black wolf slammed Crimson in the side causing her to fall with her claws still in Aiden's back. As she fell her claws left deep jagged cuts in the spaces between his ribs. He coughed up blood and fell. Crimson turned her attention to Trace. Aiden was in human form laying in a pool of shredded clothes and his own blood. Tristen bit her back and Trace her front leg. Trace put his paw on her leg and snapped it. Crimson growled, once again in that unnatural way, and bit Trace's muzzle and slammed his head into the ground. Tristen rammed her side and she tore a chuck out of his side. She then broke both Tristen's back legs so he couldn't stop her again. She looked at her brother to see he was awake and staring at her in shock and terror. She walked over to him to look him over before resuming her fight.

"Are you okay?" She said. Her voice was just as low and unnatural as her growl was and she was surprised to see the fear in her brother's eyes. It angered her that her brother was scared of her. She moved closer to him and he flinched. That's when she saw her reflection in his eyes. What she saw was terrifying. The whites of her eyes were black as midnight and glowed with a dark light like her fur. The crimson glowed too, as dark as the blood on her, the grass, and the wolves around her. Her normally white eye was glowing yellow. Her pupils were slits as thin as a blade of grass. Strips of her fur were glowing as darkly as her eyes. She saw a monster and she backed away from her brother. As she did, he struggled to stand up and walk to her. This time when she looked in his eyes, she found trust. She saw her eyes were back to normal and her fur had stopped glowing.

"It's okay sis." Her brother said softly. "I'm alright. But I don't think they are."

She looked behind her and gasped, her trance broken. Trace had helped Tristen over to Aiden to comfort him, and Crimson could tell that he thought his friend wouldn't survive. "I have to help them." She said softly.

She walked over to them and Cole's head snapped up, "Haven't you done enough!" He yelled.

"I don't know what came over me... I'm so sorry." 

"That won't help them you dumb bitch!" He yelled at her.

"I know... but I can at least help you get them back to your pack?" 

"Fine." 

"Thank you..." She said as got a barely conscious Aiden on her back and stood behind Trace so he could lead the way to the Blackheart Pack village. She looked at Ryan and he nodded. He went and picked up Tristen who's eyes were squeezed shut in pain. Trace growled at him as he started behind Crimson but stopped when he saw they were actually helping him. Crimson waited for Trace to take the lead, not because she didn't know the way, but to make sure he didn't pass out on the way back. He wasn't as bad as his friends but he still had long, deep cuts on his sides and back. 

Aiden groaned as she carried him home. She felt his warm blood seep into her dark fur. She needed to apply pressure to his back or he'd definitely die.

"Stop!" She called out, "We have to slow his bleeding."

Trace stopped and said, "We're almost there and if we were to put stuff on his back I'd have to explain how I did it, and I don't want you guys to get killed." His voice was deeper than she remembered.

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"Because as much as I hate you two, the girl reminds me of an old friend I had, and I want to help you guys because I couldn't help her. God knows what happened to her, where she is, or if she's even okay."

It was all Crimson could do not to tell Trace she was right there, but she knew if she did, it was likely he wouldn't focus on getting his friends to safety. Or he'd turn on her and ask her why she'd attacked her friends. The truth was, she didn't know why she glowed up like that.

What she did know was that she was a monster and she didn't ever want to turn into that beast again.