Born of Blood

Chapter 25

He could see the challenge in this wolf.

The muscles bunched high and tight in her back, the bare skin visible from her scars rolling and bunching as she paced wildly in front of them. Her tail was stiff behind her, tense with her rage and her legs paused and bunched with muscle as she stared them down. Her hackles were raised, her pitch black fur soaked with water raised to the best of their ability, they trailed down her neck and stopped at her shoulders, her black fleshy scars twitching with rage where her fur should lie. Her muzzle held a large scar that split her lips that curled over her teeth, the fur on the upper right side of her skull thinned where her healed injury was present, freezing water rolling through its thin trails. Her teeth were large, white, and sharp at the tips showing how unused they were; had she even eaten in her wolf form? She had never disclosed how many times she had shifted, and this made Orion uneasy, the less she has shifted the more wild she would be. It took time to tame the wolf in your soul, to become dominate over it, or in Orion's case- become one with it. Saliva foamed at the bottom of her mouth, dripping with the storms battling rain as her hunger grew to tear these men apart. The wolf could see the wide eyes of the elder man, his clothing soaked through to the bone and red marks across his flesh already, his tan skin looked sallow.

Her icy blue eyes landed on the mountain next to him and she snapped her teeth in warning at his heaving body, her paws launching forward into the large puddle underneath her. His being was intense, his height climbing to her neck in his human flesh, his muscles showing the raw power contained in his body. The ink wrapping around his arms and torso left her stomach uneasy- her spirit knew these characters, though there was no translation. The wolf braced herself and let out a warning snarl, curling her head to the side to flash her sharp canines to him, the wolf understood the scent. She had smelt a scent similar to it before, watch it hurt her Flesh despite the bond. The wolf wanted nothing more than to sink her teeth into this Flesh Walker. She wanted to tear his broad muscles from his bones and get revenge for her Flesh, prove they didn't need the Mate. She snapped her teeth at the elder man, water rushing into her mouth from the torrential downpour, he gasped before stumbling to the side and falling into the muddy mountainside, catching himself on a few roots before muttering the wolf's Flesh's name.

She snapped her teeth at him for uttering her vessels title, he had no right to use her name. She knew what he thought, she could smell it in his sweat, welling in his pores with a sour tint that kept her lip curled in disgust. He thought her Flesh was weak, she would show him weak! Her growls and snarls ripped from her chest as she charged the man hanging on the roots to keep him from sliding down to the next level plane of the mountain. He gave a startled shout before releasing his hold just as her teeth caught his fingers, she squeezed the fleshy digits in her teeth until they completely tore through the skin and his scream let her shake her head away from him while he fell to the next level formation. She continued to snarl, her tongue licking her teeth to taste his blood, even nipping her own tongue with her sharp points while she stared at his rapid fall. He landed with a crack and a wail as his leg twisted under him. The rain beat against his flesh and she could hear him gasp against the water, calling for a name she didn't know, she stared at him, making sure he did not rise again before turning her head to stare at the Mate.

He held her gaze, his eyes traveling over her large, yet intensely thin body. Her fur was the color of blended charcoal, deep and dark she seemed to suck all the color from the thriving atmosphere around her. The earth in Ketchikan, Alaska loved the rain, it soaked the water into its soil and the trees showed their appreciation in their vibrant colors, yet this wolf in front of him- his mate- sucked the beauty from the world she stood in. She looked terrifying, Orion knew this, with her scars and her viciously sharp teeth, they way she held no fat in her body and appeared to be such a lean (albeit unhealthy) muscle- she was not going to be easy to wean into their pack. They would see her as a challenge, they did not know her history, they would only think of her as a battle wolf- a warrior and a deadly one. Her intensely dark fur would be seen as an Omen to his religious pack, the Goddess had a hand in creating her, was it good or bad? These would be the superstitious questions he would need to answer, but it seemed- as she snarled and snapped and slowly crawled closer- he might not know the right answer at this moment.