Lycanthropy

"Shit love you are fast!" Aron said to me after I was able to dodge another one of his hits.

"So are you!" I replied when he was able to block mine with his lower arm.

We had swung around each other for a while until he was able to kick my feet away from underneath me, resulting in me falling on the ground.

Quickly I had raised myself, by pushing me off the ground with my hands, and eventually managed to hit him in the stomach.

Aron and I had been fighting each other, but it wasn’t serious to even begin with. We had laughed and challenged each other, even until we did hit each other and used plenty of our strength and speed, but it wasn’t a real fight. And it didn’t end with one victor either, nope, we ended up on top of each other at the base of the mountain, behind some rocks.

And the days that came after, were just the same.

Aron had been eager to catch up on the days where I hadn’t been with him, and it wouldn’t matter whether I was training our wolves, getting breakfast, just came out of the bathroom, or well… anytime actually. He just took hold of me, and dragged me to my bedroom and used up every fantasy that he had on me. Or if he couldn’t take it anymore he just took me behind a tree…

Not that I was complaining, but we should focus on getting ready, and so I told him that.

“Yes, I know, but I just can’t get enough of you.” He said while kissing me and getting dressed again.

I was putting on my shirt, but suddenly got this eerie feeling that washed over me. Aron was having the same feeling, as he flinched while buttoning up his jeans.

“They are here, aren’t they?” He linked me.

“Yes, I knew he wasn’t to be trusted.” I replied, referring to Radu.

There were still almost two weeks left before the next full moon, but I guess he wanted to know what he was up against. That lousy shit wasn’t so secure of himself apparently.

I saw Aron’s eyes twitch and knew he had seen them flash.

“Have you been able to use Úlfur’s eyes yet?” I asked him.

He shook his head lightly, letting me know that he hasn’t. I asked Dakota to talk to Úlfur to let him know how it feels.

“Close your eyes, and picture Úlfur standing in front of you. It’s only you and him, you guys are one. Focus on his eyes and let them transform your own.” I whispered to him.

Aron closed his eyes, steadied his breathing and I just watched him carefully. He pulled his eyebrows together and tilted his head lightly, as he was focusing really well. Then when he opened his eyes, I was stunned by them. Just like Úlfur’s fur is, his irises were black, with grey stripes all around.

A smile erupted on his face and I could tell that he was seeing the same as I did, when I shifted my eyes. He looked upwards to the tree’s canopy to where the birds flew, or to his hands where dust was whirling around his fingers.

Then, a few rows of trees behind us, a twig snapped and we both focused our gaze into that direction. I too had shifted my eyes and we searched for the Nightstalkers that had decided to spy on us.

Soon, a flash was seen to our left, and we followed its trail with our eyes. A blur in the distance told us that it slid behind another tree, so we gently stalked into that direction, without making the least amount of noise.

Within a few flashes more, we had come to know that it was only one of them, and I began to wonder as to why only one of them was here. If Radu wanted to spy on us, shouldn’t there at least be several more? To know everything? But then I figured that they would have been spread out around the mountain perhaps, so I linked Terrence that we were hunting one, and for him to prepare the wolves in case there were more and it came to battle.

“Spread out.” Aron linked to me and we did.

He went left and I went right. We both went around the bushes and stalked our way to our destination as in between us the Nightstalker was still standing behind the tree.

I could see a glimpse of it before another flash took it away again. But what I had seen, was really strange to comprehend, because I haven’t seen any of them in the Radu’s hidden mansion! Nor had Marius told me about them having this job in the first place.

But before I could wonder about whether I was wrong or not, the voice of the creature interrupted my thoughts.

“If you want to catch me, you got to be a lot faster, dear Emerson!” The female voice had said out loud.

It somehow reminded me of something else, but I couldn’t direct my thoughts the right way. Who the hell was she? And why the hell was she spying? Radu didn’t have any female spies, assassins or otherwise in his army, so what was she doing here?

I am determined to catch her now, so I kept myself lower and trudged through the leafy wet forest ground even more carefully. Avoiding twigs and stepping on crunchy leaves and what not more. But flash after flash, she avoided us with ease.

“I’m going to run for her. This isn’t working.” I linked Aron.

“I’m right behind you.”

“Dakota, let’s see how fast you’ve become after our training with Marius. Shall we?”

“Yes, ma’am!” She said gleefully, and while I took a sprint and jumped off into the air, I had let her take over and she landed her four paws on the ground.

She took a big breath, lowered her nose to the floor, raised her tail high up and almost with a loud thud she soared away. I looked through her eyes as the flashes of the female turned into visible blurs, that made us see where the Nightstalker went to.

The female cut corners, jumped over logs, slid under uprooted tree roots, and ran through a grassy field. She was freakishly fast, but we were too!

I heard Aron behind me, running at lightning speed as well, but he was getting further behind me with every mile that I got closer to the female.

Dakota was giving it all she got, she practically flew over the ground, much faster than she did when we first landed on the northern continent. The trees around us became a blur now, as the image of the female in front of us became more clearer by the second.

She was slowing down, right? That’s the only logical explanation.

“Em, where are you?” Aron linked me and Dakota turned her head to look behind. But Aron was nowhere to be seen.

“Did you stop?” I asked him.

“No, love… I can’t explain, but, but… you flashed.” He continued and Dakota stopped instantly, making her paws drag through the wet earth and leave a mark behind us.

Dakota released control and I just stood there, naked, baffled and utterly confused. I just looked at my hands and feet and listened to my breathing, which was totally calm. I wasn’t panting, huffing or in any lack of oxygen at all.

I just couldn’t understand what was going on. I couldn’t even recite what Aron just said to me.

Was Dimitry right all along? Did Radu make me a Nightstalker anyway?

But it wasn’t possible right? I had to have committed suicide with their blood inside me. Which I never did! I mean, I had given up my life several times so that our packs would have time to make preparations, but that doesn’t truly count as I knew that I was coming back anyway. And besides, I didn’t do it myself, it was the machine that drained me, not me slitting my own throat or anything.

But what if it did count as suicide? Had Radu been putting blood in my food? Maybe I just hadn’t noticed the change myself. Have I been that stupid to not even recognize my own body and the changes that had occurred?

“You are being mental now! We are no bloodsucking murderous monster Em!” Dakota pleaded.

“But how are we that fast then? How are we able to withstand their commands?” I asked her.

“I don’t know! But we don’t have the same cracked up faces, we can walk in the sun and we don’t yearn for blood! It just can’t be!” She replied.

I know that what she says is true, but it still made me confused as hell!

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and I flinched upon the touch.

“Don’t come near me!” I shouted to Aron.

“We will find out about you, love. Please come here.”

“No! I don’t want to hurt you!” I yelled angry towards my own possibility of being a monster.

“You won’t. If you would’ve wanted to, you had done so before.” He said and took a quick step forward and grabbed my arms.

Then he pulled me against him and he pushed his arms around me tightly. I tried to get out of his hold for a moment but he just held me even tighter and I gave up.

I never had the urge to take his blood, or the need to hurt or kill him, and that thought wasn’t going to invade my mind now either. I am his and he is mine.

“Good to know!” The female of which I had forgotten that we hunted, suddenly spoke up behind me.

A/n: Are you guys still with me?? Thank you! 💛