Northwood

The air filled with an electric intensity that made Adline’s skin prickle and sent her pulse racing at a million miles an hour.

Evil was present and so too hatred of a degree she had never before experienced.

Through the tears filling her eyes she gazed towards Kane. He was hunched over, the look of disbelief on his face quickly soured as his eyes landed on Luce.

“What have you done,” his voice completely unlike Adline had heard it before. A dangerously low tone in his voice was marred by the grinding of his jaw. Loud pops and cracks whistled through the air like bullets shot from the barrel of a gun.

Everything about his demeanour sent shockwaves racing through Adlines tiny frame. Casting her glance sideways she spied the dagger grasped in her hands and wanted to put it to use but all she could do was stand and stare as the wolves that had been with Luce turned and ran. All life in the field seemed to shudder and hide from what was about to happen. The three lone figures left stood like anchors for lightning.

A deep rumbling sound tore through Kane as his human form fell away leaving a wolf like form that didn’t quite seem right.

In his agony and pain he had managed to transform into a monster, one that was full of rage and seeking vengeance for his mother’s death.

“Oh my,” laughed Nox while in Luce’s body, “should I be frightened?” The sarcastic taunting tone carried far on the cold winds that blew through the field.

Though spring had now sprung the chill of winter still hadn’t completely disappeared.

A mangled noise jumped from Kane’s muzzle like mouth, “....die......bas.....rd” were the only audible words Adline could decipher.

As the tension built around them so too did the swirling clouds overhead as the blustery winds whipped the grass in the field into a frenzy.

In the blink of an eye Kane flew towards Luce, the new monstrous form he took seemed faster than his normal lupine form. To Adlines astonishment none of the blows Kane attempted to throw made a single mark on his brother’s skin.

The pair moved almost too quickly for Adline to keep up. Every direction she turned was met with a blur as the pair moved through the field at lightning speed. Blow after blow was defended as they met each other’s power with ease.

A maniacal cackle could be heard drifting through the field as Luce ridiculed his brother for no longer being able to beat him. “Look at my power brother!” He yelled loud enough for all who cowered beneath the cover of the trees to hear. “You can no longer defeat me with the power coursing through my veins!” Luce threw a punch that landed with force against his brother’s cheek, it was so powerful that it sent Kane staggering backwards in his beastly form.

With his arms open and a look of triumphant glory on his face Luce boasted and bragged about his victory which only angered Kane more.

A great howl ripped through Kane’s throat and resonated through the surrounding landscape, it was not a howl of grief or defeat but one of challenge and acceptance.

Kane ran at his brother again and while Luce had his arms open to defend himself against the beast’s claws and fists Luce was not expecting what happened next.

Though Kane was more than capable of running bipedally he dropped his weight when he drew closer to his brother and before long he dropped to his hands and kicked his feet at his brother’s chest. Though Luce was prepared for a strike he had not been expecting what his brother threw at him.

Staggering backwards stunned and confused Luce felt something wet against his chest. Ignoring the slick feeling and dismissing it as mud from his brothers feet Luce recovered himself with a deathly glare towards his brother.

“How dare you!” He screamed in a crazed frenzy. “I am the rightful Alpha of this pack! Not you. You stole everything from me including our mother.” Though Nox had been in control for most of the fight Luce’s emotions were now so strong that they pushed to the surface and exploded. “She abandoned me in favour of you!” He screamed loudly, his grievances seemed petty to Adline as she stood listening to the one sided screaming match. Luce was really torn by what had happened but she knew that this was not the way to make it right.

The clouds grew darker and darker with each passing minute and Adline’s hope faded more and more. How was she supposed to get close enough to Luce to plunge the dagger into the side of his neck? They moved so quickly and in human form she had no hope of catching either of them.

Luce staggered backwards suddenly as he winced in pain, she could see it written all over his face as his brow furrowed and his eyes glazed over. While Luce screamed his emotions for the world to hear his brothers dagger like claws had slashed him from his shoulder on one side down to the opposite hip. Even though Luce would have died when Nox left his body anyway it just made the process faster.

Luce screamed as he clutched at the torn fabric of his shirt. Stumbling backwards Kane’s eyes locked on to their target and lunged. Kane didn’t just want his brother to die, he wanted him to suffer.

In a frenzied attack Adline stood watching in shock and disgust as Kane disembowelled his brother before ending his life. As her eyes settled on the man she thought she loved she couldn’t help but feel sick but when Kane pulled his head up and cast a glance towards her she saw the reasoning for his brutality.

A dark smoke disappeared up into his nose as his eyes turned completely black. Nox had taken over. Adline’s breath caught in her throat for it meant two things.

It meant that when Nox entered Kane’s body it effectively meant Kane was already dead with the other being she had to kill Kane anyway to get to Nox.

Her heart was torn in two at the thought of what she now had to do and Adline felt everything slipping through her fingers. She had found a pack where she was accepted and had made friends, she had found her mate on the back of losing her parents and it seemed that with everything bad that happened to her there was also a grain of good. Standing in the field with Kane stalking towards her and surrounded by death Adline could not see any good coming from the situation.

It was kill or be killed as Kane, in his monstrous form broke his walk and ran at high speed towards Adline. Knowing there was no way to escape Adline braced herself for what was coming but was knocked clear across the field.

Pulling herself up from the ground she heard thundering footsteps rampaging towards her and as she lifted her gaze she found that Kane had fully reverted back to human form.

Seeing that she’d managed to hold on to both the dagger and obsidian she dodged a punch while swinging the blade at Kane.

Nox immediately stopped and stared at the silver that seemed to shine even in the darkness, “where the hell did you get that?!” He demanded of Adline whose body ached from the force at which she hit the ground.

Adline smiled a cocky grin as she tried desperately to keep her feelings under wraps. “If you knew my lineage Nox then you’d know how I came by it.” Though she seemed confident Adline scoffed inwardly. Not even she knew her lineage till relatively recently but Nox didn’t need to know that.

“I thought you were all dead! Wiped out during the witch hunt!” Nox screamed almost terrified of what it meant.

“Looks like they missed some,” though she felt confident as could be Adline was stalling. She didn’t want to hurt Kane, she couldn’t hurt Kane but in order to save everyone she had to.

“It doesn’t matter,” Nox sneered violently. “I’ll still kill you......” His sentence trailed off as a wicked smile spread quickly over his lips. “Then again where’s the fun in that? It looks like lover boy is clinging to life. He’s hopeful you’ll save him, oh isn’t that sweet!” He teased Adline quickly. “I could always make him kill you, what fun that would be!”

“Kane would never do anything like that,” Adline growled as she grew tired of his taunts. “Stop wasting my time and fight me!” She was now improvising but there was nothing else for her to do, she had to think on the fly.

“Oh feisty!” Nox growled suddenly playful. “That’s how Kane likes them apparently.” Nox teased again as he roared with laughter.

The pair ran at each other full speed, colliding with force. Nox punched at Adline and watched her hit the ground. A sick sense of delight filling him completely at the sight of her falling. All he wanted now was for her to stay down.

“You won’t beat me!” Adline screamed at him as she jumped to her feet and ran at him, “I won’t give up!” She grumbled as she wrapped her arms around him tightly and tackled him to the ground.

She imagined her first physical contact with Kane to be much different than what she was experiencing now and part of her lamented the fact that she would never get to have her dream come true.

The pair rolled against the ground, each trying to get atop the other in a battle of supremacy.

Somehow Nox managed to pull his fist out and punched Adline again. This time she felt it deep, though she looked up into dark soulless eyes it was Kane’s face and though she didn’t want to part of her came to hate him and loathe the situation she was now in.

“I won’t let you win,” Adline choked out as Nox hit her with the obsidian she needed to trap him with. He dropped it to the side and smiled down at her menacingly.

“You see this predicament we are in Adline?” He questioned her with some curiosity but not much interest in what she actually had to say. “This predicament, this situation is all thanks to you.” He again smiled smugly down at her. He had her right where he wanted her. A position of great vulnerability.

Before she knew it Nox had Kane’s hands wrapped around her neck, he squeezed hard while Adline kicked and struggled against him.

Feeling her consciousness slipping she grasped for the dagger with tears in her eyes, “please forgive me......” her strangled words barely audible as she pulled the dagger up behind Kane’s head. Many emotions coursed through her instantly as she let the dagger fly.

From where she lay she missed her mark but it didn’t take her long to make another attempt. Stabbing wildly he soon loosened his grip and stumbled sideways clutching at the wound.

“What have you done!” The mangled cry leapt from Kane’s lips as Nox felt his power slipping. Casting his gaze around the field there were no other bodies that could take him. Those that emerged from hiding were no longer afraid of him. It seemed that seeing Adline fight him had some effect on them.

Sacking in deep breaths Adline spied the obsidian marked with her blood. The wounds on her face stinging as she crawled towards it and took it in her hands. Rolling the dark piece of rock she felt both triumphant and saddened as her emotions got the better of her.

While Nox struggled to come to terms with what was happening he failed to see Adline approach. He lay against a flattened patch of grass gasping for life as the bloodied mate of Kane knelt next to him. Pressing the obsidian to the wound she’d inflicted she muttered, " vade revertere in tenebris lapidem. Omnia vincit amor inlustret lumine”.

The tears that had long been threatening to fall began rolling silently down her cheeks as she repeated the sentence over and over again. With her eyes closed she failed to see the darkness leaving Kane’s body and the broken man it left behind.

After a few minutes Adline opened her eyes and looked down to find Kane smiling up at her weakly, “you saved me,” he mumbled as he felt his life slipping from his body.

“I’m sorry,” she cried as her tears fell to the earth between them. “I wasn’t strong enough to save you,” her shoulders slumped as she looked upon his face and saw the pain and misery leaving his body.

Feeling a need to be closer to him she pressed her bloodied face to his and watched as a man she had grown to love died with each passing second.

With a final gasp he muttered, “I....love...you,” before his hands fell away and his heart stilled.

Lifting her head to stare into his grey eyes she saw a blank stare looking back at her as her voice cracked and a cry of agony leapt from her throat.

She was too late and as the sun set on another day and the dark swirling clouds overhead disappeared Adline grasped the obsidian containing Nox and vowed that she would forever carry the burden of making sure he stayed there.

Wolves and man emerged from all corners of the field reluctantly. They were now all leaderless. Or so they thought.

In her despair Adline kissed Kane’s forehead gently and prayed to the Moon Goddess to see Kane and all those that had lost their lives safely to her side. She prayed that they all found peace and harmony and even though her heart was heavy with loss and despair a tiny little part of her still felt hopeful.

“I love you,” it was a bittersweet moment as she stood and stared at those now gathered around her.

They looked to her for guidance, they looked to her for hope.