WARNING: GROSS AND VIVID DESCRIPTION OF VIOLENCE AND DEATH.
DOMINIC.
There are shouts.
Screams really.
That is what brings me back to the present.
“Oh my goddess, he killed her!”
“He killed his Luna!”
“Shit!”
“What are you waiting for? Run!”
“He killed the Luna!”
“Hw killed her!”
“He has gone mad!”
I look down at myself, where I am covered with several cuts and brushes healing, my claws are stained and dripping with blood and guts.
Clarisse.
“Clarisse!”
I turn around, my eyes wild and frantic as I search for her only to come to a screeching halt at the sight I see.
Cla… Clarisse?
There Is a wolf on the floor.
A wolf’s corpse to be precise.
A familiar wolf.
Contrary to the wolf’s usual appearance, its fur is no longer the smooth and clean, gray coat.
Now, it is covered in… in blood, and… other things.
There are cuts and bruises, and deep wounds all over its body.
Its ears have been torn off, and its… her eyes… they are cloudy, which just looks severely unsettling with its snout that is twisted and broken.
Her legs are bent in a strange way, while her paws are also torn and bloody.
Her torso is full of wounds and puncture marks… makes that look like claws.
My claws.
Some of her fur is on the floor, attached with pieces of… flesh… bloody and…
Most disturbing of all is the fact that she is not moving.
She is motionless, not breathing, and her eyes are just staring at me…empty.
No life
No…
Not me
I didn’t…
I didn’t mean to!
“Clarisse!” I shout as I rush towards her, cradling her head. “Please… please wake up… stand up… I didn’t mean to… I am sorry… please…”
She doesn’t move
Not even a twitch
Oh, goddess!
I killed my mate.
I stare down at her corpse on my legs, not truly, completely believing what I am seeing
She can’t be dead
She just… can’t.
All of a sudden her body begins to twitch.
I watch in horror as her battered and broken body starts to change, her matted fur receding to reveal her pale, bruised skin.
The deep gashes and cuts on her body become similar wounds on her human form, with the exposed flesh and bone visible in several places.
Her ears, which were torn and hanging limp, now become human ears, still hanging by a strand, bearing the scars of the brutal battle.
Her eyes, once cloudy and lifeless, now hold a faint glimmer of humanity, though they remain just as glassy and empty.
Her snout, once twisted and broken, becomes a human nose and her legs and arms are twisted at unusual angles.
Broken.
Her torso bears the same deep wounds and puncture marks, and every part of her is still red
Red with blood.
I did this.
I killed my mate
My Luna.
I…
I don’t know how long I have been here… kneeling… eyes unfocused with her head on my lap.
Where do I even start from now?
How do I go about my life now?
I need an heir.
A strong one.
Clarisse was the strongest female in the pack… that was her first selling point to me
And like me, she abhorred weakness and I knew that any child with her would come out perfect.
Where will I find someone like her now?
“Alpha?” A voice interrupts my thoughts and I look over to see Calvin, my beta standing by the door, his eyes fixed on Clarisse’s still form.
“She is dead, Calvin,” I murmur, still in shock.
“Hmm, I can see that,” he says. “You killed her.”
“It was an accident,” I tell him.
“It always is,” he mutters quietly, almost like he didn’t want me to hear.
“Did you say something?”
“I said we need to move her body. Need has already spread and there is chaos in the pack. We have to bury her. Now.”
“She is… was the Luna… there are protocols to be followed.”
“And we would have followed them if she had died normally, peacefully, or in old age. She clearly didn’t. No one would honor that ceremony, not when they know she died by your hands.”
“It would be disrespectful! She is the Luna-”
“And you killed her!” He snaps at me, eyes ablaze with fury. “You gave her the worst disrespect, you can’t expect others to honor you or her. Do you understand? You killed the Luna of the pack. The mother of the pack. You. It is the worst blow you could have ever done. Right now, people are panicked. Because if you can kill your Luna, who can be safe from you?”
“I… I wouldn’t … not my people -”
“You already have. You have been killing your people for years. Alpha, you killed your own child. Look around you! The pack is falling apart and it was Clarisee that was holding it together. Smoothing the ruffled feathers and inspiring loyalty to the pack. The pack, ’cause it can’t be to you. And now… you have killed her. Do you understand what you have done?”
“I am aware, Calvin…”
“First it was Tommy you failed to save and now Clarisse. You are losing your pack. Do you understand that?”
“I…”
“I will have someone come get her body, clean it up and bury it. You on the other hand need to wash up.”
“Yes… you… you are right,” I say as I get to my feet, still numb from what has just happened. “Will… will you make sure she has been cleaned up? Please.”
“Of course.”
I give him a nod before making my way out of the building
Compared to the usual buzz of the pack, everywhere seems dead quiet.
Like there was no one around
They are most likely scared
That is going to be a problem
I can’t have them panicking because of a minor setback
Even if the setback is their Luna’s death.
Speaking of that, I am going to have to find a replacement.
What a headache.