Lucy’s POV
I shifted into my wolf form, accepting the change in my mind first before accepting it in my body. Sound of cracking bones and my shifting anatomy wasn’t easy to get used to in the first place, but as time went on, I became more comfortable in my new skin of fur and fangs. The world appeared the same to my eyes, but new, extra details my human senses would have previously ignored now stood out to me. The darkness beyond no longer appeared as dark as it earlier did.
After taking one last glance at the small door, I leaped off into the night, following the trail left behind by the warriors. It didn’t take long before I caught on to the scent of Shaun amongst the smell of earth and dead leaves.
I pressed on, paying attention to everything that could give me a hint to whatever was happening. The sounds of fighting and struggles that jad been heard earlier were nowhere to be found, and now, the forest oozed an eerie silence that unsettled my fur.
I went deeper and deeper into the woods, until the shadow of the palace seemed to fade into nothingness. I was alone now, which meant I was also vulnerable if anything happened out of the blue.
My heart split into two when I heard a branch breaking from behind me. I turned around, already growing at whoever the offender was, only to see that it was just a guard stepping out from behind a tree.
He took a while to assess me. “What are you doing out here?” he asked, looking around us with caution. “Everyone should be indoors.”
In wolf form, I couldn’t exactly speak, so I simply stared at him, since I couldn’t shift back to human form either; only one person had access to my nudity.
Another set of footsteps approached, and Shaun burst out of the woods, eyes shining in the night. Immediately he saw me, his eyes narrowed. “Lucy?”
Relieved, I ran over to him and nuzzled his leg, allowing his presence to further calm me. Now that I was sure about his safety, I could allow myself to rest a little.
“I wanted to find you,” I communicated to him through the invisible bond linking our minds together. “I was worried.”
“You can’t be here, sweetheart. It’s dangerous,” he said, expression softening a little.
“What’s wrong?”
“A lot, Lucy. Things are a lot worse than we thought.” He looked up at the guard. “Have you seen anything?”
His face twisted with discomfort, as though talking about whatever he had seen was physically disturbing to recall. “Yes. I found footprints and some . . . casualties. I was heading over to report to you when I found her,” he pointed to me.
Shaun turned to me and brushed his hands through my fur. The sensation made warmth spread over my body. “Lucy, I’m glad you came to look for me, but you need to leave now-”
“Ahhhhhhhh!” The guard before us screamed. Liquid splashed into the air, spraying Shaun and I.
The smell of blood instantly filled the air, clouding my senses. My whole body froze, and in that moment I was transported back to Bloodbath on the day that my whole family was killed. The smell still remained with me, and haunted me on some nights.
Now that I could smell it again, my mind blanked out for a long while, drowning out all sounds and colour.
“. . . Lucy!” Shaun’s voice finally broke through ghe haze, bringing me back to reality. “Go! Go!”
As I regained my bearings, Shaun leaped forward at something, shifting in the process. His shirt and pants ripped apart to accommodate his new form, until a large black wolf stood between me and whatever lay beyond.
A loud roar flashed through the air, but it wasn’t from Shaun at all. My eye found the lifeless body of the guard on the ground, still twitching as blood surrounded his form and wet the earth around him. But the earth didn’t discriminate what kind of water it drank, and absorbed what it could.
The guard’s eyes met mine, and I could see his silent cry for help for a few minutes.
And then, all was still.
Shaun howled, and I could see him being thrown to side by some unknown force that I couldn’t completely make out save for its glowing red eyes and hulking form.
With Shaun out of the way, the being skulked towards me, its footsteps like small earthquakes shaking the ground. The thing kept making a wet, squelching sound that I couldn’t tell the origin. My whole body still refused to answer me, and kept me rooted in place as the thing advanced.
In my head, I could still hear Shaun telling me to run away as fast as I could, but my body just wouldn’t move.
Finally the creature stepped directly into the moon’s rays, finally taking complete shape. It was black, with fur that appeared longer than the typical werewolf’s. It’s eyes were completely red, glowing strangely in the dim lighting. It’s horrible teeth were laced with dripping blood, and thw same was the case for its large claws. It stood larger than the average werewolf, but I could see areas where it lacked.
Beyond the creature, another shadow shifted, but this one was much smaller, and appeared humanoid.
The creature before me made another one of those horrible sounds from its throat. It sounded like laughter.
Piece by piece, it drew words into a string. “I . . . will . . . feast . . . on . . . your flesh.”
“No!” Shaun shouted, again in my head, but he was trapped underneath a huge log of wood that must have fallen on him when he got thrown into the tree. I could feel his fear for me in every syllable.
The creature threw out its hand, aiming straight for me, claws raised and ready to kill anything in its path. To kill the very thing in its path.
Me.
And my stupid body had chosen that time to give up.
I couldn’t help but ask myself the question: was the way I was going to die?