Maya "Come on, we're wasting time. Let's go!" shouted a man in a leather jacket under a red shirt, his face flushed with anger. "We have to go, and it's almost dawn, Rylan! We want to find Karen just as much as you do," a woman named Selene interjected, answering in a tone that was both stern and concerned at the same time. "Well, you're certainly not acting like—" he started to shout back, eager to fight, if only with words to relieve the stress and worry he felt, when he felt something bite his right ear. "Ouch! Damn little animal! Go back to your owner!" He grabbed the animal and threw it back to its owner. "You deserved it, asshole!" taunted Samuel, the owner of the small animal, which barked and narrowly avoided his outstretched hand. Running toward Mike, Samuel hid behind his shoulder and pleaded for help in a whining tone, "Save me from this cruel man. With a sigh, he stepped closer to the raging Rylan, preparing to try and mediate the situation once again, when a woman's
Maya In tense silence, Mike tried to pull out the shaft of the arrow that had pierced Maya's back. Blood soaked his hands as he broke the tip of the arrow with white feathers. His muscles tensed, and even though he silently apologized for the pain he had caused, he remained focused on what he needed to accomplish. Slowly, Mike pushed the arrow deeper into her body before carefully pulling it out. She endured the pain tenaciously, only her tense body indicating how painful the process was. When the arrow finally came out, blood ran down Mike's hand and he immediately tried to stop the bleeding. Maya stopped him with a calm voice, insisting that she would heal herself. Rylan, who had been preparing with his weapon, brandished it and shouted angrily at the shadow hidden behind the trees. "Come out and fight, you coward!" Maya ignored him and his two friends who were getting ready to fight. She continued to focus on herself, trying to keep her appearance as strong as possible. The str
—A few hours later— Maya She finally found the place where she had last seen Karen, after circling around several times. The poison she had spread to escape the Alpha of the Westwood Pack had left the ground dead. It was obvious from the panting breaths and muffled words of Rylan and the others that they knew the aura of the black magic rogue had been here, and the speculation was running wild. If only they knew, she muttered. There were demands to know how and why Nathan was here. They were also increasingly worried about their missing friend, wondering if Nathan had somehow gotten to her. For the most part, she ignored or deflected their words and comments. Silence would help her avoid stumbling and getting caught in a lie or two. Karen's scent seemed to dissipate as if she had vanished, but she knew that Alpha Xavier had probably just whisked her away through the forest at top speed. By leaping to the highest branches of the trees and bouncing from one perch to another, she was
Rylan The music changed again, becoming dark and faint. Dark red smoke spewed from the flutes in a huge swirling mass that surrounded the corpses as well as Rylan and the others. Lightning danced among the clouds that rose around their waists in darker and darker waves. It was as if the fog was alive, pulsing with electricity, tickling all their senses, yet somehow painless. The music swelled, like a scream caught in an instrument, but then became a shriek as the corpses withered and wailed, colliding with each other, even falling to the ground to be swallowed by the red mist. Those who could still stand uttered a final scream before the evil aura that emanated from them even in death flew out of their described bodies and headed toward Uma. From different directions, great soul power shot towards her to be absorbed into the necklace with a large purple gem in the center, surrounded by many small white, gold, and silver gems, which hung around her fleshy neck. The woman's eyes were
Rylan As night approached, the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, leaving a trail of fiery reds, oranges, and yellows before being covered by a sky of deep blues and purples. For him, the moment of sunset was a time he always enjoyed. He would sit in a tree and enjoy the play of colors as he contemplated. However, like Carolina, this beauty was slowly disappearing from his life. He often reflected and remembered the precious moments they shared a few years ago when their love grew and blossomed. He remembers Carolina lying comfortably on his lap, her head resting against his beating heart, on the leaves of the forest. In that moment he felt the warmth of the woman he loved and he felt close to her. In those memories, he would bury his nose in her long, beautiful dark brown hair, smelling the herbal scent that always clung to her. The scent brought back memories of healing and caring, her way of always being willing to help people who were hurt or sick. Carolina was a good heale
Rylan He was fighting against a horde of rogue barbarians who were relentless in their taunts and insults against him. The harsh words were like constant blows, but he endured them. He had learned to control his anger and not respond to their taunts. But even though he tried not to care, the words tore at his heart. "You useless and weak werewolf," a faceless voice said. He was surrounded by rogues, but he couldn't tell who was speaking as the taunts and insults continued. "You can't win because you're weak, unlike your father and brother." "Sooner or later, your weakness will get you killed. "Or your worthless loved ones will die first..." threatened another. "You can't protect them." "Shut up and fight me!" shouted Rylan angrily, trying to keep his concentration. "They're going to die because you're not strong enough to protect them." The taunts continued, no matter how many rogues he killed. He didn't know why their words hurt so much. Why did he care what these barbaric
Maya Damn, that woman! She thought as she walked and stumbled again. She gritted her teeth and dug her claws into the palm of her hand, or tried to grasp it. Her left arm had long since lost all feeling, her hand unable to clench as she tried to restore sensation to the useless limb. Maya had never received a spiritual attack in her life, and had always avoided holy priests and the like for that reason. Although her encounters with werewolves endowed with such powers were limited, she knew instinctively that the dead woman was stronger than most, and she only had to be hit by one of her spiritually powerful arrows like Karenina. They had traveled only a few hours, but the journey seemed much longer as the wound refused to heal and the blood had long since covered her red clothing. The scattered patterns of her clothing had turned an ugly brown where the blood had dried, while closer to the wound the fabric was still a deep red as the blood continued to flow. Her vision was gettin
SeleneThat night they were immersed in the darkness of the forest, lit only by a small fire that crept between the trees. Selene and Mike remained vigilant beside Elena, who was battling a burning fever.Elena was pale and sweating profusely, occasionally mumbling incoherently. She was struggling to breathe, as if breathing was difficult. Though they had tried pouring cold water on her several times, her fever would not break.Samuel lay down next to Felix to rest, seeking warmth in the wolf's arms. They both looked exhausted after the long and tiring journey.Selene spoke softly to Mike, not wanting to disturb her friends' sleep. "I don't know if she'll recover," she said.With a thoughtful expression on his face, Mike shook his head. "We can only hope that she survives. I have a feeling she's no ordinary she-wolf. I feel the power in her.""Hmm, I don't understand what she's talking about. She keeps talking about 'Alicia' and 'why', it seems," Selene expressed her confusion."She's