18

Brandon

Blind rage coursed through me as I stampeded through the forest. I could see the wildlife giving me a wide berth as I sped, the little rabbits and deer scampering about, the birds chittering angrily at the ruckus I was creating in the otherwise silent night. My muscles ached with fury, begging to be unleashed.

The forest path coiled downhill, leading past the interstate, past the diner, past the town limits, and deep into the wilderness where the Rapid River thrashed brutally against the bank.

I was overwhelmed with panic and worry. Paranoia had equally afflicted me, making me wonder if Terror Trevor had been bluffing just to mess with my head. I could not take any chances. A world without Alice would be akin to a world without light, a dark realm thrust into endless nightmares.

The Creed demanded levelheadedness from its followers. According to our laws, if a wolf lost control and let anger drive him, he was no better than a mindless brute, slave to his basest emotions.

As much as I respected the Creed, I could not afford to let go of my anger just now. Alice’s life depended on it.

Once I had come to the precipice of the forest, I was able to breathe more easily. From here, things were more visible to my senses than they had been in the forest. Now that the trees were not blocking most of my sight, I could see Alice’s house like a dollhouse in the distance. I could see the river flowing behind it. It still wasn’t close enough to let me see if she was all right or not.

I didn’t have to get too close, it turned out. As I was descending the steep slope, I heard wolves howl. These weren’t wolves from my pack. Shortly thereafter, I could hear screams coming from a human. My blood chilled in my veins as I recognized the voice.

I immediately changed my course and headed to where the commotion was coming from, praying to the spirits that Alice would be safe. To me, it did not matter that she did not want to be with me. To me, her existence mattered. I would rain hell down on whoever threatened her existence.

As I neared the place where the scream and the howls were coming from, I decided to play by the Creed’s rules. I calmed myself down. It was time I started behaving like an alpha instead of a wolf pup.

From this distance, the spectacle was confounding. Alice stood with her back against the drop, a giant log in her hand. I was surprised as to how she was holding on to it. Was she channeling her inner wolf? That log was at least a hundred pounds.

I watched as one wolf jumped from the pack and leaped at her. I managed to curtail every instinct in my body and didn’t intervene. Alice swung the log back and then brought it up front, hitting the airborne wolf smack in the torso, tossing him into the air as if he was a ragdoll.

That feat was damn impressive. Even if she didn’t know it, I was certain that she was tapping into her latent wolf powers.

Okay. It was time I stepped in.

There were six wolves, minus the one who had just been thrown away, surrounding Alice. They were barking at her, clawing at her from a safe distance—as if that would ever achieve anything. To me, it seemed like Alice had the upper hand, even from her position of disadvantage.

Perhaps…

No! That would be too risky.

Perhaps if I could let this play out, maybe she’d have to tap into her latent powers so much that she might end up turning into a wolf.

The idea was tempting, intrusive, and almost genius except for the fact that it put Alice’s life in danger.

I was still hidden in the shadows, observing what was happening. Alice got tired of holding the log. She threw it in the wolves’ direction. I watched with amusement as the log hit the wolves, disconcerting them, sending them scattering away.

It was time to put an end to this.

Before the werewolves got a chance to regroup and attack a very defenseless Alice, I leaped into the clearing, landing in the middle. I looked at Alice, and even though I couldn’t speak, I let her know with my gaze that it was okay. That I was there. Then I turned to face the wolves, staring them down with my menacing glare.

I pitied them for a second. They were runts of the litter compared to me. None of them were as tall or as broad as me. It was a suicide mission Trevor had sent them on. But my pity ended the moment I realized that they had attacked Alice, had driven her this far into the woods, and were about to do something terrible to her had I not intervened.

I roared and unleashed a fury of slashes at them, advancing into their ranks as I clawed wildly at them, tearing up their muzzles, rending their flesh, and making them fall on their backs. I did not know the meaning of mercy as I channeled my rage, brutally attacking each of the seven wolves in turn. One of them, a daring one, tried to get the jump on me. I turned around and clamped my jaw around his neck. I wanted to kill him. I really did. But in that instant, I recalled the Creed and how it prohibited needless spillage of blood.

I chomped down on the wolf’s neck, breaking past his skin and touching bone, and then threw him afar. Had I not, I would have given into my carnal bloodlust. The rest of them were scampering about, unsure of what to do. All they did as they tried to surround me was whimper and skitter as if they were injured kittens.

However, the fact remained that they outnumbered me, that they were out for blood, and that Alice was still in mortal danger. I couldn’t get cocky, not now.

So I took to the sky, using my momentum to my advantage. I made use of the trees all around me, climbing to the very top, getting a good vantage of the battlefield below me. I jumped down into their remaining group, crashing into three of them head-on. They were immediately knocked out by my brute force.

Now, only three remained. They were limping from the collision. I, on the other hand, was driven by frenzy, seeing nothing but red. I sped across the clearing and tore a massive chunk off one of the remaining wolves, making blood ooze from where I had struck.

Two left.