Chapter 8 Brother

• Daphne shook with terror. She shot to her feet and stumbled, her legs had lost all strength. She stared at the wolves, her heart hammering. If she could run, would she be able to? There was no way she could get rid of one wolf on her own, let alone dozens of them? They seemed to multiply in the night. Were they drawn to the scent of her blood, or could they sense her impending death?
• The grey wolf sniffed and stomped his foot, “A human?”
• The other wolves growled at her, seemingly aggravated by the grey wolf’s anger.
• “How dare a human intrude on my territory?”
• Daphne trembled as the wolves behind him began to growl, drool dripping from the jaws as they bared their teeth hungrily and stared at her.
• “Kill…”
• “…Meat.”
• “I’m starving.”
• Why couldn’t they speak like Arthur and the grey wolf? The other werewolves she’d encountered didn’t have red eyes. Did their red eyes mean that they couldn’t speak or they lacked intelligence somehow? Arthur could speak, as could the grey one, so what made them special? What did the grey wolf, Arthur, and the other red-eyed wolves have in common?
• “I-I’m sorry,” Daphne said. “I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to. P-Please, I promise to leave... Just let me go…”
• The grey wolf snickered, cruel and derisive, “Now…. Why would I do that?”
• Daphne trembled, meeting the wolf’s gaze, “P-Please—”
• One of the red-eyed wolves lunged at her. She screamed, cowering and bracing for the pain, but there was no pain. A sharp crack filled the air and a pained yelp. She opened her eyes to see the grey wolf gripping the wolf in his jaws by his neck. The body hung limply from his mouth. He twisted violently and threw the wolf off to the side. It rolled to a stop nearby, bleeding from its neck and unmoving: dead.
• The other wolves growled and stepped back; their eyes seemed to be focused on the wolf’s body.
• She shuddered, thinking of Arthur. She tried to push the memories away, but the scent of blood made her stomach churn with nausea. Arthur had the same ruthless speed about him, but he had been one against many. This one seemed to have a legion of wolves that followed him and had no problem turning his ruthlessness against his followers.
• The other stepped back with low, almost placating, growls. Daphne’s stomach roiled, and she did her best not to retch. Weren’t they companions? How could he kill the other wolf so easily?
• “Meat…”
• “Hungry…”
• “Who gave you permission to act?” The grey wolf growled at the corpse. “Let this be a reminder”
• The wolf licked his mouth and Daphne shuddered, “She’s mine.”
• “Meat.”
• “…Starving…”
• Daphne stumbled back, her gaze jumped between the grey wolf and the wolves behind him. His mouth quirked into a cruel mockery of a smirk. He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes at her.
• “You can have that meat,” the grey wolf said and stepped forward. In a flash, the other wolves lunged for the wolf’s carcass, tearing into it with feral snarls. Daphne retched as blood splattered nearby and a wolf ripped flesh clean from the bone and swallowed it. Another shoved it aside in the frenzy. She wished she could cover her ears and block out the sounds or at least think to avert her gaze, but it was over too quickly. The corpse was picked clean before Daphne realized that her legs were burning from the breath she was holding.
• She sucked in a sharp breath as the wolves turned their hungry gazes towards her.
• “Meat…”
• “More.”
• These wolves were nothing like the wolves that had chased her and Arthur to the waterfall! They had order and intellect, purpose and unity as they hunted her and Arthur.
• These wolves were just monsters led by the most ruthless monster.
• The grey wolf came close to her, and she closed her eyes, hoping he would just make it quick. If she had to die like this, she preferred a quick death to slowly being eaten alive. Tears streamed down her face as she trembled and waited.
• “Get away from her!” A voice roared. She opened her eyes as a gust of wind blew past her.
• Arthur lunged at the grey wolf, sinking his teeth into the wolf’s neck, but the wolf twisted violently and got free. He bit Arthur’s leg. Arthur kicked him in the face and they separated for a moment before lunging at each other and colliding with a snarl.
• For a moment, Daphne breathed a sigh of relief. She had hoped but hadn’t expected Arthur to find her and save her yet again. How had he found her? How long after she’d left had he woken up and went after her?
• She dropped to the ground, shivering and watching Arthur and the grey wolf tear into each other. Blood and fur flew through the air with each swipe of their claws. They howled and growled, tumbling. Their red eyes flashed in the night as they battled for dominance.
• She wasn’t sure who was winning, or what she should do.
• A rustle nearby drew her attention and she flinched as another red-eyed wolf approached her. Others from the other side came near as well. She’d forgotten the others.
• “…hungry.”
• “…meat.”
• She shuddered. The grey wolf had murdered one, but it hadn’t had much effect on the others. It seemed that they were even really following the grey wolf’s orders. They were just a pack of monsters that only fell in line when it suited them.
• She almost wished that the other had been the one to find them. At least with rational werewolves, there was a slim chance that she could convince them to let her go.
• “S-Stay back.”
• They growled. Their drool dripped as they prowled closer. Each of them trembling, barely holding back from leaping at her.
• “Meat!” One of them cried and rushed forward. She scrambled back towards a tree, barely dodging the wolf. It slammed into the tree as she slipped behind it.
• “Arthur,” she cried as another rushed towards her.
• Arthur twisted, throwing the grey wolf off, and rushed to her side, ripping a wolf’s head off with a loud wet crunch. Blood flew through the air as Arthur tore through the others.
• The grey wolf attacked Arthur, but Arthur threw him off again and slaughtered the other wolves. The scent of blood filled the air, and soon Arthur stood between her and the grey wolf. The grass was covered with blood that gleamed in the moonlight. It was splattered all over the trees and the bodies of wolves littered the area.
• Arthur panted, shuddering as blood leaked from his wounds.
• Tears streamed down her face, “Arthur…”
• “Arthur…” The grey wolf said. His tone was thoughtful as he cocked his head and stared at Arthur strangely, “You’re stronger than I expected.”
• Daphne gasped. What did that mean? How did this wolf know Arthur?
• The grey wolf bared his teeth with a snarl, “But what are you doing? You're supposed to be fighting me, not protecting that human over there! Where is your pride, Arthur?!”
• Arthur growled, “Shut up! You will pay for attacking my mate!”
• Arthur lunged at the grey wolf as he let out a cackled. He dodged Arthur’s lunge and tackled him, rolling them around in the grass, over the bodies, and through the shallow stream. Daphne struggled to crawl back away from the fight as the grey wolf let out a howl of pain as Arthur bit his shoulder and swiped his claw across his face.
• The grey wolf scratched him back and their limbs locked as they tried to push each other away.
• The grey wolf laughed again, “How is it possible? You should be like me. There’s no way you have a mate—“
• Arthur snapped his jaw at him, but the grey wolf twisted and rolled Arthur under him, pinning him. Daphne’s heart lurched as the grey wolf opened his mouth. She had to do something. She lunged forward to get between them. The grey wolf avoided her easily as Arthur reared up to get him away from her.
• The grey wolf stumbled off Arthur and nearly lost his upper hand. Arthur twisted but faltered before he could land a blow on the grey wolf. The grey wolf slammed him back down and Daphne closed her hands over something, throwing it at the grey wolf. She thought it would miss, but he seemed stunned and it hit him in his shoulder.
• He turned with a growl, “Stupid human—“
• The trees rustled and Daphne heard running footsteps as Arthur dragged himself onto his feet.
• Wolves howled in the distance. How many were there? Were they the ones from before? Were they friendly?
• Arthur was too injured to fight anyone else.
• “Rogues!” Someone yelled. “Rogues!”
• The grey wolf cursed, “These damned wolves…”
• He hurried towards the forest and stopped. He turned back to look at Arthur, meeting his gaze and glaring.
• “Remember this, Arthur,” Arthur froze as the wolf continued. “My name is Owen. We will meet again in the future… When that day comes, you will die, brother.”