I took a step closer to the man alone in the woods with me, my ears picked up the sounds of footsteps running through the woods in search of us. A small glow lit up the area around us and I watched as he stood frozen in fear.
I couldn’t hear Athena. You know when you wear earphones and someone’s talking to you but you can’t hear them? Their voice is muffled and far away. That’s how it was right now. I was in wolf form so shouldn’t our thoughts be one? Why was she far away?
“What are you?” He breathed staring up at me, dragging me from my thoughts. Cocking my head, I stop for a second caught off guard by his words. I watch him curiously before I remember he doesn’t matter. His fear doesn’t matter. He is irrelevant. What matters is my pack, my home, my love, and my vengeance. In order to be safe, I need to get rid of him.
The heat writhed within me and eased my mind, soothing away whatever I’d been getting worked up about. I lower myself to the ground, snapping my teeth with the desire to do just that as I slowly stalked closer to him, my prey.
The flames were hungry and as it ate up the anger in me it demanded I fed them too. I let the flames rise up until they coat every inch of me until everything fades to black.
When I open my eyes, I’ve already disposed of the guards that came running in. I don’t even remember how many of them were there but by the time I look around no one is left standing.
The trees seem to open up ahead of me, a clear path free of debris on the ground appearing. The small glow grows and grows until it lights up and illuminates the woods, everything in the dark is now lit up and my eyes sweep over the bodies that litter the floor. Some are piled on top of each other and I look around to find where the light is coming from. Looking down, the light is coming from me. Instead of burning, the tips of my white fur extend to brightly burning flames.
I stand alone in the woods engulfed in flames. I taste is blood and revenge on my tongue. I burn at the edge of the woods with only a foot of forest separating me from the clearing. My eyes land on the man standing over a body alone in the clearing.
Remember. Athena’s voice reverberates in my mind.
Beta Rich.
I need him.
“What have you done?!” He screams. “Where are my men?”
With a hiss of anger, I promise the flames the one to end their hunger, my hunger. Pulling myself to my full height, I held my head high as I stepped out of the woods. Beta Rich spotted me and I stared in satisfaction as his face morphed from shock to fear as he watched me walkout from the protection of the woods.
“There aren’t and,”
I break into a run and I gun for him. The bottom of my paws thumped over gravel and leaves in my path. The flames flickered against the wind as I cut the distance between me and the man that would end it all.
Beta rich roared a challenge as he ran forward with his hands raised and I welcomed his attack. Not bothering to shift he was blind and fueled by anger. I snarled and snapped at him as he grew closer. Instead of swiping at me, he kicked my muzzle and I whined in pain.
Bastard.
I’m going to take a chunk out of him, turning to face him I’m met with extended claws and cry out as they tear along my cheek and rip open fresh wounds. Two more strikes scraped against my cheek before I bit at him and he jumped out of the way dodging me.
He landed a kick to my chest and I flew back. I cursed as I scrambled up before he could land another one.
I was a blur of movement as I cut through the air towards him. He caught my jaw with one hand and gripped my fur close to my shoulder hackle with the other. I smiled, my lips parting as he yelped in pain from the flames as the smell of burnt flesh filled my nose.
He let go and held my jaw open with both hands and I bit down on his flesh and reveled as I pierced skin, tasting blood.
His face filled with utter panic he started to feel overpowered. He was fighting a losing battle but I had to give it to him, he was putting up a fight. I killed the others almost instantly.
I snatched my jaw from his grip and bit down on the flesh between his head and chest. Rich screamed as blood spurted against my face and muzzle. He fought against it and hit wildly against me only burning himself. Rich let out another scream as his hands and arms were engulfed in the flames where he held me.
The stench of burning flesh stayed with me and filled my senses as I clenched down on him separating flesh from flesh. His futile attempts to fight me off died and his hands fell down limp as the flames spread from his arms to the rest of his body.
I dropped him from my teeth and watched as the flames swallowed him and he became charred. A psychotic and vicious smile filled my lips as I looked down at him.
The flames from my body died down and disappeared. They weren’t hungry anymore, sated by the life we’d taken today even though a part of me felt unsettled. We’d be free now, wouldn’t we?
A howl ripped from me and filled the air before turning into a painful scream as I shifted into my human form. With the flames gone, I felt seriously depleted as I fought to stay upright.