All hell broke loose like a bomb of chaos went off in the middle of the village. I wanted to shout, to call out for help, and the only one in my mind was Seb: Amon, my dragon king. But no matter how much I tried, it all felt like a bad dream; all my efforts turned out to be a hoarse sound or harsh breath. All efforts all cries died in my throat, only leaving a deep whisper as a dying animal's last shout for help.
All energy had left me, and I could barely lift my hand when Jacob picked me up, slapping my lame attempt to scratch his face away. Even if I knew it was fruitless, I then used all my energy to lift my other hand. With an irritated hiss, he grabbed it and forced it down before he slapped my cheek. My head was thrown to the side, and my vision blinked as a burning sensation spread on my face. Before I could realize he actually slapped me, strong fingers grabbed my chin and forced my head around. Holding so tight, he pushed my mouth together and held me up in his face.
"Ezra made me promise to be gentle; he always insists on doing things his way. Be kind, be gentle. No unnecessary force and all that crap. But even he doesn't like an uncontrollable bitch! I will make sure you know your place sooner rather than later."
Screaming, shouting, and general raucous became more evident. Wolves snarling, yelping, and a woman's desperate cry filled the now heavy air. More and more wolves came from the forest surrounding the village, and it became clear the village was under attack. However, for the moment, all I could do was watch. My body didn't work like I wanted it, and the air still left a burning sting with each breath I took, making my mind clouded. I could hear Jacob's voice but didn't bother listening. His voice sent shivers down my spine and caused goosebumps to erupt up my arms. Why didn't Drifta help me?
A whimpering groan gurgled in my throat when I was thrown over his shoulder. My chest hurt so much that my vision clouded again, and the crushing sensation made my stomach turn to the point I could taste the stomach acid burning up my throat-a broken rib. The statement filled my head in Drifta's soft voice, but she was still unavailable. How did that happen? Jacob's cheerful whistling sounded horrible in contrast to the scenery behind us, walking away from the desperate cries for help and despair. He walked away from the sound of fighting and war.
Ezra walked up behind us, but lifting my head and back up enough to look at him was not an option right now. The slight movement of Jacob walking was enough to send a lightning sensation of pain through my body, so I did my best to counter that instead of looking up. But I could hear him, her, the rising conflict in the village we were leaving behind. Several snarling wolves passed us, and I realized they never once looked twice at the twins and didn't attack us. Just ran like rabid dogs out from the forest line straight to the village center.
"For the love of the goddess, stop Jacob. I need to fix that before I throw up."
"I thought it would encourage her, like you said?"
"Yeah, when we get back. But I don't want to run through the forest or cross the sea throwing up and feeling like I'm breathing in glowing hot nails!"
"Wuss..."
Jacob scoffed, but he stopped, yanked me off his shoulder, and set me down. But my head was spinning, and I swallowed again and again to keep my stomach content down while I fought to make the world stop acting like a carousel.
"Fuck. Was that necessary?"
I could barely hear Ezra's angry complaint and Jacob's snickering before Ezra walked up to me, so close all I could see was his grim face. Without a word, no explanation, both his hands shoot out and I cry out in pain as my hands are lifted up over my head by Jacob, who had walked up behind me. But the cries died in my throat when extreme heat spread from Ezra's hands and out into my body; first, it felt like he tried burning me alive by setting everything inside me on fire, but then I could feel my bones break, how my ribs shifted and snapped into place. Did he heal me? Confused, I looked at his serious face, eyes glued to my ribs, so deeply concentrated pearls of sweat formed right beneath his hairline.
Burning heat waves turned to warmth washing over my body, and slowly, my pain faded, and each breath became lighter. It all gave me more time to take in the chaos. Standing in the middle of the open field, I had a clear view of the village but also the edge of the forest. Two grey wolves rushed past us, and Ezra didn't even look up or take notice.
"Was this the plan all along? To attack your sister's new pack?"
"Hurry up! That's more than enough."
Jacob didn't even acknowledge me at this point, and Ezra acted like I never said a word. I was about to yell in his face, making sure he heard me; a roar made the air around us vibrate. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before, deep and loud, and carried through the air like massive waves of vibrating sound. Outright rage, the sensation followed the sound, and I forgot all about Ezra and Jacob. My eyes searched the swarm of bodies and animals clashing together. It was them; it was them all along. They planned this; did Lydia help? Where is my father? And how the heck did I end up in this grim mix of events?
Just then, a massive dark shadow rose to the sky, and another roar cut right through the air and sound from the village. My heart skipped a beat, and I filled my lungs to the brim. Seb, it was Sebastian! A massive hand clamped over my mouth, sharp claws scraped my skin, and his name faded into my mouth. Kicking, wiggling, and hitting like a crazy lady, I got a couple of good hits before something tightened around my neck-another silver ring. Both my hands flew up and grabbed it, pulled on it, and again, that strange, overwhelming anger started boiling inside of me. My skin itched, my pulse rushed through my body, and still Drifta pulled back. Refused to shift or say a word.
But the obvious irritation and frustration on Ezra's face filled me with joy! He was clearly stressed about the situation, and it didn't turn out the way he wanted it, perfect if you ask me! They both dragged me after them. Jacob tried lifting me over his shoulder again, but this time, I managed to dig my nails into his arm and bite him until the thick, metallic, sweet liquid filled my mouth.
"Fuck this!"
Ezra suddenly shouted, and we all stopped.
"We will do it here!"
There was a couple of seconds of silence before Jacob almost jumped as an excited kid.
"Yes! Finally, you speak my language, brother!"
While he pulled his shirt over his head.
"Eir? Run!!"
Ezra shouted, ripping his own shirt off.
My pulse rose quickly, but I stood there staring at them both. It all was too surreal. The chaos in the background where buildings were now burning and the stench of smoke tingled in my nose. Raging flames danced on rooftops, houses, trees, and bushes. In the middle of this, we stood here. I gaped in surprise, struggling to understand what was happening. On the other hand, they stood there, blocking the way between me and the village. Ezra hissed like an angered snake while Jacob grinned like the wolf he was. Both had already thrown their shirt; Jacob let his pants fall with a beaming smile willed with sharp canines.
Goosebumps erupted up my arm, and my head refused to take the new situation in.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
My voice was far from as strong as I had hoped, but at least it didn't break.
"Run, Eir! Run! You've done this before; now run before it is too late!"
Ezra growled, and his pants ripped, and I realized they were about to shift. Slowly taking steps backward, I look between the two. They grew taller, muscles bulged, and the sound from their chest and throat was horrifying. And if this wasn't bad enough on its own, Jacob's voice snickered while rolling his shoulders and neck like a song from nowhere in the utter darkness of the creepiest horror movies. His voice, filled with amusement, echoed his beast's deep voice,
"Run, little bunny. Run!"
From there, my body acted on its own, turned around, and started running. Their animalistic laughter followed me and echoed all around me as the sound of my raging heart and pulse filled my ears. Panic and adrenaline pumped through my body, and I started shouting to Drifta. I didn't even care. I shouted to the point my throat burned and ached; each time I filled my lungs, it burned inside of me, like the air was a strange object, poisonous or something,
"Drifta! Shift! Drifta!? Come on!!! We need to shift!"
Eventually, my voice started to break; I knew we needed to shift if we were about to have at least a little chance to escape these monsters. However, Drifta still refused and still didn't answer. She was there, pushing her energy forward, letting me run a little faster, but never allowed us to shift. My chest felt like it wanted to explode. I could taste blood in my mouth, and every single muscle in my body ached and trembled as I ran as fast as I could up the grass hill.
After a brief second, I looked over my shoulder and almost fell face first when I saw them. Ezra and Jacob had walked over to each other, butt naked side by side, as they started to shift into one wolf. They fell forward, and their bodies melted together into one massive white wolf.
"Drifta! Fuck, shift! Shift now!"
A massive howl filled the air, but this time, I didn't turn; I didn't want to see the wolf now hunting us, no, hunting me! It felt like the ground beneath my feet began to shake as I finally saw the thick forest line before me. Growling and snarling rapidly came closer, but my eyes were glued to the forest, and I knew the massive wolf was closing in on me. I fell and crawled up as fast as I could on the last steep part of the field; wet mud and grass stuck to my clothes and hands, but I didn't care. All I could think of was run, run! Get as far away, as fast as possible! Just as I reached the forest and slipped in between threes, I turned and saw a massive dragon and the white wolf roaring at one another.
My heart ached and wanted me to stop, but I couldn't. So, I kept running, letting the fighting beasts fade behind me. Ground continued to shake beneath my feet. I don't know why, but I turned around, looked over my shoulder, and, to my horror, a massive white wolf with black eyes jumped out from the bushes. His fur was drenched in blood.