I wasn't surprised when my paws led me to a very familiar place. An old brick house in the outskirts of town. My mate's house stood eerily quite with the outside light and the moon above the only illumination. I imagined him sleeping in the house and suddenly wanted to hear the sound of his breathing.
I moved slowing, dragging my wolf body through the ground while I inched closer to the house. I didn't want to disturb him in case he was awake, so I slowed my breathing and put my ear to the ground to help connect past the wall that separated us. It was strenuous but I persisted. I could hear faint clicking sounds or maybe it wasn't inside but around. Something of a board being struck or such.
Other than that, nothing. But the wind seemed to catch another scent. Iron and fire if there was such a scent. Like the way fire scotches but with blood, No. Burning blood if that made any sense. It was familiar but not. The smell or stench was so overwhelming that I snorted and dug the ground for a few seconds then stuck my nose in trying to dispel the scent. It was intense and horrible.
"I have smelt and felt this stench before..." I remember thinking of why I couldn't smell the intruders on my land the other day and I think this is probably the case.
It was here.
And it was coming from the east side of the house.
I frown and stand on all fours, moving towards the side of the house were the wind brought in the scent.
At first there's nothing, Just the darkness and light of the moon. A few trees that overshadow and boarder the property but then I freeze. My wolf perks up and stands to attention in my head. He starts growling before my physical body can catch up but am left stunned at what am seeing.
A man, No. Not a man, too wrong. He stands a head taller than I am, and I am considered quite tall even among other shifters. But this guy is tall and on the lean side. His eyes are a bottomless pit of black as he stares back at me, seemingly just as surprised as I am.
A beat of silence echoes around us as we just stare at each other. Am not really sure who moves first but by the time my brain refocuses, am in my human form and a hand as hard as steel is choking the life out of me. He is just as strong as he looks, and my legs are dangling from the ground while I try to ply his hand from my throat.
His iron grip keeps getting stronger as he looks at me with a blank but menacing gaze. His other arm leisurely just remains on his side as though my weight was nothing but paper to him. I don't particularly remember ever feeling so small before and my ego and pride take the hit more than my body really.
I notice as am fighting to inject more oxygen that he smells so much like my mate up close. Not you stood too close to my mate but that the smell is longer, prolonged contact. And they look alike too.
Intimate.
My vision goes red.
I phase and summon my wolf and shift, the surprise of my sudden shift catches him off guard, and my teeth sink into his flesh, and I taste thick copper with ash. It's the most disgusting smell I have ever tasted. He hisses and backhands me so hard I fly a few meters from where he stands. He curses in some strange tongue, but I don't care to understand as I pull myself from the ground again and charge.
My wolf pushes me to the back as he takes over completely. His fury driving him to the brink of insanity. He lounges and I can almost see it in slow motion as the demon's eyes turn a chilling purple for a second before the black comes back. My wolf and I are suspended in midair, and it's with a sudden fear that I realize this might be a demon. I have never met a demon personally, but we were all told to stay clear of them.
Demons were the oldest of the supernatural. While they had just as much darkness, they were children of light before anything. While angels harnessed light alone, demons already had light then fueled it with darkness to boot.
I could feel my inside being squeezed. Something was squeezing the life out of me.
Literally.
The pain was indescribable, something akin to being set on fire while being squashed at it. It was hell.
I could feel blood pouring out of me from almost all openings of my body. I was going to die.
I could feel it. My vision was a blur of dark shadows swirling everywhere around me. My wolf was a whimpering mess inside my head as he cowardly gave back control, and I was left to experience the blunt of this demon's wrath.
But just as I was about to succumb to my sudden fate. Something collided with the demon and sent him to the ground where he hissed in pain. I tried to gulp in air, but it was hard because my healing was still slower than unusual as blind spots danced around in my head for several seconds. My ears still picked up on whatever was happening around me as more voices could be heard around me.
After what felt like forever my vision came back. My savior was none other than the odd guy from town. He stood in front of me as four demons glared fiercely at him. The one who just tried to kill me was looking at him with murder in his eyes. His eyes were a deep purple that almost looked black. He looked to the happy guy and then flicked his eyes back at me. His stare blank and yet murderous.
And the worst thing in all this was that our odd ball hero still had that fucking smile on his stupid face.