TW: scenes of violence/blood

I took way longer than necessary in the downstairs bathroom, my head in my hands as I sat on the toilet's lid. I had relieved myself over two minutes ago, but couldn't find the energy to get up and put on the fake smile everyone seemed to admire.

Standing from my perch, I made my way over to the sink to wash my hands. Running the soap over my fingers, I studied my reflection to check for any imperfections. Since I had sat with my head in my hands, I had rubbed off some of the make-up on my face. I had no make-up down here, so exited the room to go in search of some.

I just made it to the first step when a sudden scream met my ears. I tensed, halting my movements, when more panic broke out.

What was going on?

A vast pit of dread filled my stomach, and I hurried to the door. Creaking it open, I only glimpsed some fire before Darius was in front of me, pushing me inside. He was breathing heavy; the smell of his breath caused my nose to wrinkle, but it was the fear in his eyes that had me clinging onto his arms.

"What is it? What's going on? I heard screaming..." I rushed.

His brown eyes snapped down to me, wide and fearful. "They're here. They found us. We need to leave."

"Who is here? Who found us?" I repeated, shaking my head.

He grumbled at me, pushing my arms away to hurry to his bedroom. I followed him, my confusion only growing when he pulled things from his safe and into a bag.

"We need to leave." He snapped, taking my arm to pull me back downstairs and to the back door.

"Darius... Darius please, I'm scared." I whimpered.

He didn't stop, his grip on my wrist burning. He scanned the back garden before dragging me to the apple tree. Pushing me into its trunk, his glaring eyes stared down at me.

"Darius..." I whispered.

"Ailia, stay here. Hide. I'm going to go next door to Mum and Dad's and open the panic room." He explained.

"Why?"

He had run away before I got an answer. The rush of blood through my ears was enough to make my stomach roll. I was glad our house had tall fences blocking any entrance from where the screaming came from.

I was confused, but going by the sounds of terror, I knew better and kept quiet. Whatever it was, would probably find me in a heartbeat if I made enough noise. My breaths were quick and heavy as I waited for Darius to return, but as the time went on, dread filled my stomach.

I cast a long look at the house one more time before making my way to the gate he had disappeared behind. Pushing it open quietly, I jumped as a woman went running down the street in the distance.

"Darius?" I whispered.

No reply. Where had he gone?

I swallowed nervously, pushing my back against the side of the house. I slowly slithered my way down the side of the building to the corner, keeping my feet light across the stones. The smell of burning met my nose. The fire's warmth had grown since I was last outside. But a deep rumble came from nearby and I tensed when a flash of darkness ran by the house.

I followed the blur, mesmerised by the speed of whatever it was. My fear only grew when it stopped by a older woman who was trying to sneak around a tree. A large brown wolf stood on four long legs peered down at her. I gasped at its sheer size, causing its ears to twitch. The woman cowered, crying out for help as the beast crept closer, its nose twitching to scent her. He growled, huffing in her face before turning to run away, and she collapsed in relief.

Wolves.

The shifters had found us. But how? I thought their hunt ended yesterday.

I leaned back to press my body against the building, but halted when a warm breath ran along my neck. Swallowing fiercely, I slowly turned my head to come face to face with a creature from my nightmares. It was the same brown wolf as I had just been watching. It had come up behind me whilst I was distracted. Its eyes were a sharp grey in colour, narrowed as it studied me. Its gigantic mouth parted in a growl as I made eye contact and my eyes automatically dropped to the saliva pooled jaws.

Teeth the size of my hand glinted back at me, spit dripping from their tips. The beast came up to my height, its enormous head and shoulders blocked most, if not all, the slight alley we were standing in.

My heart thrummed erratically, my throat bobbing with nerves. Of all the ways I thought I would die; I did not picture it by a savage beast. I probably should have. In a world like this, at least I'd know what to expect.

I kept quiet, hardly breathing as I waited for it to make its move. It hadn't killed the other woman, so would it spare me, too? Was it a kind wolf?

Just as the thought crossed my mind, it growled at me, moving closer. I whimpered, closing my eyes, frozen to the spot. Its enormous snout grew closer until the heavy breaths blew the hair across my skin. The sound of it sniffing met my ears before it huffed and leaned away. Peaking an eye open, I saw it studying me.

Whatever it had smelt, it did not seem to like. Not a moment later, it backed up and leapt over my head. I ducked in surprise, a small squeak leaving my lips in fright. The beast ran away, and I let out a shaky laugh of breath, my heart pounding with adrenaline.

Licking my lips, I turned to move from the front of the house, deciding the back was the easiest and safest route. If Darius had left for the safe room, I was going to make my way there. Running to the back garden, I stopped by the apple tree. They grew it perfectly between the two homes that some of its branches leaned into the opposing garden.

I scaled the branchy tree easily; it has been one of my favourite spots to catch up on some reading or cloud watching. Dragging myself along the branches, I came to a stop above the ten-foot fence that divided the two homes. Peering down, I was met with an equally high drop.

I didn't think this through.

Wincing with apprehension, I made my way further down the tree, hoping with my weight and gentle movements, I could bend the branch closer to the ground. It seemed to work until a growl met my ears once again. My head snapped up in surprise to find a tan wolf snarling at me. Its eyes were black and filled with rage, its lips pulled back over sharp teeth.

I had no time to crawl away, no time to shout for help as suddenly the beast was below me. It leapt up with great strength, its teeth latching onto my thigh and pulling me down with it. I screamed as searing hot pain tore into my limb, its teeth breaking skin enough to graze bone. I smacked into the floor, my breath whooshing out of me in one fluid movement. It dragged me along the grass as I wailed in agony, my hands clawing at anything they could to get away.

"Darius!" I shouted in horror.

Tears flooded my face, and the wolf only growled when I called for him again. The wolf pulled me past the safe room's location, and I cried for him once more. The metal shutters shifted slightly, creating a small window in the bulletproof glass. Brown eyes peered out, widening when they caught sight of the beast pulling me into the trees. I saw nothing else but his eyes, his dark, chocolate eyes as he stared at us.

"Darius! Help me!" I sobbed.

The beast growled just as Darius' eyes met mine. He staggered away from the gap, and I cried out with despair as he stared, horror-stricken, out the window. My heart broke when his father stepped forward to peer out. His eyes met mine, then followed my bloody trail to the beast that broke down his fence to get to me.

The beast suddenly dropped me, its tongue darting out to lick its lips, grazing my bare skin. My eyes snapped down to it, finding it preoccupied with the house. I watched with horror as it glared at the safe room and I followed its gaze just as the shutters shut on Darius' father's harsh glare.

I was abandoned. Left alone to be torn apart by wolves, just like my father.

I sobbed, trying to get away now the beast had let me go. I made it a little further away from the trees before it caught up. The sound of its footsteps had me staggering into a run, my thigh protesting and screaming at me to stop.

I didn't make it much further before they knocked me off my feet, my face pressed into the dirt. A heavy paw placed itself on my lower back, pushing lightly until I felt a crack of one of my ribs. I gasped in pain as its claws sank into my top, pulling fabric and skin away with its swipe. Rolling me over, the beast stepped closer to growl in my face. This was a new wolf, similar in colour, except it had a dark snout and ears. Now there were two wolves after me. I hope this was quick.

It snapped its jaws in my face, its paw coming to press down on my chest, claws sinking into me. I gasped for breath, moving my head away from its approaching teeth. It sniffed me before moving its nose away to cast a look at the tan wolf. The tan wolf stared at the darker one intensely, and chuntering sounds meeting my ears as they communicated. Two pairs of dark eyes snapped back to me when the darker wolf increased its pressure on my chest and I wheezed with pain.

With a rough bark, its claws sank in deeper, pulling my skin open until blood pooled down my sides. I coughed a scream, my tears pooling in my eyes.

"P-Please..." I sobbed. "Please don't hurt me."

It licked its lips in response, taking in the fresh wounds it had just created. The pain was oddly reminiscent of when Darius used to suffocate me. My chest closing in as my vision blurred and pain overtook my senses.

Darius...

The man I was supposed to marry... to love.

Darius, the man who abused me at every moment, controlled my every move and suffocated my thoughts.

Darius, the man who let his best friend use me like a doll.

Darius, the man who left me at an apple tree for dead, to run into his safe house with his mummy and daddy.

Darius. His father. Ash...

Men always took what they wanted, never asked or gave answers to questions. Men, controlling and strong, always pushed me around, hurt me, abuse me.

Darius, Ash, my mother... All people I thought I could trust, just for them to stab me in the back. Literally and figuratively. They were terrifying, hard to read and just as hard to take down.

If I made it out of here alive, I vowed I would let no one rule over me again.

But by the fading of light around me, I knew I wouldn't live to see that promise through, so may as well make it a big one.

As if sensing my thoughts, the wolf's nose came to press into my throat. My head flopped to the side easily, my breaths wheezing as my wounds poured their grief onto the ground. Were my insides still inside me? It didn't feel like it. I felt oddly empty and cold...

"Please... please, just kill me quickly." I whispered, my tears stopping.

The wolf recoiled slightly; another glance shared to its pack mate before blinking down at me. Their eyes were so intelligent, it was no surprise there was a man inside there somewhere. If wolves could shrug, this one sure did, just before its snout moved closer to me.

A loud howl suddenly broke through the trees, and the wolf stopped its descent to end my life. I exhaled with a cry, desperate for the pain to end. The two wolves hesitated as another howl met my ears. Goosebumps rose on my skin, my tongue feeling heavy in my mouth as the new beast grew closer.

Wolves hunted as a pack, and I assumed this was a new contender.

Through the muffled sounds of my breath and blood in my ears, heavy footsteps shook the earth, loud growls and snarling surrounding me. My vision blurred, but I swear the new wolf was even bigger and covered in black fur. My eyes felt heavy, consciousness a struggle to keep as I fought to stay awake.

Whines and whimpers met my ears before the trees fell silent with a loud thump. Heavy breaths and the smell of blood tainted my senses, and I opened my eyes once more to see the fate that lay before me.

The large black beast had won. It approached me, its head hung low and ears forward with curiosity as it sniffed me. Was it going to eat me?

I watched it study me, my face void of emotion as I sank to the ground. My vision swirled, and I embraced it, wheezing a breath as my mind fogged over. Accepting my demise to this black wolf, I absorbed the sensation of feeling so light and free.

But just before I closed my eyes, I swear I saw the beast transform into a man.

*****