JACE W.

-*-

My eyes wander pensively into the horizon. The day's events had caught up with me hours ago now. Xavier's death is as fresh as the blood of the rogues I killed, the cries of my people haunt my mind, and, closing my eyes, I see the walls of my home engulfed in flames.

So why is it that I feel so numb?

I stare at my hands, something about the washed off blood churns my stomach.
Why me...? Why did I survive, but they perished? Why has Selene forsaken me with such a burden to bear?

''Jace.'' I start at the old voice and snap my gaze to Kyra's sunken eyes. How long had she stood there?

''You're staring.'' The words slip before I can think. ''Don't you have someone else business to stick your nose into?

- Watch your tone young man, I am still your equal.'' I scoff and fall silent, unable to reply as the words tumble onto the tip of my tongue. Kyra seems to notice and, softening her tone, hands me a wooden bowl. ''You should eat." A vile smell reaches my nose and twists my guts.

''I'm not hungry.'' The fuck she boiled in this?

She drawls, and digs into the murky content. ''Still a picky eater, I see.''

The remark draws a chuckle from my lungs. I'm not picky, far from it. This woman, despite her many other talents, does not know how to cook. I mask a gag with a cough as I am hit by a sudden wave of nausea.

Just thinking about her food makes me sick...

As I turn away, the nausea worsens, bile now rising up my throat. I stumble, mouth filled and spew my contents onto a nearby tree with a loud wretch. The sickness quickly passes, but I am nonetheless left a little shaken.

Kyra's prying eyes peer into the corner of my vision. "Did you get shot?"

I wipe my mouth of any trace of vomit. "No. I didn't.

- Hm, take off your shirt." I obey, flinching when her icy hands connect with my skin. She hums and groans as she finishes. "No gun shot wounds, nor trace of wolfbane." She presses her palm against my forehead. One of the first symptoms is fever and tremors, but we both knew I'd be dead long ago if I'd been poisoned. She always was like a second mother to me, so I paid no heed to her worries. ''are warm-" I pull away and quickly slip back into my shirt.

"I'm fine.

- For now. But I will have my eye on you regardless of what you say, young man. We've already lost Xavier, the pack cannot afford to lose you too.''

Her words leave me with a bitter taste in my mouth, as I am suddenly haunted by my father's murder. The sight of his body burns into my thoughts and feeds into my growing anger. I stand, my wolf once again clawing under my skin as it demands to be let out. It needs to come out.

Kyra throws a wary eye my way as I stand. ''What are you doing?''

A low growl rises from my lungs. It must come out. ''I need to go.

- Where?''

I barely hear her words over my snapping bones. Fur rips my skin, paws replace limbs and my jaw shifts into a deadly maw. I don't pay any heed to Kyra's scolding words, my thoughts now mingled with wolven instincts. Instead, I storm into the woods, all thoughts of the pack vanished from my mind.

I need answers.

-*-

The run to the village is cold, silent. lonely. The burning flame in my chest only grows with every step I take. Resentment, trepidation and anger fuels my body, yet I cannot tell which is currently guiding my paws. I continue forward, finding it difficult to ignore the growing pressure at the back of my mind.

My mind snaps to reality when the pungent scent of smoke rises in the air. Beneath my paws, the earth turns hauntingly soft as I step onto layers of ash. I push away my thoughts, numbing myself to the anger bubbling in my chest.

The bastards will pay their due later... The silent promise hushes the rabid beast within me.

I turn to the rubble of the nearest house and search for any clues which may confirm my suspicions. This attack wasn't just a mere attempt, something this massive must've been planned months prior. However, rogues are too wild to keep themselves from lunging at each other's throats. They must've received some kind of help from an external force. Such feit would require immense influence...

Digging through the ash, I come across a corpse, its loaded gun still in hand. A gnawing pit forms in my stomach.

A human.

How is this possible? To Humans, werewolves are but mere legends, fairy tales. How could rogues convince them to mingle into business far beyond their comprehension? Fear slices through my chest and, searching into the man's ammo, I uncover a small vial of wolfbane poison. Have the outcasts provided them with the toxin? Searching through the surrounding houses, I uncover more human remains, each armed with wolfbane laced weapons; shotguns, knives, bullets. Questions whirl into my mind, setting my instincts ablaze.

Danger, danger! Protect! Kill! Danger!

I turn heels in an instant. I must speak with Kyra.

But as I tear through the woods, my paws now fuelled with icy fear, one thought plagues my mind; danger.

Before long, I am forced to a halt, my stomach churning with returning bouts of nausea. I hobble forward, my vision turned to a blurry mess as I feel the contents of my stomach rising to my mouth. Steadying myself, I force deep breaths of air down my lungs, in a poor attempt to keep myself calm as waves of panic surges through my body.

I can't breathe- I CAN'T BREATHE!

My heart rate peaks, bashing into my temples with such force, I nearly stagger to the ground. A creeping sensation rises through my limbs as though flames had taken over my body and I find myself unable to move.

I start, suddenly laying down amidst the forest. My breaths, albeit shallow, are quick as though I'd run a mile and back. My mind, storming mere seconds before, is now calm, quiet. I push myself upwards, but a sharp sting stabs into my paws. As I lower my gaze, I came to realize my paws were marred, the pads raw and bloodied.

What happened to me?

Just as I am about to stand, my muscles scream in flaming agony. It's as though every piece of my body had been ripped apart and battered to a pulp. Jaws clamped, I heave myself upwards but barely manage to keep myself steady. Eyes closed, I once again work to steady my breathing but I can't bring my thoughts to silence.

With little options left, I pushed onward and began to search for camp.

-*-

Oh dear, what's going on with Jace? Ngl I kinda feel bad for him- Panic attacks are never fun :p

Speaking of which, I hope I made justice to it's description; based it a lot on some of my own experiences but more centred on how Jace, as a character would react and deal with it!

Feel free to share your thoughts :D