Page 33 of Unshaken

* * *

MICAH

My body is on automatic pilot. I let it do what it’s been trained to do. To fight, to defend, and most importantly, to rescue. As soon as Trys releases his magic, taking out some of the Wolves, I feel as if I take flight. Leaping on to a rock, I spot the biggest white Wolf I’ve ever seen still stalking its prey, even though his pack is dying all around him. The Wolf, he becomes still as he zeros in on its kill, and I’m damn sure not going to let that happen. I dive off the rock, with knives in each hand I yell as I drive my blade deep into his shoulder blades.

I spot Esme immediately. Her eyes are wide with terror as she tries to speak but can’t. I hang on tight as the Wolf tries to buck me off his back. His head turns as he tries to look over his shoulder, powerful jaws and teeth snapping, trying to find something of me to bite and yank off. I pull back one of my knives and stab behind me, trying to reach his hind leg. The Wolf falls to the ground before I can manage it and rolls onto his back, attempting to crush me. I remove my other knife and roll myself away before I am squashed beneath him. Jumping to my feet, I watch as Trys saunters towards Esme, whistling Mary had a little lamb as he ducks and dodges the retreating Wolf. I don’t get to see anything else as the white Wolf turns on me, teeth bared in anger, he leaps towards me. His massive paws knock the air from my lungs and sends me flying, and it takes me a second too long to catch my breath. The Wolf pins me down, pressing my body into the soil as the blood from the wounds I inflicted drip from his fur like red rain drops.

“Micah, don’t kill the Wolf. Maim him and get out of there,”Rook says at the most inopportune time known to man. The entire time I ran here he remained silent. Why should I listen to him?

“Not now, Rook.”I quickly turn my head, barely missing decapitation from the Wolf’s ferocious bite.

“Micah, if you kill him—”

“Not now!”I yell inside of my head. I take my knife and stab the fucker as many times as I can in my desperate attempt to get him off me. If he presses down any further, he is going to break something. The Wolf yelps, crying out as he stumbles back. I roll out of the way, staggering to my feet. Taking a look around, I don’t see Trys and Esme, I can only assume he has taken her to the hospital wing in Lux Hall. Relief washes over me but my rage and anger at the situation burns red hot inside of me.

The white Wolf is panting on its side, fur now pink from the knife wounds. I should feel sorry for him. He is a student, a pack Alpha, a stupid one who allowed himself to be manipulated by someone who has no regard for him or his pack. I can hear howls of pain in the distance, and I know Ty is out there finishing the job, but this Wolf in front of me is all mine.

“You took something of mine. You ran her down, like she was your prey. You were going to kill her.” I take my time making my next move as my hands are shaking from adrenaline. I try to slow my breathing. I need to think straight, but my thoughts are chaotic. I am anger personified, and a darkness is growing, spreading inside of me, stamping out all of my light.

The Wolf suddenly shifts and laying before me is Patrick Edgewood. I remind myself of who he is and how I know him, putting a face to the beast I want to kill.Look what he did to Esme, do you think he would have spared her?I think to myself as the darkness pushes away my rational thought with its sirens call for justice for Esme.

“Micah, listen to me!”Rook shouts, but I’m done listening.

“You’ve had plenty of time to advise me, Rook, and you haven’t been very helpful. I’m done listening.”I yank out my Anchor key, letting is fall over my bloody t-shirt and I sigh at the silence.

“Micah, right?” Patrick winces and coughs through his pain, clutching his gut wound as blood spills between his fingers. “I was doing this for Rodyn, we made a deal.” He coughs, blood staining his teeth. “He knew you would come for her, and if you had come alone, you both would be dead.” He spit blood on the ground at my feet and I tsk as it lands on my boot. Not my boots.

“Thank you for telling me the truth,” I say to him honestly. He could have begged, pleaded for his life but he didn’t. I can respect that. I won’t show mercy though. “Sadly, now your pack will lose its Alpha.” Patrick’s eyes widen with fright as I lunge forward. I knock him to his back and slit his throat. Hot blood splatters me further, coating me. I am sure I’m doing my best impression of Carrie at the moment.

I feel nothing but exhilaration as I watch the light dim and fade from his eyes. My heart is pounding, and my veins no longer pump blood, but flames.

My chest heaves as something stirs inside of me. A darkness, deep and endless. It’s telling me to sate my anger and rage, to take out my vengeance in death and blood.

I want more. I begin to run. I need to find my next kill.

* * *

TY

I stand in the middle of Willow Woods. The last of the Wolves who tried to flee are disposed of. No one threatens my kitten or her friends and gets away with it. Including Rodyn, and I am going to make sure I remind him of who I am tonight. His little soiree with his friends won’t stop me from confronting him, this shit needs to end now.

My phone rings and I reach into my back pocket to retrieve it, noticing that my hands for once are clean. I let my shadows do the work tonight so that I don’t fall too deep into my own bloodlust. I wanted to keep a level head because my girl needs me. I don’t know if I’ve ever put someone else’s needs before my own, but I do it for Micah willingly.

“Speak,” I say in greeting. The night around me is quiet as Trys’s voice comes down the line.

“Little spirit is in the Hospital wing. She’s lost a lot of blood. Get sunshine here, Ty,” he says in a rush, sounding slightly panicked. Trys never panics, but I know his reaction is out of concern for Micah and how devastated she would be if something was to happen to Esme after all of this.

“I’ll find her.” I hang up the phone and begin to jog back to where we first confronted the Wolves. Even through the thick trees these woods are easy to navigate. This place is my playground, and I am the predator that prowls in the dark. A twig snaps to the right of me and I ignore it. I can see the clearing up ahead when the next thing I know I am knocked off my feet. The force of the push combined with the speed in which I was running sends me flying into a huge pine tree. A snarl greets me as I’m forced down to my back, a fist and butt of a knife slam down hard against my face and my vision blurs. My eyes blink rapidly as I try to focus on my attacker, blocking blow after blow in the dark. A snarl, a glint of two knives being raised above my head and my eyes open wide as I catch my attacker's wrists. As my eyes adjust, I see her.

“Micah. Kitten, it’s me.” As I fight my girl off me, I realize that she doesn’t see me. Her eyes blaze like fire, two bright glowing embers. Her teeth are bared, like a savage animal. She’s covered in so much blood, it looks like she’s been swimming in it. She’s so lost in her bloodlust that she’s trying to kill me. It’s the most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve never been attacked so viciously, and it’s taking everything I have to keep her off me without using my own power. I will never hurt her. I would rather she impaled me now. Nothing is holding her beast back, no inhibition, right or wrong, she is acting on pure instinct.

She is your worst nightmare.

I try to buck her off me, but she presses me down with her hips and I groan with pleasure.

“Kitten, I need you to come back to me.” I squeeze both of her wrists so tightly that the knives fall from her hands. When she goes for them again, I press the advantage and flip us over. I force her hands over her head with one hand, shoving the knives away with the other and she screams in frustration. If she could have killed with her eyes she would. She growls, a deep dark rumbling in the back on her throat as she threatens me without words. Holy Fuck.

“Look at me, Micah.” She uses her legs to try to kick me off her. I lock her legs with my own, forcing her to stop. She looks so wild and beautiful, but she’s still lost to me. She’s awakened the demonic side of herself for the first time and it’s hard to control the darkness when it’s practically singing to you on the inside.

---