CLAWS WIDE OPEN

CHAPTER FIVE

The figure who i now know to be Lucas, moves towards caleb. His casual steps belied the danger emanating from him. His presence seemed to thicken the air like a gathering storm. Caleb's aggression seemed almost insignificant against the looming danger.

With calculated precision, he pried Caleb's trembling hands from my father's throat, as if plucking a malignant tumor.

"No! Wait-" caleb started, his voice trembling.

Then, in a blur of motion that defied human limits, Lucas seized Caleb and hurled him outside. The sound of Caleb's body crashing to the ground echoed through the night.

Dazed I stumbled towards the entrance door. Caleb's face contorted in desperation as he launched a futile attack against Lucas.

His fists flailed wildly, but Lucas's unyielding grip held him in place. The sound of Caleb's pleas grew more frantic, his eyes locking onto mine with a pure fear.

"I didn't touch her!" Caleb begged, his voice cracking with desperation" Abigail, help me".

My confusion deepened, my mind racing to comprehend why Caleb thought i possessed any power to intervene.

Lucas's gaze never wandered, his expression unyielding. With one hand clenched around Caleb's throat and the other gripping his head, he twisted with a swift, merciless motion, he tore Caleb's head from his shoulders, the sickening sound of ripping flesh and crunching bone echoing through nights quiet.

I didn't realize I had screamed – or was still screaming – until Lucas turned towards me.

For a fleeting moment, he seemed distant and detached. Then his focus snapped back and he began to walk towards me. I started to back away, then turned to run, but Lucas moved with that same unnatural speed.

In an instant, he was here towering over me. His proximity sent my heart racing, and my breath caught in my throat.

As I gazed up at him, my mind reeled with the brutal killing I'd just witnessed. Caleb's lifeless body lay mere feet away, a gruesome reminder of this man's deadly capabilities.

The image of his head being torn from his shoulders was seared into my brain, fueling my terror.

But despite the horror, my traitorous eyes lingered on Lucas's features up lose even with his face beign splattered with blood he was striking. His piercing grey eyes seemed to burn with an otherworldly intensity, their depths churning like a stormy sea.

His sharp jawline and angular cheekbones were chiseled, radiating an aura of unyielding power. Every line and contour of his face appeared honed for lethality, as if crafted by darkness itself.

Raven-black hair framed his face, accentuating the unnatural shade of his eyes.

For a fleeting moment, I noted the stark beauty of his features, the symmetry of his face. His skin seemed to absorb the light around us, casting an eerie shadow on his features. A network of fine, almost imperceptible veins visible beneath his skin pulsed with an unnatural energy, like a living, breathing entity straining to break free.

Then, shame and horror washed over me. How could I notice such things now? Caleb's lifeless body lay at our feet, a testament of this man's brutality.I thought horrified by my own fascination.

I trembled, I forced my gaze away locking my eyes instead on the hand that had so casually ended a man's life mere seconds ago. Those hands were stained red, matching the gruesome splatters on his face. The blood ran down his neck vanishing beneath his clothes.

The metallic tang of blood filled the air, choking me. I could taste the bile rising in my throat

My eyes darted between Caleb's limp form and Lucas's unsettling gaze. I searched for any sign of humanity within them, but found only an unnerving calmness.

My stomach churned, protesting the c*****e I'd witnessed. I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to vomit. My voice barely escaped my lips

"A-are you going to kill me?"

His face seemed to contor in anger in. In rich husky voice he replied.

"Should I?"

* * * * *

LUCAS'S POV:

I stood as the last remnants of rage coursed through my veins. The scent of blood and death filled the air, a morbid perfume that clung to my skin. The lifeless body lay at my feet, a testament to my ruthlessness.

My wolf still ravenous, clawed for dominance, unsated by the c*****e I'd unleashed.

Amidst the crimson haze a sound pierced the darkness - a scream, shrill and terrified, echoing from somewhere nearby. My head snapped up.

Abigail.

My mate.

Her fear called to me, resonating deep within my chest. I turned, my eyes locking onto Abigail's trembling form. Her gaze met mine, wide with horror, as she took in the c*****e. My heart sank, knowing she witnessed my most primal nature. Her scream a haunting reminder of the terror I inspired.

My gaze locked onto hers, eyes wide she began to back away I anticipated her flight response, my instincts humming with expectation.

The moment she turned to flee, my predatory nature took over. Instincts screamed to chase, to pursue, and capture. In less than a heartbeat, I closed the distance, my feet barely making a sound on the ground.

Her face drained of all color, leaving her skin a ghostly pallor. I braced myself for the possibility that she might faint, her eyes rolling back in terror.

Instead, she stared at me, her gaze frozen in horror. Her green eyes, pools of raw fear bore into me like icy daggers. I felt the sting of her revulsion, the weight of her dread.

My instincts screamed to reassure her, to calm the storm raging within her. But I fought the urge to.

Instead, I stood frozen, as Abigail's words cut through the silence: "A-are you going to kill me?"

Abigail's words seared my soul, I barely stifled a wince. I understood why she'd think that – my blood-splattered face, the lifeless body at little distance away, and my unsettling appearance all screamed "monster."

But little did she know, I'd sooner rip out my own heart and walk into flames than harm a single hair on her head. She was my everything, my Achilles' heel, my undoing.

The irony wasn't lost on me – this small, fragile, weak-looking bundle of femininity was the scariest thing I'd ever encountered. Her presence awakened a terror within me, a fear of losing control, of failing to protect her.

I did not want to intervene, Resenting the hunter for making Abigail his target, forcing me out of my place within the shadows.

Now that the damage has been done and my hands forced it is better that she saw me as a monster, for if she did others did too, for fear was a shield, a protective barrier that kept others at bay. And for an existence like mine, fear was a necessary evil.

As I gazed into her eyes that have always looked at me with adoration now reflected fear within their depth, I replied, "Should I?"

But beneath my stoic exterior, I recoiled in disgust. How easily I'd donned the mask of a monster, how readily I'd embraced the fear that surrounded me. It was a role I knew all too well, one that hid the truth: we were both victims of fate.

"Well that would certainly make things easier" i said lacing my words with menace

Then do it" she bit out. Her resolve taking me aback. " just do it now and spare me the suspense" she said finally.

I saw a tired soul worn down by one too many horrors she has had to witness.

I studied her, suprised at her bravery " i won't kill you," i said finally. "Buy you will have to come with me. You will have to leave the life you know behind ".

"What– "

" You've seen tonight what most humans can't imagine," I continued cutting her protest" There are beings that lurks in the shadows, I am one of them. That man I just killed was another. We are immortals locked in centuries- old war. And now you've become a target. "

"Stay here, and more like me— worse—will come for you. Worse events than tonight." Her eyes were narrowed, scrutinizing my every word.

I paused, searching for the right words.

"I claim to be no knight, but I give you my word: in my realm, under my protection I vow to keep you safe. But you must come willingly."

Her lips pursed scrutinizing my every word. "Why would you want to protect me?". She asked her voice laced with skepticism. "How am I any safer with you? You just killed a man".

My wolf paced restlessly within me, sensing her unease. I took a deep breath. My voice low and resolute.

"Because you're my mate. "