Marked by the Demon Wolf

Something's wrong. I can feel it. This nerve-gutting stillness in the air, this crawling beneath beneath my skin like I am being poked with a thousand blunt needles. But then maybe it's just the effects of the full moon talking or my growing repulsion to these pretentious gatherings where these animals feign some sort of civility to the rest of the world. As if the soft lights and music have not made me roll my eyes enough. From where I stand on the balcony, I can see almost everyone in the whole pack gathered around a bonfire lit in the direction of the moon. Some are sitting on the bare grass, some standing, some dancing, some speaking in low, excited hushes while the rest are just drinking their lives away. They look happy — smiling even, for f**k knows why. What's making them happy? What's giving them so much joy in this nonsense? “Not everybody is as broken as you, Vionne” A gentle voice echoes back an answer that is not very much needed. I am to tell her to shimmer down and f**k off before my nose catches a scent. It's faint, fleeting but I catch it anyway. It slips and dances around my senses like a tease. Whatever it is or whoever it belongs to, it definitely shouldn't be missed. If I can just focus a bit more… “Hey.” Someone taps my bare arm that snaps me out of whatever illusion of concentration I had there. A growl rips from my throat without warning. The blonde haired guy I have known all my life looks at me like I've grown a nice, perky horn on my forehead. “Easy there, beasty” I flash him a canine grin and continue staring down, hoping to catch a sign or something. “Well, someone's being edgy all evening” “I am not, okay? It's just…something's off. I can feel it” To my surprise, Talien scoffs. SCOFFS. Those long time butterflies in my chest die in an instant. They are all the same. All a bunch of self appraising narcissists. “You are just being paranoid, V” “I did catch an unfamiliar scent…” “Are you kidding?“ He interrupts with an incredulous expression on, “the whole pack is there. The whole pack.” “But I can sense something here among us. You know I am never wrong with these things” Any hope to get him to believe me extinguishes the moment he starts shaking his head like he's reasoning with an impetuous child. I take a large, final gulp of my wine and drop the cup. He signs, then extends his hand. “Dance with me?“ Fuck no. I'd be a lovestruck i***t to accept that invitation. But there is something about the way he is staring at me — like I am the only thing anchoring his world. “That is because it's only the two of you on your father's balcony. Don't be delusional” My wolf needs to learn to shut the f**k up at times like this, honestly. Talien's dark eyes scan me all over, appreciation flashing in their depths. “You look beautiful tonight, Valenne” Of course I do. With all of my flashy red hair tucked in with elaborate pins and extensions like a proper lady. Maybe I do look beautiful tonight. But there's something about the way he says that reignites those butterflies. I take his hand, giving a smile that is both forced and shy at the same time. We take a step forward. Two steps. Then it hits me. Intense, ground shaking vibrations beneath my feet. They spread like webs from the soles of my feet to create a sharp ringing at the base of my skull. The sense of terror I feel is instant, almost paralysing. “Did you feel that?“ I ask breathlessly. Talien's brows dip instead. “Feel what?“ He doesn't f*****g get it. His questioning gaze turns judging concern like I've lost it. I snatch my hands from his. What stutters out of my mouth next is something that comes from my worst nightmare. “Something's coming!“ “Ugh. This again, I've told you—” I do not allow him to complete whatever crap he's trying to convince me of before I run back to the edge of the balcony I was standing on previously. My head snaps towards the dark, bleak looking land of forestation acting as a natural barrier between our pack and the pack of he- who shall-not-be-named. Moonlight never touches that area. Never. I may be hallucinating at the moment but somehow the trees are moving. Not wind driven, but due to movement. A lot of movement. The ominous foreboding I've had since this evening's party began intensifies and tightens like a noose around my neck. That something is not coming. It's already here, and it's going to kill us all. I push a still disbelieving Talien out of the way and storm downstairs. If my guess is right, father should be in the ballroom downstairs, the one reserved for 'relevant' people. All eyes lock on me as I open the door with a loud bang. Murmur ripples around me. “Why is she here?“ “Damn. I thought she was going to be ugly” “Who allowed her in here?” Annoyance wells up in me just as fast as dread. If it is what I think it is in those woods… I don't know if we are going to survive this. I weave my way through the labyrinth of people, ignoring their comments and reach the Alpha of Blood Wolves, my father. Alpha Torak. He is surrounded by aristocrats who flank him on every side. The moment he sights me, his brows knit together tightly and he raises an eyebrow. “We need to talk. Privately.“ I say to him, my voice neither too loud nor too low. My father regards me with that look of condescension that I know too well. He proves me right by waving a nonchalant arm. He is dense and now is not the time. “If I were you, I would get my troops out, right now.” The ballroom falls into a hush. I lift my chin and level my eyes with my father's wide ones. But then he calms down and asks in a controlled tone, “why would you say that?“ Before I can give him an answer, a loud, foreign howl pierces across the silent night. My heart drops all the way to my stomach. My father's face directly blanches white as though all traces of blood have been drained from his face. “Hell Fire.” Someone nearby mutters with apparent dread. A scream follows. Before actual hell unleashes upon us.