Mated To The Angel Of Death

Running barefoot through the dark woods alone. She was being chased. Chased by angry villagers with pitchforks and rifles. “Witch!,” they yelled as they pursued her. “Kill the witch!,” they yelled, firing gunshots in her direction. She ran as fast as she could in nothing but a white nightgown. It was cold. Winter was coming. The first snow of the year would soon fall, it could be smelled in the air. Her short, uneven cut brown hair blew in the wind as her short legs tried to carry her away from the mob of angry villagers. She tripped over a branch and ripped open the bare skin on her foot. She looked at her feet. They were covered in cuts. She felt the fearful tears running down her cheeks. She couldn’t run anymore. She was too tired and her feet hurt more than she could explain with words. She didn’t have a choice. She had to get up and get going. She knew they would kill her if they managed to catch her. She got up as she whimpered in pain. Her feet hurt unbearably, but she had to keep moving. She had to get away. She started running again as flashes of firewood gathered in a big pail, set on fire, raced though her mind. If they got their hands on her, she would be burned alive. Just like witches had been for centuries. She wasn’t a witch, but that didn’t matter to them. The villagers had already made up their minds. To them she was a witch. She flinched, hearing shots fired behind her again. “Kill her!,” the villagers yelled. She looked back, seeing the flashlight unsteadily flowing in the distance. She ran faster, the fear inside her gave her the energy to keep going. She was so tired, the pain in her feet made her slowly lose her speed. She knew she couldn’t run forever. She had to figure something else out. She looked forward and saw a cliff right ahead. She stopped at the edge and looked down at the river harshly flowing below. Her eyes widened. It was a long way down and the waters below were wild and freezing coming down from the mountains. She looked back and saw the flashlight getting closer. She sighed, worried, she knew she had no choice if she wanted to live. She looked down at the river and closed her eyes slowly. She knew she wasn’t guaranteed to survive a fall from this height. But it was either this or being burned alive at the stake. The last thing she thought was that at least drowning would be a more peaceful way to die. She let her body lose its balance and fell forward into the river, losing consciousness. A pack of wolves ran through the woods, chasing after a new scent that had entered their territory. The lead wolf turned the pack for the river. The pack slowed down as they reached the calm water flowing by. The pack split up as they snift around. One of them looked at a chalk white stone at the edge of the water and it tilted its head confused. All of the wolves knew every inch of their territory and that stone wasn’t there yesterday. As the wolf slowly walked closer, a wind brushed by and over the white stone. It moved. The wolf stopped, frozen in its place. The wolf realized it wasn’t a stone as the white fabric moved in the wind. It howled slightly, getting the rest of the wolves' attention. The lead wolf walked up next to the slightly smaller wolf who had found the unusual thing. The lead wolf walked by and closer to the unknown piece of fabric. As it got closer, it realized that the unknown smell was coming from it. The lead wolf walked slowly next to it to see what it was. It was a young woman, maybe even just a girl. It backed away, looking at her curiously as it tilted its head. Her white nightgown was dirty, her face, arms and legs were badly bruised. Her short brown hair was all tangled up in small sticks. Her skin was almost as white as snow. As the lead wolf backed away, its fur started to grow inwards as it raised it back. Bone cracking and heavy breathing could be heard as the paws turned into hands and feet. The wolf transformed into a young handsome man. He was tall, with dark hair and kind brown eyes. He wasn’t wearing anything as he squatted down in front of the unconscious girl in front of him. The young man brushed some of the hair out of the girl’s face as he looked down at her. Where did she come from? What happened to her? He looked down the river. Did the river bring her here? So many questions filled the mind of the young man. As he looked down at her again, he looked directly into her eyes. As he looked into them he froze. One of her eyes was completely ocean blue and the other was half blue, half hazel brown. He had never seen anything like it before. She didn’t look at him for long before her eyes went shut again as she drifted off into unconsciousness again. The young man looked at the wolf next to him. “Go get some clothes, we need to get her back to town,” the young man said worriedly. The wolf ran off into the forest, followed by some of the other wolves. As the wolf came back, it was carrying a bag in its mouth. It turned into a human with one other wolf , just like the lead wolf had done before. The three young men all got dressed before the lead wolf walked with a blanket to the young woman. He carefully wrapped her in it and lifted her up in his arms. “Nikan, look at her feet,” one of the new turners said, pointing at her feet. Nikan, the lead wolf, looked wide-eyed at her feet. Both of her feet were coloured red in the blood from all of the cuts covering her feet. “Makya, run ahead. Inform the healers what is going on,” Nikan said to Makya, who was still pointing at her feet, frozen in his step. Makya couldn’t imagine anyone being able to walk on feet like those. He stared at them in horror. He couldn’t imagine how she could have ended up like this. “Now, Makya,” Rowtag, the last turner, said sternly. Makya shook his head, getting out of his trance. Both Nikan and Rowtag knew Makya was the fastest of them. He was slightly smaller than the two of them, with light brown hair and hazel eyes. He ran as fast as he could on his human legs towards the little town. “What do you think happened to her?,” Rowtag asked Nikan as they walked through the woods. Nikan adjusted the poor girl in his arms. She wasn’t heavy. She was small for a woman her age. Nikan guessed she would be in the start of her twenties, maybe a little younger. Nikan looked at Rowtag. Rowtag always looked cold as ice. His cold dark brown eyes could scare any enemy away with just one look. He even looked like a tough guy with his black hair, army cut style. “I don’t know. Her feet looks like she has been running barefoot through a thorn bush or something. But who would do something like that? And continue running to your feet looks like that? Something is not right,” Nikan said, confused. “Enzho won’t be happy that you're bringing a stranger into town,” Rowtag said coldly as he walked beside Nikan. Nikan sighed and nodded. “I know, but what were we supposed to do? Leave her. She would have frozen to death in a matter of hours,” Nikan said as he looked worriedly down at her face. He knew his alpha wouldn’t be happy with him. He had been sent out with a pack of wolves to investigate the strange smell. Enzho, the alpha, wouldn’t take it lightly as Nikan brought a stranger into the town. Especially not at a time like this. As they walked into town, a woman with long braided black hair walked up to the two men bringing a hurt stranger into the town. “Oh s**t,” Nikan said as he saw her angry expression. “Give me the girl. Good luck,” Rowtag said as he took the girl from Nikan’s arms. “What? Help me, please,” Nikan asked with begging eyes. Rowtag just walked off. “Nope, she is your mate. You deal with her,” Rowtag said coldly as he walked off fast, leaving Nikan behind. Nikan looked at the woman. “Hey honey…,” but before he could finish, she slapped him on the cheek, hard. “Are you insane? Bringing a stranger into town while we’re on full lock down. Enzho will have your head for this,” she said sternly as she looked at him with burning eyes. Nikan held a hand up to his cheek and moved his jaw to make sure it was still attached. She was strong, even though she wasn’t a shapeshifter wolf. He always liked that about her. His strong little mate. They had been mates for 8 years and had a little 4-year-old girl named Emma. He chuckled and grabbed her arm, pulling her close. “Kaila my love, I missed you too,” he said and kissed her cheek. She pushed him back and looked at him with a slightly softer expression. “Stop that. We saw each other this morning,” she said, annoyed. He smiled and moved closer again. He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to make her look in his eyes. “And yet, I still missed you.” He said and kissed her lips, taking away the last of the anger she felt inside. He pulled away and caressed her cheek as he looked into her eyes. “I know bringing a stranger is against the rules right now, but I couldn’t leave her out in the cold to die. Baby please, help her,” he said, begging his mate, who was one of the best healer in town, to help the poor injured girl. Kaila sighed and nodded. “I hate it when you have to play the hero. One day it’ll be the death of you,” she said and sighed. He kissed her forehead and let her go. She walked into the healer’s house and to the bed where Rowtag had placed the strange girl from the river. Kaila looked down at her and horror appeared in her eyes. She felt bad for the poor girl. She had never seen anything like this before. Sure the boys sometimes would end up injured. But nothing like this. Nikan walked in and placed himself behind his mate. “Can you help her?,” he asked worriedly. He knew the woman was badly injured. Kaila looked back at him with regretful eyes. “I don’t know. She isn’t a wolf. She doesn’t even have wolf blood in her veins. I think she is human. They don’t heal like we do, you know that,” Kaila said, apologetic. She knew there wasn’t much she could do for the poor girl. “Please try,” Nikan begged. He remembered looking into the sad eyes of the dying girl. He remembered her two coloured eyes. Her eyes were as beautiful as they were sad. It was a heartbreaking sight. Kaila started examining the girl as Nikan and Rowtag waited outside the house. “Nikan!!!,” by the sound of the alpha, the ground shook underneath their feet. Nikan looked up and saw Enzho walking fast towards him. Nikan’s eyes widened. The alpha looked far from happy. Before Nikan could flee, Enzho grabbed him by his collar and lifted him off the ground. “This is the last time you cross me,” Enzho growled. Enzho was bigger and stronger than Nikan. He had to be, he was the alpha. Not only was he an alpha, he was a true alpha. The whole town of wolf-bloods froze and everyone looked at them. Nikan smiled awkwardly as he tried to get out of the alpha’s hold. “Come on Enzho. I couldn’t just leave her out there,” Nikan said nervously as the alpha stared him down with killer cold eyes. As Enzho continued to glare at him, he let Nikan down to the ground again. Enzho took a deep breath and calmed down. “You’re right…,” Enzho said and Nikan smiled in relief. “You should have pushed her back into the water and let her drift away with the river,” Enzho said with burning red eyes. The whole pack kneeled down before their alpha as he showed his true red wolf eyes. Nikan and Rowtag kneeled down too. Enzho walked into the healer’s house and looked around for the unwelcome stranger. Nikan walked in too, chasing after Enzho. “Please, Enzho, be merciful. She won’t survive if we don’t help her…,” Nikan stopped talking as Enzho froze in his steps and turned to look at him with his red eyes. “Enough!,” Enzho demanded in his alpha voice. The whole building shook as he used his compelling alpha voice to shut up Nikan. Nikan had no choice but to kneel and shut up. He physically couldn’t deny his alpha when he used compelling. None of the pack members could. It was the power of a true alpha, he couldn’t be denied as he ruled over his pack. Enzho turned and found the stranger in one of the beds. Kaila bowed and stepped away. Enzho walked closer and looked down at the small fragile woman, lying so weakly in the bed. She didn’t even look like she was breathing. He almost couldn’t even hear her breathing as he listened for it with his enhanced hearing. He looked at her face. One of her brows was split and her left cheek bone was bruised purple. He noticed her hair. Shorter than jaw length, slightly curly, oak brown hair. It was uneven. It looked like it had been cut off involuntarily, like with a knife. He looked down at her body and noticed the dirty nightgown. She was bruised on her arms and legs. His eyes stopped at her bare feet. He paused. He looked at them confused. Somebody must have done this to her, he thought. He noticed her foot move slightly and he looked up at her face again. She slowly opened her eyes and he froze again. He saw the same thing that Nikan had seen. Two unusual coloured eyes. His gaze softened as he looked at her. She weakly looked around in the room as she blinked with her eyes, trying to get them to focus. Her eyes landed on Enzho. Her eyes widened as she looked at the intimidating big man standing at her bedside. His gaze was dark and she moved back on the bed trying to get away from him. She could sense some kind of demon-like aura around him and every instinct in her body told her to run. The whispers in her head started as they had done so many times before. “Run…. Run…. Run,” all of the whispers hissed at her. She slipped with one of her hands and fell off the bed. As she tried desperately to get away from Enzho, she tried to stand on her injured feet. She screamed out in pain and fell to the floor again. “Get away…. Far away… Get away…,” the whispers warned her as they talked louder in her mind. She crawled on her elbows as her body was dragged behind her on the floor. “Hey, stop that. You’ll only make your injuries worse,” Enzho said, and walked to her. He grabbed her forcefully and turned her to lay on her back. He didn’t mean to grab her that harshly, but he wasn’t used to having to hold back his strengths. Looking into his dark orbs of a pair of dark brown eyes, she heard the build up of the voices in her head. “Death… Death... Death is coming…” The whispers intensified until all she could do to relieve the pressure was to scream. She screamed and the power from the vibration sent Enzho flying back into the wall behind him. It was like a hurricane appeared in the room, sending papers flying everywhere. Her high pitched scream made everyone cover their ears. The whole town heard as they covered their sensitive wolf ears. Nikan and Kaila fell to their knees as they screamed in pain. It felt like their ears were going to pop. She finally stopped and hid under a nearby table. Now that they had seen what she could do, they would surely kill her. It was the same every time. She had no control over her powers. The voices slowly faded. Nikan forced himself up from the floor and walked unsteadily to her. It was clear to him that she was scared. She widened her eyes as she noticed he was walking towards her. “Get back…. Don’t come any closer… or I’ll scream again,” she said nervously. She couldn’t scream again, even if she wanted to. He slowed down, putting his hands up in surrender. “It’s okay. Remember me. You have seen me before down by the river. I didn’t hurt you then and I won’t hurt you now. I promise,” he said gently as he squatted down in front of her. She was shaking and he could tell she was terrified. He sat on the floor in front of her as he smiled at her gently. “What’s your name?,” he asked in a soft tone. She slowly stopped shaking as she looked at his gentle smile. “Melody…,” she stuttered. He smiled. “That’s a pretty name. You're not from around here are you?,” he asked. She shook her head as a no. “Where are you from Melody?,” he asked, but she just shook her head again. “It’s okay. You don’t have to answer. I’m Nikan. The woman behind me is Kaila, my wife,” he said gently, as Kaila slowly walked closer with a blanket in her hand. Kaila handed Melody the blanket with a gentle smile. Melody quickly took the blanket and covered herself. All three of them looked to the side as Enzho finally got up after Melody had sent him flying. Melody wrapped herself even more with the blanket as she looked at the floor. She started trampling again as Enzho walked closer. Nikan stood up and blocked his way, looking at Enzho, not able to tell what he was going to do. “Enzho, let her be for now. You scared her,” Nikan said, trying to convince his alpha not to hurt her. Enzho didn’t even look at her as he walked by. Nikan looked confused after him as he walked out of the building. Nikan got this suspicious feeling inside, worrying about what his alpha was going to do now. “Take care of her, my love,” Nikan said to Kaila before he walked after Enzho to see where he was going. “Enzho, where are you going?,” Nikan yelled after him as he ran to catch up with him. Enzho didn’t stop as he walked fast. “Enzho?,” Nikan said sternly as he grabbed his shoulder to stop him. Enzho finally stopped and looked at him. “Do you know what she is?,” Enzho asked with a deadly glare. Nikan looked at him confused. “No,” he answered. “So you have no idea what sort of creature you just brought into our town. A town where your own child is supposed to be safe and now Emma might not be,” Enzho said sternly as he lectured him. “We don’t know if she is dangerous yet. She is scared. She is only protecting herself. She doesn’t know us. She doesn’t know we mean her no harm,” Nikan said. He believed his own words. Looking into Melody’s eyes, he didn’t see any darkness. He only saw a scared young woman on the run. He could tell she didn’t want to hurt anyone. “The elders will know. Let them decide. You saw what she can do,” Enzho said before walking away. Nikan followed behind him. He knew Enzho was right. The elders would know and he hoped that they would be on his side. Enzho and Nikan walked into the great hall. Four elders sat around a round table discussing a topic. Three older men and one woman. Nikan’s grandfather was a part of the council, as well as his grandmother, Grandma June. Grandma June is the head of the healers as well as the elder council. The four of them stopped talking, sensing the alpha walking into the hall. They looked up, surprised by Enzho’s visit. It was a rare sight. “What brings you here, Enzho?,” Grandma June asked. Enzho and Nikan walked to them. Enzho looked at Nikan with his strong alpha gaze. “Explain to them?,” he said sternly to his beta wolf. Nikan swallowed nervously before looking at his grandparents and the two other elders of the pack. They looked back at him, waiting to hear what he had to say. “We found a woman by the river on the edge of our border. She was unconscious and badly injured. We brought her back here. She isn’t human. We don’t know what she is,” he explained. “What do you mean she isn’t human? Can’t you smell it on her?,” Grandpa Kaga asked, confused. Nikan shook his head. Enzho got impatient. “She is dangerous. I’m pretty sure she has magic. Her screams can send you flying and break your ears. Her eyes are very unusual. Two colors. I have never heard of such a weird appearance before. It is witchcraft, I’m sure of it. We need to get rid of her,” Enzho said sternly before slamming his hand on the table. “Witchcraft? Witches are extinct. They have been for over a hundred years. It’s impossible,” one of the elders said, confused as he looked around at the others. “Let me see her,” Grandma June said before standing up. She walked by the two young wolves to the door. They followed behind her. “I don’t think you should risk it. If she screams again, you’ll be injured or worse die. We can’t afford that right now,” Enzho said, trying to convince the elderly lady of the danger. “Nonsense. You asked for our counsel, young alpha. Let me do my best to provide it for you,” she said, walking slowly with her tied old legs to the healer's house. Grandma June stopped right at the front door and looked back at Enzho and Nikan. “Stay out here. She is probably scared enough as it is. We don’t want her to feel any more uncomfortable than she probably already does,” she said, leaving the two outside. Grandma June walked in and saw Kaila with the woman. She walked closer. Melody noticed her and looked at her. Melody was lying on a bed as Kaila cleansed her wounds. “Kaila my dear, may I have a minute with this young lady?,” Grandma June asked politely as she sat down on a chair next to the bed. “Of course, Grandma June,” Kaila said and before leaving she gave Melody a encouraging smile. Melody looked at the old lady confused. Grandma June looked at her from top to toe. She sighed, seeing the state the young lady was in. She looked up at Melody’s face and smiled. “Hello sweetheart, I’m Grandma June. May I ask what your name is?” She asked politely. “Melody,” Melody answered. “Hello Melody, I know you must be scared and confused. I’ll try and help you, if you’ll let me. Is that okay with you?,” Grandma June said, reaching out a hand for Melody to hold. Melody looked at it. It had been a long time since she had experienced kindness like this. She hesitantly let her shaky hand to Grandma June’s and held it. Grandma June caressed a thumb over the back of Melody’s hand and smiled. “I understand that you have already met my grandson Nikan, who brought you here, and our leader Enzho. They seem to think you are a witch,” Melody flinched and shook her head desperately as she cut the older lady off. “I’m not a witch. I swear. I didn’t mean to scream before. It’s not something I can control. It’s the voices. When they all talk at once, all I can do is scream to make them stop.” Melody explained desperately. She needed Grandma June to understand that she didn’t mean any harm. At the same time Enzho was listening in on the conversation thinking ‘great this girl escaped from som sort of mental institution. She is nuts’. He sighed and Nikan looked at him with a awkward smile having heard the same thing. Melody was desperate. In her condition, she couldn’t flee if they decided she wasn’t welcome. Grandma June caressed her hand to calm her down. “Slow down sweetheart. Voices you say,” Grandma June said calmly as she thought for a second. She had heard about an ancient creature hearing voices before. Cursed by the witches, like so many other supernatural beings. This creature was cursed with the foresight of death. Hearing the spirit of the deceased. “Do you know what you are, my dear?,” she asked, not sure she remembered the name of this creature right. Melody shook her head. She had been on her own, moving from foster home to foster home her entire childhood. She doesn’t even know where she is from and especially not what she is. “Forgive me, if I remember the name wrong. I believe you’re a banshee or an angel of death. You hear the voices of the deceased, right? They warn you about danger leading to death. Does that sound familiar?,” Grandma June asked curiously. Melody nodded. “A banshee.” Melody pronounced out loud, letting the word feel her with relief, finding out that someone out there knew what she was. “What about the screams? Why do I scream so powerfully?,” Melody asked, confused. “I believe I read that a banshee’s scream gets its power from the dead. You scream when death comes near to you and others around you. Death always follows a banshee's scream. I read a sentence like that,” Melody cut Grandma June off again. “But how do I make it stop?,” she asked with begging eyes. Grandma June smiled with an apologetic smile. “You can’t. It’s a part of you,” Grandma June answered. Melody looked at her hopelessly. Grandma June smiled softly as she caressed Melody’s hand again. “You must be very tired, my dear. Get some rest. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here. This is my house,” Grandma June said, and she could sense Melody calming down. Melody slowly closed her eyes and for the first time in a long time she felt safe enough to close her eyes for a second to rest. Grandma June walked out of the house and was met by Enzho and Nikan. “So?,” Enzho asked impatiently. Grandma June looked at him. “She is a banshee, I believe,” she said calmly. The two men looked confused at each other. “Yes we heard that. But was is it?,” Nikan asked, confused. “A banshee. I thought they were only a myth, but it turns out they exist,” Grandma June said, excitedly. She thought she was too old for life to tosh any more surprises at her. “So is she dangerous or not?,” Enzho asked impatiently again. Grandma June grabbed his hand. “Is a bonnie a treat to an eagle? A banshee has the foresight of death. The myth says the witches cursed the first banshee before the time of the wolves. Her kind is even older than ours. The banshee can predict death by the spirits around us. She hears them whispering and when death comes to collect they intensify. The banshee screams to relieve pressure in their minds and vision appears, replacing the whispers. I believe the scream is also a defendsmacanism,” Grandma June explained. Nikan looked at Enzho with a mocking smile. “I told you she wasn’t dangerous,” Nikan said before hitting Enzho’s arm lightly. Enzho glared at him. “We’ll see about that. She can stay for now.” Enzho said coldly before walking away.