4
1302 Words
Annalise
Isabella’s hold tightened on the vial in her hand as she tried to force its contents into my mouth with the help of the hefty guards holding me in place. I couldn't help it. I spat out the vile-tasting liquid immediately after it touched my tongue.
This b***h was trying to kill me! In cold blood, by her own hands!
I couldn't believe we were related, much less twins. She was better suited as the devil's apprentice, not someone who shared my blood.
“We’ll try that again,” she said as she eyed me cruelly, grabbing my jaw in a painfully tight and surprisingly powerful grip.
“This time, sister, drink,” Isabella warned, like the ice in her tone alone should be enough to get me to willingly choose death. I almost laughed.
When I refused another time, a blow to my face reverberated through my skull. I winced in pain.
Fuck!
Okay, violence was a different ball game entirely, especially with her wolf powers. I licked the fresh split on my lip, tasting the metallic quality of my blood.
I can’t say I was shocked as I lifted my eyes to see the pure hatred radiating in hers and realized that she really didn't care. Secondly, she meant business, though it was quite unfortunate that the business in question was facilitating my death.
Knowing she could kill me easily without the poison—just slit my throat with one of her sharp claws, if she wanted—made me sick and left me feeling inadequate. If only my wolf wasn't dormant. If only—.
I shook away the thought. This was not the time for self-depreciation.
Throat slashing might be quicker, but poison was less messy, I suppose. I didn't fancy getting beaten to a pulp, either, which was likely if I continued to defy her.
Now knowing firsthand how bad things could get if I got her angry, I complied. There was still a chance I could survive wolfsbane poisoning, right?
I hoped to the Goddess that I was right.
The next time she tried to feed me the wolfsbane, I didn't protest. The liquid was moderately thick yet smooth with a sharp quality and acrid taste that had me squeezing my eyes shut. The pungency of the deadly substance made my eyes water, scorching its way down my throat and tearing through my system.
It took a moment accompanying the first gulp for a wave of excruciating pain to hit me, doubling me over. My eyes widened in horror as the poison sucked the life force out of me internally. The guards let go of me then, and I fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
I had no idea. I should have chosen a heavy beating over this.
Meanwhile, Isabella watched me closely, the expression on her face—cold and unfeeling satisfaction, like that of someone well accustomed to the effects of wolfsbane—had me questioning through the pain just how many times she'd done something of this nature.
Goddess! The potion burned, igniting every nerve ending in my body, only to snuff it out, ridding me of my awareness little by little.
I choked on saliva, gasping for breath as the pain intensified.
“She’s as good as dead,” Isabella said to her accomplices—I’d completely forgotten about them in my pain-filled haze now that they no longer held me in their vice-like grip— and they stepped over me on their way out.
I watched Isabella leave, not even paying me a second glance, since her aim was achieved, and the poison was securely wreaking havoc in my bloodstream.
“Enjoy your last moments,” She called over her shoulder at the exit. “You won't have long.”
They'd left the bloody door ajar, confident in the fact that there was no way I'd escape in this state. The poison continued to consume me as light and dark spots played across my vision, making it hard to focus.
I could barely see the narrow strip of moonlight slipping through the open door. Summoning every ounce of strength I didn't think I had left, I began to crawl toward it. The floor felt jagged against my skin, and I could barely feel my limbs.
Finally, miraculously, after what I was sure was hours, I managed to drag myself outside, tears, snot, and dust, caking my face in the most horrible way possible. The night air was cool, but the chaos that welcomed me was ultimately overwhelming.
It seemed my pack was under attack.
I sucked in my breath, my vision blurred around the edges, making me wonder if hallucination was a side effect of the poison.
Wolves were fighting fiercely, their growls the loudest among the screams and cries of the injured. I continued to crawl out, putting one elbow in front of the other, as excruciating as it was. I could barely feel anything from the waist down, but for some reason, I was still alive enough to move.
And for some other reason, I couldn't bring myself to not go out into the chaos. I needed to understand what was going on.
Every movement I made came with such excruciating pain, but I couldn't give up. I couldn't lie down and wait for death. I grabbed onto a jutting in the rock that was the wall of the dungeon and began trying to pull myself up.
My scream united with the screams of those around me as I tried and failed to rise to my feet while still putting myself through agonizing pain. A large sable-coloured wolf suddenly appeared before me, its blood-matted fur bristling in aggression and its teeth snapping ferociously.
I gasped in shock and fear, falling back to the ground I was struggling to rise from. I raised a trembling hand in a puny attempt to shield myself. I couldn't even process panic properly, my brain's signals were jumbled from the effects of the poison. My sight was disoriented, my head spinning as I tried to grasp the scale of the attack.
As the brown wolf pounced, a massive shadow fell over me.
I tried to look up, my vision swimming and saw what looked like a sleek, onyx wolf emerge from the fray, regal and powerful. It was majestic with its eyes, a striking ice blue, ringed with hues of golden ember that seemed to glow.
Its menacing growl cut through the night as it moved with a fluidity that was mesmerizingly terrifying, intercepting the brown wolf’s attack. I watched, dazed, as they clashed in a whirl of fangs and teeth, their snarls blending with the cacophony of the ongoing battle.
Badly injured, the brown wolf fled, subdued by the dominating aggression of the black wolf which remained close, its gaze never leaving me. I could see the intricate patterns of its fur up close and the way the moonlight made the gold ring around its eyes appear almost luminescent. It was a comforting presence amidst the chaos.
My strength depleted, I slumped, my entire body beginning to shiver and my breaths becoming shallow and uneven.
As the world around me faded, I heard a faint, desperate whisper in my mind, resonating with primal harshness and unrestrained emotion.
“Mate!” Arya, my latent wolf, called out feebly.
Before I could process the shock, the voice of my long-dormant wolf triggered something in me, something that, if I hadn't swallowed an entire vial of wolfsbane, might have been enough to rouse me from the darkness that now wrapped around me, pulling me into itself.
My eyes widened and the night’s chaos continued to swirl even as everything went black, dark as the fur of the midnight wolf that'd saved me.
- Writer
