Howls of Apollo

Septem

Skaia’s eyes shifted to the man beside her who turned to look at her with a smug smile on his face, not even the least bit nervous.

“It seems I have to cut this meeting short. But first, a gift.” He said wickedly. Extending his hand towards her.

Movement came from all sides in response but Skaia acted fast. Before his hand could touch her, she grabbed his wrist and shifted her body so she could throw him off, swiftly grabbing the dagger before she swung the man forward.

However, the warlock managed to grab a hold of her wrist and brought her down with him. She immediately gripped the dagger in her hand and swung at his arm. She managed to get in a few slashes before she stabbed his forearm to get him to let go. The warlock yelped at the pain and immediately let go, allowing her to get free. She spun to try to get him on the side of his head with a kick but the warlock was quick to duck. Adjusting to the defense, Skaia quickly brought the leg she swung and kicked back with all she could, getting the warlock under the chin, making him fly back.

Skaia quickly shuffled back and was immediately surrounded by wolves on all sides, the man from earlier standing in front of her. She has no idea who he is, but right now, she’s thankful for the back up.

The warlock was already on his feet, black liquid dripping from his mouth. With her last attack, Skaia reckons it must have been blood though it baffles her how it doesn’t look like it.

The warlock chuckled darkly. “It looks like I underestimated you Luna.” He spat. “I’ll just have to give my gift another way.” He said tauntingly.

Heavy paws were heard coming fast, a thundering growl reverberating through the forest it shook the ground. Not a moment too soon, Apollo bounded out of the trees aiming for the warlock. Yet before he could land, the warlock conjured up a ring of fire. The flames were green, encircling him and keeping him inside. It engulfed him whole before it extinguished itself out, the warlock nowhere in sight.

Apollo’s wolf huffed at the scene and instantly scanned its eyes around before they settled on Skaia, making his way towards her as soon as he spotted her. The wolves surrounded her immediately cleared the way. Apollo’s wolf stopped in front of her, pushing its nozzle towards her chest, the force making her stagger back but she stoked his head in comfort nonetheless.

His wolf is beautiful, clearly bigger than most alpha wolves in general. Majestic. His fur is a lush midnight color, but his face is part white and part black, just like his human hair. His eyes were another story to tell. His normal black orbs were replaced with beguiling swirls of silver pools. They were absolutely enchanting, she couldn’t take her eyes off of them. But before she could get completely lost, familiar dark eyes stared back at her and as fast as she could blink, Apollo stood in front of her.

The man from before quickly handed Apollo a shirt and shorts as she looked the other way, ignoring the blush burning her cheeks. She trained her eyes at the man and studied him. Skaia was more curious than wary, considering he got her out of that glass enclosure the warlock, who she now knows is Alistair, conjured up.

There’s something about him she can’t quite put a finger on and she’s debating if it’s worrisome or not. However, she can’t keep her eyes off the pair of his. One was brown and the other was green. They caught her attention and she can’t help but look.

A growl interrupted her staring and she looked to see Apollo with a scowl on his face and his eyes boring into her.

Skaia didn’t comment but looked back at the man and said, “Thank you for coming to my aid, but who are you?”

The man took a step forward, a small smile on his face but his eyes remained cold. “My name is Achilles. Alpha of Puer Luna, and Apollo’s cousin.” He answered.

Skaia was taken aback at the statement but before she could comment, Apollo interjected.

“Let’s go back, we need to discuss what happened and I have some question for the both of you.” He said gruffly, walking ahead. Skaia quickly scrambled to keep up, falling wordlessly into step when she did. She can feel the anger and tension rolling off of Apollo in waves and she held back from saying anything, at least until they were in the confines of the pack house.

Apollo was livid. He felt his blood boiling with every step he took back from the forest. He went straight to the old alpha’s office at the pack house, his mate and cousin following behind him.

There weren’t many times in his life where he felt that gut wrenching fear take over his body. However, since Skaia came into the picture, he’s already had two accounts of that dreadful feeling. And this time, he was too close. Alistair was right in front of his mate. He had managed to get her alone. The very thought was enough to get him heating up like an inferno.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a small step forward. “Apollo” His mate said softly, an effort to calm him down. He’s well aware his eyes are that of his wolf’s right now, but despite him being at the surface, he’s in complete control.

“I wasn’t expecting to meet him.” She said to him.

Her words went in one ear and out the other. “Why were you out in the woods?” He asked instead. His voice low, the strain in his tone a clear sign of the restraint he’s exorcising to keep his wolf at bay.

“I was out on a run. Though I was only supposed to stay near the tree line but I was too lost in thought I didn’t realize I was already far in. I was about to go back when the warlock appeared.” She explained.

Apollo took a deep breath to calm himself when he caught a scent that didn’t belong to anyone in the room. He realized that it was coming from his mate and he immediately glanced down, seeing the brown cloak wrapped around his mate.

“Whose clothes are those?” He said through clenched teeth. He gripped the table in front of him so hard, it was starting to crack.

“The warlock tossed it to me when he cornered me with the glass enclosure. I was in wolf form but he insisted he wanted to talk to me in my human form. When I didn’t shift, he forced me to.” She said honestly, choosing to come clean with what truly went down.

Apollo visibly stilled.

“He forced you to shift?” He said through a growl, the words barely audible.

His wolf’s eyes flashed with anger.

Skaia nodded stiffly.

A forced shift would take up a great deal of strength from a werewolf. The pain of the process would render them immobile. Some would even pass out instantly once in their human form.

Apollo was incomprehensible now. His chest was rumbling with deep rooted growls. Skaia could see how her mate was teetering on the brink of losing his control to his wolf, so she did the first thing she could think of to get him calm.

She walked over and asked him to hand over his coat. Apollo quickly understood and gave it to her. Surrounded by the scent of her mate, she tossed the cloak to the side, away from them. Seeing his mate wrapped in his coat, he willed his wolf to stand down, which is proving to be a bit difficult as the thoughts of Skaia’s forced shift was still swirling in his mind.

On the other side of the room, Achilles was silently watching the exchange. He took the time to survey the female he had come to the aid of just moments ago, and he was quite impressed with the way she’s holding her own in front of his cousin.

It’s no secret Apollo can be a bit intimidating to some people not of his blood or his beta, but the woman in front of him, though she may come off as adamant to explain her side, but he can see no sign of anxiousness in her eyes.

She stood firmly on both feet, her whole body directly facing his cousin. With his experience as a leader, and dealing with all kinds of people from all walks of life, he can see absolutely no fear in the female as she faces one, if not the most intimidating alpha of the nation.

Having enough of being in the sidelines, Achilles made his presence known and spoke up. “What did he say to you?” He asked.

Skaia took a glance at him but trained her eyes on his cousin when she answered.

“He told me about my capture.” She said, staring straight into his eyes, but Apollo remained impassive.

“He said those warlocks taking me was merely a message, a signal for the start of whatever vendetta he has against you.” She continued.

“Who is this Apollo?” She prodded almost pleadingly.

Achilles could see his cousin start to unravel before their very eyes. The façade of elusiveness and indifference was on the brink of crumbling.

Skaia could see the conflict in her mate’s eyes. For what, she doesn’t know, so she continued.

“Alistair said –“

“Don’t say his name.” He cut her off with a growl.

“Alistair said” Skaia said firmly. “I will be your downfall.” She finished, her voice trembling.

Apollo stilled at her words.

There was a ringing in his ears. Everything seemed to stop as soon as the words registered in his brain. As if to add insult to injury, the vulnerability in his mate’s eyes made him want to crumple at the sight.

He doesn’t even know anything about her, but he felt a shatter in what he thought was a hollow part of his chest at the thought that their union was onto impending doom.

“He mentioned something about a gift. He attempted to cast a spell.” Achilles’ voice broke through his thoughts.  

“He wasn’t able to do anything. I fought him off.” Skaia retorted.

“You fought him?!” Apollo roared.

“I had to!” Skaia defended. “I managed to get this off him.” She raised the dagger she snatched from the warlock earlier.

Achilles couldn’t help the smirk that grew on his face at the sight of Skaia holding the dagger. He felt Apollo’s eyes burn the side of his head so he calmly turned to his cousin, the smirk still present. “You’re a match made in heaven.” He said with a chuckle.

Skaia blushed crimson at his words and lowered her head a little to hide it.

“Although” Achilles paused, causing Skaia to lift her eyes to look at him.

“There’s something about her I can’t place.” He said, staring at Skaia like he’s studying her.

Not to be outmatched, Skaia stared back, studying him as well.

Apollo put a stop to the stare down with a clear of his throat. Skaia was the first to back down and asked the question she should have asked the moment she saw him.

“How did you find us?” She asked, head tilted and brows furrowed.

“I felt it when Alistair arrived on pack lands, and it only intensified when he used his powers. There was only the part of finding exactly where he was.” Achilles answered.

“Felt him?” She reiterated.

“I carry part warlock blood. It’s not as potent as the werewolf gene but it’s there. No, I can’t perform spells, however, I can tell if a warlock is present within the area. Kind of like a radar, like the way we can smell whenever a wolf or another is close.” Achilles explained.