Chapter 3
813 Words
The night felt wrong.
I woke up with my heart beating too fast. The storm outside was loud, but something else was louder… something breathing in the dark.
I sat up slowly. My wolf was awake too, pacing inside me, growling at something I couldn’t see yet.
Then I heard it.
A growl.
Not a normal wolf growl… something deeper… darker…. colder.
“Bradford…” I whispered, but my voice barely came out.
Before I could move, Bradford rushed into my room, holding his sword so tight his hands were shaking. Brendan stood behind him with his jaw clenched. Brian looked like he wanted to disappear, but he still stayed close.
“Stay behind us,” Bradford whispered.
I tried to be brave. I tried to breathe. But the growls were getting louder, coming from every side of the house.
The shadows outside the window looked alive.
I grabbed Bradford’s arm. “What is it? What’s happening?”
He didn’t answer me.
That was when I knew…..
He was scared too.
The door creaked.
All of us jumped.
Bradford moved first, raising his sword. Brendan stood beside him with his claws out. Brian tried to stand firm, but his hands trembled.
I wished I could tell them I was okay.
But I wasn’t.
The growl came again, this time it was right outside the door.
My legs felt like stone. My breath got stuck in my throat.
And then........
There was a loud BOOM!
The door burst open.
I screamed.
Shadows rushed inside, moving too fast for my eyes to follow. The intruder stepped in first, he was tall and dark. His eyes glowed like a dying fire. He stared at me like he had been searching his whole life.
Like I belonged to him.
I hid behind my brothers, but it didn’t matter. The way he looked at me… it felt like the moon itself pushed me forward.
The shadows attacked.
Bradford charged with a loud growl. Brendan leapt beside him. Brian moved quicker than I expected, his claws flashing in the dark.
Claws clashed, teeth snapped and bodies slammed into the walls.
I froze in fear.
I wanted to run, but my legs refused. My wolf tried to push forward, but fear held me down. One shadow jumped at me. Its claws stretched toward my face.
I couldn’t even scream.
But Bradford grabbed me and shoved me back. He ripped the creature away and threw it on the ground with a roar. His arms were shaking, but he didn’t stop.
More shadows came.
For every one they pushed down, two more appeared from the trees.
“How many are there?” I cried, but nobody answered.
The night felt endless.
The blood, the dust… the broken ground under their feet… everything felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake from.
Then Brendan shouted, “Take her and leave! Now!”
My heart dropped.
“No! I’m not leaving you..”
Brian grabbed my wrist. His voice shook, but he still spoke. “Braya, please. You have to trust us.”
The shadows closed in. Bradford growled, his body trembling from fighting too long. Brendan was breathing hard, but he still stood strong.
“Brian!” Brendan shouted again.
Brian didn’t even wait. He lifted me and ran. I held onto him tightly as the world rushed past us.
Behind us, Bradford and Brendan stayed to block the enemies. Their howls echoed through the night, shaking the trees around us. I looked back over Brian’s shoulder and saw them covered in blood but still fighting like they would rather die than let anything touch me.
Silent tears ran down my face.
I hated being carried away.
I hated the feeling of being weak.
I hated that they were fighting because of me.
I promised myself right there and then I was going to change. I would never be this helpless again.
The woods swallowed us quickly, and the fighting sounds grew far behind.
But the last thing I saw before darkness covered everything was:
The enemy’s red eyes glowing through the shadows…..
And my brothers are
still standing.
Still fighting and still refusing to fall.
That was the night everything changed.
- Writer
