Tales of Zollorune: Alpha Donovan

Donovan's POV "You have to do it. Please." She looked at me with eyes that spoke of the deepest anguish, with tears streaming down her soft, oval-shaped face. Bloody claw marks were streaked across her right ribs and stomach, and her soft auburn hair looked redder than it should be. Despite all this, it was the haunting look in her dull amber eyes that I was focused on, as those eyes looked like they had seen enough pain for a lifetime. "Don, end this. Please. Save them!" She cried and pulled me down to her, close to the ground. "We can't wait anymore!" She begged me again. "No! There has got to be another way!" I snapped and dragged her along with me, trying to find a safe space, anywhere but these burning grounds that smelled of charred, broken buildings and burnt flesh. A cacophony of shrieks, growls, and alarms was tearing through the night, and my ears winced in pain at the discordant mixture of sounds. I moved swiftly towards a thicket of trees with her in tow and tried to find a safe, secure spot or a hole. My heart hammered erratically in my chest as I could sense danger fast approaching us. I won't do it. I'll hide her well! I thought as I quickened my pace. Bam! Suddenly, there was a sickening crash sound as I was thrown off my feet. Disoriented, I got up quickly to see what had caught me off guard and attacked me, slamming me whole against a thick and burly tree as I dropped her to the ground. Growling and snarling with their razor-sharp teeth were three large wolves with matted black and brown fur that looked so unkempt, they probably had not washed in days. Snarling back at the wolves, I raised my hand and felt a surge of flames soar through my body and release them through my fingertips, scorching the unkempt hind legs of the three wolves and building up a ring of fire to prevent them from approaching us further. "You are not my match. Back off!" I commanded, but it only seemed to make the wolves more agitated as they howled, their deafening screams piercing through the cacophony of noises like a sharpened blade. Immediately following the howls, there was the sound of sharp claws scratching against the roughened earth beneath us and then in a matter of seconds, we were thronged by countless number of large wolves and trapped against the tree as they tried to push their way closer to us but were held back by the ring of fiery flames. "Don!" She looked at me beseechingly. She was gasping for air, and barely able to utter any more words as she grew hotter and hotter in my arms, the heat so intense it battled that of my ring of fire encircling us. Her limbs could no longer do her bidding as they fell limply onto the dark earthen grounds. I have to save her! But... What about the others? Our duty to serve and protect them? I thought. That's right. The others. That is what she has been trying to remind me of. My duty. Our duty. I have to make a choice for both of us now, and I will have to live with this choice. I cradled her in my arms and wiped her tears away gently with my hand. "You are going to be okay soon. Soon you will reunite with Zeff." I bent down and kissed her forehead, inhaling her soft rose and chamomile scent for what I know will be the last time. I wasn't sure if she could hear me anymore at this stage as she was getting delirious, but it would not matter anymore shortly. "I love you always, Dasha." I whispered softly to her, before reaching for her neck and with an experienced twist of my hand, snapped her neck and watched the last part of life bleed out of her, and out of me. "Whoooooooooooooooooo!!! Whooooooooooooo!!!!" The screech of my alarm clock dragged me back to reality. Argh, that darn alarm clock sound, I bet Marls had switched it to this ghostly sound to give me a scare this morning. I slammed the alarm clock shut and rubbed my bleary eyes, feeling like I had been tied to a moving truck all night and then driven and slammed all around. I didn't feel like I had slept a wink, and what's worse was that this nightmare was back again. Her haunting amber eyes that didn't seem to reflect any light off them. Her pale, soft skin resembled that of the dead. Her lifeless body sprawled on the ground as I took away her last breath. I shuddered at the scenes replaying in my mind, as they felt so real. This nightmare was a broken recorder on repeat every few weeks for the past few months, but it didn't feel any less intimidating every time I had the nightmare. I scowled in the mirror as I washed up. It was just a dream, nothing more. Marls would laugh his ass off if he knew I was that troubled over a damn dream. Pushing those scenes out of my mind, I quickly dressed up and headed to work at the Dairy Moment, where my daily life happened. Donovan Evans. A 25-year-old, tall, surprisingly muscular guy who worked 9 to 5 as a waiter with my best friend Marls at the Dairy Moment, the finest restaurant in the local town of Mirstone. I had defined, well-built curves that could be seen under my shirts, but I don't remember working out for a single day in my life, so it was as though my muscular build was genetic. Apart from that, I sure wasn't some fire-spitting man like what my dreams always portrayed. I was just a regular guy who finished college and got a job at the Dairy Moment, and that was it. Moments later, I had left my small apartment and had reached the Dairy Moment, setting up tables with Marls, Clara, and Dana. After a bustling day of work, I knew I would go about my usual routine of grabbing some groceries from the local supermarket and then head home to cook some dinner and watch a movie for the night. I didn't have many friends apart from those from the diner. It seemed like I went through college without getting to know anyone in depth to remember them at all, and I didn't have any family either, as I was an orphan. Simple life, simple job, simple man. Not a dragon, I don't spit fire, and definitely not a murderer for sure. I thought as I absent-mindedly carried over some wine glasses to set on the tables. "Stupid ass man, not simple." A deep voice huffed and growled at me. I whipped my head around to Marls and hollered at him, "Shut up!" and glared. "Huh? What's happening, Don?" Marls replied with a look of absolute bewilderment on his face. "Yeah, quit playing Marls, I just heard you call me a stupid ass across the room." I rolled my eyes. Seriously, he was the only guy here apart from me, so who the hell could it have been apart from Marls when it wasn't me? Marls approached me with a look of genuine concern that made me feel disconcerted. "Hey dude, you sure you're feeling alright? This ain't the first time you thought I was saying something to you, but I swear it wasn't me," he said as he scrunched up his eyebrows with worry. This wasn't a big matter for Marls to lie about, so I started questioning if I was going a little crazy and hearing voices in my head or something. Just as I waved Marls off and continued about my job, the cashier at the counter, Leila, approached me. From my memory, Leila has been working at the Dairy Moment as long as I had been, and she was your everyday next-door type of girl, with an average built, midnight black hair, wearing huge square framed spectacles that covered half her face and owned a home business for herbal mints for a side income. She always wore clothes at least 2 sizes too big for her, which made her look like a bat when she had to raise her arms, and even had her hair in a bun together using chopsticks sometimes. Altogether, a rather peculiar but harmless lady. "Hey there, Don!" Leila chirps cheerily and smiles. "Here, have some of these herbal mint sweets, they will help you relax your mind," she said. "Thanks, Leila. Same thing you gave me last round, right?" I nodded and popped one into my mouth, but not before a voice huffed, "You stupid fool!". Ignoring the imaginary voice in my head, I popped a herbal mint in and ate it quickly. The last few times I had issues with this imaginary voice or complained about the nightmares to my fellow workers here, Leila always passed me her herbal mints, which she said were home-grown and would help with easing the mind, and it always helped. Not for long, the nightmares and voice always returned, but it was still a good temporary relief. The rest of the day passed by rather uneventfully as expected, and when the night was over and we packed up, I headed for home in my car. I was driving along the way home halfway when a woman's scream shattered the peaceful night sky, and I saw from my rear mirror a woman running along the trees beside the pavement, followed by five men chasing her behind. This was odd, Mirstone was a tiny town that rarely had any crimes, even petty crimes like shop theft, as most people here led a simple life. I frowned at the scene unfolding behind me as the lady ran, a look of fear etched across her face as the 5 men hunted her with a wild look in their eyes. Jamming on the brakes, I slowed down to try to catch the lady's attention to get on board, but to my utmost surprise, the minute I pressed on my brakes, she was way ahead of me, and so were the men. That speed of running was surely inhumane! Stepping on the accelerator now, I rolled the windows down and yelled, "Hey! Get in!" as they all rounded the bend along the road. This attracted the attention of both the lady and the five men, and as she tried to approach the car, a beefy man in a grey cap quickened his pace to grab her shoulder and jerk her backwards. Another shorter but sturdy-built man caught up and landed a punch across her face, which caused a sickening c***k in her jaw and unhinged it. Who the hell hits women like that? I winced as I jammed the brakes tight and exited the car quickly to assist the young lady, only to be swept off my feet the moment I exited the car by the other two men, one in a red shirt and one in a blue shirt. The world was spinning in front of me, and I struggled to gain bearings of my surroundings as I got thrown against the ground. Disoriented, I didn't have any time for recovery as I was almost immediately slammed against a huge tree along the pavement, which knocked all the wind out of me. Gasping for air, I sat up against the tree, reeling from the impact. These men were insanely strong, I wouldn't stand a chance against them at all. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the young lady now on her feet and fighting the two men, but she was clearly on the losing end. Wait, but... her jaw. Her jaw wasn't out of place anymore, it looked like it had healed? This couldn't be real; I must be in a dream. A pretty painful and realistic dream, though. I was sitting there, feeling a little delirious, when the man in a blue shirt who thrashed me earlier sneered, "Fancy playing the hero now, eh. Pathetic humans!". Then, there was an awful crunch sound as I felt both of my legs' bones shatter as he mercilessly stepped on me. Debilitating pain shot through every nerve in my body, and I was convinced I was going to die tonight. "Adios, little human," he mocked as he extended an arm towards my neck, with his fingertips morphing rapidly into long, dirty yellow claws. No.... Move... Fight... Do anything, Don! My heart pounded against my chest as I tried to will myself to do something, anything that could save my life. I felt his claws wrapped around my neck, and I felt droplets of blood streaming down my body as my vision started to go black. At that moment, as life was draining rapidly out of me, I felt my mind tug onto a force within me. A dormant but powerful force that wanted to protect me as life ebbed away. Summoning all the strength left in my arm, I raised it and felt a great warmth surge through my fingertips. The dancing snakes of flames engulfed the man in front of me, and then his companion in the red shirt, who tried to help him. I couldn't feel much pain in my legs any longer, too. I felt like I was... strong and free. "Yes, stupid ass man, always need Blaze to save your ass." The same old deep voice I heard grunted. You are real? Did you help me? I gasped. "You can't forget me, Don. I am Blaze, I am your wolf, and together, we are one. Well," Blaze paused for the space of a heartbeat—"but maybe I'm stronger." I swear I could feel his pride in waves as he said that. "He's an Alpha!" The shorter man who was fighting the young lady earlier but managed to knock her out snarled at my direction. He motioned to the man in a grey cap, and suddenly there was the sound of bones cracking as the men shredded their clothes and transformed into large black and grey wolves and encircled me. I was astounded at the sight and forgot to use my newfound fiery flames as the grey wolf bounded forward and tore into my right rib. "Sit back now," Blaze commanded before I felt myself being pushed to the back of my mind while Blaze pushed forth and took over entire control of my body, stripping my clothes into ribbons before transforming into a huge, fiery red wolf three times the size of the wolves in front of me. Blaze wasted no time at all finishing up the two wolves with two quick and vicious bites to their necks, which resulted in instant deaths. I could still vaguely taste the blood and flesh, and it made me gag a little. My brain was still trying to make sense of the events from today, as none of this seemed logical at all. Blaze, could you please explain more after we save this lady out of here? I pleaded. Before I got an answer, I was hit with the scent of strong, herbal mints and felt Blaze go silent and plunge back to the depths of my mind while I pushed forth and transformed back. Thereafter, all that was left was a bottomless dark abyss as I lost consciousness.