WOLVES AMONG SHADOWS

Unraveling Secrets

Chapter Three:

Isabelle ran, panting sharply, chest heaving as she and Klinn ran to safety through the labyrinth of the streets. The lights of the city flickered fast, causing shadows wriggling eerily in the blind spots of her vision. His hand was practically iron around hers, tugging her through the pandemonium, but toward what, she had no idea. And she was confident in him, quite simply, because he wasn't going to let her not be.

They finally stopped in a black alleyway. Klinn held himself up against the wall as he tried to catch his breath. She turned to him; her heart was from the run, and worse—he was like her. Not human. She had so many questions, but where to begin?.

Klinn glanced around, peeking out to ensure there was nobody else around. "We should be safe here for a moment," he said, low and cautious.

"Safe? From what?" Isabelle piped up, her voice rising with fear. "Who are you, really? And why did you save me?"

Klinn sobered at that. "i'm like you," he began, careful. "a werewolf, but not of your pack. I've been here in the city for years, passing through. There are others like us here, but not all of them are friendly."

Isabelle's mind whirled. "You knew from the start that I wasn't human," she realized. "That spark. It was because we're both wolves."

He nodded. "I thought so too. That very moment we touched, it felt like a connection. a bond. But there is more. You are not just any werewolf, are you? There's something special about you."

Isabelle hesitated a lot, then finally let out the truth. "I am pregnant," she said quietly and at the same time, somehow loud. "I left my pack to protect my child."

Klinn's eyes went wide, and he muttered, "Werewolf child," under his breath as if the puzzle's final pieces had clicked into place. "That makes it a lot more complicated. People are searching for werewolf bloodlines, most especially rare ones. You and your child could become targets."

"Targets?" Isabelle's heart sank. "By whom?"

Before Klinn could respond, there was an answering growl from the shadows. Isabelle went on high alert, tensing up and feeling that chill down her spine, because three figures stepped out of the shadows, eyes glowing with an inhuman killer's light.

"Werewolves," Klinn muttered, stepping in front of Isabelle in a protective manner. "Stay behind me."

A tall woman with silver hair and piercing blue eyes stepped in at his head. "Well, well," she sneered, "what do we have here—a runaway wolf and a protector. How touching."

Klinn's muscles tightened. What do you want, Seraphine? he growled.

She laughed then, and it was cold and deliberate. "You know what we want, Klinn. The girl and her child. They're valuable assets, as you so graphically put it—and we've been watching her ever since she fetched up on this planet. Did you honestly think you'd be able to keep them hidden from us?"

Isabelle could feel the rise of panic. "Why? Just why do you want us?" she demanded, her voice trembling.

There was a malice to the gleam of Seraphine's eyes. "Power," she said simply. "Werewolf bloodlines, most especially those considered rare, hold so much power in them. Your child can be a strong addition to our ranks."

Klinn stepped closer then toward Isabelle, eyes never leaving Seraphine. "Over my dead body."

The smile upon Seraphine's face widened. "That can be arranged," hissed she, before gesturing to her fellows to step forward.

Thud, thud in her chest. She felt the stir of her wolf inside response and ready to fight, but she knew she would stand no chance against them, not in her weak condition. Her eyes flickered to Klinn's, there is fear and desperation in them.

Klinn shifted in the blink of an eye, becoming a powerful wolf with sleek black fur and shining blue eyes. He whirled on her, leaping at her with his claws extended. The two of them rolled to the ground, growls and snarls filling the air of this suddenly explosive alleyway.

Isabelle watched with horror, her body locked into place by fear. She couldn't turn, not with the baby. She was helpless, an observer in this deadly dance. Seraphine's minions clambered over themselves to reach Klinn, trying to smother him by weight of numbers. He gave it back with everything he had to save Isabelle.

But it wasn't enough; Klinn was outnumbered and withering. Blood-matted fur, seeing him with his great struggle, Isabelle felt her heart throb painfully. She couldn't let this happen. She had to do something.

She frantically looked around for some kind of weapon, anything that would help, and the broken piece of metal pipe lying close to her had her gaze. She snatched up the pipe and ran toward the fight with shaking hands.

Just as Seraphine brought her spear down upon Klinn's head, Isabelle swung the pipe with all her force. It hit Seraphine's head, and the latter recoiled. She positioned herself between Klinn and Seraphine, the pipe held out in a defensive gesture.

"Stay away from us!" she shouted, her voice quivering but resolved.

Seraphine rubbed at her head. She looked more amused than angry. "You have spirit," she said, chuckling. "But it's futile. You can't protect him or yourself."

Klinn got to his feet, breathing hard. "Run, Isabelle," he gasped. "Get out of here!"

Tears welled in Isabelle's eyes, knowing her torn emotions between the urge to flee and the need to stand and fight. But Klinn was right; she couldn't put her child at risk. She turned to run when she felt Seraphine's vice-like hand close down on her wrist.

"You're not going anywhere," Seraphine growled, tugging Isabelle closer to her.

Panic rushed through Isabelle, and she tried to turn her arm, struggling to pull out of Seraphine's inhumanly strong grip. Klinn, being the quick thinker, threw himself at Seraphine just as one of the minions intercepted him and threw him to the ground.

Her heart was thudding. There was no way out. Not human eyes; they were cold and dead. Boring into hers, Isabelle felt a sinking wash over her. She was caught, and there was just nothing she could do.

The alley filled up with blinding light, followed by a deafening roar. Isabelle shielded her eyes, then looked through her arm once more. Seraphine and her minions were taking a step back, shadows disappearing under the general atmosphere of gloom. At the entrance of the alleyway, a figure was revealed, standing tall, indistinct under the veils of blinding light.

Klinn had managed to pick himself up and was staring at the figure in amazement. "No," he whispered. "It can't be."

Isabelle squinted to see who it was. Stepping forward, the light dropped lower as he reached up. A tall man, silver with eyes of glowing power, radiated powerfully.

"Who are you?" Isabelle asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Their eyes met, held hers, eloquent in a strange mixture of sadness and relief. "I am one who has searched throughout all of time to find you," he said in a low tone. "And now that I've got you, we've got a lot to discuss."

Isabelle had a peculiar shiver run down her spine; who was this man and what did he want? And why did Klinn look so frightened on his behalf?

Before she could ask him another question, he took another step closer to her, his eyes dense with intensity. "You don't know the real truth about who you really are, Isabelle," he said, his voice quite level. "But you're about to find out."