Moonkissed

Chapter 3

Allara's P.O.V.

Perhaps it was the overwhelming feeling of fear or just raw instinct that sparked the magic within me once again. The buzz of power running through my veins, felt unbelievably satisfying, I no longer felt weak or inferior towards the silver wolf in front of me; all that remained now was my hesitation on how to use my magic. Whatever that lady from my ancestor ritual did to me, it changed my magic. Thus only one solution  came to mind, I had to try stealing his energy. My mind travel back to that day in the bathroom, but it was to no avail as memory serves there was no mention of a chant. How was I to cast this spell without a chant?   

The crisp air of this early morning combined with the heinous face of Mr. Silver sent shivers down my spine. The more I stared at him the more freighting he became, his white-silver hair grew in patches like an unkempt mutt, several scares obscured his body especially the three large gashes running down his neck. 

From afar howls of his companions echoed through the forest signaling their retreat, yet he just snarled in annoyance, giving up did not correspond with his warrior mindset. My heart nearly stopped once I realized he wasn't going to follow their pursuit, instead he pounced me, pinning my arms and legs beneath his ginormous paws. The scent of his molt-like breath, taunted me as he grazed his fangs over the marking spot on my shoulder, making my blood boil. 

It felt as simple as taking a breath, my hands griped his paws tightly, filling by body with pure ecstasy as I devoured his energy. His face contorted into a mixture of fear and anger, as his energy started slipping, the beast morphed back into his humanly form, where he collapsed onto of me; completely drained of energy. After pushing off the dead weight of his body, I stood up, trying to dust off my clothes, when the foolish pup from earlier snuck up on me, sinking his fangs into my left calf. Before he could even think about retracting his fangs, I absorbed all of his energy. 

"Larrie!"

A mink Aiden made his way towards me, engulfing me in his warm embrace, only to be broken by the startling  snores escaping from my youngest victim. The young pup in human form looked no older than ten, as for Mr. Silver he was about our age, twenty or so. 

"They look too young, compared to their attack. So much violence and hatred it seems unnatural. I don't want to kill them, Aiden."

Aiden's eyes held the same hesitation as my heart when it came to killing. Roughs are seen as pests, who needed to be eradicated from existence. They were criminals, rebels, outlaws who disobeyed all the laws set by the magical council. Yet these two had barely had a chance to live. With pleading eyes I convinced Aiden to rather take them prisoner. Perhaps we could rehabilitate them or at the very least we could obtain knowledge of their plans and whereabouts.

After several phone calls someone finally picked up their darn phone, Chelsey answered with a groggy annoyed tone; which I guess was understandable considering the time. I debriefed her  quickly concerning our current predicament, Aiden's pickup was in no condition to even start. Almost half an hour later Chelsey arrived in one of the Alpha's black SUV's, she even brought a helping hand, Steph. He was son of the packs medic and practically Chelsey's second half; if only, but faith had decided to be so cruel towards Chelsey and most of the female species. This broad shouldered Adonis with almond surfer hair and a killer smile was gay, yet it never seemed to bother Chelsey. I guess she was content in having him as nothing more than a best friend.

When we finally got home, we had to figure out where to put our "guests". Since roughs were usually killed on site we decided to use the containment pen for the time being. The containment pen is best described as room from an asylum, padded walls and everything. It was mostly used for the pups first full moon after transition. You've heard of toddlers terrible two's well for a werewolf age five was a nightmare, think of tiny psychopaths literally, they get filled to the brim with animal instincts, unlimited energy and just a hint of anger issues. Stepping into the containment pen always made me feel uneasy. It seemed so cruel, not only were the pups locked in, but they were also shackled to the walls during the week of their first full moon as shift-able werewolves.  Chelsey volunteered to take first watch, so that we could get some rest after the nights events. 

Before heading to bed, Steph took a look at our wounds. Aiden's werewolf healing had already taken care of most of his damages leaving him with only a couple of scares, as for me I had to get seven stitches for the bite mark that pup gave me.  A part of me felt infuriated by his actions, the rest of me however just wondered how such a young boy could get corrupted to this point.

***

Chelsey's P.O.V.

Getting comfy was considerably harder than expected in a room that seamed to be created entirely out of mattresses. I tried everything, standing sitting even laying down in every conceivable position but nothing stopped the feeling of unease this place gave me. Memories from my youth haunted me, the feeling of being a true monster, shackled and locked away. It was just a week but it had felt like an entirety. 

Pulling myself back into the present, I decided to make myself useful.  Steph was kind enough to lend the prisoners some boxers, which I was grateful for but he never even took a look at their wounds. I know Allara didn't hurt them and even if she did their werewolf healing would have taken care of them; but those scares on the guy our age needed attention. I gathered some supplies from the first-aid kit we kept in the containment pen and decided to try clean some of his wounds. The gashes on his neck seemed like the most logical place to start. 

I had barely grazed the scares with some antiseptic when his eyes shot open. It felt like staring into a blizzard, icy blue and cold. Cold as they might be I refused to look away, instead I just continued dabbing his wounds. Raw wounds on a werewolf still didn't make sense to me, he was either to malnourished for his body to heal it or something other-worldly had caused them. 

With a Quivering voice I introduced myself in the hopes of clearing the uncomfortable atmosphere. Minutes seemed to drag on before he spoke in a rich, mysteriously dark tone introducing himself as Vince and the little boy snoring the night away as his brother Theo. To be honest I never thought he'd actually reply, he didn't seem like someone who'd talk willingly considering the circumstances. His polite demeanor came across as toxic for some reason, like he planned on luring me into a false sense of security.

About half-way through cleaning his wounds, Theo woke up, the sight of his face once he realized he was chained to the wall, was truly heart breaking. He tried breaking free by yanking, until he caught sight of Vince's stern stare. With one stare Vince had completely composed his brother's frantic behavior. I tried my best to explain to the both of them that we had no intention to harm them unless they gave us a reason to do so.

"What about the witch, isn't she mad at me for biting her?"

Theo's questioning large blue eyes stared at me, filled with concern for his life, Vince on the other hand looked like he was about to murder Theo, which didn't make sense to me at all. What was with this man? He attacks like a cold blooded killer, yet seems nonchalant about his capture and then this. I would have thought he'd be proud of his little brother fighting back. As for Theo's question, I didn't really know how Allara felt, she came across as annoyed rather than mad; but taking into account that they interrupted her date and caused her to get stitches she had to be peeved off. So instead of answering I merely nodded and asked if they were hungry.

Rummaging through my parents fridge, I grabbed some of last nights casserole, some apples and three bottles of water. Theo spent no time savoring the taste, instead he devoured it like it was his last meal and then begged for a second helping afterwards. How could he be this sweet in comparison to last night? My mind could no longer contain it's frustration, I needed answers.

"Why did you attack them?"  

"For money, what else?"

Vince cocky tone and answer caught me off guard. Was it just an exaggerated mugging? My perplexed features must have intrigued him, for moments later he explained it all. Apparently someone had placed a half a million dollar bounty on the save return of Allara. Vince didn't seem to know much more than that, he elaborated on how he got a tip of where Allara was as well as directions on where to take her afterwards. According to him the bounty was placed two days ago by an anonymous person, the listing he saw was at a local biker pub.