The Wolf's Song

Battle of Wolves

Diana

My lungs burn as I race from through the castle. I thought about running from the house, but in the open courthouse and then the expansive land I clocked on the way inside meant there was little coverage for me. At least inside, there are corners and walls that are easier to round in human form than wolf form.

Seeing most of his transformation was terrifying, as if it looked painful despite what Michael says it only hurting the first time. Perhaps it was his growling or the way when he shook his body so that more of his wolf appeared, like he was shaking off his human skin for his true nature.

I reach the stairs when he skids across the bottom landing of the steps. I sneak a peek and he howls at me, the equivalent to his laughter. The stairs are no obstacles for him as he leaps clearing them.

He tries to pursue me, but the pillars in the oval hallway make it impossible for him to fit. Finally, point for team Diana. My celebration is cut short as he shifts and starts running after me. He is faster than me and I can’t reach the opposite staircase in time. He yanks me back and sends me flying the way I came from.

“This feeling is exhilarating, knowing after all these years my purpose will finally be complete. I should be thanking you,” he jabs over at me. I get to my feet, but he rushes me, grabbing me by the scuffs of my sweater. I gasp as he chokes me, my feet barely touching the ground.

“It would be so easy to finish you off here, but then he would miss the fun part,” he snarls. He turns me and shoves me against the railing so I’m facing the open entrance. He presses up behind me, shifting his hands to grab my hair. I gasp as air rushes into my lungs again but get no relief as he yanks my head back, his hot breath rolling up my neck to my ear.

“He’ll walk in, finding you instantly, sniffing you out. Then I’ll shift and snap my jaws around this slender neck of yours. Oh, I can see his face now,” he shivers, his disgusting pleasure showing.

“He won’t let that happen. You’re no match for him,” I grunt.

He throws me back again and I slam against the wall and slide down, my whole body rocked to my core.

“Think I cannot beat him?! Here? Where I have my pack waiting for my command to rip whatever is left of him to shreds? You silly human, you will be the cause of his death, leading him here where I am Alpha. I will exact my revenge and gain my freedom, his high moral code a cancer to our nature. We are shifters, wild and free, not protectors of man. Man, who would hunt us till our last breath if they learned how to properly kill us. Make no mistake Diana, we are not the animals here.”

He charges for me again, but I throw my hands up to fight him off. He easily overpowers me, but I use my arms, legs--I bite and stretch at him. I get his face and he recoils back enough for me to fumble my way down towards the stairs.

Passing him, he snags my hoodie and I’m yanked back, but his awkward position prevents him from having the angle to pull me fully to him and I trip to the ground. Kicking myself back, I reach the top steps and roll over and skid down the length of them. I land at the bottom with a loud oof, as my head hits the last step. My urgency prevents me from feeling itbut looking up at him slowly stalking me as he descends the stairs locks my legs up. His smile gives way to sharp fangs as he shifts back into his wolf form.

Once again death is opening its gate, ushering me in with bloody open arms, but unlike the other times, Damien’s sentencing feels more complete, his intention purely pleasure driven. The wails produced by Michael at seeing my death will be music to his ears.

Music! I grabbed my chest and the relief that washes over me nearly makes me faint. There is no time better than now to truly test Martha’s assumption of my gift. I pull my ocarina from under my hoodie and bring it to my lips. Damien notices what’s in my hand a second too late as I play the first note.

I hold the note, trilling my tongue, its earthly vibrance stopping him in his tracks. He tries to counter it, but I continue, adding more notes as the melody increases. I get to my feet and start taking steps back toward the exit.

Movement draws my attention as open doorways get filled by his lingering pack members, but they all entranced as well, my song preventing them from attacking. Now that I have their attention, how do I command them?

I think back to the day of the festival and what I was thinking while I was playing. On the surface I was overjoyed to be holding a violin again, but the notes I played told the tale of a wandering man, seemingly lost. What could I play that would stop his advances?

Having limited experience with the instrument currently saving my life, I rack my brain for common note patterns from the flute. Suddenly, I recall a song about a woman mourning a lover and I switch the keys up. As my song continues my subtle retreat in effect, Damien whimpers as he clears the stairs and sits down, howling softly in turn with me.

I can’t believe this is actually working. There is no doubt now that my father is who Martha says he is. I glance around at the other wolves, four in total, to make sure they are just as enamored still. They are; one has even laid down, its head rubbing almost playfully against the floor.

The song finishes and I start to replay it, when my foot hits something and trips me. The music stops as I catch myself before hitting the ground. I land awkwardly and the pain in my wrist is instant.

I cry out, and it triggers Damien, bringing him back to the present. He howls and leaps at me. I use my good arm to block my death, but he never reaches me.

Peaking over my arm I see a black wolf biting at his neck. The new wolf has a patch of white on its belly and then it turns, and I see another stripe splitting its face. It bares its teeth as Damien stalks around it, waiting to strike.

He goes in for the wolf again; their coming together is violent and vicious, their sounds only amplifying their warring jaws and claws. The black wolf manages to clamp down on his jaw, his welp echoing off the walls. He frees himself, freeing a front paw and pushing the new wolf aside. He shifts down, blood oozing from his shoulder.

“It’s not like Michael to send a second for someone he claims is so precious to him,” he snaps, his fingers hovering over his bloody shoulder. The black wolf returns to human form and I gawk over at the woman I saw that night of the full moon.

“Clarissa’s the name, your Act Two intermission. You must be the love-sick puppy big bro Michael is always whining about,” Clarissa eyes him, standing powerful in her birthday suit. “Mmmm, the way he talks about you, I’d thought you’d be harder to beat.” She smirks at him, doing what I’ve apparently been failing at, beating Damien at his own game.

“You aren’t in his pack, you can’t call him to you,” he tosses to her. She nods and finally turns to look at me. She looks like a teenager, but her eyes are even more advanced than mine, having seen far worse. She winks at me before turning back to Damien.

“Yeah, not interested in being ruled by a man, any man,” she says, disgust making even my skin crawl, “But I was just telling a friend about this new invention called a smartphone,” she pats her bare skin, “Must have left it in my other pants.” She laughs.

“She’s mine,” Damien growls before shifting again and goes for Clarissa, who laughs before shifting as well. I can only watch as I eagerly await Act Three, and hope it includes Michael’s grand entrance.