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Chapter 4

I could see the pain pooling in her eyes, she didn’t trust me, and I couldn’t exactly say that I blamed her. The world had been taken over by creatures who had deadly abilities, men that could move faster than a mortal could blink, drink them dry of all blood before they even noticed something was wrong or that they had been caught. I wouldn’t trust anyone that showed similar magic, similar abilities, and yet I had shown her something that I had fought to conceal for months, barley using it unless it was absolutely necessary.

If I was being honest with myself, I didn’t know what compelled me to save her, or why I had risked my life for a complete stranger. She meant nothing to me, I could have simply turned my back and walked away, allowing the deadly beasts to tear her apart. It would have given me a chance to get away. I was sticking my neck out for a girl who looked at me with a similar hatred and fear as she did the blood thirsty mutts. I guess I deserved a little of that hate, I wasn’t human, I wasn’t bound by the same weakness that this girl was.

Yes I was a threat, one that could kill her should I decide that is what would be best to preserve my own life. But didn’t even a small part of her realise what I had just risked for her?

If any of those creatures got back to whoever was controlling them and informed the dark ones that I was much more than a measly human. It would certify my end. They would butcher me as they had my father, my mother.

I scoffed, shaking my head at this mortals foolishness, “You are an idiot if you believe for one second that he is alive.”

Anger crossed her features, making the young woman look almost fierce, something I hadn’t expected from the trembling mess I had seen not a few seconds ago. She hobbled to her feet, hate seeping from her in waves.

“You don’t know that he isn’t!” She screamed, her voice loud and strong. “He’s strong and perfectly capable of protecting himself.”

I watched as she crossed her arms over her chest, a laugh bubbling from me before I had a chance to stop it. “So you never heard the screams and tearing of flesh?” I shook my head again, unable to keep my own anger at bay. “This is why you stick to the rules, don’t get involved. Look at why you have gotten yourself into now.” I muttered to myself, utterly furious that I would break the rules that father and I had set.

Stupid. Really fucking stupid.

That’s what I was for thinking that a human would understand.

That she would realise what I had put on the line for her pathetic existence.

I pick up my pack and throw it over my shoulder with relative ease, I was exhausted from using my ability to the extent that I had, usually their isn’t so many hounds at once. I could feel fatigue wearing down on my bones and I turned from the blood soaked human and began trudging down the road, I still had to get to the town before it got dark, I wasn’t running out of supplies just yet, but I wasn’t about to take the risk of starving. I had cut it close one too many times and it’s harder to fight and stay hidden when your eyes are heavy and you are slow from hunger.

“Wait!” Called the girl, “where are you going?”

Isn’t it obvious? Jeez, ordinary humans really were stupid, I had already told her that more would come, the howls of their kind would draw them to this area; and I wasn’t about to stick around and have to face more of the mitts.

“I’m leaving before their friends show up.” I shrugged, not once stopping or turning around.

I heard uneven footfalls in the snow and I new she had taken a few steps towards me, probably her survival instincts kicking in, for them it’s safer to stick in groups than alone. It’s a lot harder for a mortal to defend themselves than it was for my kind.

“You can’t just leave me here!” She screamed as I heard more uneven steps before a soft thud informing me that she had fallen into the snow.

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