Bitter Blood (BBi)

Chapter 36: Madness

Chapter 36
Madness

I don't know whether it's the cold or fear shaking my limbs, but suddenly I've gone hollow. All I can feel is this horrible stillness at my center.

“Who will join me?” I hear Brad cry from where he's jumped back on stage.

People – Werewolves – holler back at him and his luscious grin grows brighter. The other Alphas detangle themselves from their new friends and get onto stage again, lining up like they did before, all spread out long ways.

I don't understand how exactly they're going to 'join them' officially until a girl comes forward from the crowd and holds her fist up in the air.

“I will.” she says and Brad smirks.

Other people follow her lead, each announcing their choice as they move towards the Alpha they desire. The first girl bows her head down in front of Brad and he crouches on the edge of the stage, laying his hand on her shoulder. But it isn't just his hand, it's his claws. And he's pushing them into her skin.

From my place at the back of the room I still manage to catch sight of the crimson blood that rolls down from her broken flesh, soaking into her shirt as she puts her hand over the wound and steps away.

This sends the crowd wild.

The few people still around me melt into the group, leaving me as practically the only person remaining by the door. I'd leave, but there's just one thing I want to see first.

I move closer and seek out Carter. He's between Mason and Lia, his smile directed down at a petite looking girl who he's speaking with. She says something and he nods, lays his hand on her shoulder, extends his lethal claws. He drives them in and I see the girl visibly shiver, trembling as the connection is made between Alpha and pack member.

Carter is still grinning and she's laughing, her lips forming words.

And then suddenly, Carter's body peaks up, his back straightening even as he keeps his nails buried in the girls shoulder. I see his head begin to turn in my direction.

But I'm gone before he can ever lay eyes on me.

-
-

I collect Blue on the way out and take the ice field instead of the driveway to get back to the car. The snow is two feet deep and my boots are getting soaked but I keep going, my cold hands tucked into the warmth of my coat pockets as I trudge through the freezing white.

Blue is ahead of me a few meters, pushing further on, his tail wagging and his body leaving behind a large, long indent in the snow everywhere he goes. He's covered in flakes of it and I smile as he trumps on.

The fluffy snow around us muffles practically all sound except for the light wind that carries the rest of it away. That's the reason why I don't hear the footfalls of someone running up behind me – or actually, something.

I turn but it's too late.

It's a dark wolf, it's pelt nearly jet black except for the visible red shimmer that appears across it's body when it moves. I get the quickest glimpse at it as I'm turning before I trip over my own feet in fright and fall down on my butt in the snow. I scramble back up again as the wolf paces in front of me, anger coiling around him like a living shadow.

If I wasn't certain beforehand that it was a male based on the body structure and muscle mass, than the Werewolf confirms it when it's deep voice slices into my mind with the fierce sharpness of a real blade.

"What are you doing here, girl?" he snarls.

The rumbling, deep sound is like nails dragged down the inside of my skull, like lightning striking my brain. I cry out and fall to my knees in the snow.

The wolf circles me, his dark eyes drilling in as he bares his teeth in impatience.

"Get up, girl! Get up!" he orders. "Quickly!"

I push through the pain and clamber to my feet, my hands dragging through the snow, the cold pinching them painfully.

I look up as the dark wolf's sharp claws slice through the powdered ice, his steady gaze now locked on the forest.

"Stay behind me." he barks.

The words have barely stopped ringing through my head when the barren trees on the edge of the forest explode and three wolves come darting out of the pines, kicking up clouds of white, their bodies clashing together as they nip and bite at each others limbs.

There's something off about the Werewolves and I notice it the moment I lay eyes on them. They're grotesque; their usually gracefully slim bodies unnaturally skinny, like bones with a rough pelt thrown over them. And the way they lunge at each other, teeth sinking into necks, seems a little less playful and a lot more blind fully aggressive.

But they move fast and by the time their yipping and snarling comes into ear shot, they're already upon us.