Mark of the Damned | 18+

Deep End

Song - Deep End by Holly Humberstone

My eyes blink open. I'm disoriented. It's so warm. The full moon hangs low in the sky. Through a large hole in the barn roof, I watch it. It's significantly larger and closer than I've ever seen it. White light illuminates the inky black of night with a bright gleam. What happened?

Beside me, something moves and I freeze. Pinching my eyes closed, I will it away. Pretend it's not there and maybe it will go away. If I open my eyes, I have to face it.

The memories that felt like a strange, hazy nightmare come flooding back. Right before my eyes, he turned into a wolf. His bones snapped, twisting and cracking as he transformed into a beast. The sound echoes in my head, the sickening fracturing of bones.

"Cooper?" My voice trembles.

The warmth is pulled away, letting the icy night air instantly creep into my bones.

The wolf sits beside me, golden eyes staring down. I can't breathe. Clutching my chest, I sit, gasping to fill my lungs.

"This isn't real," I cover my eyes with my hands, rubbing them harshly as if to wipe away what I'm seeing. This must be some kind of nightmare. I'm stuck inside, unable to wake up. "Wake up, Niamh!" I clench my fists, trying to stop the tremor.

The wolf whines, a sad, low whimper. His head dips down, his body lying on the ground beside me.

Scooting away, I put as much distance between us as I can. The broken walls of the barn allow me to look out into the vast, open fields. Even if I could make it out of the barn, there isn't anywhere to go. I'm far away from anyone or anything that might save me. There are no buildings, no trees.

My mother used to tell me, "Niamh, beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing." I always assumed she meant those who pretend to be kind or trustworthy when they're not. She may have been referring to real wolves after all.

With his huge paws pressed to the dirt, he creeps forward, moving toward me.

There is nowhere to run, no one to help me.

Jumping up, I run through one of the open holes in the wall. He'll catch me. There is no possibility that I can outrun him all the way back to town. I'm still determined to try. At the very least, he'll have to work for his dinner. I made it this far. I can't just lie down and let him kill me without a fight.

He growls behind me and I scream, hoping against all logic and reason that someone will hear me.

"Help! Please! Someone, help me!" I shriek into the endless empty fields. My voice doesn't even echo, it's just carried away by the wind, silenced before anyone can hear it.

I feel him beside me, his thick fur brushing against me. At no point am I able to get even two full strides ahead of him. He's so impossibly fast. Instead of knocking me down, he runs out in front of me. In every direction I turn, he's there, in front of me. Stopping in the tall grass, I step right and he's there, blocking me. Turning around, he runs around, blocking me again.

"Why are you doing this? Just do it, if you're going to kill me don't make a game of it!"

His head dips down and he growls loudly.

I open my mouth to beg him to let me go when a howl in the distance fills me with terror. The knife.

Sprinting back toward the barn with the wolf right at my heels, I fall to the ground, feeling for the blade in the darkness. The wolf comes beside me and presses his nose to the ground, inching toward me.

He's moving the knife through the dirt, stepping back when he's placed it at my knees.

Clutching the handle, I hold the dagger between us, pointing the sharp end toward him. He doesn't move or react at all. He just sits, staring at me.

Another long, mournful howl echoes through the frozen air. This cry is joined by several others, at least five or six other wolves yelping in the night. His head tips down, his ears flattening against his head. With bared teeth, he growls toward the hole in the walls, looking out into the fields.

He turns, nudging me with his head, forcing me back.

"Stop it," I hold the knife out uselessly. He keeps pressing, pushing me back until I'm trapped against a bit of standing structure and a pile of rubble. Sliding down, I sit in the corner, wrapping my arms around my knees, making myself as small as possible.

The wolf backs away, running to the large hole and looking out, sniffing the air. After several minutes of pacing and sniffing, stopping and staring, watching the darkness, he comes back to me. His body presses against mine as he sinks into the dirt.

His thick fur covers me, instantly spreading warmth through my half-frozen body.

"Cooper, is this a dream?" I whisper, leaning into the warmth despite my fear. "It has to be, right? This can't happen. This isn't real."

He whines and nudges my face. As the fear starts to fade, the adrenaline in my body levels off leaving me exhausted.

I fight sleep as long as I can but eventually, I can't keep my eyes open for another second. I crash into a restless sleep filled with black fur, glowing eyes, and razor sharp teeth.

The biting cold is what wakes me, my whole body shaking. The sound of bones breaking and snapping like twigs is what makes me jolt up. Blinking in the dark, I'm met with two stunning eyes, each of a different hue.

My breath catches as he pulls himself up from the ground, a ragged breath heaving from his chest.

"I'm going to need to borrow your drawers," his eyes drop to where my skirt has ridden up enough for the bottoms of my knickers and stockings to show.

"I- what? You can't!"

"I can't walk through town naked, can I?"

I'm so shaken by the events of last night and the request he's making of me now that I don't have the strength to question him.

"Turn around please, give me some privacy."

He nods and turns around. Letting myself look, I catch a quick glance at his backside. It's wrong to look, I know, but I can't stop myself. With warm pink cheeks, I slip my knickers down over my stockings. They are close enough to men's trousers but they won't fit him.

"Here," I press my hands down onto my skirt, making sure it is completely flat and down.

"We need to get back to the docks. Everyone will be there by sunrise."

I stand slowly, my body still tired from a night of nightmarish sleep.

We walk for a moment in silence for a moment before he takes my hand, stopping me.

"There is no way to explain this so I won't trifle about. We're cursed."

--

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