The Hazard of Humanity - Book One - Fate

Chapter One

Rabbit...

Deer.....

Fox.....

Oh.. That was a new scent... What was it? Skunk? no it smelled worse than skunk?

"Lycan..." I grunted under my breath as I slowly turned in the wet grass, My fingers brushed along a dew covered shrub that had several broken limbs... "It passed by here recently... Careless idiot..." I whispered softly to myself. What was a Lycan doing so close to River's end? Last I recalled their territory ended near the Tower of Tears... So why was this mongrel breaching into my territory? The wind brought more scents with it... more Lycan.. "Motherfuckers..." a growl rumbled in my throat as I pushed myself to stand up completely. Brushing a few brown curls behind my ear as the wind picked up.

A howl broke the silence and drew me from my thoughts. Turning to the north I reached into my pocket and pulled out my knife. The pack was close.. Had they picked up my scent in the wind? Shit... why hadn't I thought of the wind. I'd been so caught up in the hunt..

A twig snapped and the hairs on the back of my neck turned on end as a low rumbling growl sent shivers down my spine. The overwhelming power of the Alpha wolf stalking me put weight on my shoulders, hindering my ability to breathe. Slowly I turned to the large wolf that stalked into the clearing. Unlike his wild Wolf cousins, Lycans had crimson red eyes while in their feral form.. it was the only way to tell the difference between the two. Other than the profound odor they polluted into the beautifully scented air.

The black wolf stalked closer, hackles raised as his red eyes narrowed on me. Every muscle in my body tensed... Prepared for a fight that I knew was inevitable. In a sickening motion the wolf's bones began to crack and break, healing and forming as he began to shift into his human... If you'd call him human... form. It was one thing that almost gained my appreciation for Lycans, Shifting looked terrifyingly painful...Almost...I still hated their guts.

Before me stood a tall muscular beast... too muscular... ew... how was a man that muscular even real? I liked my man meat slender yet muscular... not total beef cake. His eyes were no longer the dark crimson red, they seemed more of a chocolate brown and his cocky grin made me want to smack him into next week.

"Lady Latta... Its been quite a long time since A've run into yer Bonnie face..." The wolf said with a grin, his eyes glancing up and down my form as if he was looking at a new succulent bone to chew on.

I mean... not that I could complain... I was what I was... A curvaceous... seductive woman in her prime. Wide set hips and a large bust with curves in just the right places? any man with the ability to see straight would know a true woman when they saw one. I snorted at my cockiness as I crossed my arms and cocked a hip.

"Ah.. Shamus O'Connor... I'm quite surprised actually... I thought your territory ended at the Tower of tears... what are you doing so close to my Village?" I grumbled a bit agitated by this entire encounter.

"A've got a growing pack to look after, Lady Latta... Growin numbers means larger territory.. We marked it two weeks ago... ye've had more than enough time to contact me on this matter.... Yer trespassing again.. Demon... A'm quite tired of ye demons talkin down on me people like ye own everythin..." He began to growl. I could sense that he was growing more and more aggressive. 

As he spoke I noticed the numerous pairs of red eyes glowing in the distances surrounding us... shit.... He had his pack with him. No showing him my unease I placed my hands on my hips and frowned a bit.

"D'aw... you sound like a child that has been bullied to much... finally speaking up for yourself, mutt... Im proud" I snorted and rolled my eyes.

The mongrel took a step forward with narrowed eyes. The wind brought his stench towards me and assaulted my nose... goddess he reeked. Despite him advancing I remained motionless with a stern expression.

"Im sick of your constant appearances... Your pheromones... your beautiful body...I thought about just slaying you to rid the world of another demon...but I heard through the grape vine that you're a succubus...So I had another idea...." He said with a grin as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and held out his fist. I peered at his palm as it opened up and when I heard him inhale I noticed the ground black powder in his palm and my body froze... That was Onyx... How... How did come to know our weaknesses. 

The moment he blew the powder into my face my eyes squinted shut as the agonizing pain rolled through me. The flesh on my face felt as though it was trying to crawl away from the powder that landed on my face. Blinded by the onyx the moment it made contact with my eyes.

There was a swift punch sent into my stomach that winded me and sent me onto my knees gasping for breath. A hand gripped onto my hair and tugged me up into an upright position. A second hand moved to my throat and it firmly squeezed my airways shut.

"Ha... You demons are so fucking weak....Onyx is pretty popular on Anai... Its everywhere and once we figured out your weakness every Lycan in my pack carries a pack around for protection." Shamus' voice spoke dangerously close to my ear as he lifted my off the ground with one hand and pressed me against a tree.

I could hear the cackling of the other wolves as they began to shift into their human forms... could sense their arousal... I winced in pain, fear was beginning to settle deep into my core as I felt Shamus' body press against mine and I felt his apparent arousal press against my stomach due to our height difference from me being so damned short.

I listened to the sound of the birds chirping in the trees... The wind... and then everything went still... everything went silent... the birds stopped their songs.. The wind afraid to move and the sound of the snickering wolves vanished... All I could hear was footsteps crunching along the ground, Shamus' grip on my neck slackened tightly as I heard his grunt of surprise when a deep rumbling laughter began to echo in the area around me creating an earie feeling... 

"My my my... Arn't you a wee bit to old to be flirting with such a beautiful young woman such as her, Mongrel?" A buttery sweet silken voice almost sang in my ears to my left. The smell of his breath took all the horrid lycan stench away. I felt the stranger lean against the tree near me and I could only imagine what Shamus' face looked like right now...There was a soft laugh from the man who'd entered the scene and it made my body ache with need. Soft lips brushed against my earlobe as he spoke. "These wolves would make nice coats... Don't you think Dulcedo" The Latin word for sweetness warmed me to my core...and yet... I could sense this mans power...

Shamus snarled as he gripped my neck and threw me aside, sending me tumbling onto the wet earth, my forehead crashing against something hard and everything went black.