Bite or Howl

Chapter 23

I need to hurry. And with one huge pull, a tear both my back legs open, ripping the chains along with me. The small box that was engraved into the wall was ripped out, freeing me from my imprisonment. Limping, I run over to the bars and pull on them. But it was no use. They were stronger than the chains. Much stronger. I fall back and move backwards. There was no way I could possibly break them. But I needed to try. Catherine was dying. So I turned around, my back facing Catherine. I was going to use my back legs to push it down with all my might. It could kill me. But I had to try.

With one deep breath, I slowly braced myself. My weight shifted to my front paws as I slowly started backing up to push on the bars. But something was wrong. My eyes opened once again and I looked around. There's something coming. My ears tense upwards and my fur stands right up. And without any alert, my body starts to shrink downwards, my cells merging together and bringing myself down to my original form. The pain is camouflaged by the fear and alertness my body is tensed into. Catherine looks up and meets my gaze, wary and scared. "Phoebe, what's happening?" She whispers. I open my mouth to respond but then a heavy uneasy feeling dreads over me. "Catherine, duck!" I yell before the ceiling of the dungeon breaks open in a collapsing motion.

I fall down to the ground in a hard motion, grasping onto the back of my head for protection. The ceiling breaks open and it tumbles down onto us. I scurry backwards, ducking and dodging the ceiling bits that threaten to fall down on me. That familiar feeling comes and oozes through my body, alerting me of the presence near me. Chase.

"Phoebe!" I hear his voice yell. The thick dust from the ceiling surrounds me, blocking the view of anything. I let out small coughs and fan the air in front of me, trying to break the smoke and get closer to Chase. "Chase! I'm here!" I yell back, crawling forward towards the bars that separate me from him. He steps into view, standing behind the bars. His white shirt is all dusty and grey with blood stained all over him. His hair is messy and his breathing pitches upwards, tired and drowsy. When he sees me, he quickly cups my face in his hands. "I'm so glad you're okay. Felix is in the castle. He said you were here with Catherine. Where is she?" He says quickly, it takes me a moment to understand him. I point towards the cell in front of me. "She needs blood, Chase." I inform him. His hands leave my face and my cheeks feel cold. He runs over to Catherine's cell and yells her name. "Cath!" His hands grip on the bars and he shakes them aggressively, threatening to tear them apart.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice rings. Felix. "The atmosphere around us casts a strong spell that'll block all your strength and power. The more energy you use, the drowsier you get. Hence Catherine and Phoebe here." He explains. He takes a step closer, wiping all the fog away and giving himself into view. He looks so different. His cheekbones are sharper and his eyes have grown with rage. His hair had been styled differently. He doesn't look like the Felix I know. "Hello, Phoebe." His voice is so thick and husky. The way he says Phoebe is like you were saying something disgraceful yet he managed to put such interest into it.

Chase steps back and his hands balled into fists, his knuckles seeping white. "She's gonna die." He grits out. Felix lets out a shallow chuckle. "Isn't that the whole fucking point?" He exaggerates. But Chase doesn't move. "Get. Her. Out." He growls, letting each word seep out of his mouth as his eyes burn red. Felix looks at him, biting the side of his cheek while forming his mouth into a sly grin. He lifts his hand and lets out a wave. A dark pool of mist circles around Catherine. She looks up, meeting my gaze. Her eyes fill with worry. And with one snap of Felix's fingers, the mist around Catherine twists, swallowing her in and vanishing her into thin air.

Chase's expression grows wide, quickly gripping the metal bars and leaning in. "What did you do?" He yells, shaking the bars. "Catherine!" Felix makes a tssk sound. "Oh please, I let her go. She wasn't much use anyway." He comments, moving closer towards me. He stands over me on the other side of the cell. I crouch downwards as his eyes look down. "She should be in the castle now. Somewhere. I don't know." He mumbles. He then bends downwards and meets my gaze, following the same eye-level as me. "But this. This is what I'm after." He growls, motioning towards me. Chase lets go of the metal bars and looks down at him. "You aren't going to lay a single finger on her." He growls at Felix. Felix wipes his hand along the bars, letting his fingers glide over them. When it doesn, they slowly vanish into thin air. He then stands up as I back away, letting my palms drag me further and further away from him.

Felix's gaze doesn't leave me. "I'm not." He says, accusingly. But then his lips curl upwards again, forming a mischievous smirk. "But you are." And with that, Felix pounces on Chase and lays his palm over Chase's forehead. Chase growls in pain, I let out a scream. "Don't hurt him!" I yell, pushing forward. Felix then turns to me, "I'd stay back if I were you." He says under his breath before pushing off Chase and standing up. He then moves back and leans himself on the corner of the cell, watching anxiously as the scene unfolds in front of him. I crawl forward and check on Chase. He's gasping for air, his fingernails dig deep into the concrete floor underneath us. "Chase?" I whimper. His eyes open and his body stops moving. No struggle. No movement. But his eyes are dark red, different to the red he normally has. This one was dark. Fiery. Fierce.

I jump off of him in fear. "Chase? Are you okay?" I whisper. My voice doesn't register in his mind, though. He gets up on his knees then slowly crawls towards me. I look over at Felix who looks like he's watching a movie, enjoying every second. "What did you do?" I yell at him. "I'd start saying your last goodbyes to your precious head." He then comments, laughing darkly. Holy shit. Chase is gonna rip my head off. I turn my attention back on Chase. His blue hair is wildly messy, scrambled onto his forehead. His mouth slowly opens, revealing his sharp canines. They're crisp white, ready to be stained red as saliva slowly drips down from them. I start palming the floor underneath me, pushing myself further and further away. "Chase, please don't do this." I whisper but he's gone. He was no longer the Chase I knew. He was an animal.

He slowly moves closer to me as my back presses against the wall. This is it. My eyes close shut in fear as I tilt my head up, swallowing the lump in my throat. He stood over me, letting his head seep deep into my neck. His hair tickles my nose as he lets out a silent giggle. When I open my eyes, I don't meet the raging red flames. I meet the calm blue ocean I fell in love with. He slowly moves forward, letting his palm press on my thigh as he lifts himself on top of me. He cradles down near my face and slowly brushes his lips against mine. Felix lets out a yell of frustration. But it doesn't sound like him. "It didn't work! Oh you're useless!" He shouts in an angry tone. His voice is muffled, rearranged and almost corrupt. He then lets one last final scream before crashing to the ground. But when he falls, a black aura escapes his body and lets out all the darkness in him. His hair had returned to a normal color of icy blonde and it was ruffled like it usually was. His cheekbones had grown back into his face, leaving the sharp tone he'd presented. He looks normal. When I looked back at Chase, he had the most sad eyes. "Please forgive me." He whispers.

I shake my head as my eyes fill with confusion. I furrow my eyebrows and almost ask why but then I feel a pain explode in my neck as the Prince of Midnight tears through my skin with his teeth, breaking open my veins and drinking my life away.