seven
That was a hideous distortion of the truth. The ancient hellhound could no longer bear to be alone. Locked away from all he had known in the soul eating darkness laid so heavily upon him.
Rykar felt unstable.
He wouldn't allow himself to lose control. It had happened once before and it had led to his seemingly endless capture that would and could never kill the blue eyed beast.
But the coal black haired man had to regain his discipline. He must. Especially with his Bella so close.
Knowing that, even though he had terrified that lingering female fang, his mate wasn't perfectly safe. Rykar had bit back that all consuming feeling of ripping the undead creature to pieces. It would have cost him a single shred of himself and the beast lurking beneath his skin would more than likely decimate the town.
He growled lightly and shook the thoughts from his head before dissolving into the welcoming shadows once more. The feeling of being one with the shadows, utilizing their all known feature of existing from nothing... was so satisfying for the hellhound. It was like being swept up in an ice cold breeze and stepping out into an abrupt warmth of fresh air.
The hellhound of old found himself standing amongst tall trees. To his left, he could see the edge of the Quileute Reservation.
Rykar met the Alpha's uneasy gaze through the kitchen window of his precious little home and the blue eyed beast simply raised an eyebrow, letting the wolf know he wanted them to speak.
A curl of amusement tightened in his chest as the shifter quickly ran his eyes over the rest of the Pack, some of them looking wary and anxious while the others were curious and filled with awe. Rykar could see behind the tense Alpha, his scarred, beautiful imprint, looking the most terrified.
It seemed after their first encounter, the whole of the tribe had flocked to the small house, as the current Elders, whom the wolf had glanced at for guidance, were present.
The hellhound was losing his patience, letting a not so friendly snarl escape his throat. Even the humans of the Taha Aki tribe heard him.
Rykar knew his eyes had flared, igniting with the blazing fire that was embedded in his soul. And he could feel the unbridled fear that caused, satisfying the beast for only a split second.
Words were exchanged and assurances were given and finally, the Quileute soon made his way towards the hellhound.
He knew the wolf would follow him, so the blue eyed beast spun slowly on his heel to stalk back into the dark woods. It was about an hour before Rykar finally came to a stop, the two of them now deep in the forest.
"What do they call you?"
The already uneasy shifter almost jumped out of his skin at the taller man's quiet, but abrupt question, "Sam."
"You are not the true Alpha of this pack... why do you hold a title of such importance when it is not yours, to begin with?"
Rykar almost bared his teeth in annoyance, before simply narrowing his eyes, "And for the sake of your Warrior Ancestors,
face me as they did, proud and fearless."
The Wolf altered his posture and the hellhound barely nodded his head with approval. The supernatural Apex predators stood in silence, the chirping of birds or the whispers of the trees did nothing to disturb the eerie peace that surrounded them.
"Now tell me, boy," the Beast would not call him Alpha. Because he was not.
"I was the first to shift, making the Elders decide I would lead the
Pack until Jacob is ready to take his rightful place, " Sam watched Rykar carefully, the Ancient Being's very presence commanding great respect.
The steel blue eyed stranger rumbled a complacent note with the existing Pack leader's explanation.
Their gazes met. But Sam would never admit the sudden harsh glint in the hellhound's eye scared him, "This Jacob is?"
The Quileute Wolf swallowed, growing fearful with Rykar's change of tone and piercing stare, "He's Billy Black's, one of the Elders, son."
The Beast let out a deep, threatening growl, "That immature pup has upset my mate."
Sam's dark brown eyes widened, gulping the 'Uh oh' lodged in his throat.
Bella Swan was the mate of the last hellhound alive.
"He will oppose you..."
Rykar scoffed, a laugh of frightful amusement. He swivelled his menacing, sharp gaze to examine the quiet shifter, "The soul bond between a hellhound and its mate is unbreakable, unlike the union, between a wolf and his imprint."
The Quileute looked alarmed and the Beast's taunting cackle echoed louder through the trees, "I guess the Elders are not telling you everything about the Warrior Wolves of the Past whom I once ran alongside," he turned his back to Sam before he spat in disgust, "You've all been... domesticated..."
The Wolf clenched his jaw to stop himself from snarling, struggling to keep himself from shifting and assaulting the Beast.
"They would be ashamed."
The hellhound turned his head slightly, watching him curiously from the corner of his eye. He'd seen the Wolves shift before and he could only wonder if they felt any pain. The Wolves he once knew wouldn't say and when he shifted, there was only a mild discomfort.
"How could a bond be severed with an imprint?" The shifter wanted to know.
"Through enough emotional trauma."
Sam swallowed, the Elders really hadn't told them everything... would Rykar?
The Ancient Beast turned around once more, then tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, a dark look falling on his handsome features. He took a few steps and he was right in front of the Wolf, towering above him by a few feet.
"You will tell that boy to mend what he has broken..." the hellhound's lips pulled into a dangerous scowl, "Or I will break him."
:3
Somewhere that nobody truly cared to know, a certain pixie like Cold One was on the hunt in the forest with her empathic mate and telepathic brother when suddenly she froze.
Her mind flooded with an all consuming hellish fire with a monstrous beast snarling amongst the dancing flames before it was replaced by a stranger who could only be described as tall, dark and handsome. She could feel the ominous danger emanating from his tanned and muscled body. He seemed to be staring right at her, while a humanoid version of the beast she just saw flickering over him with his eyes glowing a brilliant orange, mirroring the cyclonic blaze encircling him.
She gasped aloud in panic and terror when Bella appeared beside him in a long, blood red dress that hugged her curves, with a look of complete adoration on her face and he seemed to bend down to breathe in her scent. He then caressed her face with a black, clawed hand.
The small Cold One watched, morbidly fascinated as he swept the Swan up like a goddess and laid her down upon an archaic looking altar, it looking stained with old blood.
Her brother screamed Bella's name as she and the man were abruptly consumed by a blistering inferno.
:3
There was a knock on the front door as the father and daughter finished their dinner.
Outside, a gorgeous, platinum blonde stood on the front step with a cigarette between her lips, dressed in a pair of black denim, skinny jeans and a leather jacket over a deep magenta, low cut tank top with matching Doc Martins. Dark make up, silver rings and a silver necklace completed her look.
She took in a drag as the door slowly, almost carefully, opened and a certain brunette filled the doorway. A smirk fell on the blonde's lips as a confused expression covered hers.
The exhaled smoke came from her nose, making her look like a dragon.
"Can I...help you?"
The young woman's smirk widened, becoming gleeful almost smug, "Aren't you a pretty little thing? You must be Bella."