On Wings of Fate

On all hallows’ eve, the elemental ravens will appear.

~Ravena~

Sitting at my desk, in my loft bedroom of the small cabin that my mother has us living in. The cabin’s main floor has an open living room that leads into the kitchen at the back on the right. The small bathroom is next to the kitchen and shares a wall with my mother’s bedroom. It also has a wall that separates her room from the stairs that lead up to the loft, which is my bedroom. Under different circumstances, I could see myself living in this cabin by myself. It’s cozy. Nothing fancy can be seen anywhere in the place.

Chores were finished hours ago, giving me some free time to work on my hobby… writing. It’s the only hobby that I can get away with because I can carry what I need with me wherever I go. It’s also easy to hide from my controlling mother, which isn’t easy to do. So when I can find something that brings me even a little joy, and I can hide it from her, I grab hold of it for dear life. Leaning back in my chair, a yawn escapes me.

I might as well try to sleep, considering my days always start early. I get snuggled into bed, and my cat Mystic curls up next to me in a ball of black fur, purring away. That’s her way of trying to calm me. She showed up a few years ago, and my mother has tried to shoo her away, but Mystic refuses to leave. After several attempts to physically remove Mystic from the house, my mother eventually gave up on that notion after Mystic fought back with her claws. My mother hasn’t tried ever since, and now she stays away from the cat.

I toss and turn, unable to get comfortable. My thoughts keep returning to that wolf at the lake five years ago. The size of it made me feel small, because it was easily the size of a small horse. Its fur looked like polished obsidian under the light of the full moon. Its jade eyes seemed to glow, almost like they’re iridescent. Mystic meows and looks at me with her golden eyes.

“What? I can’t sleep.” I say to her as if she can understand me.

She stretches before she moves to the window, she looks outside, and then back at me. I get up and walk over to the window to see what she’s looking at. Sure enough, there are ravens on the tree branch just outside my window, and they take off in the direction of the lake. Alright, I can take a hint. So I quickly change, before quietly heading downstairs to see if my mother is still here. When I see her bedroom door open, I let out a sigh of relief. The open door usually means she is out. So I head out the front door and make my way to the familiar path to Crystal Lake.

A little while later...

As I get closer to the one open beach at the lake, the trees start thinning a little bit, and the underbrush starts to get a little thicker. I’m lost in my thoughts, thinking back to those pale jade eyes and how it felt like they could see right into my soul. So lost in my thoughts that I’m not paying attention to my surroundings, like how silent the forest is until it’s too late.

Suddenly, a tall figure with glowing red eyes steps onto the path a few feet in front of me. The dread that’s oozing from this creature has me instantly stopping in my tracks. I’m afraid to move, my heart racing, and I can feel my body trembling from the fear coursing through my veins. The darkness obscures most of this person’s features, which only fuels my fear of this creature. I’m trying to think of what creature would have eyes like this, but I can’t think of any. What has glowing red eyes like that?

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” the figure says with a sinister voice before stepping closer to me and into a patch of moonlight that’s shining through the trees.

I can now see that this was a man once. His skin is extremely pale and ashen in color, giving him a sickly appearance. He is dressed as if he were going to an upscale party in the rich part of town instead of being out in the forest at night. His blonde hair is slicked back from his face and adds to his sickly appearance. A gaunt face holding those glowing red eyes that are staring right at me. I start feeling very uncomfortable, I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I get a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. My brain is screaming for me to run back to the safety of the house, yet my body isn’t responding and is frozen in place. As panic starts setting in, my breathing becomes labored.

“I know that she has me patrolling these woods, but she said nothing about not having some fun while I’m doing it,” he said with an evil smirk as he started moving closer to me.

I can feel the fear and panic racing through my body at his words. I take a few cautious yet shaky steps backward, hoping to put as much distance between him and me as I can. Unfortunately for me, he steps towards me. Slowly at first, then it starts getting closer to me, and that’s when I turn and sprint for home. I may have gotten a few feet before an iron grip on my upper arm has me stopping instantly.

As he turns me to face him, he says, “Oh, you aren’t going anywhere,” and I start fighting to escape his grip, but I’m unable to. He laughs at my struggling, even his laugh is sinister.

“Please let me go. I don’t have any money or anything of value.” I plead. He laughs again, and that’s when I let out an ear-piercing scream.

~Aiden~

I’m sitting on my porch, enjoying the quiet. Drinking some coffee and staring out at the lake that’s visible through the trees. My cabin was built here after the encounter with that girl five years ago. My family only agreed to my living away from the pack after I refused to leave the lake. I had camped in the forest near where I encountered her, and no one could get me to leave. My parents went to the Blackwood family about letting me stay, and they agreed to keep me safe. Good thing that my parents are friends with them, and my best friend happens to be from that very family… Kai Blackwood.

Kai’s grandparents not only agreed, but they also helped by having this cabin built for me to live in so that I was no longer camping. Kai’s dad regularly comes by to check on me, making sure that I’m alright. It’s not a daily thing anymore, since I’m no longer in school. Kai comes out daily, though. His twin sister went missing when they were babies, and it has taken a toll on the whole family. I think it’s affected Kai the hardest, and the family doesn’t know why.

I know there’s a book in my dad’s office at the packhouse that has something about twins being separated in it. I just can’t remember which book it is, and I haven’t been able to go home to look for it lately. Kai has me helping him search for his sister even more since we graduated two years ago. Every lead we look into has been nothing but dead ends, and I can see how it’s affecting him. He gets more determined every time, but the disappointment eats away at him.

A scream pierces the silence, pulling me from my thoughts. I’m on alert now, no longer relaxed. I’m hoping it’s just someone trying to explore the woods beyond the park and seeing their own shadow. I go back to looking out at the lake, but now I’m not able to relax. It’s like something is nagging at the back of my mind. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a tingly sensation travels down my spine. I hear a blood-curdling scream that causes my blood to turn cold.

I set my cup of coffee down before standing up. I look around but can’t see anything, but that doesn’t always mean anything. I can’t hear the usual nighttime forest noises; something isn’t right. I rush off the porch, and that’s when it hits me, that stench gives them away every time… vampire.

I feel my anger rising because there are not supposed to be any vampires in this part of the forest. They dwell in the area across the river, closer to the Sinclair witches. What the hell is one doing in my territory? I’m now moving into the forest and masking my own scent to better sneak up on the vampire. Following the stench of death through the trees, I hear movement up ahead. The overpowering stench is making it difficult to pick up any other scents, telling me this vamp needs to feed. I just hope I can get there in time to save the vamp’s helpless victim.

~Ravena~

“That scream was a mistake,” he sneers, narrowing his blood red eyes at me.

“Please just let me go.” I plead, my voice shaky while tears threaten to blur my vision.

“I’m going to have such fun with you.” His words cause dread to seep its way through me.

“You might even thank me when I’m done with you,” he says as his free hand toys with my neck.

I continue to fight his grip on me, but it’s pointless. With a bruising grip on my arm and his other hand toying with my throat, I’m helpless. Panic races through me as I feel his icy fingers brushing my hair behind my shoulder. My rapid breathing is almost as fast as my racing heart right now. The icy fingers slide around so they are now wrapped around my throat, and instinctively, I let out another scream that has this guy wince in pain.

“That was your last mistake, girly,” he says coldly, and I feel my blood drain.

I feel paralyzed at this point, with those red eyes staring at me with such hate. I physically can’t escape this man, but I don’t stop trying to get out of his grip. I don’t have much hope of surviving this night. With my thoughts scattered and in a full panic, I failed for the second time to pay attention to my surroundings.

A deep, authoritative voice bellows, “Let her go, NOW!” and now we are no longer alone. The hand on my throat tightens, making it hard to breathe.

I feel my body start trembling, my knees wanting to give out. I feel numbness start to take over completely, drowning out everything around me as a black abyss threatens to swallow me whole. I can hear voices, I think they’re arguing, but I can’t make out any words. Suddenly, I’m shoved, and my body slams against something rough and solid. I feel my body start sliding down, towards the ground, as blackness closes in around me.

~Aiden~

I’m a few feet behind the bloodsucker, and he is too preoccupied to hear my approach. Keeping my scent masked, but let my foot land on a twig. I know as soon as the parasite hears the snap of the twig because his body stiffens. His body is blocking me from seeing his victim. I try to pick up the scent, but I can’t pick up anything except the scent of death. I’m not able to tell what he has in his clutches, at least not by scent.

The damn vampires have been doing the Sinclair family’s bidding for as long as I can remember. For what reason is anyone’s guess, but whatever the reason, it can’t be good. As I stand here quietly watching this lowly vamp, I can see the bloodsucker’s victim struggling to break free. I see that his victim is a woman. She hasn’t seen me yet and tells me she didn’t notice the vamp’s change either, which tells me she’s human.

“Let her go, NOW!” I shout, she jumps, and the bloodsucker looks over his shoulder at me with a smirk.

Walking closer to the pair, I watch as the bloodsucker tightens his grip on her throat. He is looking rather annoyed that I interrupted him, well, too damn bad. He isn’t supposed to be in this forest, or on this land, which was his first mistake. His biggest mistake was taking a victim out here, and worse, he did it close to my cabin. I try not to look at the woman because I need to get this vamp taken care of before I worry about her.

“Did you not hear me, bloodsucker?”

“I said, let her go now.” I snap, letting my annoyance come through.

“Why should I? She isn’t yours,” he sneers, and my temper stirs.

This one has some balls, but then again, he probably can’t tell what I am. Another mistake this vamp has made is assuming that these woods are safe for him. He stands no chance in hell against me on one of my bad days. I watch the smirk form on his smug face, and I know he doesn’t realize what I am.

“I won’t tell you again. Let her go.” I growl, narrowing my eyes at the bloodsucker.

I move closer, getting real close to the vamp’s face and hoping he will let this woman go. The vamp decides to tighten his grip on her throat, causing her to suck in a breath. I stand my ground, watching the vamp closely. I watch his face change from a smart-ass look to an oh shit look as I let out a threatening growl. Trying my best to keep myself in check, because I would like nothing more than to rip this vamp to shreds. I can’t risk that, not with the woman still in the vamp’s grip.

“Last chance to let her go and walk away,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Or what? Do you humans think that growling like a wolf will scare someone like me?” he asks, and I try to keep from launching at him.

“That’s a mistake on your part,” I say, and I decide I’ve had enough of this asshole.

I stop masking my scent and let out another threatening growl as I let my arms drop to my sides. Smirking, I watch the vamp’s eye go wide while fear seeps from him. I know he just picked up on my scent. I let my claws elongate on both hands just as the vamp shoves the woman away and into a tree that’s a couple of feet away. I close the distance and have my hand around his throat in a crushing grip. My free hand now closes around his throat.

“Go ahead. She will have my head after this,” the vamp manages to choke out.

I don’t hesitate, tightening my grip as I pull. I feel my claws shred through the dead flesh. I pull harder, watching the painful expression cross the vamp’s face as he struggles. His face contorts just before I yank one last time, ripping his head free of his body. Dropping its head as I watch the rest of the body fall to the ground before regaining control again.

I exhale in frustration that I now have a dead vamp to dispose of. First, though, I need to make sure this woman is alright. I make my way to the woman’s side to check on her. She’s alive, and that is what matters. Feeling a little relief at that. I have this unexpected urge to hold her close, which has me shaking my head to clear it. Why would I be feeling this way about anyone? I’ve never met this woman before, and I only feel relieved that she’s alright. The longer I don’t touch her, the stronger the urge to hold her gets, and it’s causing me be confused.

I should get her back to my cabin and give her time to wake up on her own in a safe place. I knelt down to scoop her up in my arms and stand up with her. Adjusting her in my arms to get a more secure hold of her, a strange scent drifts up from her, and I can’t figure out what it is. Shrugging it off, I start walking towards my cabin with my unusual cargo in my arms. Trying to ignore just how right it feels to have her in my arms.

~Ravena~

Stretching as the feeling of sleep starts to leave me, and I just want to curl further into the fluffy ground. My eyes shoot open at the realization that I’m no longer in the forest. I’m lying on a couch in a room I’ve never seen before. Fear and panic are racing through my veins as I take in my surroundings. I don’t move, too afraid of that red-eyed creature appearing to finish what it started.

“Good, you’re awake,” a deep masculine voice sounds from somewhere, and my heart starts racing.

I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep, hoping that when I open my eyes again, I will discover that this was nothing but a nightmare. Hearing a thudding from somewhere causes a new wave of fear. I haven’t felt fear like this since the night my mother discovered my Aunt Lauren trying to remove the bracelets my mother put on my wrists.

“It’s no use pretending to be asleep. I know you’re awake,” the voice says, but I’m too afraid to move.

Hearing a frustrated sigh tells me the person is close by, but I don’t know who it is or if I can trust them. My mother and Uncle have made it difficult to trust anyone. I’m praying that whoever this is, they won’t harm me. Knowing how my luck is, I don’t think this will end well for me.