Scars of Eden

He had almost reached the clearing. The coppery scent of blood caused fear and trepidation to course through him as he raced, his powerful wolf legs leaping over every obstacle in his path. He could feel her need for him, and his heart pounded with fear as he raced to reach her.

His mate.

Anger.

Betrayal.

These confusing emotions coursed through their bond like a living thing, pushing him to stand by her and shield her from whatever threat she was currently facing. He crested the hill and stumbled to a halt, his giant paws churning the ground beneath him, as he attempted to understand what his eyes were seeing.

The clearing that the creatures of Eden used as their meeting ground was crowded with animals, the scent of their fear drifting like smoke on the rising wind. It was a paralyzing scent of terror strong enough to overpower the smell of recently overturned earth and the various animal bodies gathered in that divine space. The soft grass had been trampled and torn as if a great battle had taken place, and the light from Heaven fell upon the human they knew as Adam.

He gripped his mate Eve tightly in the center of the terrifying scene, his dark eyes defiant but fearful. Eve trembled and buried her beautiful face in her mate’s chest. Sobs wracked her form as Adam stroked her back. They were both wearing some strange leafy covering over themselves that hid their soft, smooth bodies from his keen eyes. This was new for the pair, but not what pulled the breath from his lungs.

On the ground, Nachash, his dearest friend, the great winged dragon, lay in a pool of widening blood. His muscular legs had been hewn from his body, and his beautiful bronze wings had been ripped from his back and lay broken and twisted on the ground nearby. The archangel Michael stood over him, his glowing angelic gaze locked on the writhing creature at his feet. Not a speck of blood had damaged the angel’s flowing white robes or his pristine image.

He was cold, his judgmental eyes glowing under the control of their Creator. No emotion registered on his exquisite features. Despite the lack of blood, Zev knew who had caused Nachash’s injuries. The winged embodiment of God’s wrath stood over the bleeding dragon, his hands resting lightly on the pommel of his golden sword as he pronounced His sentence before the various animals now prostrating themselves before the deadly angel. His own pack included.

‘You will live, Nachash. You will live for the rest of your existence on your belly. You will be cursed to crawl, feast on the dirt of the earth, legless as a serpent, and to be the enemy of mankind for all eternity. Should you choose to fight, you will be crushed by the sons of Eve, unable to strike them higher than their heels.’ He intoned emotionlessly, his mouth controlled by God, Himself.

Nachash’s pain glazed eyes glared at the deadly angel being used like a puppet above him, and he sneered through gritted teeth, ’You would keep them in darkness, under Your thumb, stupid and compliant! At least I offered them a choice. A chance to experience free will, independence, obedience through respect, not force! What did You offer them?′

The injured creature chuckled darkly, blood dripping from his smirking lips, ‘Only control and tyranny through fear and forced ignorance. A chained herd to grovel, serve, and worship so that You could manifest Your own importance.’

The once proud dragon, now turned lowly serpent, spat a gob of blood at the feet of Michael, his hatred palpable, ‘I will never stop fighting You. I will never stop fighting for the free will we should all have without having to beg for Your gracious permission.’

‘I gave you life, you ungrateful wyrm!’ Michael shouted in outrage, a hint of anger darkening his stony features for a split second before returning to its usual calm, ‘I gave you a home, a haven, a place of peace...’

Nachash chuckled, his body weakening with the loss of blood and the change to his new form, ‘You gave us a cage. I gave her the key.’

A tremor in their bond brought Zev back to himself, and his panicked eyes sought the form of his mate. She rose to her feet from her obeisance at the head of their pack staring at the sobbing Eve, her beautiful silver wolf body shaking with anger and betrayal. She stalked slowly toward the terrified human woman, the glow of her eyes narrowing with fury. Her hackles were raised, and her teeth were bared in threat.

‘This is your doing, human. Your choice has cursed us all! My pack, myself...my mate!’ She growled low, her hatred pulsing with every word. ‘You will die for that!’

He felt the ground shift beneath him, and he knew he had to stop her. He tried to run, but it was too far, he wouldn’t make it.

He never did.

Michael’s golden sword lifted, and his mate, his beautiful Canina, fell to the earth, her head separated cleanly from her body. He stumbled to a halt, his entire body trembling with disbelief. The proud wolf stared, uncomprehending, as his mate’s blood shimmered darkly in the glow of the vicious sword. God’s glorious angel had not tried to stop her. Had not tried to calm her. He had simply killed her as if she were no more important than a blade of grass beneath his feet.

God had chosen to protect the human female who had broken His Law and instead had killed the righteously angered wolf who had always been obedient and faithful. His mate. His beloved Canina.

He had ended her without the slightest sign of remorse or pity.

The archangel lifted his gaze to Zev’s glazed eyes and quietly intoned, ‘Eden is no more. I shall scatter its beasts to the four corners of the world to become simple creatures. All but you two.’

Those borrowed eyes raked over the still immobile form of Nachash and returned to the now seething Zev. ‘Nachash’s sentence has been pronounced and implemented. You, my once favored wolf, mate of the attacker Canina, you will wander the world alone, never to be accepted into any wolf pack. As it was your mate who was the attacker and not yourself, I acknowledge your innocence by granting you everlasting life. I also give you the ability to take the life of other immortals, even one such as Nachash should you so choose.’

A cold fury enveloped Zev as he stared at the lifeless form of his beautiful mate, her silver fur now matted with blood, her eyes dull and lifeless.

’You ‘grant’ me? You ‘give’ me?′ He growled his disdain, his voice trembling in shock and outrage. Frustrated, grieving, he howled his fury to the sky and glared at Michael, ‘You give me nothing! You only know how to take.’ He snapped, teeth bared in righteous anger.

His now maddened eyes glared down at Nachash, the shock of betrayal thick in his first curse, ‘You were my dearest friend. I begged you not to follow this path, and yet you ignored my earnest words. Your selfish actions have cost me my mate, my pack, and my faith. You are now my mortal enemy, and I will hunt you until the end of time. This I vow.’

He raised his burning eyes to the shocked humans to pronounce his second curse, and his fierce growl echoed through the clearing like a thunderclap, ‘You were given a choice. You chose to ignore your Maker. You chose to ignore your promise. I have lost faith in the words of man. Never again will I trust or do a single thing to help humankind in my lifetime, and I will promote the same to any who will listen to my words. This I vow.’

Eve fell to her knees, her hands covering her weeping face in an attempt to block her view of his slain mate, her once dearest companion, and smother her heartbroken guilt. Adam stood uncomfortably, unable to look him in the eye, his fists tight, and his head lowered in shame.

Lastly, he turned to Michael, ‘Although you were only the vessel of God, you followed with unquestioning loyalty and allowed punishment without any attempt at understanding or mediation. It was your arm that lifted the sword. It was your sword that killed my mate. It was your voice that condemned all of us without mercy or kindness simply for this pathetic human’s mistake.’

Zev shook with fury. His anger twisting the faith in his mind toward darker paths. That darkness formed new thoughts. Thoughts he would have considered blasphemous before the sorrow and unfairness of this day spread through the very marrow of his body.

‘One slight deviation from His absolute rule, and He sentenced us all.’ He mumbled to himself coldly, ‘I see now that my faith was undeserved. God has shown that He is pathetic and weak. He demands faith but refuses to give it. His need for supremacy and control has the stench of deeply rooted fear that will one day result in His downfall and the downfall of all who follow Him. He has never suffered until now, never felt betrayal until now, and when tested, it was proven that He could not tolerate it in the slightest. Instead, He pushed aside the very kindness, forgiveness, and mercy He claims to embody.’

Zev shook himself from his thoughts, and his great black head snapped up to glare at the angel. His ears tight to his head in aggression, he gruffly spit out, ‘We did not lose Eden. He lost the right to keep us here.’

He grinned coldly as Michael frowned at his insults, ‘Doesn’t it enrage you, puppet? Your great and benevolent God has become the slave of pride and power. Your powerful Creator is nothing but a petulant child who throws tantrums and breaks the toys that don’t obey His smallest whims. I will revel in watching it all crumble before His omniscient eyes. In fact, I will actively work toward that very outcome.’

For only a moment, God lost control of his creation, and Michael himself gritted out, ‘Watch your tone, wolf.’ His perfect hand stroked his sword as though considering taking Zev’s life as well.

Zev made his way down the hill and into the clearing, ignoring the beings now frozen in the sudden stillness watching the grieving wolf closely. His own eyes were completely focused on the gentle form of his mate. He nearly collapsed once he reached her still body, which was slowly leaking her precious blood into the uncaring earth. His sweet, brave, intelligent Canina. She had only thought to protect him and their pack and had lost her life for it. He whined softly and nudged her soft silver fur before he ground out, ‘Send me far from here with the body of my mate, Michael, because I will hunt you all with everything that I am. Send me away and let the hunt begin.’

A sickening lurch forced him to close his eyes to his enemies, and he found himself waking in a daze, panting, and shivering in the empty den he had slept in while following a whisper of Nachash’s presence. It was an old trail he had hoped would lead him to a fresher lead but ended only in ash and regret. The bastard had once again taken his human form and slipped into the world of men. A world he knew a wolf could not enter freely.

He snuffled softly, his grief once again rising within him undiluted by either time or distance. The unbearable sadness built up inside until he finally released a mournful howl for his loss to the darkness within the loneliness of the hidden den.

No matter how many times the nightmare ensnared him, it always left him feeling as though the death of Canina and his expulsion from Eden were still fresh. Still bleeding. He could almost smell the soft scent of pine needles and wild lavender that always surrounded his mate’s shining fur.

He rose from the ground, shook himself viciously, and sat on his haunches in an effort to calm himself. Maybe it was time. It had been many moons since he had visited the place where he had lain his Canina to rest. Perhaps it would settle his restless soul to once again renew his promise of revenge and strengthen his vows at her burial site. He had lost the trail for now anyway. He would travel to the mountains where he had buried his mate and begin watching for the telltale signs that Nachash had once again surfaced.

He knew that fucking serpent could not resist causing mayhem within the world for long.

He loped casually in the dark of night toward the hovel only a short distance from his temporary den, the moon’s bright light his only illumination in the stygian darkness. He had caught the scent of sheep as he’d traveled the day before, and his vengeful body could not resist the pull of stealing a defenseless lamb from a lowly human and feasting on its helpless flesh.

Ever since his expulsion from Eden, he made it a point to eat lamb as often as he could find them. He knew the symbolism was not lost on Him, and a wolfish grin creased his muzzle as the weak creatures entered his view.

Every time he slaughtered a tiny lamb, he relished in the twinge of guilt he knew it gave Him. God’s pride would never allow him to admit that he had been too quick to punish, been too heavy handed in his need for absolute control. It was his not-so-subtle ‘fuck you’ to His omnipotent face.

The wolf had always been His most faithful animal creation amongst predators, though the Bible now incorrectly gave that dubious honor to the thieving lions, and the lamb was His most faithful amongst prey. When the lion lay down with the lamb? Rubbish! He had spent most of his time in Eden keeping the bastards off the poor little things, and the rest of his time retrieving the food the arrogant beasts had stolen from the smaller hyenas. In the garden, the wolf and the lamb had stood peacefully together, bound by the strength of their faith.

That was the old Zev. The believer Zev.

Now, the black beast heartlessly hunted the tiny beings because he knew He would only watch with regretful eyes as the great wolf ripped them apart.

God didn’t make mistakes.

God didn’t say he was sorry.

God could never be wrong.

Zev chuffed with dark humor as he carried the lamb he’d snatched, its tiny form still bleating in terror back to his den.

He had never stopped Zev’s lamb hunts. Not once.

It was the only concession God would give to the disillusioned wolf for a past that neither could change.

He was slowly licking the last of the lamb’s blood from his paws when a sliver of moonlight lit up the entrance to his den. Curious, he watched as it took the form of a white she-wolf of stunning beauty. Her shining coat seemed to glow with the moonlight, and her silver eyes showed not a hint of fear toward the monstrous black wolf now licking the last of the blood from his fearsome muzzle.

‘It is an honor to finally meet you face to face, Zev-wolf.’ The she-wolf spoke within his mind. The scent of night orchids and moonflowers drifted through the air as he considered the being now sitting gracefully at the entrance to his borrowed den.

He said nothing. He simply waited.

‘I have many names, but here I am called Selene, known to most wolves and shifters as Goddess of the Moon.’ She informed him softly. ‘I have watched you for centuries and grieved alongside you at the loss of your mate. You are a being well versed in ancient knowledge, yet though I am certain you have heard of me, never once have you come to me for aid. Never once have you asked for my guidance.’

Her head tilted, and her ears perked up with genuine curiosity. This wolf had always drawn her attention, though this was her first time actually speaking with him. Truth be told, she found his viciousness in hunting weak lambs when he was so obviously capable of taking out far larger prey strangely amusing. After his hunt tonight, she could no longer curb her wish to finally speak with him.

Well, that and it seemed he was the only creature that could help her enact her revenge, though it flattened her ears to admit it.

He snorted rudely before replying, ‘I am not one of your simple shifters, Goddess, and my faith in the divine was shattered long before even your own worship.’ He yawned and rested his great head on his formidable paws, ‘Leave me to my rest. I have a full belly of precious lamb and a warm den to sleep in. I need nothing from you or your kind.’

She chuffed softly, not the least insulted by his dismissal or lack of respect, ‘You are no normal wolf, that is true. You were created outside of my influence and are not of Lycan or Shifter blood. Be that as it may, you are still a wolf deserving of my respect.’

Her silver eyes glanced slyly at him as she casually mentioned, ‘I know what you hunt. I also know that strange serpent with the scent of a dragon likes to hide himself amongst the humans, and this frustrates you. I have heard that he has allied himself with several evil entities, although he seems closest to the one called Lucifer. I have only recently learned that he was one of the creatures who pushed the hunts against my shifters causing the deaths of hundreds, and I, too, would seek my revenge for the slaughter of my followers. I could aid you should I choose to do so. Why not seek my aid in your hunt for the serpent you revile?’

Zev was getting annoyed. He had not asked for help. He had not asked for this creature to disturb him. What he wanted was to be left alone in his grief and to track down his enemy and destroy him. That was the one thing He had allowed him. Only Zev or God could rip the life from that evil serpent.

It was, in all likelihood, the real reason this Goddess had finally decided to approach him after watching him struggle for so long on his own, he thought with a cynical sneer.

He closed his eyes and replied gruffly, ‘I want nothing but my mate and my revenge. The first, no one, not even a Goddess such as yourself can give me. And the second, I must accomplish on my own. Therefore, you have nothing to offer. Leave.’

Selene watched as the great wolf sighed deeply and began to drift off to sleep. Despite her beauty and her charm, Selene was no gentle goddess. She was a she-wolf, a hunter, a predator, a divine incarnation of the wolf’s ferocity, tenacity, and loyalty. She understood the deep scars of the wolf known as Zev, and it saddened her. A being with his integrity and strength would only have such disdain for divinity if he had once held it close to his heart like a treasure. A treasure that had been soiled, broken, and treated as if it had little worth.

A proud Alpha of his caliber deserved better.

She left on a moonbeam, a plan already forming. Zev was strong, stubborn, fierce, loyal, and carried the curse of immortality so he could never join his original mate in the afterlife. He was also the first true wolf in the world. She would help this fierce predator, and in return, he would unwittingly aid in her revenge.

Whether he wanted her to, or not.