Chapter I
Rukiya shifted lower on her haunches, muscles taut with the strain of absolute stillness. Her amber optics flicked to and fro checking the parameters of the ticket for any harbingers. Releasing a tight sigh, Rook sank lower to the blanket of ivory snow. The gusting wind swept up thick flurries embedding them throughout her slick ebony coat. Rukiya inhaled deeply in an attempt to settle her nerves but just ended up breathing in the freshly fallen snow. She recoiled slightly, which was followed by the sound of multiple sneezes and snorts, efforts to dislodge the snow. Rook cast her attention back on the silent forest, momentarily mesmerized by the forest that was a labyrinth of snow and ice.
The sister of Ashtali.
With the thought of her homeland, a seed of unhealthy emotions bloomed in her heart. She shook out her pelt - as if to rid herself of those treacherous feelings - the sudden movement spurring red-hot pain to race up her spine. Rook refrained from crying out.
Stupid, stupid girl.
Rukiya chided herself for her previously daft actions when her judgment was clouded with untamed emotion. Her flank burned with pain as she struggled forward, her gait taking on an unnatural limp. She squinted her eyes chanting to herself over and over-
Ignore it. Ignore it.
She knew it was not smart to ignore the gaping wound that sliced down her left flank, but for now, she needed somewhere safe to rest. Plus she had other injuries that also needed her attention. Rook dismissed entertaining the thoughts about the copious lacerations peppering her body and possible lesions. She needed to move and regain the strength that she lost as result of her foolish choice to pursue the traitor. Rukiya tossed her raven black head in exasperation, trying to ignore the agony it caused her. Keyword trying. Engrossed in her thoughts, Rook was oblivious to the elusive hunter trailing her. With a small huff, she closed her eyes and took a moment to breathe. To relax and reclaim composure. Only sparing herself a few moments Rook’s amber pools snapped open, and she trudged on.
Every step was harder than the last. Every breath was strained. Every moment she spent in the open she was increasingly more vulnerable. As if to prove her point, the hunter that had been following her acted. Her body went rigid as the first shot rang out, her eardrums singing their protest at the sharp noise. Rook swung to the right, her senses narrowing on the shift of the air. Her mind scrambled to identify the object that whizzed past her, burying itself far under the snow. She took a moment to study the precise canal it created through the snow and perhaps ground, too. Rukiya’s ears shifted upon the apex of her skull as they gathered the sound of movement to her far right. Her nostrils flared with fresh rage as she spun sharply on her heel.
What the hell was that? Too close. That had come to close to killing me. Rutting hell! I need to be more alert. Damn these wounds, damn him, damn this cursed world.
There, there in the tree line crouched a rather hefty man, clad in what appeared to be a pattern of different shades of brown and green - melding together. The man was loading a weapon, in odd, jagged movement - like he was in a rush of some sort. She cocked her head to the side, observing him for a second more, before stalking closer. Her ears flattened against her skull as she closed the distance, between her and the attacker, slowly. Rook peeled her lip back - revealing her sharp canines - a low growl reverberating from her chest. This got the man’s attention as his head snapped up from he was doing, his face morphing into a mask of fear and loathing. She silently cursed her carnal self for having the audacity to growl causing her window of easy killing to vanish. Nevertheless, she moved as swiftly as she could manage with her injuries, towards her adversary. Rukiya coiled up the bothersome emotions that threatened to dissuade her from the hunt, blocking them out entirely. The white forest blurred as she pressed her pads deeper into the frozen land and forced herself to move. The man’s face came into view as she launched herself from her haunches and leaped at him, fore-paws outstretched.
Pure, unadulterated fear overcame the man’s faces as he stared down the wolf’s gaping maw. He was not ignorant of death or of the dangers this forest housed, but he had ventured this bush countless times and always made back to his little cottage on the hill. Never had he ever seen a wolf move that fasts, so ethereal it was startling. Now he was looking death in the face, greeted with rows of polished fangs and vicious growls. Now he would not get to kiss his little girl goodnight tonight and read her favorite nighttime story. Now he was going to die, but not without a fight.
That look. It haunted her, mirroring the devastated faces of her kin when they too faced death. The look of absolute terror was like a blow to her gut. Rook slammed down walls of adamant upon the resurfacing images of her dead family, ignoring the anguish it caused her.
Those few moments of distraction gave the man his short gap of time, that could possibly save his life. Only for the sacrifice of another. Without hesitation, his thumb struck down upon the small trigger. That minor lever released a force so major it could take a life.
There was that sound again, like the piercing cry of a hawk it resonated in her ears, momentarily stunning her. Her eyes rounded as the realization crashed into her. Rook pushed her weight forward, her sleek black body connected hard with his frame, but not before something sliced into her shoulder. Her entire being zoned in on the excruciating agony that rippled through her shoulder. The pain eliciting a sharp whine.
Focus.
Rook, despite the ever-increasing pain, latched her jaws onto the man. Her jaws circling around the man’s pulsing artery in his neck, exposed as he fell from the impact of their collision. She would give no mercy, for the man that killed her family did not either. Her maw crushed down on his artery and windpipe.
Pain, he was in immense pain. His vision blurred and hazed as he felt those deadly fangs bury into the soft flesh of his jugular. His eyes slid shut, head lulling back into the snow as death welcomed him.
Rook held and held and held. Only releasing his neck once he fell limb and the shallow rise and fall of his chest ceased. She let go. Those emotions bombarding her and weighing down upon her. Rukiya collapsed in a heap on top of the corpse, a piece of her fracturing further - perhaps even dying with the man. She released a high pitched whine her frame shaking with what would be sobs in mundane form. She hurt profoundly, her heart, her soul, her being was shattering beyond repair as the events of the day burdened her. Rook let herself cry, cry this man, cry for her family, cry for everything she lost. Rukiya could not weep forever. She had more pressing matters at the moment, so she got up and walked.
She was wheezing, her breath a shallow rasp as she inched along. It was all a fog, the faint whooshing sound echoing in her ears as she trudged further from the woods. The place where she left a part of her. A loud blaring noise snapped Rook from her dazed state, her head lifting weekly. Her amber pools squinted as she tried to make out the large shape that zipped past her. With an abrupt wave of dizziness, Rukiya stumbled backward her pads scuffing a hard, gravelly surface as she did so. Her head lulled to the side as she watched the vehicle move away. Before she knew it her legs wobbled and gave out, letting her fall hard. She breathed in short pants, half her body on the rough surface, half on the chilled snow. Rukiya blinked a few times, fighting to stay conscious, but failing miserably as she succumbed moments later.
Rook was vaguely aware of strong yet soft hands scooping up her battered form, with such gentleness it awed her. Her body was wrapped in a soft fabric before she was placed on the hard bed of a pick-up truck. She let her eyes slide closed again, disregarding anything and everything. There were rough patches in the road as she winced as the vehicle bumped up and down. She didn’t know how much time passed by, but eventually, everything stilled. Again gentle hands lifted her, but before she could see where they went, her body submitted again to the darkness.
