Deep Wolves (Across The Wolf)

by Wilde, Rhea

  As far as my eyes could see, silver wolves began to rush toward us as we stood in the center of the grass. They were racing so fast that they began to pile on top of one another. In only a few seconds, they were near us. Irvine’s crossbow was too slow. He unsheathed his sword and began cutting them down as they leapt toward us. I did my best to stay out of his way.

  I managed to catch the attention of one of them. The silver wolf snarled at me. I raised my small dagger up and pointed it at him, my arm shaking. He leapt at me and I closed my eyes. The loud sound of a wolf yelping filled my ears. I opened my eyes and the silver wolf was being mauled by a brown one. After killing the other wolf, the brown wolf shifted into Yung. He winked at me before quickly shifting and jumping back into the fray.

  Everywhere I turned, there was nothing but wolves fighting with one another. I stood close to Irvine, trying not to get in his way. At the same time, I searched the crowd for Vaughn. But it was impossible. Wolves of every different color were engaged with the Nakas, their silver fur shining underneath the moonlight.

  It didn’t take long for the wolves to die. The bodies began piling up quickly. The green grass of Central Park was stained red. Dead wolves were scattered from one end of the park to the other. I feared that Vaughn was one of the wolves that had met his end.

  Irvine grabbed me and did his best to pull me away from the fray. We were forced to back up from the sheer amount of wolves now attacking us. So much blood was being sprayed that it was unavoidable. It splashed against me and burned my skin. Even though Irvine had gathered the attention of most of the wolves, I still had my guard up. I managed to gain the attention of another wolf. I remembered what Irvine had told me.

  Bend your knees… Drive from the ground… Let him use his own weight against him…

  I stared into his eyes as he stalked me, snatching his teeth at me. He leapt at me. I pointed the dagger at his heart and gripped it firmly. His momentum pushed him up against the blade. I could feel the metal as it pressed past his fur and into his flesh. He yelped and fell off of the knife. I looked into his eyes as the life started to leave his body.

  I didn’t have much time to admire my handiwork. Just as the wolves fell, more of them continued to flood in. The rumors of the thousands of Nakas were true. As large as Central Park was, there wasn’t enough room for all of the bodies.

  I worried about how long Irvine could keep this up. Despite cutting down the wolves with precision, he was breathing hard with signs of fatigue. The sweat was pouring down the sides of his head. His jacket was covered with blood.

  “Irvine! We have to get out of here!”

  I shouted to him in an attempt to get out of this mess. He looked at me and nodded.

  “That way!”

  He pointed with his sword at one of the few points in the park that was free of any wolves. He started to make his way toward it but I stopped him.

  “Wait! We have to wait for Vaughn!”

  “Ms. Everhart, we—”

  “I’m not leaving without him!”

  Even though he was frustrated, Irvine couldn’t refuse my request. The both of us began to search the crowd. Vaughn was a gray wolf that could easily get lost among the Nakas. It was only a tinge of white that would make him identifiable.

  But while we searched for him, Irvine had let his guard down. A wolf pounced on him from the side, knocking the blade from his hand. The sword skidded across the grass away from him. He struggled with the wolf on top of him.

  “Irvine!”

  I threw the dagger I still had at him and he caught it. He shoved the blade deep into the throat of the wolf then tossed the body to the side. Irvine worked his way back up to his feet. For a moment, I felt a bit of relief.

  “Oh thank—Ahh!”

  I felt a weight shove into me and push me to the side. The wolf on top of me shifted. Zorn was suddenly holding me down and staring into my eyes.

  “You will suffer a fate worse than death.”

  He stood up and picked me up from the ground. I watched Irvine try to get to me but several wolves pounced on him. Unable to free myself from his grip, Zorn leapt into the air and on top of a small building next to the park.

  From up here, I could see the chaos taking place below us. The loud howls echoed for miles. As police sirens started to fill the air, I watched as the fighting slowly started to die down. The wolves started to scatter from the park. Some of them began to drag their dead away, putting their lifeless limbs into their mouths and pulling on them.

  “This is all your fault,” he said to me. “You should have stayed home and died. I will make you regret ever coming to this city.”

  He wrapped me in his arms and I was unable to struggle free from his grip. He leapt from building to building until the fighting behind us faded into the distance.

  Chapter 23

  The view from up here was amazing. Never in my life did I think that I would ever be here. I only wished that I could actually enjoy being here. As it were, the circumstances didn’t allow me to appreciate the view for very long.

  I didn’t know where he was taking me until we got here. He leapt from the buildings so quickly that the blood was rushing through my head. I didn’t know how I managed to keep from passing out. But here I was, on top of New York with the city below me. It was like a dream. And just a few feet away from me, there was a man more than willing to wake me from it. The two of us stood on top of one of the tallest buildings in Manhattan. A strong gust of wind and I would end up tumbling to the pavement.

  “You’re responsible for all of this,” Zorn said to me.

  Zorn paced back and forth in front of me, unable to hold back his anger and frustration.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked him.

  “I wouldn’t expect a human to understand.”

  “Who is making you do this?”

  “No one is making me do this. I am a wolf. I do not take orders from anyone.”

  “Y-you said there was a man… He opened your eyes.”

  “Yes, there was someone. Someone who made me realize that this world belongs to the wolves. Only the strong survive. And for opening our eyes, I offer you to him. You will be the gift I give to him.”

  He inched closer to me and I took a step back. But I could only go back so far. There was no wall to bump into. My foot teetered on the edge of the roof. With Zorn right in front of me, falling to the ground wouldn’t be the worst option. All I had left were prayers I hoped would be answered.

  “You don’t have to do this,” I pleaded with him. “P-please. Just end this… Go back to living in peace.”

  “Peace? There can be no peace while humans roam the planet.”

  “Why? I don’t understand—”

  “Enough! I have no interest in explaining my actions to you. Just a few moments longer and he will be here. I will let him do the honors.”

  I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t care. All I wanted was to escape. As Zorn impatiently waited for him to arrive, I looked around for an escape. I looked past him and saw the stairs leading down into the building. Without thinking any longer, I ran past Zorn and raced toward it.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  He only needed a moment to catch up to me. He shifted and knocked me to the ground. I landed on the hard concrete of the roof with a thud. I didn’t have enough strength to get back to my feet. When I flipped myself onto my back, I was greeted with the unwelcome sight of the wolf growling at me.

  He started to stalk me. He bared his teeth, his eyebrows arched and the look of rage in his brown eyes. I backed up with my hands while he continued to walk toward me. Even though he was a wolf, I could still the sinister smile upon his face. He growled loudly at me and I screamed. I closed my eyes and covered myself with my arms, bracing for the inevitable.

  But it never came. Instead, I listened to the loud sound of another wolf barking. I slowly lowered my arms and saw that Zorn had been knocked away from me, all the way to the oth
er side of the roof. In his place in front of me was a familiar gray and white wolf. He turned to me and I saw his familiar blue eyes.

  “Vaughn…”

  He turned his attention back to Zorn and the two of them quickly engaged one another. They became a tangled mess of fur and violence. They barked and snarled at each other, trying to gain the advantage. Zorn snatched at Vaughn with his teeth but he was able to move out of the way every time. Vaughn wasn’t quick enough to get away from his claws though. Zorn swiped at him with his paws and slashed across his body. I winced when I saw the streaks of blood beginning to appear on Vaughn’s fur.

  I looked around to see if there was any way I could help him.

  Come on… Something… Anything…

  I didn’t care about honor or rules or the laws of wolves. I needed to help Vaughn or I would watch him be killed in front of me. My better judgment was gone. Unable to think of anything else, I raced toward the two of them as they tumbled with one another.

  Zorn swiped at Vaughn and knocked him to the ground. Vaughn fell down and skidded across the roof. Before Zorn could get on top of him, I ran as hard as I could and tackled Zorn. I wrapped my arms around the large beast and we skidded toward the edge of the roof. The rush of the wind brushed underneath me to let me know that there was nothing there to hold me up.

  Zorn shifted and freed himself from my grip. He shoved me off of him and I found myself teetering on the edge. I rolled back onto the roof but was quickly met with Zorn standing there above me. He looked down at me with a look of disgust on his face.

  “He wants to kill you. But he’ll understand the kind of nuisance you’ve been after I do it for him.”

  He grabbed me by the collar and picked me up off of the ground. He held me over the edge of the building, my feet dangling over nothing but open air. I looked toward Vaughn and saw that he was barely regaining his senses. I gripped Zorn’s arm as tight as I could, praying that he wouldn’t let go.

  Then I heard the sound of something in the air. I didn’t know what it was until it came into view. A helicopter slowly lowered down onto the rooftop. The door swung open and a man stepped out. I had seen him before. It was the same man I saw in the bar back home. The white-haired young man in the suit. He walked toward us, his hands wrapped around his rifle.

  “Bring her to me,” he yelled out. “There’s been a change of plans.”

  Zorn forcefully pulled me away from the edge of the building and dragged me to the man. The man’s calm demeanor belied his obviously sinister intentions.

  “So you’re the one that’s been stirring up all this trouble,” he said to me. “How did I know you would go running to the Capes after I fired upon them? I should have killed you when I had the chance. Nonetheless, my lord wishes to speak to you in person. You are an interesting specimen.”

  I kicked my feet back and forth, struggling to break free from Zorn’s grasp. Vaughn had made his way back up to his feet. I saw that he was getting ready to attack but the mysterious man saw him just the same. He pointed his rifle right at me and turned to Vaughn.

  “Don’t move another muscle, Rucai,” he said to Vaughn. “You are fast but I assure you, you cannot outrun a bullet. And, as you know, these bullets are very painful.”

  The man smirked at Vaughn. Vaughn barked at him but stayed in his place. The man turned his attention back to me, the expression on his face unchanged.

  “So what do you say, Ms. Everhart?” he said to me. “Shall we be on our way?”

  After everything we had been through, I was no longer able to escape fromt his. We had done so much but none of it mattered until this point. Vaughn was powerless to stop him. Zorn held me in his grip and the other man pointed his weapon at my head.

  “Put her on the helicopter,” the man said. “Hurry up.”

  Zorn did as he was told, dragging me across the roof and toward the helicopter. Vaughn stayed in his place and growled at the man. The rifle was still pointed at me. I looked around, frantically searching for an escape.

  “I’ll be back for you, Rucai,” the white-haired man said to him. “For now, I’ll take the one thing you care about most.”

  He smiled at Vaughn as Zorn pushed me into the helicopter. Both of them got into the helicopter with me.

  Suddenly, the mysterious man let out a violent scream. His weapon fell down to the ground. I looked at his hand saw the blood rushing from it. There was a piece of steel sticking out of his hand. Zorn stared at the man in shock. I tumbled out of the helicopter and fell to the ground. Vaughn rushed up to me and stood over me. I looked to the side and saw Irvine with his crossbow raised.

  “Hunter,” the man grimaced as he pulled the bolt from his hand. “Why must you meddle in the affairs of your superiors?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Irvine replied to him. “They pay me well.”

  “Count your blessings, Mr. Gold. Your day is coming. For now, cherish your last moments. Go!”

  The helicopter started to rise from the roof of the building. Irvine fired his crossbow but Zorn quickly snatched the bolts from the air. I stared at the mysterious man as he looked back at me.

  It was him. He was the one that fired upon Vaughn and I back in the city. And here he was again. The same man responsible for influencing the leader of the Nakas.

  The helicopter flew away and disappeared into the night. Vaughn shifted. I looked up at the man kneeling before me. He was bloodied and bruised. New wounds had been opened up on him. But he was alive. Both of us were. I raised my arms up and embraced him, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” I whispered to him, the tears welling in my eyes.

  “I told you, Ariel. I am by your side. I always will be.”

  As I held Vaughn tight in my arms, Irvine picked up the weapon the man had dropped. He examined it, looking at it closely. Vaughn pulled away from me and we watched as the puzzled look came across Irvine’s face.

  “That man,” I said. “He was the same man who fired upon us back home. Who is he?”

  “I don’t know, Ms. Everhart. But he does look familiar. In all my travels…”

  Irvine trailed off. He looked lost in thought as he ran his hand along the grip of the gun.

  “Is he the one responsible for all of this?” I asked.

  “Yes, Ms. Everhart. I do believe he was the one that managed to influence the Nakas. Vaughn… I must ask you. Did that man look familiar? Do you remember him being around your clan?”

  “No,” Vaughn answered. “I have never seen that man before. I would remember a face like that.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “What happened back in the park? All of the fighting…”

  “The wolves,” Vaughn started. “Not all of the Nakas were tainted. They fought alongside the clans we had united. They were able to see through the deception…”

  “Like you…”

  I put my hand up against Vaughn’s face and brushed it against his cheek. I looked into his eyes and remembered what had happened to him and the rest of his clan. Only Vaughn was able to escape the influence of whatever evil was controlling the Rucai.

  “Then it’s over,” I said, breathing another sigh of relief. “They will no longer fight…”

  “Zorn is gone,” Vaughn said. “And there are many who have gone with him. I can sense it. There are still a few wolves who are loyal to him. They will follow him wherever he goes. But the others… They do not recognize Zorn as their Alpha.”

  I had trouble taking it all in. I didn’t want to think about it any longer. My mind was exhausted and my body was the same. I wrapped my arms around Vaughn. When I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t help but smile. Then I freed myself from his trance and turned back to Irvine.

  “You saved me,” I said. “Again. Thank you.”

  “I’m only doing my job, Ms. Everhart.”

  “You could have gotten here a little sooner,” Vaughn smiled at him.

  “I save your lives and you do nothing but
complain,” he laughed. “Just be thankful that Zorn didn’t pick a taller building. My human legs could only climb those stairs so fast. Not to mention that I had to break in through a side entrance. Which reminds me, we should probably get going. I’m sure security is on the way as we speak.”

  We all shared a laugh briefly before we started to walk toward the exit. But before we left, I grabbed Vaughn’s hand and stopped him.

  “Irvine,” I called out to him. “I’d like to stay up here for a moment.”

  He looked at me and Vaughn before nodding to the both of us.

  “I’ll be waiting where we parked,” he said. “Hopefully, our van is still functioning.”

  Irvine left us by ourselves and disappeared down the stairs of the building. I looked back to Irvine, the smile on my face beginning to form from the corner of my mouth.

  “So…”

  “So…”

  I didn’t say anything. I narrowed my eyes in a way to let him know what I was thinking. I slowly dragged him toward the edge of the building. Just moments ago I was dangling from it, fearing for my life. But now that I was with Vaughn, I could finally appreciate everything below us. The view had never looked so good.

  “I’m sorry,” I sighed. “I’m sorry that I complained about wanting to be like you and—”

  “Don’t apologize, Ariel. Let’s just enjoy this moment. The entire city is in front of us.”

  The wrong circumstances brought us here. But it was finally over. Now I could finally enjoy New York without anything else weighing down upon me. All of the negative thoughts, all of the death, all of the anger and arguments. I didn’t have to deal with it any longer.

  In the distance, the police sirens wailed as the cars all converged on the park. Vaughn held his hand in mine. We stood over the edge of the building and looked down upon New York City. The bright lights of the city shined back at us. I leaned in close to Vaughn and rested my head against his arm. And for a few moments more, we enjoyed the view together.

  Chapter 24

  I wrapped my arms and legs around Vaughn as he leapt off of the building. He raced back toward Central Park to see what remained. But the war zone did not look as bad as I had imagined it. There were no bodies to be found. There was no evidence of what had happened. Central Park looked clean and untouched, as if nothing happened.