Chapter 96: _Familiar Beast

Chapter 96: _Familiar Beast (Warning: Slightly Gory Scenes Ahead) "What in the world...?" Tonka mumbled as he took several steps back from whatever creature was behind me. I had heard a wolf howl but it had sounded so beastly, even more than anything the rogue werewolves could offer. I closed my eyes, panting heavily and trying to hide my gaze away from whatever was behind me. However, despite the numbing fear that coursed through my body, I still felt something stirring inside me, pushing me to take a look at the creature behind me. "Is that a wolf?" One of the rogues asked, sounding horrified. "It’s roar... That’s... That’s no ordinary werewolf." Another added with realization. Before any of them could speak again, I felt a gush of air rush past me, forcing me to tighten my closed eyelids as I struggled to keep my breathing steady. I became more uncomfortable but I didn’t dare open my eyes as I heard the terrified screams and then the sound of claws tearing through flesh. "It’s... It’s the–" a voice tried to speak but then was cut short and ended up screaming in horror. "Ahhh! P– Please, don’t! No!" My eyes quivered with fear but there was also a weird rush of excitement and uncertainty. The creature, whatever it was, had aimed at the rogue werewolves first and didn’t even touch me. That should mean it was trying to rescue me... Right? "Tonka, do something! Your–" The next voice that spoke belonged to the wolf who had defiled the human woman, but it sounded so whimsy now that I almost didn’t recognize it. His words were cut short so abruptly, followed by a gasp from him and a goo-like liquid splashing on my face. I squinted my eyes as the liquid accidentally flowed into my mouth, forcing me to cough out. The coughing caused me to open my eyes as I realized what the ’liquid’ was. Blood... I raised my head, staring forward and watching with widened eyes as a huge monstrous creature stuck its claws through the chest of the man who had defiled the human woman. The man was raised into the air, coughing up blood and squirming in pain to no avail, his legs kicking around helplessly. "Gavin!" Tonka’s voice echoed from a corner in shock, causing me to scan my gaze around the open clearing. The grass was covered in blood and guts, including what seemed like a kidney beside my feet, causing me to squirm as I shifted my legs away from it and fluttered my eyelids as my stomach turned with disgust. Two of the rogue werewolves were already dead, with one of them torn in half from his waist level, his eyes still wide open. The other one had his head crushed into a tree, and his body slid down slowly amid the blood and splattered brain matter stuck onto the tree bark. I spotted all this with horror etched on my features, my mouth wide open as I struggled to breathe. At the center of this chaos was the beast, which stood only a few meters in front of me, its silhouette becoming more eerie under the light of the moon. It had its back facing towards me and stood at about ten feet tall on its hind legs, with a wolf-like snout, sharp claws, and blood-red fur that blew into the wind. Guttural growls came from the beast as it sniffed the dangling body of the werewolf who defiled the human woman— who I now know was named ’Gavin’. Gavin’s eyes lost their light, his blood spilling down like a fountain, painting the grass with even more crimson red. "Jesus Christ..." A female voice suddenly spoke from my left, forcing me to turn my gaze in that direction. The human woman, who had been sitting on the ground crying all this while, now had horror on her face as she stared at the monster before us, her lips and eyes trembling. "G– God, why?" She cried out in a weak voice that came out in a crack. "My fiance is gone. I– I was defiled... I was used like a rag and disposed of. And now... And now..." She stuttered, shaking her head as tears began uncontrollably falling down her face. My jaw still ached from the slap landed on my face by Tonka but I managed to grit my teeth before I called out to her. "H– Hey..." I said, breathing out a little from relief when she turned her gaze to me. "Y– You’ll be okay. You’re... You’re still alive, okay? Just hang on. We’ll get out of this." I tried my best to make my voice sound confident, but it was hard with all the weird emotions swirling through me. Anyway, the monster flung Gavin’s body aside, standing in an almost human way. It slowly turned its head around, its snout first showing before I spotted its eyes. When I saw its eyes, however, I felt my heart stop, and it seemed like time had come to a standstill as my breathing ceased completely. My mouth parted open but no words could come out of it. It can’t be... Those eyes. Those piercing silver eyes... "K– Kaelos?" I whispered, uncertainty clear in my voice as I finally let out a heavy breath. To my surprise and absolute glee, the creature’s eyes softened, and he slowly turned around to face me when, suddenly, a few aggressive howls sounded. Two of the other werewolves, the last ones standing apart from Tonka, had transformed into their wolves and attacked the creature together, slashing its back with their claws and sinking their fangs into its body. The creature howled aggressively, its howl managing to cause the earth to vibrate again before it snarled and began fighting back, grabbing one of the wolves with one hand. With the creature distracted, Tonka approached me from a corner, his eyes glinting with resolution as he ignored the whimpers and howls from the brawl between the creature and his comrades. No... that wasn’t just any ’creature’. That was Kaelos... "Looks like we’ll be heading to the true Lord of the North early," Tonka remarked as he stretched his hands forward to unstrap the ropes binding my hands to the tree. However, his proximity got me irritated as I remembered what he’d been doing to me before Kaelos’ timely intervention. I didn’t have time to think of anything but something snapped in me as a powerful sound reverberated from my psyche and soul. "Fuck off!" I screamed, closing my eyes, but was stunned when a sonic wolf-like howl escaped my mouth, causing me to open my eyes as quickly as I had closed them.