Chapter Two (Zaid's POV)

I wasn't surprised in the least at the yelling when I got home.

Leave it to me to completely forget the most important things to bring home, just because I ended up drooling over Scythe Rider. I just stood in the middle of the kitchen, listening to my mother rant and rave while Ivy stood nearby, scowling in disgust at me like I was the most useless wolf in the whole pack.

Lars just shook his head, but cast me a sympathetic look as his wife, Holly, stood nearby, grimacing as she held her round, pregnant belly.

Meanwhile, I could hear the pups barking and yelping as Breece tried to gain control over them. They were only reacting to the loud noise in the kitchen. I sighed, which was a big mistake because my mother assumed it was meant for her.

"Are you scoffing at me," She demanded angrily, her voice rising an octave, "Ridiculous! If your father were hear, he'd have your head! You're lucky he's patroling the borders of our territory. Really, now, Zaid. You're old enough to do this kind of task. Go finish Lars' job of chopping wood as your punishment for the night. As seeing as you haven't brought enough dinner, yours will go to the pups. Now out!"

I grimaced and just nodded in obedience, drifting out into the living room. Breece cast me a look that told me to watch myself. Not a threatening look, a warning look. I frowned, then went outside, immediately getting hit with a cool blast of spring air. I inhaled the deep scent of the woods, the sound of the insects chirping and frogs croaking in the nearby pond.

My boots crunched twigs and branches as I made my way over to the cutting block, but I stopped as I stared at the axe that was dug deeply into the wooden stump where a log sat, waiting to be chopped for firewood.

It was worth it, I suppose. To be able to talk to Scythe without having to worry if he'd tear my throat out or not.

I looked up at the starry night scowl, feeling goose bumps rise on my skin. I heard a snap and my head swiveled around, my accute hearing on alert as my sensitive eyes scanned the trees. The oaks towered over our home, the branches just beginning to sprout green leaves. The pines gave off their distinct scent and the willow in our backyard drooped sadly.

My eyes rested on the willow and I dared to walk toward it, narrowing my eyes at the darkness. I frowned, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My eyes flashed and I whipped around.

Nothing.

Something wasn't right.

Someone was out here.

I felt my muscles grow taut, my body on full alert as I slowly scanned the trees. A gentle breeze ruffled the leaves, making them whisper and dance around. I felt a chill course through me. A strange feeling washed over me as I resisted the urge to turn.

I wanted to turn so badly, but I was warned not to turn until the full moon. Our town was full of superstitious folk who believed that you had to stay indoors during a full moon, which gave us the chance to hunt and roam free as wolves, but any other time of the month was dangerous.

If the humans were to spot us, they'd call the animal control unit without hesitation. People raised livestock within the area and the rule was: See a wolf, call the man.

It'd be especially dangerous if they caught us turning. Humans liked to poke and prode things they didn't understand- Or worst, just kill us. Just ask the Salem witches.

I heard a snap and my body whirled around toward the willow tree again, my breathing hitching as a scent hit my nose. I felt my heart flutter as my legs moved on their own, again, leading me past the willow and into the woods.

I followed the familiar scent deeper and deeper until I came to the border between our territory and Blood Rain's. Yes, if you have to ask, we do mark our territory with urine. It was the best way to warn others away without attracting the attention of the humans. They assumed it was just a regular animal marking its spot, not a pack of werewolves.

I stopped at the scent border, careful not to step into their territory. One false step and it could mean war and that was the last thing we needed with pups around. Especially now that it was spring and even more pups were on their way.

I sniffed the air, breathing in the pure scent of Blood Rain. And not just any member of Blood Rain, but Scythe Rider's.

Oh, man, I was a lucky wolf today.

I dropped down on all fours immediately, gritting my teeth as I willed myself to turn. It wasn't completely agonizing as one would think it to be, it was just a few sharp pinches like getting a shot at the doctors and aching afterwards, but it faded slowly.

My body twisted and stretched, my claws slowly curling out as fur raced over my skin and in a matter of seconds, I was a full wolf.

My vision grew sharper, kenner. My ears pricked up in alarm, my tail tilted up toward the sky. My fur was laced with gray, black, and brown up until the tops of my legs as it faded to a whitish brown.

I bared my teeth as the scent grew nearer. It didn't take more than a few moments before Scythe made his appearance from around a great oak. Even as a wolf, he was stunningly gorgeous.

His eyes were brighter, his fur an intricate array of black, gray, and mostly white that also tipped his tail, which was gently swaying as a sign of meaning no harm. I didn't back down, though.

If my father happened to stroll along, because there was no doubt in my mind that he'd pick up on Scythe's scent sooner or later, he'd kill me for even pretending to like Scythe. It made my heart ache as I continued to growl at him.

Instead of being angry, Scythe slowly came to the edge of the border and sat down, his tail curling around his legs as he cocked his head in greeting.

Hello, Zaid. He greeted coolly. Were I a human, I would've frowned. Instead, my tail lowered slowly as I relaxed my muscles, taking a step back. I cocked my head back at him.

Scythe. What're you doing here? We're not supposed to be this close to the borders unless we're patrolling. I scolded him. Scythe was practically grinning, his teeth bared as his tongue lolled out and he barked at me. I growled, telling him to shut up. He kept grinning at me.

I am patrolling. It's my turn. What about you, pup?

I'm not a pup.

You are until you're eighteen. So answer my question.

I came because I smelled you. This is dangerous. Go away.

So, I was thinking about our chat earlier today-

Are you ignoring me?! I growled low in my throat, baring my teeth again and crouching low as a challenge, which I knew I shouldn't be doing, but he was pissing me off. Of course, that didn't affect him at all as he rose on all fours, pacing at the border, swinging his tail to and fro almost mockingly.

And I was thinking, He went on, seriously ignoring me again, Maybe we should get together sometime. Of course, without telling the alphas. That's a major no-no.

You're insane. I accused him, but even as I said it, I was stunned.

Was Scythe Rider asking me out?

Had he any idea how dangerous it was? And yet, even as I tried to tell myself this, I felt my heart pounding in my ears as I relaxed, slowly lowering myself onto my belly and looking up at him as I rested my head on my paws.

Are you serious or are you just making fun of me? I asked honestly. Scythe stopped pacing to look at me, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.

No. I'm serious. You make me curious, Zaid Kallas... And I've never been one to follow the rules, so how about we get a little rebellious, hm? You, me, a date. How about the Mockingbird at, say, six tomorrow? He asked, referring to the only well known restaurant we had in town. It was a family owned place, cute and fancy.

What if we get caught? I asked him. I was still dizzy from this whole conversation. Scythe was asking me out, for real. I had to admit; I was deliriously happy.

We won't. We're not normal, Zaid. We- Ssh! Someone's coming! He growled as a warning and I shot to my feet, looking around quickly. Scythe gave me a final stare before he bounded back into the woods on his half of the territory. I whirled around to run, but the scent that hit my nose wasn't from my pack.

The fur on my back rose with my tail as the scent that hit my nose was completely foreign.

I'd never smelled this before.

What was it?

It was a wolf, that much I could tell. I sniffed the air, not moving an inch more as I tried to pick up the direction of the scent. It was coming from the west, I realized and began to slowly slink toward the smell. I was careful to avoid twigs and branches as I swiftly maneuvered closer and closer. The closer I got, the more I began to recognize another scent.

Blood.

The stench of it was thick and heavy in the air. It was almost suffocating as I sank a bit lower to the ground, searching the trees when I caught sight of a flash of white and black. My eyes widened and I immediately shot toward the movement. I leapt over a fallen tree and ducked under a branch before I skidded around a large, fat pine.

I froze as the smell of blood assaulted my senses, making my eyes widen.

Red. Red, red, red.

Everywhere.

I couldn't move. I'd never seen so much blood in my entire life. It was thick and wretched, splattered on the forest floor and staining the nature around it. Lying sprawled at the base of the pine were a pair of wolves. The one that was most obviously dead was pure white. I'd never seen a wolf so white, and the worst part... The purity of that fur was stained red with blood, a gaping wound oozing in his side. Beside him was the polar opposite. A wolf so black, it was almost impossibly to spot him in the night.

His fur was darkened with blood near his muzzle and left hind leg. He was whimpering and his cold wet nose was nudging the dead wolf beside him.

I almost choked on my breathing and took a step back.

W-What the hell happened here?! I managed to demand. The black wolf's eyes flashed and he snapped his head up to look at me. His lips curled back as he bared his teeth, snarling at me. He struggled to get up, his whole body quaking before he slumped back to the ground, his head falling on the dead wolf's leg.

As if realizing the wolf beside him was really dead, the black wolf slowly settled into an awkward standing position, staring at his partner.

He's dead. His thoughts were squleched with grief and agony. I could feel it ripple off him in waves as he threw his head back, howling miserably. I sank low, backing away and letting him mourn his partner before he ran out of breath and slumped to the ground.

The last of his energy was spent on howling as there was flash and his body stretched back into a human's. I stared at the man lying on the ground, slowly rising to all fours.

He was handsome, I'd give him that, but the ugly wound on his leg was oozing blood. Bruises and cuts marked his chiseled face. His dark hair was cut short and his eyes were closed. His nude body just lay there against the other wolf's and I had no idea what to do.

So, I did the first thing I could do and howled.

A long, sharp howl that would alert the rest of the pack.

Something happened.

But what?

It looked like they were attacked, but it was impossible to tell what had done it. I inched closer to the man and the wolf, studying the wound on the wolf. His eyes were pale, pale blue, almost silver and stared into nothingness. There was no light. There was no life.

The wolf was dead, and appeared to have been dead for a few minutes.

I felt my throat clench as I choked off on my howl, coming forward to sniff at the wolf. The wound was so deep, you could see the insides and my stomach churned. I backed away quickly, pacing in the clearing until the scent and sound of the pack came nearer and nearer.

Before long, a huge timber wolf made his appearance. Fur heavily laced with black and tinged with gray while his paws and tail were stained with scatters of brown and gray. His blue eyes stared me down and I immediately backed away, gesturing with my nose. My father snapped his head to the strangers, his eyes widening.

As he came forward, the rest of the pack followed from the trees.

First, my mother emerged as a mostly russet colored timber wolf. Her tail was fluffier than mine or my father's, which made her a target for the pup's- if my mother wasn't so strict, that is. Next came Lars, a bulky and large wolf almost as big as my father. His fur was tinged with grays and light browns, his tail mostly brown. Following him was Ivy, an almost entirely white wolf, save for the brown rings around her tail and neck.

What happened here? My father demanded, whirling to face me now as his tail stood up. I tucked mine between my legs, stepping away as I laid my ears back.

I have no idea. I smelled something and I followed it here. The man is still alive, but his, uhm... Friend is dead. I informed hesitantly. My father glared at me, his teeth flashing before he went to the wolf's corpse and the man lying beside it.

He stepped up to the man, leaning down and nudging his face with his nose before he withdrew.

This smell is foreign. I've never seen anything like this... We're taking the man back with us, leave the wolf here. The Goddess will take him to paradise. For now, we need to find out what killed him and almost killed his partner. Lars, Zaid. We're going to carry him back. Ivy, Acacia, keep an eye out in case whatever attacked them is still out there. He commanded.

Lars and I shared looks before loping over to the man. It was a struggle to get his arms over the necks of my father and uncle, but we managed to do it as I tagged along to keep him from dragging painfully on the forest floor.

My stomach clenched at the thought of leaving the white wolf behind, but my father was right. Nature had its own clean up crew and we had to leave Her to it. I just don't think the black wolf/man would appreciate it very much.

By the time we got back to the house, it was probably past midnight. We got the stranger into one of the many guest rooms. Everyone split off to turn back and get some clothes on.

I jerked on a pair of jeans, going commando seeing as I was kind of in a hurry, before pulling a black concert t-shirt on over my head. I bolted down the hallway out of my room, almost tripping and making enough noise so that the pups would probably wake up any time now.

I skidded to a halt at the doorway to the guest room, peering in to see everyone was already dressed and tending to the stranger. My father was nowhere to be seen. The stranger lay on the bed, his body shaking. His breathing was shallow, his skin filmed with sweat as Holly gently dabbed at the wound on his leg.

"Is he... going to live?" I heard myself ask as I inched into the room. Holly glanced up with a grimace.

"I'm not sure. He's bleeding pretty badly... Whatever attacked him didn't just intend to kill him, it intended to torment him. He keeps calling for someone named Felix. I'm assuming it was his partner." She said softly.

"That's different." Lars muttered, sitting beside Holly as he held a bowl of warm water. Holly dipped the cloth in before taking it out to press against the man's forehead.

"Did you catch his name?" Ivy demanded, her voice hoarse. It was always like that and I had no idea why.

"No," Holly said, shaking her head, "He just keeps saying-"

"Ugh!" The man shot up, throwing his arm back and almost hitting Holly in the face if Lars hadn't of caught her and pulled her back quickly, but carefully. He started gasping for breath, grabbing at the blankets.

"Where is he?!" He shouted, his voice catching as he tried to regain his composure, but it was like he was in a fit of hysteria as he scrambled to get off the bed, ignoring the wound on his leg. Acacia easily caught him by the shoulders, shoving him back.

"Your friend is dead." She announced. The man froze on the bed, staring at her with disbelief in his dark eyes. I winced, throwing a glare at my mother, but she ignored me.

She didn't have to be so harsh. His friend obviously meant a lot to him.

"D-Dead?" He managed, his voice shaking. My mother frowned, keeping her posture straight and almost military-style.

"Yes. Whatever attacked you took his life, but the Goddess will do her work. You must tell us what happened. Whatever attacked you could still be in those woods and we have pups to care for. We can't have something dangerous-"

"You can't kill them." The man said suddenly, looking grief stricken. My mother frowned.

"What're you talking about?" She asked calmly. His eyes held such a look of sorrow, it wrenched my heart, but I refused to show it on my face as I watched him groan.

"They're Hunters!" He blurted. My mother's eyes widened. Ivy's body went rigid, the blood draining from her face. Holly gasped, backing up into Lars, who quickly took her into his arms, cradling her and glaring at the man.

"Don't be stupid," He snapped, "Hunters haven't been around since the time of Salem."

"I know what I saw," The man snarled viciously, making Ivy growl protectively, "Don't you think I would know what slaughtered my pack?!"

"Your pack?" I gasped. The man's eyes locked on me. He stared for a long time, something glinting in the depths of their darkness before the pain crossed his face again. This time, he didn't break eye contact with me.

"They came before we could even pick up their scent. They disguised it somehow. They didn't bring guns, like you think they would. They fight like they're from the time of Salem. They used axes and arrows and anything else they could get their hands on. My pack is dead. Every last one of them. Woman and child. Dead."

"I'm sorry about your family and your friend." Holly murmured. Suddenly, a new agony crossed the man's face as he sat there, gazing right at me. I watched as tears welled up in his eyes, making the darkness glitter. I could just feel the agony rolling off him in waves, crashing into me and making a lump form in my throat as realization hit me.

That wasn't his friend...

"He wasn't just my friend," The man choked, "He was my mate."