Cornelius felt unsettled. The journey was stretching on more than necessary. Every minute they wasted in the flimsy illusion felt like giving the upper hand to whoever was waiting for them in the Barrens.
He had been feeling unsettled since they left his territory. For an Alpha, the bigger his pack and territory, the better. Now, he was stuck with almost all the people he'd rather not breathe the same air with. And then there was Thalia. He loathed her defiance—and the fact that his primal side still reacted to her presence. As Alpha, all his senses and emotions were amplified. "Power first, then I'll decide what to do with you," he thought and smiled to himself.
For now, he went in search of the one person he almost didn't regret bringing along. He trusted his instincts too much to ignore them, especially in unknown territory.
"Raphael, go check the perimeter," he commanded, purposefully avoiding looking at Thalia, who was seated next to him.
He expected a protest or a witty comeback, but Raphael just stood up obediently and walked off into the darkness—very strange.
"You could have done that yourself," Thalia mumbled, feeling defensive. How insensitive could he be not to notice Raphael's distress?
Already turning to leave, Cornelius frowned and finally stared at her. Even after days in the wild, the fire in her eyes hadn't dimmed, if anything, it had become fierier. She was still in the same sweater, and he could clearly see everything beneath it was still intact. If only she was submissive, maybe he would've thought of discarding Bianca.
"Scared of being alone, Luna?" he said with a mocking smile and walked away.
Raphael walked casually along the edge of the illusion. He hoped the walk would clear his mind because he couldn't think of any other way to feel better. The ache of rejection was a feeling so alien to him that, the first time Casten rejected him, it took him a while to realize what it was. Did all the girls he rejected feel the same? Goddess, he hoped not—because then he'd be the worst person alive. For a moment, he envied Kyle for not being around. "Then I would not be feeling this awful," he thought and chuckled to himself.
Suddenly, his ears perked up. He knew Casten was nearby—many things had changed about him over the years, but not his clumsy walking. He almost shifted into his wolf form just to catch that sweet scent for a minute. If he still had any shot at making their relationship, he decided to save it. He turned back and headed in the opposite direction. If Casten saw him, he didn't know what would happen—or worse, what he'd say this time.
He decided to head back and get some sleep, but something else caught his attention. A scent—not Casten's sweet smell, but something he couldn't quite place. One thing was for sure: it was nothing good, and it was headed straight for Casten.
Before his mind could even process what was happening, he was in wolf form and running toward Casten.
Casten saw Raphael's grey wolf running toward him and frowned. "This is too much, even for him."
"Raphael, I swear to the goddess—" he shouted with a hand on his waist. But before he could finish the threat, Raphael leapt and landed on top of him. They crashed to the ground, the beast fully covering him beneath its soft fur.
Before Casten could complain, he felt something warm pour onto his face. Everything happened in a flash. One moment, he was ready to shout at Raphael—and the next, his whole face was covered in blood. Raphael whimpered slightly, and Casten watched in horror as his eyes slowly turned foggy before they closed and his weight slumped onto him.
He heard an aggressive growl followed by a violent tear chunks of flesh above him, tears started to flow unconsciously from his blurred eyes. He could feel Raphael's blood soaking through his clothes, but he was totally helpless. "Just kill me too," he thought.
The savage onslaught of teeth on Casten's flesh abruptly came to a halt and he heard more growls above them. He smiled weakly, completely unbothered by the coppery taste in his mouth. He hoped it was Thalia—
Thalia was sitting quietly by the fire. Her mind raced with sharp comebacks to Cornelius' comment but she let it slide this time. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of letting him provoke her. Kyle abruptly ran past her, and she almost yelped in surprise. He seemed not to have noticed her even when she shouted his name.
"Enough of your shady business," she said to no one in particular and rose to follow him.
Thalia was hit by a very strong scent of blood that made her eyes water. She saw Kyle in the distance, fighting off two wolves. Leaving all questions for later, she rushed in to help. He was still in his human form, but that didn't tip the odds. He punched one wolf in the gut, sending it flying into a tree with a sickening crack. Seeing he was handling himself well, she ran to Raphael's wolf and felt her hands shake. The thought that he might have stopped breathing shocked her into near paralysis.
"Please be alive," she chanted as she knelt beside him. His rich grey fur was soaked with blood and had turned a dark red. Her fingers were shaking very uncontrollably and when they finally touched his snout, wet with blood, she burst into tears when she felt his weak warm breath.
Then she noticed something lying underneath him. Even in his weak state, his paws were carefully wrapped around it—someone.
She tried to push Raphael off Casten but grunted in frustration. He was too heavy and his lack of consciousness did not help the situation. Determined not to give up, she tried again, lifting with all her might.
Too focused on the task at hand, Thalia almost screamed when she felt a sickening squelch followed by flesh tearing above her—intestines and blood landed mercilessly onto her face, making her already red hair darker.
Cornelius loomed over her in all his glory: night black fur with brown along his underbelly with steel grey eyes staring at her as if already regretting saving her. He snarled his sharp canines at her menacingly before howling and attacking another rogue.
Cassandra also joined the fight, muttering rushed spells and fire sparking around her fingers. She looked distracted and her gaze was almost blank but her every strike was precise and powerful. Thalia just stared on. She felt paralyzed and numb.
She had already lost too many people. The thought of losing anyone else scared her too much to even fight.
She lost track of time as the fight dragged on. A few rogues tried to retreat and in a fit of panic, one of them landed on an already bleeding Turag and Thalia did not need to be in her wolf form to feel the life drain out of him. The few remaining rogues took to the woods and Cornelius, fuelled by the bloodshed, ran after them.
A bloodied Kyle came and knelt next to Thalia while Cassandra collapsed weakly onto the bloodied ground, her gaze still unfocused and her fingers shivering slightly.
"Can you walk?" Kyle asked calmly. His hair had turned dusty brown, and his clothes were torn, but he looked fine. She decided to believe none of the blood staining his face and hands was his.
She nodded numbly but made no effort to stand. Almost effortlessly, Kyle lifted Raphael off Casten.
"Cassandra, he needs you," he said.
Too weak to argue, Cassandra half-crawled to Raphael and began examining his wound.
Wordlessly, Kyle lifted Thalia and carried her towards the fire.
"R– Raphael?" she asked weakly as he placed her on the ground.
"Shh, I'm going to get them both," he said softly and laid her down.
She looked so vulnerable and unlike her usual defiant self and that awakened something primal inside him. He knew he'd do anything to protect that vulnerable woman in his arms.
The next morning, Thalia stared anxiously at the unconscious Casten and Raphael. She had woken up in the middle of the night to Cornelius and Cassandra's heated argument but they had stopped the moment they noticed her.
She took a sip of Cassandra's brew and sighed. At least the witch had a few good qualities. Slowly, Casten began to stir, and she smiled weakly.
Despite the blood on Casten's face, he was completely unharmed—and that had made Thalia glad. But her smile faded quickly when she thought of the price Raphael had paid for that.
"Raphael, he is under attack—we have to help him, Luna!" Casten said frantically and abruptly got on his feet. His eye were wild with panic and urgency.
"Casten, stop!" Thalia cried, but he was intent.
"We have to go right now!" he insisted, and Thalia shouted:
"Casten, Raphael's right here!"
She pointed next to where Casten had been lying. His knees buckled.
"Oh, goddess, what did I do?" he mumbled, and tears started to fall from his eyes.
This couldn't be the same Raphael he knew. His Raphael was a whole grey, beautiful beast—not this. This… he didn't even have a word for it.