Mia
Anxiety coursed through me as I paced from wall to wall. It's crazy how quickly feelings can change within an hour.
Shock, anger, tolerance, relief, and finally acceptance. Unfortunately, the whole shit storm of emotions was overtaken by the hourly tsunami of absolute agony that's now being followed closely by anxiety.
And the reason for this newfound emotion-- Merida was missing. Ma told me, after she'd brought in a medication from Dr. Scott that temporarily dulls the "bond-pain," as I've recently dubbed it.
I wouldn't be pacing around in my room if this was just another routine missing person that Peter could find with ease. However, the witch's traces have been discovered in the area where she last was, meaning Merida's likely been kidnapped.
Madness pushes at the surface, once and then twice and I know she's begging me to do something.
I run my fingers through my hair in frustration.
It's funny, now that I can feel every emotion that has passed through Merida, it seems she's always been like this. Stuck in a constant state of frustration. A feeling that now courses through me at every waking moment.
I laugh to myself, finding nothing better to do. It was just ironic, considering how I convinced myself I could handle this mate bond. Or what's left of it at least.
Shit. I think. Too much is happening and I'm pacing around this damned room like a fucking idiot.
A fucking useless idiot.
I need to move. To do something.
Madness shoves me, desperate, and it soon becomes clear what I need to do.
I need to help. No matter what. There's no way I'm going to sit in this damn room while Merida is god knows where with an insane witch. A witch that, if I remember correctly, tried to kill me and Kristen and who knows how many others.
Fear courses through me as the memory of those purple flames erupts over my flesh forcing a growl to tear out of me as Madness pushes within me, eager to break free to protect me from this invisible threat. But she doesn't need to. Because I won't be afraid of the bitch anymore.
I flinch as pain strikes me, but it isn't physical. It feels like a mental pinch in my head. A pinch that's urging me to move forward. To go somewhere. With a surprising warmth that grows in my chest, I can understand the feeling, its meaning.
It's a call. To Merida.
She's out there, and despite the shit that just went down a few hours ago, she's calling to me. Pushing at me to come to her. And suddenly, it becomes clear what I need to do.
I can help, I think as I burst out of my room. Immediately, I'm hit with a wave of werewolves moving briskly throughout the house. I knew there were be a good amount here, but seeing it all now makes me realize just how many wolves live here. And exactly how quickly Peter can mobilize them for battle.
It's an incredible sight as I take in the vast amount of them. Hundreds of wolves are preparing for the hunt tonight. I can feel the fire that runs through their blood as they move from one place to the other, gathering materials and helping others prepare.
Madness pushes me to move faster and I comply, heading straight for Peter's office. Hushed voices rang out from the other side and a whisper from somewhere inside me told me that I shouldn't intervene but at the moment, I simply didn't care.
As I pushed the door open, multiple familiar faces stopped their conversation as they turned to the door. Besides Peter, Ma, and Dr. Scott, I knew the other faces in the room belonged to the Beta, who served as Peter's second in command, and the Gamma, who handled the financial and legal obligations.
I stand in the doorway, staring at them as they stare back with shocked expressions. Ma stepped from Peter's side.
"Mia, dear." Ma begin in her soft tone as she begin to approach me.
"I want to help." I said bluntly. Peter shook his head and I knew he was well on his way to reject the offer, so I pushed. "I can feel her," I tell him. "If I go on the hunt with you, I might be able to find my way to her."
"Mia." Peter sighed. "You don't need to-"
"I want to." I pushed. "Please, let me help find her. Let me do this."
"You've never been on a hunt before," Peter said. "And the effects can hit at anytime."
I knew he was talking about the overbearing pains that affect me as a result of the broken bond between Merida and I, but regardless, I wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"The medicine Scott gave me works just fine. I want to go."
Before Peter could protest, Dr. Scott cleared his throat, catching the attention of every wolf in the room.
"Peter, if I may." Dr. Scott begin. "A broken bond is still a bond. If she's close enough if could work. There's a chance to save Merida."
"I know that," Peter growls as he runs his hand through his hand, tugging at the strands the same way Merida does. "But I don't want to risk losing another daughter." He muttered the last part but my ears still picked up on it. A pain in my chest shook me for a moment as I contemplated the sentence and its deeper meaning.
But our relationship is something we're going to have to fix later, after we find Merida.
"I'll stick by the group and concreate finding Merida." I say. "Please, let me do this." I implore him. Both Madness and I can't take this anymore, we need to get to her. Her call in my head grows stronger with every passing second.
Peter's eyes close for a moment as he takes a deep breath. Ma goes back to his side and places a light hand on his shoulder. I see him stiffen and then soon relax as the door behind me opens to reveal a young man with dark brown hair and matching eyes.
"Yes, Alpha." He says with a strong voice. I cast a glimpse to the young man before my eyes dart back to Peter.
"Take Mia and get her ready." He says, his eyes now open yet hooded. I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. "She's joining the hunt tonight."
* * *
"You hold the blade by the hilt towards the palm of your hand." The young man, who I've come to know as Dylan, demonstrates the action with his right hand, holding the well crafted silver blade by the handle.
Less than an hour after Peter's approval, Dylan took the curtesey of helping me prepare. Which meant dressing me up in a soft black leather outfit that can also tear away quickly upon shifting, combat boots, and a knife holster wrapped around my waist, as well as guiding me through the wide array of weapons in an enormous decked out armory that I'm now learning we had.
However, despite the wide array of weapons to choose from, like the various black Glocks that were laid out or the wicked blue spears that lined one of the walls, Dylan insisted on taking me to the smallest of the weapons because and I quote 'I've never killed a witch before, and he doesn't have time to show me everything.'
"If the time comes, slice down like this." Angling his arm, he brings the blade down in a fluid motion. Visualizing his makeshift target, the mark he made was likely to hit somewhere between the shoulder and the throat. "The blade is charmed so that it can break through any magic barriers. So, if you do have to use it, go for the throat." He says as he flipped the knife over so that he's holding the blade. "Don't try to stab, blade will get stuck and you'll be screwed."
I take the blade and mimicked the movement once, making sure to add some space between us. He nods in approval as I begin to sheath the blade. He turns around to the table to grab a few more.
"Don't hesitate." He tells me as he passes me three more. "Witches will look for any opening they can get. Be sure not to give them any."
Taking each knife carefully and storing them away in the holster, I regard him for a moment. "How do you know so much about this?" I ask curiously.
He shrugged. "Did some work as a mercenary when I was human. But I've been fighting as a warrior for a while now."
"Warrior." I mutter the term, trying to grasp the concept of it. "Besides witches, what else do we need to fight?" I say as a half joke. Dylan's face grows sullen for a moment before he regains his composure.
"You'll be surprised how many things want to kill us." He shakes his head as if trying to rid himself of a thought. Or a memory. "It's just a never ending war."
He starts off to the door, beckoning me to follow. "Let's meet the others outside."
Dylan guides me out the pack house into the courtyard. The cool breeze, well rather the sight of hundreds of wolves, sends chills down my spine as I walk out into the night air.
I gasp at the sight, fully taking in the view of hundreds of warriors dressed in dark shades and gleaming with various weapons. Dylan navigates through them as he leads me to the front of the army.
As I pass through the crowd, I notice Kristen dressed up in the same black leather as I am and armed to the teeth in sliver knives, each one a different length.
She moves from one foot to the other, claws bared and eager to move. A smile, full of anticipation, blankets her features. Madness acknowledges the fire in her which in turn, starts to ignite the flame within ourselves.
I take a breath as my body suddenly begins to warm and Dylan finally manages to get us to the front.
He steps aside allowing me to take to the front alongside Ma, whose appearance shocks me upon first glance. We're dressed the same, in black leather, combat boots, and tied up hair. However, unlike me, she has no weapons on her. But her expression is all I need to know that she doesn't need any.
Like Kristen, her claws are bared and her wolf is close to the surface. Her eyes look deadly as a small grin creeps its way onto her face. She keeps her head held high and yet, I can see the slight twitch of eagerness in her gentle movements. She's ready to kill. Plain and simple.
The sight alone stirs Madness but shakes me in a different way, something I'm afraid to acknowledge. I've never seen this side to my mother before and it terrifies me.
Peter was right. I've never seen any of this before.
I take a step back from Ma and those in the front, finding a place on the side next to a few women. I hug my arms around myself as an alien feeling creeps through me. The cold finding its way into me again, snuffing out the heat.
Maybe I should stay behind. I think. Maybe I should go alone. I don't fit in with this. With them. I realize within a moment why I think this.
I was always alone. I ran alone. Hunted alone.
And even when I was here, I've never felt connected to them.
"Wolves of the Saga Moon." Peter howled into the night. I flinched as the air shifted, pulling all the attention of the wolves to one spot. So this is the power of an Alpha. I thought.
"The witch has taken from us." He shouted up to the full moon.
Why was he screaming? The witch would hear him. She would know. Worry began to fill me.
"But no more." The pack howled in agreement. "We end this tonight."
They cheered as a rumbling began to shake the earth beneath me and I realized it was the pack stomping on the ground. I looked around wearily as the beat begins to break my hold on Madness. The fire creeps up my legs in tune with the music they create.
"Let her hear us!" He howled. "Let her know we're coming."
My arms dropped as the wolves screamed towards the moon, making themselves heard, and I finally understood as the heat of the moment snaked its way into my heart.
Peter wanted her to know. Wanted her to hear we were coming for her. He wanted her to hear their war-cry.
He wanted her to know that she will die tonight.
"Let the Gods hear us!" He screamed.
The wolves shouted to the sky once again and this time I didn't stop Madness. The fire of the hunt soared its way through every nerve in my body. The beat of the earth possessed me and I gave into the song.
"Let the hunt begin!"
I let Madness free from her cage. I let her connect to the fire of the pack. I allowed her to give her war-cry and I screamed with her.
And we screamed together with the pack.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
