Russet stared in utter shock at me, and at the person with a rock firm grip on my neck. I felt strong arms draw me back pulling me by the neck against a strong base body behind me. Vic took up an offensive position but my captor just laughed.
"You would attack me? Me? And what, pray for survival," Oh my god… My captor was the king himself, "I must thank you however, it saves me the bother of raiding the wolfs' mountain in order to get her back. I believe now I make my leave."
I felt the ground leave my feet, and air slapped me in the face. Vic and Russet were hopelessly outclassed, they tried but they couldn't hope to catch up with the king. I tried to scream but I couldn't, my mouth wouldn't open. I tried to struggle but my body couldn't move.
We landed on a black platform surrounded by tall walls and an array of people—vampires- surrounded us. The king shoved me down and I felt my face flatten against the hard stone.
"This woman is beloved by my son, a glamour has not been enough to keep her. We need something more final," cheers arose from the crowd and the king dragged me up by my hair up and whispered to me, "too bad. Kaga wanted to keep you human. I was going to let him, after all a boy needs a pet."
Then I felt something more terrifying than a blade or a death grip on my neck. Lips, caressing my neck gently, almost lovingly. And then, pain. Pure blinding pain shot from my neck making my whole body convulse. Cold poured from the side of my neck where the pain has come from and heat flowed into it. As heat left my body an animal desire to live and to escape flooded and sieged my brain, my body acted upon that desire and I bucked struggling, trying to get away at all costs.
The king kept his grip on my neck as my consciousness drifted away leaving me in pure, merciful, blackness.
Vic stood pacing around the ruins of the old church. His mind was filled with fear, and he was frantic. Russet sat perched on a pillar waiting patiently for Vic to stop his rant and approach a place of reason and sanity.
Patience, Russet knew, was something that was stressed to its limit point around Vic, whether or not he was insulting or being annoyingly sarcastic. Russet also knew, she had no more of it than an average person. She just found ways to vent it in her mind, some of which include colorful ways to make Vic shut up, or colorful things she could say in response to his rants.
"Kaga is going to kill us!" Vic ranted pacing ever faster, "He told us to protect her and now… now… oh my God we are so dead! Russet, how are you calm? Ugh never mind. Let's keep going. How are we going to fix this we can't bust in come on we need help here GAHHHHH."
It went on like this for around twenty minutes, which in Russet's opinion was a huge waste of time they could have spent trying to figure out a plan that wouldn't get them killed. While Russet pondered, someone moved in the shadows behind them.
He stood his brown tail flashing his animal eyes glistening. Though he wondered, was Alec wrong? Had the vampires not been involved in the glamour cast upon the girl? No he had to stop thinking of her as the girl. Her name was Katherine. And she deserved to at least be recognized by her full name.
Joshua crouched in the bushes thinking of her. He had secret thoughts about her. She was beautiful, especially for a human. But Joshua was pulled out of his chain-linked thoughts by silence.
Vic had noticed him.
Vic turned and stared at the bushes, at the brief flash of brown fur or glittering inhuman eyes. Russet stood rigid, preparing for a fight.
Joshua stepped out his ears twitching a low growl rising up his throat. Vic stood in an offensive position, facing the unnaturally huge wolf.
"Mutt, ugh I should have known the stupid hounds followed us, those stupid, horse faced, jackass, mutts!"
"Vic shut up!" Russet drawled dropping gracefully off the pillar.
"No! I am really pissed off right now and I'm about to go into that f—"
"Hi wolf-boy I'm Russet, if you can't tell Vic isn't good with new faces," a moment's thought, "or animals."
Joshua stared at her for a moment then shifted standing up on his hind legs and his limbs shortened, skin covered his body as claws vanished into his hands.
Joshua stood there staring at Russet and Vic, his expression that of slight amusement and immense annoyance. This was the first time Russet had gotten a good look at him. He had shaggy brown hair that matched his fur perfectly, nearly black eyes, and skin suntanned and stretched by muscle. Not the muscle of a body builder but the more graceful muscle of one who spent his entire life in the wilderness.
"Is he always like this?" Joshua beckoned to Vic in an all-encompassing gesture.
"No, he's pretty sweet if you get to know him, he just really hates animals of all types, and most mortals he can barely stand. Mainly because they snap at him after a few months of irritating them to death."
"Well, that makes sense," Joshua stared at Vic, "Yo! Vampire freak will you calm down!"
Russet moaned and walked over to the pillar leaning her head against it, "We are never going to help Katherine are we?"
"Not with this mutt faced, horse headed, stupid fur ball, bi-"
"Vic!" Russet snapped and Vic fell silent, "we need to stop focusing on the werewolf and we need to get Katherine back. We don't know where she is in the castle so we should come up with a plan. Instead of pacing, and insulting wolves who may otherwise help us!"
"Help? HELP?! You want that, that," Vic struggled for words, "that animal to help us? It would probably stab us in the back!"
"No 'it' wouldn't." Joshua stood, "That's why I'm here. I want to help Katherine at all costs."
"You'll help then?"
"Yes."
