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Jacin's POV:
The Search
I stare out the window of my "house". If I squint, I can just make out the "missing" poster nailed to a nearby tree, and the serious face in the picture. I've seen it so many times already, I could probably trace it from memory: the dark, serious face, the spikes of wild brown hair, and the guarded look in those bright green eyes.
At school, the attitude towards Wolf's sudden disappearance seems to range from complete indifference to mild concern. Some people have acted like they're truly worried about his wellbeing, but I've seen enough attention hogs to know an act when I see one. Personally, I'm not the least bit worried. I know for a fact that nothing bad has happened to him. Seriously, I tell the guy that the Queen wants him as her newest guard dog and then he suddenly vanishes? Am I supposed to believe that's a coincidence? Hmph, yeah right. Well I'm not going to let him get away with his little vanishing act anymore.
I grab a jacket from the bed post and pull it over my shoulders before walking out my "room". As I walk down the stairs, I can't help but glance up at the pictures hanging from the walls. Pictures of a family. A family with a little blond boy with ice blue eyes. There are pictures of the boy playing in the sandbox, having a bath (who wants to see a five-year-old have a bath?), playing on the swings, holding up rubbish pieces of art that his parents undoubtedly told him were masterpieces, all the nice little happy cliché stuff.
I snort and look away. As if I'd ever smile like that because of a sandbox. And for the record, my dad isn't bald! And my mother is ginger, not brunette! I swear, if the vampires going to give me a fake childhood on Earth, can they at least make it believable?
I can't seem to get to the front door fast enough as I step outside into the cool night air.
"The police station would probably be a good place to start." I mutter to myself, and head over in that direction.
When I eventually arrive, I crouch down and sniff at the sidewalk. A flurry of unfamiliar scents greets me, and I growl in frustration as I try to pick out Wolf's among the mess. I detect a small hint of his scent, mixed in with all the dogs that had been walked across this particular path. It's faint though, he probably hasn't passed this way since he ran off. Still, it's a start.
I take another good, long sniff, again fighting to tell apart the mixture of smells. I walk along the sidewalk turning into a nearby alley, where I catch a slightly stronger smell in a small secluded corner. It's a bit muskier for some reason, but I dismiss it. It's probably just some stray dog that made its home here for a while. Damn this crowded city and its many life forms!
Gritting my teeth with frustration, I shift my face slightly. Short, sharp clicks echo in my ears as my skull lengthens into a muzzle.
I give my head an involuntary shake as I get used to my new face. I glance around, my eyes now seeing as clearly as if it were day.
I inhale deeply through my new nose, the flurry of scents that had served to do nothing but frustrate me before now easily distinguishable from each other. And that includes Wolf's.
Picking up his scent trail, I make my way out of the alley corner and out onto the street. I look up and down the road. I decide to keep my face wolfish for now, since I highly doubt I'll pick anything up in my human form. Besides, it's practically midnight! What idiot would be out and about now? Well, apart from me.
It's slow progress, tracking Wolf's scent. From what I can gather, he's been constantly on the move since he ran away, something that probably made sense to him but just makes my job about ten times harder, which is probably the point now that I think about it. After ducking into the stars know how many secluded corners of civilisation only to come right out again, I finally arrive at what I seriously hope is my final destination: The park.
The scent trail leads me away from the main path to a copse of trees. In the daytime, a scenic little feature and an ideal place for, I don't know, a picnic or something. At night though, it's a decent hiding spot.
I walk into the shadows of the tall trunks, away from the light of the stars and moon (or what little I can see of them. Earth's light pollution is terrible!). I try to keep my footfalls light, cursing the soft, rustling grass under my feet.
Eventually, I reach a sort of clearing where the moonlight can finally break through the tree canopy and illuminate the ground, as well as the thing sleeping on the ground.
I blink and sniff the air, trying to make sure I didn't make a mistake. But there's Wolf's scent, as plain as day. Still, I expected that when I eventually found him, he'd be in human form. Instead, I'm looking at an enormous wolf, with course fur partly covered by torn clothes, ridiculously long claws and sharp fangs that I can make out even as it sleeps.
I heave a sigh. My life just got a whole lot harder.
I take a moment to shift my face back to human before kicking Wolf roughly in his giant shoulder. His eyes snap open and in half a second he's scrambled to his paws. When his green gaze snaps over to me, his lips pull back, revealing the full deadly glory of his lupine fangs, and a growl rumbles in his chest.
"Pretty sure you already know why I'm here so can we just skip that explanation?" I ask dryly.
Wolf only growls louder.
"Look, I can understand why you're reluctant to serve the queen, but it's either come with me now or wait for some other soldier to be sent to kill you. Levana doesn't like it when people defy her, so unless your suicidal, you haven't really got much of a choice."
A sharp bark is my only answer.
I throw back my head and groan. "You're even more thick-headed than I thought. You do realise that if you refuse, you're going to be up against several werewolves who don't know the meaning of mercy."
Wolf tosses his head haughtily, as if to say that he could take a pack of werewolves. Stars, what an idiot.
"Okay, so you're clearly too dense to understand words," I mutter, "so I'll try convincing you another way."
Sharp pain flares up my limbs as the bones break apart and shift underneath my skin, slotting themselves into new positions. I fall forward, my arms and legs bending and stretching. My skin tingles as blond fur grows all over my body, and a tail grows at the base of my spine. The ripping of fabric tears at my ears as my clothes tear around my new shape.
I give myself a quick shake and narrow my eyes at the other, much bigger wolf before me. You first.
With a snarl, Wolf bounds forward and snaps at one of my forelegs. I jump back just in time and pounce onto his back, dragging my claws down his sides. I'm rewarded by his pained howl, but before I can feel even the slightest glow of pride, he falls backwards, pinning me underneath him.
I gasp as the wind gets knocked out of my, barely registering the absence of weight keeping me pinned to the ground. A weight that quickly comes back, this time with claws digging into my chest and a snout full of fangs growling down at me.
I reach for his face, trying to catch him with my claws, but he simply pulls out of reach. Instead of drawing blood, the worst I do is tug out a clump of fur.
Okay, so being conservative isn't working. Time to switch tactics.
Lunging forward, I bite down hard on Wolf's shoulder. Blood flows into my mouth and my opponent howls in pain. Emboldened, I rake my claws across his broad shoulders, and the howling grows louder.
For one brief, hopeful moment, I think that I'm winning. That I can actually bring down this giant.
Turns out, it was just a moment of stupidity.
Wolf's longer, sharper claws drag across my stomach. I feel my fur grow damp with my own blood as my flesh tears. Fast as a snake, he lunges for my throat, sinking his teeth into the base.
My attacks grow frantic as I struggle to push Wolf off me, but I might as well be pushing off a rock. A rock that is simultaneously tearing me to shreds.
The scent of blood fills my nose as it drips around my neck and around the gashes in my stomach. The colours of the world around me seem to blur together. I have trouble telling the difference between Wolf's bulky form and the surrounding trees. My struggles turn into no more than feeble pushes to get away from my attacker. Darkness closes around my vision, and the last thing I see is Winter, blood pouring from her scars as if they were fresh, crying and reaching out for me.
And then there's nothing.
A/N: Fight scene!
Now we know where Wolf is, and that Jacin isn't going to be dragging him off to Luna anytime soon. Will Jacin be okay? Will Levana send soldiers to kill Wolf like Jacin predicted?
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