Together Woman of the Otherworld Fanfiction Hannah Suttling

Together

Women of the Otherworld Fanfiction

Singingfrogs

No copyright infringement intended

To say Riley was growing increasingly impatient was an understatement. Nick had received a rushed text message from Clayton about forty-minutes ago stating that he was running a little late from there allocated rendezvous and said he would be no more than ten minutes; in Riley's mind he was now really starting to take the piss considering they had been waiting for him for half an hour. However, as the young Doctor quickly glanced up towards Nick it seemed Clayton's lack of time keeping was started to aggravate the Pack's most unperturbed wolf as his jaw was set into a hard line and Nick was petulantly gazing towards his watch. Had Clay been with his wife, Riley was sure he would never have kept them waiting.

But, as the pair of them stood on the side of Main Street, each of them were uncomfortably waiting; the article that Jeremy had shown the three of them before they left Stonehaven had detailed several disconcerting accusations about the inhabitants of Stonehaven and unfortunately for them the Bear Valley public suspected them or believed what the Journalist had written; maybe that was the reason why Jeremy was so reluctant in allowing them to spend some time within the small town eavesdropping. Nevertheless, Riley just shoved her hands into her coat pocket, hiding the bottom of her face into the depths of her coat collar to try and protect her from the freezing temperature and the heavy snow falling and gracefully settling onto the floor of the town. She anxiously gazed towards two elderly ladies who were slowly stumbling down the icy pathways, their Trolley Dolly holding their shopping and helping them walk; but what made her uncomfortable was the dark glares they pointed in her direction as they continued their hushed conversation, obviously talking about Riley and Nick as they passed. Riley wasn't surprised by their attitude for the whole of the town had been whispering about them or avoided them all together.

It seemed that Nick had been completely oblivious to the malicious old ladies that had walked passed as his attention had been solely focused to his expensive mobile phone as if expecting it to ring. When it didn't he just dropped it into his oversized pocket and turned to look towards Riley who was shivering within her coat and scarf.

"Looks like we're on our own." Nick stated as he lifted his arm and started heading in the direction behind Riley, his hand pressed to the bottom of her back as he guided her forward, finally recognizing the uneasy looks pointed in their direction. "I have no idea where Clay may be and how long whatever he is doing is going to take." Nick finished as he too placed his hands to his pocket. Obviously standing out in the cold for over forty minutes would make anyone cold, even a werewolf.

"So what do you suggest?" Riley questioned, her voice a little mumbled due to her scarf obstructing her lips and voice.

"I spoke with my father, he thought it best we just continue to search for any notifiable evidence that may help Jeremy understand the information Paige gave us or to uncover any potential threats or attacks given to us by the villagers."

"Yes, because so many of the Bear Valley inhabitants will know about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table." Riley uttered sarcastically, a smile gracing her lips, as she understood Nick's incredulous expression.

"Are all of you English people sarcastic?"

"Yes." Riley expressed with the same tone as her last statement, her head nodding while a smirk was exuberantly shining on her features. "Yes we are." Riley finished and welcomed the small chuckle that Nick gave her.

Yet, Riley must have been walking at Nick's side for a couple more minutes before something hit her. A scent that hit her so hard she stopped walking all together. It was no stronger than Clay's but it was like cold fingers reaching deep into her brain to pluck out a memory long buried; but somehow, she still doubted herself.

Nick only walked a few more steps until he realized Riley was no longer at his side. With a frown on his expression he turned around to see Riley confidently, but subtly tasting and smelling the air around her, a deep frown of concentration evident on her expression.

"Riley?" Nick asked as he headed back to her side, not surprised when she didn't turn to face him. "What is it?"

"Can you smell that?" She voiced, finally managing to flutter her eyes to her friend, the pair of them knowing that her sense of smell was possibly the worst of her senses considering she spent most of her adult life working within the walls of a sterile hospital. Had she been listening for something she would have pinpointed the noise from 3 miles away; just goes to show just how individual werewolf abilities truly were. But, he too was picking up something, a scent that was causing a nagging feeling of familiarity to overwhelm him.

"Coming to think of it, yes." Nick replied before he curled his fingers around Riley's hand and the pair of them quickly powerwalked down the street, effectively following the trail at the same time as avoiding the suspicious public. Nevertheless, the scent seemed to be too good to be true and as they rounded a corner they came to an abrupt halt. The alley was a dead end.

She simply stood there, listening to the silence of the alleyway that was littered with ancient cardboard boxes and old newspapers that had been caught in the icy wind. She never doubted for a second that Nick wouldn't give up on the one lead they had uncovered in the last few days. His eyes were constantly searching their surroundings, his nostrils flaring as he continued to test the air; each of them nervously contemplating what may conspire if they were to jump over the large brick wall that was hindering their pursuit, each of them uncertain whether to continue. Deep down Riley knew this was her chance to prove her worth, to show to her ambiguous pack mates that she knew how to handle herself that she could come through with results under advantageous and potentially dangerous situations. Maybe this was the chance that would make or break her decision into whether she should remain aligned with the Northern American Pack.

Riley had made her decision. Without another moment's notice, and before Nick could argue Riley bolted. She charged towards the brick wall, her small petite frame being flung at such a speed that when she reached the bottom she called upon the strength within her small muscles and hurled herself at the wall. She felt her hands contacting the slab of material just as her feet clambered for a footing. Within seconds she had managed to scale the wall with little to no effort; she always took advantage of her small frame. Riley made certain that the way was clear, the alleyway mirroring the one that Nick was residing in and as she continued to search the passage the overwhelming aroma of the creature they were tracking almost had her falling from her high perch. After a few seconds of recon, she turned her attention back towards Nick who was balking up towards her, unsure as to how she had managed to climb the wall with such ease.

"Come on," Riley started with a smile as she cocked her head to the alleyway behind her. "The trail leads this way." She finished before leaping like a frog over the wall and into the alley below her. Within seconds Nick was jumping from the floor, to the ledge of the wall and then to the floor beside his companion.

"Every day you surprise me." Nick countered as he pulled down the lapels of his coat that had slowly risen; a smile was on his lips as he looked down to the form of Riley that only reached the bottoms of his shoulders. Riley simply smiled before the young woman turned her attention towards the mouth of the alley, noticing a tarmacked road that seemed to be voided of all and any traffic. Again, Riley felt Nick's fingers curling around her small hand before the pair of them headed from the alley and onto another street trailing after the scent on the air. Riley felt like she was walking into the scene of 'Man of Steel' when Superman was fighting with Faora-UI for the street was almost identical.

She couldn't help the unease that was spiraling through her stomach; her eyes were frantically searching and the grip she had on Nick's hand only intensified; why couldn't she shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap? Had they been tracking a mutt they would have expected a trail that weaved and interlaced through various different alleyways and streets. If they had any common sense they would have found shelter and asylum on a busy street, but with mutts most of the time they were predating humans. Instead of a nice quick clean kill they couldn't resist the urge to let their prey go and then hunt them through the unfamiliar streets of a neighborhood they may have only just arrived in. It was a werewolf's driven instinct to chase their prey and unfortunately humans provided the most fun and exhilaration.

But, as the pair of them continued to follow the scent trail, the nerves within Riley's stomach slowly intensified and turned to ice. Lying on the pavement was a continuous supply of splattered blood pools, which was causing Riley to remember back to the difficult circumstances of the motel and uncomfortable images of her dreams, came to the front of her memory. The Doctor knew she needed to keep her cool, but as the troubling images of her nightmares drifted to her thoughts she couldn't help but feel a serene sense of de-jar-vu; this whole tracking malarkey was feeling far too familiar to a hunt completed by the persons of her dream.

Nick and Riley stalked forward along the wall that led to the base of the alleyway. However, Riley's nervousness didn't go unnoticed and Nick tried to think of something reassuring to say to the young Doctor but his mind drew a blank. The last thing he wanted to do was make matters worse considering Riley was the leading expert in tracking this thing. Riley just felt very uneasy and had a feeling that at any moment something bad was about to happen; however she followed Nick in single file as they crept ever closer to the alley in question.

But, as Riley's stomach knotted with nervousness, she could feel Nick's hand becoming clammy; it seemed that he was unable to keep himself calm considering the horror stories he had heard about this thing. His heart was palpitating within his chest so badly that it was starting to cause him a great discomfort. His breath had quickened as the adrenaline coursed through his body and as he looked down towards Riley she was chewing the inside of her lips to keep her emotions in check.

They finally reached the mouth of the alleyway and as Nick took a cautious look around the corner he withdrew almost immediately, the air whooshing from his lungs as he pushed his body back to the side of the wall. He looked down towards Riley nodded his head before allowing her to sneak a peek. As if like magic, at the end of the alleyway was the creature, its wings absentmindedly moving in the wintery wind, a large matted and snarled scar travelled from the large wing bone right through the thin skin of its wing. But, what had her stomach churning was the blood that was spewing from its mouth as it crunched through bones and dinned on a helpless homeless person that seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Riley pulled back, her eyes heavy with emotion as she came to stand next to Nick, her eyes fluttering up towards him as she nodded her head in acceptance.

"That's the one I've been tracking in England." Riley whispered "Right down to the scar on its wing." She finished, her back pressed as tightly to the brick wall as Nick's.

"Any ideas in stopping it?" Nick asked quietly, his eyes staring directly down to Riley as she craned her neck up towards him.

"Not without the rest of the pack." Riley supposed with a shrug of her shoulders. "I've also never seen one during the day. My hunts and spottings have always been at night." A growl quickly cut Riley off and she shrieked back towards the wall. But, the damage was done and before either of them could even contemplate running the creature flew out of the alley at such a speed the turbulent airflow that followed had the pair of them flung from their feet as it propelled itself into the air. Newspapers and day old rubbish was catapulted into the air as it got caught up within the torrent of air.

Had no one known what they were up against the black dot would seem like a harmless bird circling the air, but to Riley and Nick it was a cause for some alarm as the dot quickly became bigger and bigger as it gained speed at an alarming rate? Had the pair of them thought it was just a bird Nick's clawing at Riley's limbs and coat would have been an overreaction but as soon as Riley was roughly pulled to her feet she scrambled to get away. Within seconds they heard the high-pitched screech of the creature. Being agile and fit meant that the pair of them was able to quickly dodge out of the way as the creature lunged for them before barreling into a nearby wall. It seemed the speed it had gained during its diving had been so intense it was unable to pull up in time. Riley just smiled to herself as she felt Nick dragging her out of their alleyway again unknowing that the creature was coming at them with its talons advancing and just as it was about to sink its sharp claws into the young Doctor's flesh Riley dived both away from Nick and the creature causing the scratching of talons on pavement to resound around them as the winged-creature tried to get back into the air, and like earlier hit the side of a building and causing a load of dust to sprinkle over the couple.

It was in that moment that Riley was able to get a better look at the creature as it hovered in the air. There was no doubting that this creature was the one she tracked back home. The scar on its wing and over its eye confirmed that; normally she would be prepared to face it, to hunt it and potentially kill it, but Bear Valley town Centre was not the place to be seen conducting scrupulous activities considering the town already suspected them. She also realized that she and Nick were mercilessly outnumbered.

But, before either of them could even comprehend the actions of the creature they saw the slightest of movement to their right and to their surprise Clayton was trying to sneak towards them. However, it wasn't just Riley and Nick who noticed the movement because with a horrific, ear splitting shriek the creature squawked at this new devilry. The black, lifeless and vacant eyes started intently at its prey and Riley could hear the sickening cracking of talons clicking into place as its razor sharp claws scratched against each other as it dived for Clayton.

Riley screamed for Clayton, warning her Pack mate of his impending situation and as Clayton spun to see her and then to the diving creature he swore under his breath before bolting into the darkness of the alleyway that led towards the main street of Bear Valley. The young Doctor just clamored to her feet, ducking the creature's attack and running for Clay; it seemed she was so wrapped up in reaching her companion that she failed to hear Nick's screaming as she ran from one side of the street and directly to the other.

She shoved her small body back to the wall when she reached the alleyway. She continued to look around the passage as she heaved her long copper hair from her face and peered into the corridor and her stomach filled with dread. Clayton was under the large creature, its deformed head focused purely to the werewolf underneath him as he lashed his dragon horns towards Clayton. Riley was frantically searching for an idea in how to defend her companion but as the creature once again let out an inhuman screech Riley knew she was out of time. Clay had his hands curled around the things horns, struggling with the creature's strength as he tried to protect himself while Riley recognized the object she was looking for. Lying on the ground, propped up against one of the alleyway walls was a thick piece of wood that may have come from a chest of draws or a desk. She scrambled to cling onto the wood and adjusted her hold before she ran towards the creature, lifted her weapon above her head and shoved the object across the creatures back. She shrieked away from her attack as the wood snapped clean in two.

However, she hadn't thought things through well enough for the creature's attention was no longer on Clayton but instead it turned to face her. Before another moment passed Riley swore under her breath and bolted towards the exit that led towards the busy Bear Valley town center.

She raced for the busy street, eschewing the network of dustbins and large cardboard boxes as she tried to reach the safety of the human public. The creature was still following her, and it would until she was dead or captured. The question that kept spiraling through her mind was how long would it be till she finally gave in and allowed the creature to get to her? Or get overwhelmed by the feelings of guilt and foolishness that was spiraling throughout her body considering she was the reason Clayton was suffering with a grotesque scratches and she was now running for her life. She pushed back the first signs of panic; after all she was slap bag in the middle of civilization. However, that didn't stop her heart from trembling within her chest; the creature was screaming and the ear splitting roars overwhelmed her figure as she bolted through the crowded alleyway.

When Riley had finally made her way through the alleyway she came to realize her mistake of running onto the high street. The people of Bear Valley were continuously getting in her way; whether that was because she was trying to run down the busy street or because their attitude towards an inhabitant of Stonehaven was anything but dismal. Nevertheless Riley kept weaving between the continuous streams of humans, propelling her body in different directions as she struggle to avoid bumping into or completely knocking certain individuals over. But, as she ran further and further away from the alleyway she couldn't stop herself from taking a cautious look over her shoulder and what she saw only made her confusion grow.

The creature must have had no more than one hundred meters behind her, its large wings thrusting its muscular body towards its prey, its disjointed talons scrapping against the pavements as its deformed features snarled and dribbled as it pursued her. But what had her confused was the behavior of the people surrounding the beast. This thing was a hideous and rather terrifying creature making its first appearance within Bear Valley and instead of the expected hysteria, screaming and mass panic the only reaction she was getting from the humans were glares and unfavorable whispers concerning her lack of propriety.

Nonetheless the young Doctor made a mistake. She had been looking behind her for too long, ignoring the cries of humans struggling to get out of her way or the fact that she was slowly running out of pathway; her boots came into contact with a sheet of black ice, the tread of her shoes unable to get an adequate grip that sent the young werewolf slipping and sliding. Riley wobbled on her feet as she tried to slow her decent, to keep her balance so she wouldn't make a fool of herself at the same time in preventing any loss of speed during this crucial stage of her running. To her dismay as she turned he creature had recovered the ground between the pair of them.

Riley veered to the left, forcing herself into another alleyway in hopes of shaking her tracker and as she heard he answering shrieking of frustration she couldn't stop the smirk forming on her lips as she finally managed to momentarily get away. It seemed her luck was short lived. She had come to a dead end. The young Doctor slipped and skidded to a stop as she tried to think of any ways in getting either over the wall of the alleyway or to somehow try and get as much distance away from the thing chasing her.

The werewolf looked towards the bleak sky, the sunlight struggling to shine through the clouds as she noticed the flat roofs of the building. It was then an idea came to her and she could barely believe her luck when her body complied with its commands and easily hauled itself onto the top of the brick wall and then onto the roof of the ancient buildings. But, within a few moments she could hear the sound of wind travelling under large thick wings, and without turning she knew she was being chased once again. Riley could feel the animal stirring within her, growling and struggling to keep her composure as she spurred Riley onwards, encouraging her human counterpart by providing her legs and her arms with the strength that allowed her to run far faster than the average human and to jump nearly twice the distance.

If she ran fast enough, jumped high enough, it would not get her. It might have thought it knew all of her tricks, but he had never pursued her across the roofs of buildings and the creature seemed just as lost and disorientated with the streets and forests of Bear Valley as she was. For years she had walked the Main Streets of Bear Valley and making sure she knew the forests that were Stonehaven property; but as she tried to maneuver herself through the small alleyways, over the tall buildings that constructed the high street and trying to avoid capture of a rampant bat like creature Riley really wished she had paid more attention to Clayton's constant whining concerning her inability to navigate herself around Bear Valley.

But now, as a young woman running for her life, jumping over alleyways that were about 3 meters wide so she could land on the roof of another run down building she was beginning to feel the anxiety and frustration coiling within her body as she tried to find a way to escape. However, sometimes circumstances like this would go on so long that her body would be exhausted, now it seemed she didn't have the luxury of being well rested considering her sleeping pattern and she sure as hell couldn't make a mistake because that mistake could cost her her life.

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