Hey all you loyal readers and reviewers! Thank you for your patience AND your reviews! I took long in updating because this was a very long chapter and it was very important to the story so I didn't want to mess it up! In other news..I graduated yeah! okai so back to the story..there's lots of Sam here 'cause I thought he should be bad and menacing too :DD I really liked this chapter and I hope you do too (: Don't give up on the story please! Lots of Love and Patience...xoxo angie
"Time's up Fang! It is time we take matters into our own hands."
I looked around to meet every pair of eyes that emerged from inside the bushes. I tried to catch Fang's eye and my gut churned when I noticed his usually controlled expression was now anxious and grim. Ari removed himself from the rest of them and made a motion with his hands that immediately had the others circle us. Each of them moving, following his command and closing in on us from all sides.
From here I could see Sam hovering close to me. He didn't look any different than last time, but his features were harder and edging on abnormal, which was freaky. He felt my gaze on him because he turned his head and gave me a twisted smile. I glared at him in return and he paused, cocked his head to the side and edged closer to me.
I warned him with my eyes to stay away and balled my hands into fists once he totally ignored my warning and came closer anyway. Looking amused, he kneeled in front of me and harshly cupped my chin in his big, rough hand. I tried not to cringe when I felt his long nails press against my cheek and his cold stare rake over my features.
I considered my options quickly; we were outnumbered by these strong, mean-looking men who were now surrounding every possible escape we had. If I fought dear Sam here, Fang and I were screwed. If I didn't fight him he would feel free to toss me around like a bitch, which was so not happening. So instead of fighting him I did something very childish, but still effective. I aimed and spit up at him, getting him directly in the face.
He let out an infuriated cry and let go of me, angrily wiping his face with his hands. Eyes flashing, he bared his teeth and barreled toward me, lifting his hand to slap me. I knew we'd be dead if I fought him so I closed my eyes and prepared myself to take the hit.
It never came.
I opened my eyes to see Sam being thrown to the hard ground by a furious looking Fang. He was standing up, his eyes darker than usual, with a fury I had never seen before, his black wings making him look like the angel of death, dark and mysterious. His composed façade was long gone and instead it was replaced by a look meant to kill.
Sam snarled menacingly at Fang and sprang up, lunging at Fang. Even though Sam was quick, Fang was quicker. He met Sam mid-way and grabbed his neck, tackling him and effectively throwing him to the hard ground, making Sam's breath leave in a whoosh.
"Leave Max out of this!" Fang told him, arms around his neck.
Growls resonated from several heads, each one of them very animalistic and really bloodcurdling. Some of them deeper than the others but all of them throaty and menacingly low. I could sense their eagerness and their want to step into the fight, which was very wrong and disturbing, but they were obviously waiting for Ari's signal to step in.
An annoying, bitter laugh echoed throughout the cliff, making our heads turn.
Ari had been watching the whole scene, amusement coloring his face. He motioned for Sam to stand up and with a snarl he rose. Moving to stand beside Ari, he looked at Fang with pure hatred and when he met my gaze, his hands trembled and a shudder dispersed throughout his entire body.
Ari shook his head from side to side and let out another annoying laugh, one that I recognized as his frustrating, signature laugh. He edged around Sam and moved closer to Fang, beginning to pace and creating semicircles around him.
"I'm surprised to hear you say that Fang." Ari said, faking surprise. "After all, you were the one who brought her into this."
"Shut up!" Fang yelled at him, hands clenched by his sides.
"No Fangy let me finish. Don't tell me you've decided to elude your mission? You didn't expect it to get so hard, did you?" Ari's mocking voice resonated in the otherwise quiet night and all the other men laughed cynically at Fang.
Ari's face sobered and he raised his hand, immediately silencing all the scornful laughs. He cracked his knuckles and stopped pacing. Getting all in Fang's face, he dropped his voice, to a steady, dead whisper.
"Let's get on with it already, bird boy? I'm tired of being patient."
His eyes raked over me, staring at me like I was some stray dog, his gaze set and determined. I was about to give him a piece of my mind but the other guys stepped behind him defensively, impatient and eager, making me reconsider. I took half steps back and Fang moved in front of me, protectively, possessively, ready to snap anyone who got in his way. He looked pointedly at Ari and spoke loud enough for all of them to hear.
"I don't give a damn about Jeb's orders. Nobody tells me what to do." Fang's face was set and determined. His voice iced filled but quiet, deadly quiet.
I had been wondering what Fang's mission possibly was. I'd been thinking about Jeb's orders ever since the other night but I'd just cast the thought aside and gave it no mind. My initial reaction had been to ignore the matter and focus on the actual happenings, dealing with the consequences later, but now Jeb's mission was apparently the big shit and it irked me, not knowing what was happening.
"What the hell is this mission everyone's talking about?"I finally asked impatiently, without thinking about it.
For a minute there was absolute silence, no one said anything. Ari looked expectantly at Fang, raising an eyebrow in a quiet challenge. Fang's face turned toward mine and his eyes were apologetic and chagrined. His hands unclenched and his hollow gaze met mine.
He kept silent and I searched his face for answers I knew weren't really there, but since I'm no bimbo I understood. He'd been telling me all along but I'd been too blinded to even notice it.
Ari wanted me, for a reason beyond my knowledge. I already knew that. What shocked me was how it wasn't Ari's doing all along. Fang was the one who was supposed to turn me in all along. I would've denied it thoroughly if it wasn't for the fact he was looking at me so repentantly, so ruefully. The guy I thought I could trust completely was quietly telling me I was his mission all along.
It all clicked together like a missing piece to a puzzle. All the things I'd been too dumb to notice, all the signs and all the little details. Fang's mysterious arrival, the growls, being followed, how he appeared to like me from the start, how he seemed to care for me all the time; images of Fang played in my head like flashbacks. All I could think about was Fang, Fang, Fang…
It all sounded so wrong and twisted and so right it made me sick. Everything clicked so nicely, I had to force myself to breathe. I didn't know why these creatures wanted me, I just knew they did. I didn't care why they did and I wouldn't hang here 'till I figured it out.
I took half steps back, and met Fang's empty gaze with my hurt one before glaring at all of them. It was wrong of me to think I could figure out this people, they were all involved with each other, as much as Fang had denied it. I didn't know in what I believed anymore. I didn't know how, I just knew that if I didn't get away from all of them, I'd be toast.
I took quick steps back but during my epiphany I'd forgot about our current situation and ran smack into a strong, very bare chested dude. Looking up I saw a hard face staring at me and felt two arms yank me roughly and turn me around, holding me rooted to the spot.
Smart Max; place yourself in your enemy's hands!
Grimly, I focused on Ari. He was looking at me, his triumphant face making him look very handsome but very cold. I snarled at him and the arms around me tightened, warning, restraining, restricting. Out of the corner of my eyes Fang was visibly angry that this dude had me but his face had lost his anxiousness and now remained impassive.
"Just let her go!" Fang turned to Ari, getting all in his face. "Screw the mission!"
"Tsk. Tsk. No can do, Fang-o you know how much Jeb wants her. Imagine what will happen if he doesn't get what he wants."Ari said faking regret, his face wistful and longing as if he was excited at the prospect of Jeb coming.
Fang gritted his teeth visibly at Ari's words and his eyes looked troubled. He looked frantically at me, and shook his head briefly, unreceptively. With that simple gesture I understood that time really was out, and that I really had no clue of what I could do to get out the situation.
Ari watched our exchange amusedly; he lifted his hand and caressed Fang's hair, as if Fang was a little boy in need of consolation. Then he looked at both of us and said:
"Let's get this over with! I'm tired of waiting!"
Before anyone could react, before I even understood what was happening, Ari had lunged himself at me, lifting me off the ground and over his back in a matter of seconds. He was really tall and very strong, all muscle and shoulder. I knew he could snap me in half any minute, but that didn't stop me from fighting him.
I screamed and started punching his back, trashing in his arms. Kicking everywhere I could reach and cursing him and everything I could think of. His long nails dug into my skin, and it made me fight harder, pulling and yanking harshly at his hair. His surprisingly looking smooth skin was actually really callus and hard, which made me think I wasn't hurting him at all.
When I was little I used to beat up kids all the time in school. Anyone who ever got in my way knew I was no little sissy. I used to fight for myself and I'd defend myself, but those kids I'd fought with were nothing compared to Ari. Still I wouldn't make it any easier for him.
Ari ran with me on his backside toward the edge of the cliff and like only some psycho would, he leaped off it, jumping through the sky with a force no man would have mustered and for like the second time today I screamed, preparing myself to spiral toward my death. At that moment I forgot all about my hatred toward Ari, I hung on to him for dear life, hoping I'd be able to kick his ass later.
Preparing himself to land on the other side of a cliff I hadn't seen before, he kept his hold on me and extended his legs in front of us, like he was getting ready to jump on a trampoline. I thought our landing was going to be bone shattering, and we'd end up like human jell-o but I only heard a thump when Ari's feet touched the ground.
"Let me go already!" I was starting to hyperventilate, who survives a jump like that and lives to tell the tale?
Ari didn't say anything and kept running. Before he could jump from this cliff too, something hard collapsed against us; making him loose his solid hold on me and making me fly and crash into some firm, solid rocks.
I looked up and ignoring the pain, hunkered down behind them. The moon shone, illuminating the scene clearly. Fang had tackled Ari and they were both rolling around in the ground. If you'd look at it, you'd think they were little siblings playing together, like they usually did in mud puddles. But with Ari's hands on Fang's neck you'd think otherwise.
Fang spun and Ari lost his hold on him, giving Fang a chance to knee him in the gut. Then Fang jumped and hovered in the air, having the advantage of his powerful wings. Then the most bizarre, nerve wrecking thing I'd ever witnessed happened. I knew Ari was never an ordinary guy but I'd never seen something like this in my life. One minute I was seeing a murderous looking Ari charging Fang and the next he wasn't Ari anymore.
Ari's features transformed completely. His body was trembling and shuddering so hard you'd think he was having an attack or something. In a process that looked almost painful, his arms and legs grew harrier and coat of fur took their place. His already long looking nails grew and his hands and feet changing into big, meaty paws. His face lost its handsomeness and his perfect white teeth, transformed into canines, flashing and deadly.
The Ari wolf growled ferociously and jumped in the air meeting Fang, where both of them fought, semi airborne due to Ari's lack of wings. I blinked twice trying to get my eyes to believe what I was seeing. I'd questioned my sanity once I saw Fang's wings but I knew for sure I'd lost it now that I saw Ari transforming right before my eyes.
Ari leaped once again and bit Fang, his canines ripping his pants and leaving parallel cuts in his thighs. Fang grimaced slightly but he flew higher and then he swooped down, with incredible speed, feet in front and crashed against Ari, hurtling all his weight at him. And then both of them were tumbling, fighting, punching. Canines against fists and paws against feet.
It would have been a great show, if it weren't for the fact it was Fang fighting something straight out of hell. I was so concentrated on their fight I didn't once give a thought to the other wolf guys, so it was right when I was deciding whether to intervene in their fight or not that I felt a hand on my mouth and I realized too late the hairs on the back of my neck were rising.
I screamed but it was muffled by the hand and when I felt hands lift me, just like Ari had done I bit the guy's hand and grabbed a hold of his long hair and pulled so hard I thought I'd rip half his head. The guy cried out and dropped me. I scrambled up but another dude caught hold of me, this time lifting me up by the legs, like I was a captured pig or turkey.
Being upside down had its advantages though, I punched him hard, where the sun don't shine and he screamed and threw me against the rocks behind us. I gasped when I hit their jagged, sharp surface and I knew I had a bunch of scratches and bruises from them. I tried to crawl to my feet but once I did I had to suck in a breath. And then I winced, even breathing hurt.
Someone grabbed my feet and threw me down to the hard ground. I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming in agony, when the cold my back made contact with the floor. Then I was being kicked, dragged and pushed by all of them. Someone grabbed me by the arms and hauled me up, like a little doll and turned me to look at him.
Sam's teeth flashed in the night, exposing a pair of semi- developed canines, his nails pressing against my skin made me realize he was in the verge of changing. His enraged expression confirmed it. He let go of one of my arms and he lifted his hand and slapped me, raking his nails across my cheek and leaving it stinging.
"Enough! Try to escape now!" Sam spat, hands trembling.
Something hit my head hard and the last thing I remember was Sam's cold smile before everything blacked out.
QUESTION: Do you want the flock to appear in this story or just Max and Fang? 'cause in the next chapter we'll see THE SCHOOL *dum dum dum* hahaha okay so REVIEW! and tell me 'cause I'll update the faster you review! AGAIN: Review =P