The Beast And The Blessed

Ninety-Four: Natalie

Natalie's P.O.V.

The sound of wolves and other creatures trampling through the forest was oddly quiet. The muffled and skilled footsteps of warriors quickly covering the distance to the mountains felt like the timer of a bomb slowly ticking down to zero.

The humans would be driven in with the other witches, the medical equipment, and the healers later that night. But those that could run did.

A fleet of wolves and Lycans sprinted through the trees like a tidal wave, ready to take down anyone in its path. The council had teleported with Joselin and my mother to their positions to block Talia and her coven of witches from being alerted of our presence before we were ready for them to know of our arrival.

The plan to siphon their magic from them had long been thrown away as it wouldn't do enough damage to be impactful with our limited time. Instead, they masked the enemy, forcing them into a bubble to keep them blind to the outside world. We didn't know how long it would hold, but we hoped it would last through our journey.

We would camp several miles south of them tonight while scouts surveyed the area. At sun-up, we would attack.

My white fur rubbed against Killian's leg for only a moment as we ran before he moved away again. It was like he was working on a timer to brush against me or to have his knuckles touch my back or side every thirty minutes as if he wanted to confirm that I was still here with him and that I hadn't fallen behind.

It was strangely quiet in the pack link. All of their emotions had been pushed down. Killian hadn't entirely placed the wall like he did the last time he was here, but it still felt like there was a thick collection of water between us, muting everything.

I had tried not to focus on those around me. Still, every now and then, I would wonder which one of the wolves running amongst the thousands was my father and if I would even need to decide about meeting him when it was all over. We would both have to survive for that.

A poisonous, almost sour smell made me slow, and the pack followed suit.

Lycans responded in a sort. It was an odd way of communicating. Their primal beasts were talking instead of their

knew what he was saying or if it was just

the noise down.' Killian

settle in for the night while the newcomers like myself stood around

would sleep. I had never run so far or fast in my fur before, and my legs

it had taken all day to get here, and night had fallen hours ago. The good news was that we

that I was relieved that we had an extra day before the battle. It was worrisome that we were so close to our enemies, having no idea how many there were. Still, I would be grateful for every hour our

couldn't expect him to comfort me today. He had

observed our people, taking in every face. It would be the

pack was solemn and on alert, but those that had shifted and changed into the clothes they had around their leg, were laughing and

been in battle before, and it put me at ease knowing that they weren't concerned. They had either accepted their

as she chewed on a stick of dried meat with a smile as she chuckled with her team. I wondered what

what

boisterous group. He was watching me. His dark brown hair was easy to see between the moonlight and the enhanced vision of my

Could it be him?

the man. Whatever he saw, he didn't like. He moved quickly to stand between us, blocking me from the stranger's

wasn't the last I would see of the man. But I knew it was too easy. Too good to

myself for letting my subconscious get the best of me. It wouldn't be surprising if I had even hallucinated the man's features, wanting

back, wanting to see the man again to confirm, but he was