Dylan
Blood.
Blood everywhere.
It was all around and it covered everything.
Unsure if I was covered in it, or if it was coming from me, I tried my best not to look down.
The rusty smell was all around me and it was consuming my thoughts. I was trying to look around and figure out where I was, but nothing looked familiar, not the trees, or the ground, or even the sky.
I knew that I needed to try to figure out where I was so I was about to take a step to go and look around, when I realized that I couldn't move.
Looking down suddenly, I realized a few things. One was that I was in fact covered in blood, but the other was that I was not in my own body.
Somehow I was standing in the body of a large silver wolf. Shock filled me and I immediately started calling out for Rae, but there was nothing there.
No bond.
No tether to the life that I was so used to being connected to.
Fear began to build and I could feel the chest of the body that I was in rise and fall quickly, but I couldn't wrap my head around what was going on.
If I was in the body of a wolf I should be able to link with them right? I began to try to speak aloud, but when no words came out I felt the fear inside of me double.
This can't be happening! I thought to myself as I tried to force myself to calm down. There had to be a logical explanation for what was happening.
Looking around the area I stood in, I searched to see if there were any signs of someone else who might be near me that I could try to talk to, but there was no one else around.
Even though the smell of the blood was so strong, I tried to use my nose to scent the area around me and see if I could pick up traces of, well, of anything.
At first it was hard to get past the blood. The strong metallic scent was domineering and I was about to give up, when a cool breeze swept through the trees and I was able to pick up something else.
Too bad that the new smell was hardly any better than the blood. Smoke and ash was wafting through the breeze and with the new smell came new fears.
Not only did I not know where I was, or who the hell this wolf was, but I was not able to communicate with it or make it or myself move.
For a second I thought that maybe I had died and been reincarnated into another body, but wouldn't that mean that I would have been reborn as a baby or something.
Gods, I really need to stop reading all of those web stories about the villains and heroins who get reborn again to have a second chance to re-do their lives.
I just needed to take a step back, figuratively, since I couldn't move, and try to figure out what was going on.
What was the last thing that I remembered?
Odd that no matter how hard I tried to think about it, I couldn't recall anything before I opened my eyes here, but I knew that I didn't belong, well, wherever I am.
A part of me felt something, a little sensation that what I was thinking was right, but I just couldn't pull up any memories to go off of.
Suddenly, I heard a voice, but it wasn't from around me, it was in me, like the way that Rae would speak to me when I was in my mortal form.
"Where are they?"
There, that's it. I knew of Rae and I knew that she was my wolf, but right now, in this place, I am the wolf and the voice inside of my head seemed to be my human counterpart.
I was about to answer them, ask them who they were? Who it was that they were searching for? Where in the Gods only know we are?
But, before I had the opportunity to say anything another voice, a familiar voice echoed through my mind, but it wasn't talking to me.
"I'm not sure little one, but we can try to find them if you'd like."
That voice.
The way that it was speaking to the other one.
It was Rae, I was sure of it, but I couldn't wrap my head around what was really happening.
How is it that I knew her and nothing else? Not where I am, how I got here, where I was before this, but I know her.
As soon as I finished my little rant, the other voice spoke again and as I listened things were starting to make a bit of sense, but I was still missing some information.
"Can you even move Draea, you've lost so much blood already, I don't want anything to happen to you."
Even though I didn't know who this was, I could tell that they loved their wolf, and while they wanted her to go and find someone, they were afraid for her.
But if this wolf is Draea, how can I be confusing her for Rae. I mean, their names did sound similar, but this wolf was silver where Rae was a dark reddish brown, there is no way that these two wolves could be one in the same.
Waiting to see what this wolf would say to, I'm assuming to be their human, I noticed, that what I had thought were my own actions and observations were not.
When the wolf moved her head and looked to the side I hadn't thought it, or even considered to will her to move.
As Draea answered, I felt her stand to her feet and reply, "You are my main concern, and they are yours. We need to find them and see what is left."
It was so odd that I could see, hear, feel, and smell everything, but this wolf and her human could neither hear me or speak to me.
If this was a dream, this was probably one of the absolute weirdest and most vivid dreams that I've ever had.
Now nightmares, those were another story. The nightmares that plagued me were as intense as the movies that were supposed to represent the all hallows eve, and those were almost as gruesome.
As soon as the wolf started to move, I noticed immediately that there was something really wrong with her.
There was a significant limp that was so noticeable and I knew that if they had to walk like that, then they must be in incredible pain.
The voice came through again and I received immediate confirmation of my previous thoughts.
"Draea, please. I can feel how badly you are wounded. Do not push yourself much further. I can not loose you to," she told her wolf and the agony in her voice was almost too much for me to bear hearing.
What had happened here?
Where are they?
With no way to ask them, I knew that my only choice was to wait and see how this was going to play out.
The wolf Draea was panting roughly and though she still stood on all fours, I wasn't sure if she was even able to go any further.
All of that blood must have been from her as I had originally thought. but, if that much blood had come from her, how was she still moving? Better yet, who had done this to her?
Gods how I wish that I could just ask them what the hell was going on!
"Anitza, I will do all that I can to find them for you, but I have to tell you. You do not have much time left. I'm so sorry! I should have forced a shift sooner!"
The sorrow and despair that this woman, Anitza, felt was filling me. I could feel them. Both of them. I was inside this wolf and somehow had the ability to feel them both.
Pain, despair, sorrow, regret. All of those feelings were so overwhelming, but I knew that it was coming from both of them.
Gods, if this woman was the one who had been wounded, and this was her blood and not the wolf Draea's blood then she was right. The human may not have much time left.
"How," the woman said with a chuckle that I knew didn't stem from happiness or joy, "can you blame yourself when I couldn't even reach you. The poison had done something to break our bond and there is nothing you could have done Draea."
Somehow a part of me knew that a human could live without their wolf, it would be painful, but it was possible. I had no clue though if a wolf would survive without their human counterpart.
We were bonded by the Gods. Our perfect match, the piece that not only fit, but complimented our soul. That is what our wolves were to those of us who were blessed with this ability.
The bond that we shared with our wolves benefited us both. As humans we could get strength and energy from our wolves, and they in turn were able to communicate and live in a world outside of that of an animal.
Our bonds brought so much more than just strength though. Our bonds were those of love, companionship, and a connection that you shared with no other in the whole world.
It seems like the more information that I was getting, the more confused I was about the situation I had somehow found myself in.
"We never should have trusted him," Draea growled, "this is all his fault! He planned this from the very beginning! That greedy bastard!"
The woman seemed to be trying to soothe Draea because I could feel warmth pulsing through this body as if the woman Anitza was trying to ease both the physical and emotional pain that her wolf was experiencing.
A bond between a human and their wolf is so special. The bond that I have with Rae was probably one of the most precious things in the world to me, but witnessing this bond, first hand, was something I will always treasure.
What I began to wonder though, was what would happen to me if either of them died right now.
Would I wake up back wherever it was that I was from?
Was I dead and my spirit just somehow ended up here?
I was caught off guard when the three of us suddenly heard a voice calling out in the distance.
"Anitza! Draea! Where are you?"
So there was someone else around, too bad it seemed that Draea didn't have the energy to move towards them.
"Draea, you need to let me shift back so that he can find me. If I only have a little time left I want to spend it with him."
Her words broke my heart. Whoever this person was that was coming this way and looking for them, must not have the ability to link with Draea. That meant that they were either from another pack or, could they be human?
It's not common for wolves and humans to mate or fall in love with each other, but it has happened. I mean not that I knew of any cases first hand, but a part of me knew it to be true.
Weird how I knew things and remembered things, except about Rae or myself. Oh well, that didn't matter right now. I wanted to see what would happen next.
For a moment I could feel Draea struggling with the wishes of her human, and I could feel the sorrow that was already filling her, but I knew that she was going to give her what she wanted.
The voice called out again, and I could tell that it was coming from a man. "Nitza, Draea, please let me know if you are here!"
"I'm so sorry little one," Draea cried out softly as I felt her give over to the shift.
For some reason, the shift from wolf to human form was taking much longer than I thought it should and I wasn't sure if it was due to the amount of blood loss, or what strength and energy that they both had left.
Unsure of how it happened, I was suddenly looking at a beautiful white haired woman sitting on the ground. She was covered in blood and she seemed pale.
How had I gone from being inside the wolf with her, to suddenly looking over at her.
Trying to look around, I noticed that I was still in the body of the silver wolf.
How had this happened?
Whoever this woman was, when she had shifted into her human form, she had somehow separated herself from her wolf's physical form.
I could hear Draea's thoughts and feel her despair, but even though she regretted everything that was happening, she knew that this is what her human had wanted.
She sat sitting a ways away from her next to a tree and watched the woman struggle for a moment.
Draea contemplated going over to her and helping her, but just as soon as the thought entered her head, the woman shot a look in her direction.
NO, she mouthed to her while she shook her head softly.
Anitza smiled at her and for a moment, with tears filling her dark blue eyes, my heart felt like I couldn't take this anymore, but then she turned her head away and called out, "I'm here Gideon."
"Nitza, tell me where you are," the voice called to her more urgently now that he had heard her.
"I'm here Gideon, follow my voice."
Gods, her voice was just as beautiful as she was, and even though all of the blood I could see that she was gorgeous. She looked like a fairytale goddess.
Loud and clumsy foot falls were starting to come closer and Draea just sat there and continued to watch her human as she sat waiting for the person who was obviously headed in this direction, to find her.
Other noises were starting to fill the air. It sounded like alarms or sirens of some kind and they sounded either muffled or very far off.
The smells of blood and smoke, and earth were the only things that I could scent, but I still had no idea where we were.
In less than a minute a tall blonde haired man stumbled through the trees. He corrected himself quickly and when his eyes landed on the woman a few yards ahead of him, he sprinted for her.
"Nitza! Goodness, I didn't think that I would find you, I thought that he had killed you!"
The moment the last of his words were out, he immediately started to cry because I was sure that realization had probably started to set in.
Even though she was still alive, he could see how much blood was all over her and even he could tell that she probably didn't have much time left.
"No," he yelled as he reached her and wrapped his arms around her. "You're gonna be alright. I'll get help! Someone can come and help you! I just need you to hold on a big longer!"
From where we stood, I couldn't see the man's face, but I could see hers and while there was no fear, there was also no hope there.
Slowly, she raised one hand up and brushed it along his back. It seemed as if each stroke of her hand across his back wrenched more sobs and tears from him and she seemed to be trying to soothe and comfort him now.
"You found me Gideon. We are here, together, and we have this time together. It's more than what I could have asked for," she whispered to him as she continued touching him as best she could.
The blonde man pushed himself back slowly, but didn't remove his hands from her shoulders. "How can you say that, we still have something to live for," he said through soft sobs.
Anitza smiled up at him, and she rubbed that same hand that had been on his back, across his cheek. "Gavin is gone, and Gabriel, he will be safe. I can leave to be with him as long as I know you will keep Gabriel safe."
Her words seemed to hurt him further. "I can not live in a world that you no longer exist in. You are the part of my soul I never knew was missing. You are the best parts of me."
Leaning in, they kissed each other so passionately that I wished there was something I could do to help them, but as I watched them embracing each other, something else came into the little space that they were sitting in.
A large black wolf was slinking towards them and when Draea saw him, she tried her best to move forward, but she had no strength left, so she let out a soft howl.
Both figures turned first towards Draea, then in the opposite direction to the approaching figure. The wolf was massive, and if it's jet black coloring wasn't ominous enough, the soft growls and snarls it was making made it seem terrifying.
The man tried to block the woman with his body, and though he was yelling obscenities at the wolf, it was clear that he was shaking even from over here.
Draea seemed so desperate to move, but the separation from her human had taken what little strength she had. The woman Anitza, spoke to the wolf over the mans shoulder.
"I'm already dying, what more do you want from me. Just let us have this moment alone you monster."
The massive wolf seemed to enjoy her words because it appeared to be grinning, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it suddenly launched itself at them.
No match for him, the wolf took down the blonde man, Gideon, so quickly that if I would have blinked, I would have missed how he snapped his neck.
A scream of pure pain came from the woman as she watched on in horror, but just as the wolf threw the now limp body to the side, the woman, Anitza, lifted her other hand and pressed something shiny and glittery to her chest.
The wolf saw a bit too late, and before he could knock her hand away from her, she smiled up at him and pressed the blade deep into her chest.
I watched on as she crawled forward slightly and laid her body over the now still blonde man. Whatever the black wolf wanted, he must not have gotten because he let out a loud growl that sounded almost like a roar, and turned to run back into the woods.
Unable to fully grasp everything that I just witnessed, I hadn't noticed, when the voice of Draea called out to me. It wasn't until she repeated her words, that I realized that she had truly spoke to me.
"Remember what you have seen here little one, and remember that you are not alone."
Her words were for me, I knew it because there was no other living thing around us and before I had an opportunity to ask her anything, everything faded away into nothingness.