As Winter fell asleep in Riven's arms, Ted immediately pressed a button attached to the bottom of the counter. His eyes were filled with both fear and anger. Not once had Winter ever dropped a glass, nor would ever be caught passing out after one drink. Gritting his teeth, Ted unhooked a shotgun from the bottom of the counter and trained the barrel at the mysterious woman.
"Lady, you better let her go and walk away while you still have a chance." His husky voice held a threatening chill, glancing between Winter and the woman.
Riven sighed and slowly laid Wolf down onto the wet floor. Though she wanted to move her immediately, the sudden surge of Mana in the air warned her that many people were currently gathering.
"I knew that man had people everywhere, but to think he would had set up an array outside of his own territory." Riven sighed as she charged her own Mana.
Dropping her disguise, the clothes she wore suddenly turned to shreds to reveal her thin, curvy figure. The only cloth covering her body was a thin black dress that complimented the midnight black feathers that ran down her arms and legs. Her bare feet tapped on the broken glass and spilt beer on the ground as she turned around to face the man.
"Hark, human. Should you fire that barbaric weapon, I will not hesitate to kill you. I'm only here to assist my Mistress as ordered, I mean her no harm." Riven said as she flexed her wrists, some of her feathers dropping themselves from her arms to stick between her fingers.
"I don't give a damn who you are. Step away from Winter and drop your weapons!" Ted shouted at Riven, hoping the noise will wake the sleeping woman up.
As Ted glanced back down at Winter, Riven raised her left arm and released the feathers. Each feather raced at Ted, one cutting the back of Ted's right hand and another embedded itself into his left wrist. The feather that cut his hand then embedded itself into his right shoulder while the last caught the collar of the man's shirt and forced him back against the shelves behind him. The shotgun had barely touched the ground below him as he shouted, the feather holding him against the wall and his right arm going limp.
Just as she attacked him, a group of people in black suits rushed through the door. The Mana Riven felt from a few of them caused her to draw more feathers and take a stance to face them. Her eyes scanned the new numbers, focusing on those that were actively using Mana as she planned an attack.
"ENOUGH!" A shout came from the door, a sudden rush of Mana filled the room and brought a cold sweat down Riven's back. She knew immediately who it was and knew she stood no chance against him currently. Swallowing her pride, she glared at the door and lowered herself to cover Winter as best she could.
Her heart beat loud in her ears, yet the footsteps outside the door thumped much louder. Every instinct told her to leave, but she could not carry her Mistress and defend her at the same time. As the man walked through the door, she gripped the feathers and prepared to defend herself.
"That's enough, Harpy. I know you mean my daughter no harm as her guardian, so focus on circulating her Mana." Cameron F. Magister said as he held up his hand and stared Riven down. "We will discuss your sudden intrusion at a later time."
"You have no right to claim my Mistress as your daughter, Victor Frankenstein." Riven hissed at him, refusing to call back her feathers.
"It will be best if you do not speak out of turn, girl. I have allowed you to approach my daughter as you were meant to, but I will not listen to the words of someone who has not learned the truth." Cameron said as he held up two fingers and turned his hand.
As he did, the feathers that were embedded in Ted were forced to return to Riven, making the man groan and fall into the waiting arms of a woman and man dressed in black suits. They immediately began treatement by covering the cuts in Mana to heal him. The feathers that were returned to Riven instead held in the air at her neck and face, still dripping with fresh blood.
"You will be explaining what you mean, Victor." Riven growled as she called her feathers back, attaching them back onto her arms.
"I would worry more about my daughter. Should she fail in her Awakening, you will be held accountable." Cameron said before snapping his fingers.
Everyone began moving at once, most rushing out to prepare the vehicles while some went to Winter's side and covered her in Mana. As it was bad to move her to much, they instead used the basic Levitation Spell to lift the woman up and slowly walk her outside.
"Were you followed, Raven?" Cameron asked as Riven passed him.
"I've dealt with the ones that meant my Mistress harm along the way. I cannot there is no one else." Riven spoke through her teeth as she walked out.
Cameron sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was then that John walked in and stood behind Cameron at attention.
"Strengthen the array. I want hourly updates from everyone on duty and a constant rotation of those empowering the array. Use any resource you need." Cameron sighed as he held his hands behind his back and looked over the destroyed bar.
"As you wish, Master." John said as he dropped his head in a bow before turning back out of the building.
It was then that a woman stepped up next to him and held up a phone. "Madam is calling, she has just landed at the airport."
Cameron then gave a warm smile and nodded, gently taking the phone from the woman and bringing the phone up to his head. "Hello, my love. It seems you were right on the money once again."
"I'll be there with Devon soon. Is the Guardian worthy?" A gentle voice asked in a threatening tone.
"Only time will tell, love. We can only hope she is accepted by our daughter. Is everything ready on your end?"
"I've gathered everyone I could. It's a small force, but they should help our daughter adjust to her new life."
"We must meet every need she has. With her personality, she will want to learn more than what we can teach her." Cameron chuckled as he shook his head.
"She will definitely have more fun than at school, that's for sure." The woman on the other end gave her own chuckle. "Devon has also put together a little gift for her, considering what will happen later."
"I'm sure she will be fine, you know how level headed our daughter can be." He replied as he stepped out of the building to meet the line of black SUV's, a door already opened by one of the guards to allow him in.
"Are we sure she will be alright? It's already bad enough she's-"
"Amare*, it will be fine. We've trained her as much as we could. All we can do now is trust that she will make it through and be there when she wakes up." Cameron soothed his worried wife as he stepped into the vehicle. As the door closed behind him, he gave the driver a nod that called for them to start moving.
"Of course, my love. I will see you soon, I love you." The woman sighed before ending the call.
Cameron then sighed and leaned his head back against the seat. As he closed his eyes, he grit his teeth and did his best to contain his fear and anger. Even though he soothed his wife, he was far from being steady himself. Still, he could only hope that his daughter will overcome this trial and not lose herself.
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Fog held heavy all around, colored in a dark red like blood weaving through the air. The ground wasn't any better. Instead of the wood she had past out on, Wolf found herself laying in a pool of reddish liquid. Even the clothes she had worn before had completely left her in this dreamscape, leaving her naked and cold.
With a groan, Winter sat up and held her head. This wasn't the first time she'd had this kind of dream, but it had never been so vivid as it was now. At least back then she wore some simple clothes, but now that her pale flesh was exposed, it felt much closer to a nightmare.
"Christ on a stick, the hell's happening this time?" She grumbled as she slowly stood up.
Though she was lying in the water, not a single drop held onto her flesh. She looked down at herself to see if there were any injuries, but found that not even a bruise was found. Sighing, she placed a hand on her shoulder and looked around.
"Alright, which bastard is it this time, huh?" She shouted into the mists, her voice echoing in response. "You flea-bitten bastards better not try any of your tricks like last time."
As she spoke, several dark figures began to appear in the fog. She immediately recognized them as the Wolves that would appear occasionally in her dreams. Each was was very large like a timber wolf, but there was one that stuck out more compared to the rest. Seeing this one, she spat at the ground and glared at them.
"So you're here this time. Don't think tearing me apart again will be go so well." Winter growled at the largest wolf and took a stance.
Ever since she was 21, the same dream would haunt her at least once a month. At first she thought it was just a nightmare. Yet, as the dreams kept persisting, she found something was off about it. Every time she found herself here, she would he attacked by one or two brightly colored wolves. She could never understand the significance, just happy that she didn't have the same injuries in the real world as compared to here. The first time was a real nightmare, having lost her ankle and had her neck bitten by the largest one without warning.
"Princess of the Moon, it is almost time." A voice called out from the largest wolf. As he spoke, the rest of the wolves sat down and watched her.
Each wolf was a different color, ranging like the colors of the rainbow with many more ontop of that. She recognized the black and light blue coated wolves as the ones that tormented her the most in the past. The pink one was there every dream to lick her wounds and heal them after each fight. The yellow one was about as dangerous as the orange one, while the red one between them never one stepped up. The violet, grey, green, and brown wolves were her least favorite, even compared to the pure white one that tore her apart the first time. They each took their time in wearing her down with cuts and bites like they were just toying with her. Unlike the black, red and white wolf, she had barely managed to take down all of them in previous dreams.
"What, you want me to fight all of you at once?" Winter asked as she got down on one knee, gesturing for the pink wolf to come to her.
The wolf seemed quite happy, trotting over with a wag of his tail. As it approached, it nuzzled its head into Winter's hand and licked her face.
"Though I'm glad you two have a good connection, another has already been chosen by him." The white wolf spoke with a sigh.
Winter then raised her brow as she looked over at the others, petting the pink wolf and gently squeezing the beans on his paw. "Wait, so you aren't trying to kill me this time?"
"We will not be having that kind of trial this Moon. This time, you must take your form as what you truly are."
"You're saying this like I'm not even human." Winter sighed as she sat down, letting the pink wolf rest its head in her lap.
"This is correct. You are not a lowly human. You are much more than that, Princess." The white wolf spoke as it slowly made its way towards her.
"Will you finally tell me what all of this Princess of the Moon business is about then?" She glared the wolf down and tensed her body.
"As I've said before, it is not our right to tell you about your past. The only one with the true right has already found you."
"What, you mean that beauty? Riven?"
"Indeed, she will be your Guardian until you can stand as you should." The wolf said as it sat a few meters from her.
"Maybe she can at least talk to me without any of your cryptic mumbo-jumbo." Winter sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, a habit she picked up from her father. "Alright, might as well ask, what's with this choice bullshit you are talking about?"
The wolf then nodded to the rest of the pack, making them step forward and sit in a tighter circle around the woman. It was then that she realized more shadows sat in the mists further away. There were easily over a hundred different figures, all of them being wolves of different sizes.
"Tonight, you will be bestowed with your coat. No two coats are ever the same. Which coat you choose will decide your path, so take your time to decide." The white wolf's voice boomed, causing the mists to disappear. Even if there was no light, the figures could still be seen clearly.
As Winter looked among the various wolves around her, she could see them disappearing one by one. This lasted for several minutes, until only five wolves sat infront of her.
The first was a Tibetan Wolf. It's face was lined with black fur that blended along its muzzle with the brown and white complexions that seemed to form a rather dangerous mask. The rest of its short fur was lined similarly like its face, but it's rather bushy tail was mainly tanned with the regular black ink dipping at the tip of the tail.
Next was a British Columbia Wolf. It's light black fur caked it's entire body, showing off its domineering presence over the others. It was much larger than the Tibetan Wolf and held an eerie darkness about it that matched its fur. Unlike the Tibetan Wolf, it's fur was a little longer all around while it's tail was quite average.
Next was a Maned Wolf. It's larger ears and lengthy legs immediately caught Wolf's eye. Where it's legs were a deep black, it's inner ear fur was a light grey surrounded by a sunset orange that wrapped around its entire body. Unlike the other wolves, it's tail was streaked with a white that ran up almost to the base of its tail. The black fur melding with the tan on its muzzle almost made it look like it was smiling.
Next was a Greenland Wolf. It's white fur was underlined with black blemish, making it look almost grey like the British Columbia Wolf. There was also a hint of yellow on the tips of its fur to that would help it hide among the snow from its prey. There wasn't much to say about this wolf save for its size, but it's presence was not to be ignored for sure.
Last was a wolf she'd only seen in museums, a Dire Wolf. It was much larger compared to the rest of the wolves, and held a longer coat as well. It was a brownish-tan all around with the tips of the longer fur around its chest holding specks of black. It was a marvel to see something that was extinct to be infront of her now, but there was something off about it. The wolf felt more ethereal compared to the rest, which was a little unsettling to her.
"These pelts have chosen to step up and test you. If you manage to suppress the one of your choosing, you will wear their pelt." The white wolf's voice called from all around, making Winter stand up slowly to stretch.
"And if I fail?" She asked as she looked between all of the wolves.
"Then they shall wear you instead."
"So basically, beat the one I like or die trying." She sighed as she scratched the back of her head. Once more, she felt her scars burning like when Riven touched them, making her feel uncomfortable.
She gave a sigh and took a few steps forward to stand in the middle of all of them. She eyed each wolf carefully and weighed her options. Sure, she had always been a fan of wolves, but all of these wolves are ones she'd never met in person besides the Dire Wolf, and that species has long been extinct.
After a while, her eyes fell on the Maned Wolf. There was a mysterious energy around it like all the others, but it felt much more comfortable compared to them. As she stared it down, the rest of the wolves bowed their heads and disappeared one by one.
"Is this pelt to your liking then?" The voice asked from behind her.
"You could say that. She just feels...I don't know, more welcoming compared to the rest if you?" Wolf retorted as she turned around and glared at the white wolf that was sitting a ways away.
A chuckle was heard as the wolf wagged its tail a bit. "You know well that we are a prideful race, something you will have to learn to be as well."
"There's a difference between having pride and being a psychopath, you blood thirsty prick." She clicked her tongue, shivering a little as she remembered their first interaction again.
"Please forgive me. This has always been our way in training a new host." The white wolf bowed it's head as it spoke.
"Yeah yeah. After I complete this, will I be seeing you again?" She asked as she turned back to the Maned Wolf. It had already taken a few steps back and began to side-step around her, eyeing her like any predator would.
"Until you have complete control, you will be seeing us often. Do not forget. This time, you will not have a second chance." The voice began to fade away, leaving Winter alone with the Maned Wolf. She could see the drool dropping from its maw, making her swallow and take a deep breath.
"Great, just another damned blood bath huh?" She breathed as she got into a stance, following the circling steps her new opponent took.