The Wolf's Call to the Moon Ch. 04

That was when his gaze connected with Yuli's.

For a moment, Yuli thought that the Elder was about to berate him for his sudden disappearance. Instead, he gestured to him; pointing to his feet.

They were crushed. Shards of bone had torn through the skin; leaving behind a mangled mess.

It was then that he knew he made the right decision of saving Mallory. If she had truly awakened the Forbidden one, then his only chance at survival was to keep her alive.

Self-preservation.

Another groan came from behind one of the pile of debris. Unlike Jamie, this Elder had his bones fully intact but Yuli could see claw marks around his neck; a chunk savagely slashed off.

Recognising the Elder as Hitori, Yuli figured that he had barely teleported himself out of the danger zone before the entire building caved in on itself. It was a pity that the Elder's teleport capabilities were limited to short distances. His one the other hand - were limitless.

"Yuli..." Jamie croaked; his face straining when he spoke. He gestured to his throat, shook his head and then pushed Yuli in the direction of the tomb. "Check..."

Hell was he going near that thing. It fucking exploded in his face!

Another push; this time harder, insisting that he check out the tomb.

From where he was, the tomb looked untouched. If the Forbidden one had awakened, it surely would have split in half by now.

A loud hiss from Jamie and a final shove had him on his feet, tiptoeing towards the two tombs.

He needs blood to restore himself.

Yuli looked up to see Hitori limping towards him; one palm covering his neck, healing his broken vocal chords.

What the hell happened here?

It tried to kill us to take our blood.

Yuli took a step back.

Don't worry. I've called for reinforcements.

Stealing a glance at Jamie, Hitori then tapped his temple and looked straight at Yuli. The Forbidden one has broken his mind.

What! Why!

The edges of Hitori's lips curled into a wicked grin. Doesn't matter. I need you to destroy and dispose of the second tomb. It is useless to us now.

When Yuli remained rooted, the Elder shook his head and glanced at the shaking tomb. You'd better go before he thirsts for blood again.

Yuli wasn't going to argue with that. Hands firmly on the other tomb, he took a deep breath and allowed his mind to whirl around him.

***

Jean-Pierre had been sneaking around the campus like a thief; his back constantly against the wall and his face hidden in the shadows.

The institute had been issued an alert to clear the premises. An infectious bio threat had been found and it was contaminating the water supply. After some freshmen were found catatonic in their locked dormitories, all students had been given the order to go back home immediately.

Yeah right.

It was for their own safety that the Risen Council had issued the edict in the first place. Risen from all over the world had been flocking to the campus; their presence creating blood lust and feeding frenzy. While the escalating human casualties had caused a temporary panic, the situation had forced the Light Walker students to go into hiding.

Jean-Pierre had no doubts that a very powerful Risen had put that idea into the humans' minds to force them to evacuate.

That only meant one thing.

The Council were gathering.

"I see you've been busy."

Jean-Pierre dropped his phone at the baritone greeting. Cursing under his breath, he turned to face to Risen who ambushed him.

"How'd you track me Yuli? I gave away no scent."

A careless shrug. "I can go to you as long as I can visualise you. Besides, you're dressed as me, that's not hard to miss."

Jean-Pierre narrowed his eyes. "What have you got?"

"The Risen in the tomb has awakened. I'm not allowed to hang around for it to fully rise but I can tell you that was one hell of a powerful being."

"Wait... what are you saying?"

Clamping a hand on his shoulder, Yuli looked straight into the Light Walker's eyes. "Look, you need to get the hell out of here. It is not safe. You felt the tremor earlier? That's just the beginning."

Understanding began to slowly register. "And... what of the other tomb?"

"It has been disposed of."

Eyes bulging out, Jean-Pierre slapped both his palms onto Yuli's shoulder. "No! Why didn't you stop this? Where? Where was it destroyed?"

Yuli felt almost sorry for him. He understood the importance of the other half to the Light Walkers. That tomb was significant to them as the Forbidden one was to the Risen.

But who was he to complain? As the Light Walkers die one by one, this hold they had on him would disappear along with their race.

"I don't know where the Elders took it... But I can help you find out."

Jean-Pierre didn't trust the Risen but what choice did he have? "Fine. And report back to me once you know the identity of the awakened Risen."

Giving the Light Walker one last look, Yuli couldn't help but shiver slightly. "They call him the Forbidden One."

The dark orbs of his eyes became a shadowed mist. Before the Council, the Forbidden One held absolute power over the lands. He could hear every thought, know every desire and feel every ounce of your emotions. But what made him so deadly was his ability to kill a complete stranger - one he' never met or known before even if that person was halfway around the world.

***

Jean-Pierre shielded his eyes as the wisp of smoke thickened around him. Picking up the phone he dropped earlier, he checked for Yuli's current location.

"That's not possible." Tapping the phone on his palm, Jean-Pierre tried to sync it once more. The Risen had just disappeared a second ago. There was no way his tracking location could indicate Myanmar.

No Risen or Light Walker alive ever had the ability to travel across that much space and time.

His device had to be faulty.

"Great," he huffed as he punched in his codes to connect to the Shadow Lords Headquarters.

"Jean-Pierre! What the hell is going on? We've been receiving countless emergency calls and extraction requests all over the country!"

Alkina's piercing commands felt like minute slaps on his face.

"We will need reinforcements, Alphas. I have been too late at stopping the Risen from awakening and his presence has caused a serious lockdown on campus. Students are evacuating in manic."

Jean-Pierre could hear the Alphas murmuring but no one said anything.

"I must insist that the remaining Light Walker students be extracted immediately. Risen are flocking to the scene in numbers and human casualties are increasing. It's only a matter of time before the Risen finds us."

A single bite was instant death for a Light Walker.

"And the casualties?"

Jean-Pierre recognised Alexander's voice.

"The Risen are doing a good job so far of keeping them quarantined." He knew that wasn't the question.

But they all understood that no human could have survived a blood lust gang attack. Those who did, would Rise in a matter of hours.

"And Mallory?"

"She is not my priority at this moment Alpha."

"If she broke that second code as you said then she is the key to reversing this mess. Find her and stay with her."

Before he could reply, Alkina's voice dominated the conversation. "The tomb?"

"It's been destroyed."

"Find it."

"Yes Alphas."

Locking his phone, Jean-Pierre gave a long sigh and started making his way to Mallory's house. He hated impersonating Clay, especially when it demanded that he return the same affections and feelings that Mallory had for him.

Jean-Pierre hated kissing.

The disastrous thought of her lips died at the sight that greeted him. It was like a scene fresh out of a nightmare.

The academics' accommodations were reduced to nothing but rubble; burst water pipes creating faux fountains showering the mess.

Instinctively, he clamoured over the broken cement and metal, searching for the scent of any living being.

"Mallory!"

Clay - the real one - was going to kill him. When it came to mates, pack members were known to go irrational.

Knowing that he didn't have much choices left, Jean-Pierre placed a private call to the only person back at the headquarters that he trusted.

***

Click Clack Click Clack

The sound of heels slapping on the granite floor woke him up from slumber.

Peeling his glued eyes open slowly, Clay came face to face with the buxom blonde.

"Hi."

"Go away."

Sophie stood up and straightened her blouse. "In fact I am. I just... wanted to say goodbye."

She waited a heartbeat for him to catch the bait.

"You're going back to the UK?"

Clay moved his face closer to the metal bars; angling his face upwards to catch a ray of sunlight.

"We've been mobilised. The Shadow Lords are preparing for war." Moving closer so that he could see her face, she whispered. "The Risen in the tomb has been awakened."

She watched his fingers tightened around the prison bars; his knuckles turning white. Jean-Pierre had instructed her to relay the message, knowing full well that Clay wasn't going to take the news demurely.

Then out of nowhere, Sophie's face was pressed against the slimy metal, the top of her blouse twisted in Clay's fist.

"Sophie, get me out of here," he ordered; the words out through clenched teeth. "I need to find her. Find Mallory. She's not safe."

"Jean-Pierre's looking out for her. She'll be fine..."

"You don't fucking get it." He pulled her closer. "You're a tracker. You can't defend your own self much less another. So fucking get me out now or I'll find some other goddamn way out of here!"

Releasing her, he punched his fist on the metal bars and started pacing in his cell.

Sophie was confused as to why she couldn't just walk away. Clay had given his command and the wolf inside her was not allowing her to simply ignore him.

That was impossible.

Taking off her shoes, she stepped barefoot onto the grimy floor and began to strip off her clothes.

"Take off yours too... please."

Clay was about to protest when he noticed her facial structure slowly changing.

He was staring at his own reflection.

Taking a small access card hidden in the pleat of her skirt, she scanned the security code on his cell and entered.

"We have only 30 seconds before the system alerts the Shadow Lords of unauthorised access. Get out of here."

"And you?"

"I have my access codes." She winked before slowly retreating into the shadows. "Take my place on the next flight to London. Use your gifts."

Clay stepped out and picked up her clothes.

"Thank you Sophie. I owe you my life. I will be back once she's safe. I promise."

Slipping into an unlocked store room, Clay started working on his impersonation of Sophie. While obfuscate was not one of his strongest abilities, Clay managed to alter himself just enough to fit into her clothes. Grabbing a spare cap from one of the cupboards, he dashed out, following the sound of car engines.

He had to admit though that he had high regards for Sophie now that he realised what a bitch it was running in heels.

"Geez, Sophie, you still look hot as a brunette!" whistled one of the younger scouts.

Clay managed to flash a middle finger at him before getting into one of the cars with the other deployed Light Walkers.

Mallory had better be unharmed or somebody was going to get hurt real bad.

***

Thanks everyone for the comments so far! I think my favourite was the one where the story has a movie feel to it. It made me smile silly all day. And if any of you caught the references to Hitomi (like the puzzle) and broke the possible origins of Mallory's name (before I gave it away), then congrats!