In The Forest Away From It All

She said his name gently one more time and the beast turned its head. Through his yellow eyes full of death, she knew she was dealing with a different creature now. Ray was gone. This was the price she had to pay for falling in love with a mortal. Slowly, she moved back, her eyes glued to the impossibly large maw. The beast licked its teeth and growled as it bit at the air, the clash of its teeth and jaws made a terrifying noise. It's eyes never left Thesipha.

"Stay away," she begged as she took off in the opposite direction. She grabbed her spear as she ran out of her home. Ray or what was Ray didn't run after her at first, instead watching before it began a light gallop. There was no soul in the beast's eyes as it started to pursue her. She could hear the lumbering loud stomps as it ran across the earth. It sounded heavy and brutal.

Thesipha was scared out of her wits crying as she ran. Her heart pounded inside her chest to the point that it hurt. Stopping behind a tree she waited. The spear in hand ready to strike- she was born in Ancient Greece, if anything she could wield a spear. The beast came around the tree, sliding on the wealth before it's claws got a grip. Before it could react, Thesipha lunged, planting the spear between its front right leg and ribs. It howled and squealed nightmarishly. Thesipha watched it struggle and whip its head around as if turning to in an attempt to rip the spear out but it fell out of its own accord with a healed wound left in its place. Scrambling as the beast recalibrated to chase her she bolted back through the forest.

She thought of and tried every trick she could think of to slow the werewolf down or outright lose it but the animal would not stop. She knew the place better than anyone however she had the oldest trick in the book for avoiding hounds, so she made a left turn falling into a pit of mud and submerged herself in there until the beast lost her scent. She watched as it stomped and sniffed the air at the edge of the mud bank. It's guttural wheezing and growling made her sick. Her face sat at the surface while the rest of her was submerged. She dared not move a muscle And breathed shallowly.

Soon the coast was clear, she got out and quietly went back to the house. She ran to a closet and closed it behind her. She watched through the gap of the door terrified. At one point the beast entered the home. It destroyed every jar and piece of furniture in an attempt to find her. She swore between its loud breaths it sounded like Ray whimpering. Artemis created this horrible beast. Her goddess made such a cruel animal- a demon almost. Theispha stayed alert all night scared the beast would return again, finally ready to finish her off. The exhaustion was like nothing she had ever felt but she couldn't even close her eyes. The sporadic howling and screeching of the creature cut through the night like a reminder that death set ever present- waiting- hungry.

Guilt and grief had overcome her and she was no longer at peace. It was hard not to think about Ray and what had happened to him because of her. She hated the memory of Artemis now more than ever. Memories of the once soft natured kind boy she'd met months ago flooded her conscience. If only she would have left him alone, insisted on his departure, perhaps he would still be alright. Ray had turned into the one thing he hated the most; a stone cold killer and it was all Thesipha's fault. She waited for the full moon to pass and vowed she would find him and fix it even if it took her forever; she would find a way to make it right.

Morning seemed like an excruciating eternal wait. Thesipha grabbed the chance as soon as she saw the sun running out into the fields to look for her lover. She didn't know where to start. So plagued was she by the recollection of his beastly state that she almost failed to spot him as she passed an open field. Ray was asleep covered in a pool of blood -- naked and afraid already transformed back to his human form. She ran to him, picking him up in his arms to ensure that he was not hurt. Thesipha was both horrified and relieved to discover that the blood was not his. Immediately, she knew he had attacked one of her magical animals, unsettling the newly fragile balance of the bubble that surrounded them. When he opened his eyes and saw Thesipha's swollen eyes, he questioned what happened. But it was made all too clear. The taste of blood in his mouth and his body covered in it. He had no solid memory but flashes of incoherent violence. The chewing and swallowing and biting. His hands tingles with the sensation of the razor sharp claws sinking into flesh.

Thesipha saw his confusion, "She cursed you."

"I tried to hurt you?" he was distraught by the discovery that he had been cursed by Artemis. Ray became hysterical, refusing to listen to anything she had to say.

"This is all my fault." Thesipha tried to reassure vehemently but nothing would distract him from the horror of what he had done. All those beautiful creatures Thesipha had saved and curated. Fodder for his newly hungry soul.

"You were right! I should not have stayed here... Look what I've become. I am worse than my own father!" he cried out, pushing Thesipha away when she tried to comfort him. She fell back hitting her head.

"I'm so sorry Thesipha, I never-" He tried to reach out and pull her up but when he saw his blood soaked hands, he got scared. His breathing was rapid and uneven. Then a voice in his head reached out from the bleak darkness of his mind "Take her." He gasped. Looking around confused. The voice filled his mind with thoughts he couldn't erase. He felt crazy. His muscles are sore and his belly full. Yet he had more than enough strength to run- so he ran from her.

Thesipha dazed from hitting the rock, stood slowly. Ray was faster than she could believe he'd become. He was well across the field and into the tree like before she could call his name. She tried to run after him but he was too fast for a Nymph. She was alone. All alone.