Chapter 7 - Bitten

  ***Kiera's POV***

  The sun was dipping below the horizon, casting long shadows across the fields as Kiera, Leo, James, and Hank one of Kiera's personal guards, made their way toward the border. It had been a long day of traveling, and the air was heavy with tension. The journey was grueling, the weight of their mission hanging over them like an oppressive cloud. The silence between them was thick, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Kiera knew that everyone was thinking the same thing: the phone call from her father had been far too cryptic. The urgency in his voice, the way he had pleaded for her to come...

  James, who was usually the first to crack a joke or lighten the mood, was uncharacteristically quiet. His eyes kept darting toward Leo and Hank, his worry evident. He broke the silence with a low voice.

  “He is going to be okay, right? It’s not like... something happened to him?”

  Leo glanced at him, his face etched urging James to be more positive. “If something happened, he wouldn’t have called. Not like that.” His words were calm, but his body language was tense. “But we don’t know for sure. We have to move fast.”

  Kiera, her voice barely a whisper, added, “I don’t think he’s safe, Leo. There’s something in his tone... something's wrong.”

  Hank, walking alongside them, looked over his shoulder. “I'm sure he will be just fine. Plus you have three big bad wolves to protect you ya know.” He paused, his eyes narrowing as he took in their surroundings. “The wilds aren’t as kind as they used to be. You can never be sure who’s waiting for you in the shadows though.”

  There was a long pause before James spoke again, voice low. “I’ve got a bad feeling. We should’ve made camp a while ago. The weather’s shifting.”

  Kiera glanced up at the sky, noting the strange purple hue starting to form in the clouds. A chill crept down her spine. Something was coming.

  “Just keep your eyes open,” Leo muttered, his voice tense. “We’ll make it. We’re not turning back now.”

  As they pushed forward, the terrain grew rougher, the path winding through thick trees and rocky ground. It had taken them most of the day to get this far, and by now, Kiera’s feet were sore from the long trek. But she kept pace, her resolve unwavering. Every step she took felt like one closer to her father. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions—fear, hope, desperation—and yet she knew there was no turning back.

  Eventually, as the forest began to thin out, Leo stopped in his tracks, lifting his nose to the air. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air.

  “What is it?” Kiera asked, her voice barely a whisper.

  “Shh,” Leo whispered, lowering his voice. “Something’s close.”

  The others paused too, their bodies shifting subtly. Leo’s and James’ eyes gleamed with that sharp wolfish glow, while Hank’s posture became more alert. Kiera felt her pulse quicken, instinctively aware that something was about to go down.

  “We’re too close to the border,” James said. “We can’t risk being caught off guard.”

  Leo nodded, his voice low. “We’ll shift. It’ll give us the edge.”

  Without another word, they began to change. The bones in their bodies cracked, their muscles stretching and shifting as they transformed. Kiera stood back, watching with awe as Leo’s form shifted into his powerful wolf, the dark fur rippling across his back. James wasn’t far behind, his wolf form sleek and graceful. Hank, too, began to change, though it seemed to take longer, his movements sluggish and pained as his body shifted since he was an omega.

  Kiera stood still, a little shaken by the transformation but trying to keep her focus. Her eyes landed on Leo. His wolf form was majestic, the powerful creature standing tall in front of her. She hesitated for a moment before stepping forward, her legs stiff from the long day of walking. Without thinking, she moved to climb onto Leo’s back. He lowered his body slightly, allowing her to settle comfortably atop him like she has plenty of times before, and then they took off, moving faster than before.

  The wind whipped past them as Leo sprinted through the forest, his body flowing with natural grace. Kiera held on tightly, her heart pounding in her chest as the world blurred around them. The wolf beneath her felt both alien and familiar, an unspoken bond between them keeping her grounded even as they raced through the woods.

  She could feel Leo’s muscles rippling beneath her as they moved with incredible speed, covering the distance toward her family’s house far quicker than she had ever expected. It was a strange, exhilarating feeling—being so close to the wolf she knew so well, yet riding him, completely exposed to the night around her. There was a wildness to it, a raw power, and she felt connected to him in a way that words couldn’t capture.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  They pushed forward for hours, the forest growing denser, the night darker. But eventually, they reached the house. It stood there, dark and silent, as if waiting for them. Kiera’s stomach twisted with anxiety. She wanted to rush in, to see her father, to make sure he was still alive—but there was no telling what might be waiting for them inside.

  Leo shifted back into his human form with a quiet growl, his eyes scanning the area. “Stay close,” he ordered, though there was a softness to his words, a silent promise to keep her safe.

  Kiera’s pulse raced as she nodded, following closely behind him.

  When they reached the door, Kiera’s breath caught in her throat. The house, once a home full of warmth and memories, now felt cold and lifeless. As soon as they entered, the sight before them was far worse than any of them could have imagined.

  Her father lay there, wounded and barely conscious, a severed mutilated head resting nearby with a body to accompany it.

  "Kiera," her father rasped, his voice barely a whisper, his hand reaching weakly toward her. His once strong frame was now frail, his skin pale and cold.

  "Dad!" Kiera rushed to his side, her hands shaking as she touched his face. His eyes were clouded, filled with pain.

  "What happened?" Leo demanded, kneeling beside her, his tone fierce.

  Kiera’s father took a deep breath before speaking. "I... I tried to fight them off. Your mother... and your brother, they... they ran. They're in the woods, waiting for you. But I won’t make it. There is no time for me to explain any further, just make sure you sever their heads from the body, or else they will just keep coming!"

  Kiera felt her heart break, tears welling in her eyes as she held her father’s hand. "No, you can’t leave me," she whispered, her voice cracking.

  He gave her a sad smile, the kind of smile that only a parent could give when they knew the inevitable. "Go. Find them. I’ll be alright."

  There was a silence that hung in the air as Kiera looked at her father, torn between her love for him and the urgency to find her family. But she knew what she had to do.

  With a final kiss on his forehead, she rose, her body trembling as she stood. "I love you," she said, her voice breaking.

  "Go," her father urged again, his voice growing weaker. "Go."

  They left him there, the sounds of their footsteps echoing in the empty house as they made their way back outside.

  James moved forward, his eyes sharp. "We need to move quickly. The longer we stay, the more likely we’ll attract attention."

  Kiera nodded, wiping away her tears. They ventured into the woods, the once familiar trees now feeling foreign and threatening. The moon above was a cold witness to their journey, its pale light casting ghostly shadows along the path.

  As they moved deeper into the woods, the sound of shuffling and growling reached their ears. It wasn’t long before they were ambushed. The creatures staggered from the darkness, their decayed bodies grotesque, their movements erratic.

  James and Leo were quick to react, shifting into their wolf forms in a blur of fur and teeth. They fought with precision, their strength overpowering the dead people walking as they tore through the creatures with ruthless efficiency. Kiera’s heart raced as she stood at the ready, a dagger that Leo had gifted her in her hand. Her eyes never left the battle, her breath shallow as she prepared for anything.

  But it was Hank who caught her attention. He had been bitten, his arm bleeding heavily from the wound. Despite his werewolf healing abilities, the wound wasn’t closing. His eyes, normally sharp and focused, were clouded with pain, and his movements grew sluggish.

  "We need to get him back to the pack," Leo said, his voice tight with concern as he fought off a particularly aggressive dead man trying to bite his face off. "Hank, hang in there, we should be close! I can sense them!"

  But Hank gave a stiff worried nod as he tore his shirt and wrapped it around the festering wound. He was one tough son of a bitch and he wasn't going to let some measly little bite take him out. He had fought enemies way more scary than these flesh eating dead people.

  "We have to get out of here," James growled, pushing another dead woman away. "I was thinking we would have time to look around, now I am thinking that is not such a great idea!"

  Right as James had finished speaking they heard a young boy scream not to far in the distance. He came running towards them stumbling through the trees. His face was pale, and his clothes were torn with bits of blood here and there, but he was alive. However, Kiera’s heart sank when she saw realized that he was alone.

  "No…" Kiera whispered, her voice breaking as she rushed to her brother’s side. He clung to her, his face etched with grief.

  "I’m sorry," he choked out. "We couldn’t... she didn’t make it."

  Kiera’s knees gave way as she sank to the ground, clutching her brother to her chest. The world seemed to collapse around her, the weight of her mother’s death bearing down on her like a thousand tons just like the death of her father. She wanted to scream, to rage against the injustice of it all, but all she could do was hold him, letting the tears fall.

  However, they didn’t have long to mourn. The sound of shuffling footsteps reached their ears, and Hank staggered, his body trembling as the infection spread further through his system. He looked at them with desperation, his eyes no longer fully able to focus as he was beginning to feel a fever take over. Leo and James both noticed there comrade looking very sickly and had no idea why he wasn't getting better.

  "We need to go," Leo said, his voice tight. "Now."

  They retreated, quickly and cautiously, not daring to look back. The journey back to the pack was a quiet yet solemn one as Kiera and her bother Sebastian rode on Leo's back and Hank on James. The silence was sometimes broken with the occasional sobbing of realization or coughing from Hank getting more and more ill.

  When they finally arrived back at the pack’s territory, Kiera knew they were not safe—not yet. But there was no turning back. A war had just begun, a war where they faced a completely unknown enemy.