6 #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT 6
Happen 18
As Produced By SheriffSquinty
Theme: The Test (2)
Sub Theme : Test Turn Bad
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I scrambled upwards, dusting my clothes off. I could practically feel Gabriel’s eyes boring holes into the side of my head but I ignored him, still unable to handle
seeing him half-naked. I glanced at Eli instead. He had a small grin on his face and he gave me anod.
“It seems you’ve hand some hand to hand combat experience,” Vincent said
begrudgingly, actually addressing me for once. “Come on you two, back to the others.”
I nodded. Bree, ignoring me, strode ahead back to the group. I couldn’t help but hold my head a little more proudly as I followed her.
“It seems so,” Gabriel said. I dared glance at him to find him staring at me intently. His expression was mostly unreadable, but if I wasn’t mistaken there was a hint
of….admiration? Was that actually pride in his expression, however slight? I felt warmth blossom inside of meat the thought of my Mate being proud of me;
however, he quickly masked the expression before resuming his usual look of indifference.
“Satisfied?” He asked coolly without looking at Vincent.
Vincent nodded, but he still had a scowl on his features. “Yes, Alpha. Are we
moving to agility training now?” Gabriel kept his dark eyes on me the whole time Vincent spoke to him. I felt my gaze locked with my Mate’s as if I was frozen in place. For a few seconds it was as if only the two of us were out there on that
training field. I felt the electricity sparking between us, my body and Wolf on full alert, aware of the half-naked man in front of us. After a few more drawn-out
seconds in which I felt that all the wolves could see the tension between us, I finally broke the eye contact and Gabriel turned back to the others.
“We’ll leave the obstacle course for tomorrow. Today I want you to show her the west quadrant of our land.”
“Alpha?” It seemed that the last thing Vincent wanted to do was give me atour but he was too intimidated by Gabriel to say so.
“If she’s going to be joining us, she needs to know the layout of the land she’ll be living on. You were due on patrol anyways. Take another with you.”
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As Produced By SheriffSquinty
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I felt a prickle of irritation that they weren’t using my name, but it would be nice to learn some new territory.
“Alpha, are you sure you want us to go now?” Vincent was clearly trying to avoid spending time with me. Apparently I’d always be on his bad side. “Patrol will only take a couple of hours and I wanted to train-”
“No, you will be going in human form so it will take longer.” I felt my heart sink at Gabriel’s words; my Wolf wanted to run. Vincent was staring incredulously.
“You wanted to test her endurance, correct? This will be better. You can’t
communicate with Skylar if you’re in Wolf form.” I felt my stomach flutter at Gabriel’s use of my name.
Realizing it would be foolish to argue with Gabriel, Vincent lowered his head, sighing. “Very well, Alpha. We’ll leave now.”
Gabriel nodded, glancing at me once more. I felt my skin heat under his gaze. “Vincent, be back before sundown. That’s an order.”
At first I wondered why it mattered, and then I remembered the vampire Gabriel
had scented in the woods. It wouldn’t be safe to wander in a small group at night if the creatures were still lurking about. The thought deeply disturbed me.
With one last look at me, Gabriel beckoned to Eli and the two strode off. I felt a prickle of disappointment that he wasn’t joining, but what did I expect? He had pack duties much more important than giving me atour.
But we got to show him our fighting, My Wolf said smugly. I smiled abit at that. Sorry you don’t get to run, was my reply.
She just sighed. Maybe once they trust us.
If that would ever happen. I wasn’t even sure I liked them yet, except for Eli. That hadn’t given me much reason to like them in the past or present. One didn’t become best friends with old enemies overnight.
—-
Several hours later, I was about ready to kill the man in front of me. I was back to calling him Blondie in my head again, as I’d been staring at the back of his stupid blonde head all day. Not only was I beginning to tire from running in human form
in the ridiculously fast pace he set, his constant reprimands were setting me on edge.
“Hurry up!”
“A pup could run faster than that!”
“You aren’t fit to join our pack if you can’t even handle border patrol!” “You don’t need a break if I’m not taking a break!”
The jibes were definitely getting tome. Everything was worsened by the fact that he had chosen to bring Bree along, which definitely made things awkward. If we had been in wolf form I wouldn’t have worried about the terrain or tiring, as my Wolf could easily handle it, but as it was I knew my human form would be
exhausted before sundown hit. I had a decent amount of endurance even as a human, but this terrain was extremely difficult to traverse.
The one thing that made me feel slightly better was the fact that Bree seemed
slightly out of breath, too. Vincent was much stronger than the average wolf. He seemed to be one of Gabriel’s lead warriors, after all, if he was training the others. He probably did this regularly. I, on the other hand, did not often travel so many miles as a human, and it seemed that Bree was in the same boat.
We’d kept at it the entire afternoon at the same breakneck pace. My silent prayers were answered when Vincent finally called a halt. We slowed our jog next to a
large stream.
“This is the edge of our territory on this side, and it is one of the key points of
border patrol. We will follow the river for a few miles. The other side gets closer to human territory as you go along so don’t cross it.”
I nodded, too irked with him to speak. Fortunately, he let us rest for a few moments and drink from the stream before we resumed our trek.
Slightly replenished, we continued along the stream, Vincent pointing out key
landmarks in their territory. Despite my reservations I had to admit the Black
Mountains Pack had some beautiful landscapes. At one point we passed a large,
crystal blue lake that I wanted to visit sometime. It even had a small sandy area on one side that I could imagine being somewhat like a beach, although I had never
seen one. I imagined stretching out in the warm sand. My Wolf imagined Gabriel with us, and I pushed the distracting images out of my mind.
I was definitely feeling the exhaustion as the hours passed and the sun began
slowly descending in the sky. I was sure my cheeks would be lightly tinged from
sunburn. Due to the relentless pace we had covered everything Vincent wanted
covered and we were now starting to head back towards the pack as sunset was fast approaching. I glanced at Bree out of the corner of my eye as we jogged. Like me,
she was covered in sweat, the liquid matting her hair and trickling down the sides of her face.
My side began to dully ache, my breathing more labored. Every stretch of trees
was beginning to look the same. Our last break had been a couple of hours ago and I felt like I needed another one before I collapsed.
I glanced up at the sky with trepidation. The sun was beginning to sink below the
horizon as the time continued to pass, but thankfully I thought we were pretty close to the training area sowe had plenty of time to make it.
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
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I slowed my pace slightly, taking deep breaths. My lungs burned, and my t-shirt
was sticking to my back with the sweat. Vincent noticed my lagging jog and glared at me out of the corner of his eye.
“We’re almost back,” I breathed out heavily. “Can’t werest for just a bit?” Vincent’s scowl deepened. “Alpha said be back by sunset.”
“And it’s almost sunset, and we’re almost there. If I collapse now we’ll never make it back before sunset.” I couldn’t help the irritation from seeping into my voice; my
exhaustion made me brave. It was true, though. At this pace I was worried I wouldn’t make it at all.
“I’m already moving slowly enough. I have a Mate and a daughter urging me to come home,” He snapped.
Lucky them, I thought irritably.
“Just go, Vincent,” Bree chimed in, tiredly. I could tell her breathing was labored as well. “I can show her the way from here. Just get back to your Mate. I need to slow down too.”
Vincent eyed her for a moment, uncertainty crossing his broad features. “The Alpha-”
“It’ll be fine, we’ll be just behind you.” Bree slowed to match my pace and I shot her a grateful look.
Vincent hesitated before nodding once. “Don’t linger,” he said shortly, then sped up, taking off. His broad form quickly vanished into the thick trees.
Silence descended on the two of us as we slowed our pace to a brisk walk. I
wanted to thank Bree but she kept her face averted from mine so I let it slide. I
focused on my breathing, trying to get rid of the stitch in my side and the burning
in my lungs. I hadn’t run that much in human form for a long while, and I hoped it wouldn’t be a daily activity. Vincent maybe able to handle it but normal wolves like me weren’t accustomed to it.
A few more minutes passed by, the only noises being our footfalls and the rustle of the undergrowth around us. I glanced up at the sky. The sun was quite low now,
the last beams of light stretching across the sky. I really hoped we weren’t far
away. I was unfamiliar with the lay of the land and didn’t want to be out here in the dark, despite the fact that Bree was with me.
Bree suddenly froze, cocking her head to the side and sniffing the air. I followed her actions, worried about what exactly she was smelling, but I relaxed when I caught the faint scent of another werewolf. It wasn’t Vincent though, which
surprised me. If Gabriel didn’t want us out after sunset I doubted he’d like other wolves wandering around.
“What the hell is he doing?” Bree hissed, almost to herself. I blinked at her in
confusion. She tossed me a wary glance over her shoulder before turning slightly, facing the woods to my left.
She frowned in concentration for a second, and I guessed she was mentally contacting someone.
“I can’t believe he’s out here, it’s getting dark…” She muttered furiously under her breath. I shifted from foot to foot, well aware that darkness was creeping across the sky. We had scarce minutes left before Gabriel would be angry.
Seconds passed, then minutes, before I heard crashing through the undergrowth
and a human form emerged. He looked young, likely in his early teens, and had
obviously just Shifted back into human form judging by the fact that his shirt was inside out and there were twigs matted in his dark hair.
“What the hell are you doing, Riley?” Bree snapped. The young boy winced.
“I was hungry and nobody has let me hunt recently so I just wanted to go out and catch a rabbit…” He trailed off, seeing Bree’s angry face. His eyes flickered tome as he noticed my presence. “Is that the Alpha’s Mate?” I shifted position, slightly uncomfortable with those wide brown eyes focused on me. I nodded in response, and his eyes got even wider with surprise.
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As Produced By SheriffSquinty
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Bree ignored his question. “You know we can’t be out after sunset! Not since…”
She trailed off, obviously not wanting to talk about it in front of me. “I know but-”
“No buts. Your brother would kill you if he knew you were out here right now. You’re coming back with us.”
A petulant expression appeared on the young boy’s face.
“Yeah but-”
“NO BUTS!” She practically yelled. Riley sighed, looking downtrodden, before he nodded.
“Fine, I’ll go back with you,” he mumbled resentfully.
“Come on,” she said impatiently, grabbing his arm and practically shoving him in the right direction.
The three of us set off again towards the pack village.
The two of them walked slightly in front of me in quiet conversation, which might have irked me another time, but I was too exhausted to care. More of my attention was focused on the fact that it was dark outside and Gabriel would probably be
pissed. Knowing my luck I’d get blamed for not having enough endurance. Maybe I could get Bree to explain how hard Vincent pushed us and how she’d been tired, too. Plus there was this kid Riley that had delayed us a few minutes. Gabriel
probably wouldn’t like my excuses but I didn’t want him to be disappointed in me, not after seeing the proud glimmer in his expression for a brief moment earlier.
“I just don’t see why-” Riley was complaining, the petulant tone back in his voice. “Are you seriously arguing right now? Do you want to talk to the Alpha about this?
Because I sureashell don’t,” Bree was responding.
“No…..”
“Good. Then don’t push it.” Her tone was firm.
“I’m almost full grown, I can take care of myself.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
I sighed and tuned them out, glancing aimlessly down at my appearance. My
clothes were damp with sweat and I had numerous scratches and cuts from our trek in the woods. I was certainly not presentable right now. Being around Gabriel so
much made me more self-conscious than ever. I couldn’t help but focus onevery imperfection and wonder if he would notice. I cursed myself for thinking in such a manner.
I refocused on the woods around me again, knowing we would be there in mere minutes. I was absolutely exhausted, but tried to stay alert, atleast until we were out of the fringe of the forest.
Despite my best efforts to focus, I didn’t see it coming.
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Hall Of Supernatural Stories
*
One second, Bree and Riley were chatting in front of me, the next I felt a powerful woosh of air, sensed a presence whizzing by me, and heard a sick squelching noise.
There was a strangled cry from in front of me. Something warm and wet splattered across my face and torso and I froze as the scent of blood permeated the air.
I watched as, almost as if in slow motion, Riley’s small body twisted in mid-air.
My Wolf senses immediately honed in on him despite the impending darkness and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
There was a gaping hole in his chest and his throat was torn open, blood spurting from the wound and standing out against his pale skin. Riley’s glassy, lifeless eyes stared up at the sky, expression frozen in a half-frown, mouth half open with the
cry of pain. His tiny form collapsed into the ground in a jumbled heap, red staining the earth beneath him. The leaves in the tree next to us rustled as if something had just rushed through them. I scented the air and detected nothing, but the lack of
traceable scent told me enough. ‘Vampires!’
And then Bree began to scream.
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#Tobecontinued