Monster

Wrath (2)

Still overwhelmed by the rage and excitement of the fight, I struggled to regain my human form before rushing towards Chelsea who was still inert. Her face was disturbingly pale and I hurried to remove the chain that was burning her skin and weakening her. As soon as I did that, she opened her eyes slowly and gave me a glassy look. She tried to articulate something, but I quickly interrupted her.

"Shut up, you i***t! This is no time to talk, you need to save your strength. Do you think you can climb on my back. I'll go faster once I change into a she-wolf."

She nodded weakly and began to carefully straighten up while I changed forms once again. Once I was on all fours, I lay down on the ground and shifted slightly onto my side to give her easier access to my back. It seemed to take forever. Her body was covered in bruises, blood and bumps that hurt to look at. I really hoped she didn't have any major internal injuries. If I caught the rest of this group of rogues, I would slaughter them all to the last one. Once the young woman was comfortably on my back, I began to jog to make sure she was holding still. Her whole body was numb, but I could feel her fingers wrapped tightly in my fur. She would hold on, she was strong, and then she could brag to her little friends about riding on the back of the big bad wolf. No one else could brag about such a feat. I ran as fast as I could towards the infirmary while trying to stay as steady as possible so as not to aggravate her injuries. As I approached the village, I heard more running noises approaching. It was a patrol looking for Chelsea. I sent them back to the battle site to clean up. Then I emerged from the cover of the woods and mentally called out to the pack doctors.

"I have a wounded woman with me, she received many blows. I'm afraid she has internal injuries as well.

- I'm gathering the team immediately. We are waiting for you.

- Good."

A minute later, I was in front of the infirmary and the two doctors and their assistants took charge of the young wolf. For my part, I felt like a caged wildcat. During the examination, I was pacing back and forth, my claws clicking on the hard floor and my fur dripping with blood. One of the assistants tried to examine me, but I was in such an irritated mood that I snarled at him. He finally gave up with a frightened look. Minutes passed, then hours. Finally, one of the doctors, Lauryn, came out of the examination room and gave me her report.

"She's a tough cookie. The checkup results aren't great, but she'll heal quickly. We counted two broken ribs, fortunately no punctured lungs, as well as a broken finger, countless bruises and cuts, a burn around the neck apparently caused by a silver chain, a split lip, an cut eyebrow arch and..."

Suddenly she stopped, hesitant. I could already imagine what she didn't dare to tell me. I was too late. The male I had killed while standing over her was not the first one. Why did life have to be so disgusting? For me to suffer why not, the devastation I left behind after each of my fights was worth at least that, but she was just a kid. Anger swelled up inside me again, suffocating me. I knew what I had to do. Without a second thought, I made my way to the detention cells.

For two hours now I had been going after the rogue we had captured earlier. He was soon reduced to a bloody pile of flesh. I had tried to take my time. I had mutated only my fingertips so that my sharp claws would take the place of my nails. First, I decided to make multiple cuts before throwing salt on them. He had taught me everything I wanted to know: there was no larger group. To my regret, the few wolves we had killed with the patrol and the ones I had taken on alone constituted their entire force. They had no other ambition than to stir up trouble and possibly take one or two females for a little fun. Knowing that he was the last of them, I decided to put some effort into my punishment. He had to pay for trespassing on our territory, for messing with Chelsea.

"You know that's not the only reason..."

My wolf disapproved of what I was doing, but I couldn't help it. Hearing his screams allowed me to shut out my own pain. All the rage I felt inside me that I couldn't put down. The torture I inflicted on him was not only physical, but also psychological. With each new punishment, I promised him that it was the last one and that he would be released and while he was crying with relief, I repeated it. When his screams died down and he momentarily lost consciousness, I opened his belly and let his viscera spill out, dragging him into a slow and painful agony. I admired my macabre work for a moment before realizing what was happening and left the room in a hurry, my heart in my mouth. No more doubt, I was truly a monster.

I went back to my room and ran to the toilet to vomit, only bile was flowing out. I couldn't even remember when I had last eaten, I was so carried away in my trance. Everything seemed blurry and I felt groggy. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I slowly got up and walked to the sink. The mirror that hung just above it was reflecting my image to me. I was a mess, covered in a mixture of blood and viscera that didn't necessarily belong to me. Anyone who saw me like that would think I was straight out of a horror movie. I had never lost control like that.

"It's the separation. It's making us lose our minds. A couple bound by the goddess can't be separated like this, especially if they haven't permanently forged the bond.

- Stop talking nonsense! I don't see what he has to do with this story!"

My she-wolf swept away my protests with a sigh before continuing.

"That's just it. This emptiness you feel will only grow until we find him. You won't get better. At the rate it's going, we're not going to survive it.

- That's crazy! Besides, even if that were true, what do you want me to do? I'm stuck. What kind of future could I possibly offer him?

- You know I'm right."

I let out a raging scream and smashed my fist into the mirror, which shattered into a thousand pieces. The only thing that remained in front of me was a wobbly shard that returned the snarling look I gave him.