3 | Mate

King had a moment to examine the gray werewolf in the distance. Something about its aura told him it was authority amongst the werewolves. Its sculpted body belittled a burnt scar on its back. And not to mention, the beast was still a threatening mammoth.

Pandora and Douglas kept darting their eyes around. They could hear a low growling blend with the murmurs of the forest.

"Douglas," Pandora directed through their link. "... Ready yourself."

"I was born ready," Douglas huffed, swiping a finger below his nose.

King's face contorted. "Well, I don't think I'm ready to die just y-"

Suddenly, the lad felt an intense gaze bore through his rear. His gut was squawking at him not to look back, convincing him to keep his head stiff and straight only. But of course, that's just not King. He turned his head and his breath slightly hitched when he saw one of the most enchanting pair of cerulean eyes. It was glowing bright blue, almost like some sort of heaven's light. King felt pulled by it. It was kind of mysterious and almost so magical... Before the creature who owned it, the gray werewolf menacingly sneered.

King flinched, jolting when the big dire wolf began to inch towards them with an alarming snarl. Pandora and Douglas, still keeping half of their attention on the concealed werewolves, backed off in response.

"... I think we should leave now," Douglas linked, snarling at the silhouettes moving in the forest.

"You think? We do not even have any alternatives on the menu right now," King murmured between clenched teeth, unconsciously gripping Douglas's hide tighter. "Pandora? Any plans? I really don't fancy being dog food," he whimpered.

Pandora scowled. The werewolves were creeping closer to them. She had finished analyzing their numbers—seven—and positions before finally pinpointing their escape route to Douglas in the link. They just needed to move now. "In three," she hinted. "One—"

"Three!" Douglas roared. Pandora didn't take the time to roll her eyes. Rapidly, they dropped on all fours and thundered towards the werewolf south of them, who was the farthest from the others.

The lone werewolf lunged at Douglas, but before reaching eight feet near, it let out a whine and shuttled away towards a tree when Pandora hurled a roundhouse kick on it. The force whirled from her legs and the physical divergence from a human was immense.

The other werewolves roared and barreled after them, barking and snapping their jaws like wild, rabid dogs.

"Those werewolves are lunatics!" Douglas linked.

"Just keep running!" Pandora snarled.

King turned his head, his hazel eyes dilating when he saw the canines racing after them from behind. Pandora maneuvered around ridges and chunks, nimbly evading timber and obstacles and her speed syncing with the wind. Douglas kept up, not bad himself, and having a fast framework despite his bulk. It was the werecat's specialty, their agility.

The terrain levered up, the setting sun on the horizon peeking from behind gargantuan trees. At one point, they reached the edge of a towering cliff. The next few moments, they ended on the margin of a floorless gap. They halted.

"What now?" King asked. They peeked at the fissure, Douglas kicking a rock off to test how far it will go.

"... We're jumping," Pandora quoted, backing off. Douglas emitted a raspy gurgle of excitement; King was the opposite.

"Hey now," King blurted out, chuckling nervously. His heartbeat soared, and his grip on Douglas tightened unconsciously. The werewolves' barks closed in on them. King wasn't a fan of heights, but he contemplated between it or the wolves. The first one seemed better—

King was in the middle of his thoughts when Pandora barreled past them, and whoosh! She leaped down the two hundred feet of air.

"Hold on tight, King!" Douglas cried. Well, King already was.

"Just kill m—"

Douglas leaped.

King screamed when he saw his life flash before his eyes. A sick sensation barraged his stomach as the air gushed around him. His screams came to a halt when the wind choked him. Due to shock, his muscles stiffened, causing him to lose his grip on Douglas.

"King!" Douglas yelped.

The altitude dropped. King gritted his teeth, trying to gain control of his body and balance. He couldn't damn land like a cat, unlike his two cousins, though he could probably survive it. Probably with broken bones.

The ground doomed closer to him, and his face paled. Oh shit, he thought.

Just before he could crash down, Douglas caught King's arm. He tucked him into his chest and, grimacing, had a brief moment to balance his feet for landing. But he failed, and he collided with an enormous tree instead, breaking dozens of its thick branches and causing him to lose his grip on his cousin.

King grunted, meeting clusters of branches on his way below too. Then he fell back on the earth, planting face first on the dirt... At least he was still okay, he thought. Even though his leg felt like it was being pincered.

King spat, tasting putrid in his mouth. He groaned and tried to push himself up, stared at the slumped-on-the-ground Douglas who was a few feet away from him. King's body throbbed, but as guessed, half of his genetics were patching him at an incredible pace. He scowled when Douglas remained unmoving. Until the latter grumbled indescribable cryptic words in a hoarse, burbling voice. He was half-asleep.

King saw Pandora in the distance. She patted herself, plucking leaves and twigs out of her fur. King was about to race towards her direction when the wind whispered from above. Pandora twitched, snapped her head immediately towards King's direction and her face bore horror.

King had the same face. He had a hard time swigging the sudden ball on his throat, his blood running cold. Something had landed behind him. Something sinister. He didn't have to spare a second to guess what it was; the deep humming growl and the monstrous shadow that cast over him already told the revelation so.

It was that gray werewolf, and he was so dead for sure.