At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped short. I was face to face with a stunning woman my age. She had long, straight, ginger hair and bright green eyes. Her smile was captivating. She glanced at me and her smile got bigger.
“Maw-maw, you didn’t say the Lew boys were coming! I would have filled up a bit more.” She winked at me.
I smiled happily, gazing at her. Kyler elbowed me. “Simp.”
I shoved him. “Shut up!”
Elizabeth laughed. “Play nice boys. Nice to see that even in your young adult years, you’re still just as playful.”
No, he genuinely pissed me off. That wasn’t being playful, trying to blow up my spot with this girl.
She turned and held out her hand. “I’m Daisy,” she said with a smile.
I took her hand, shaking it. “Ethan.”
She nodded toward Kyler. “So that makes you Kyler Lew. The infamous.
“I’m far from infamous,” he laughed. “But I appreciate you thinking so.” As she held out her hand, to which Kyler kissed. “Oooh, and romantic, eh?”
I glared at Kyler, and he gave me a cheeky grin. Asshole. As Daisy walked away, I shoved him.
“Go get your girl,” he said quietly, walking away.
I blushed, closing my eyes tightly. I swear, I could kill that man! But I made my way over to Daisy, who was headed outside.
She smiled warmly at me. “Nice day.”
I glanced around at the snow covered land around us. “It’s chilly.”
She laughed. “Well, yes, but I love the cold, and the beauty of the snow.” She knelt down and picked some up, playfully throwing it at me.
“H-hey!” I shouted as it hit my shoulder. She started to giggle and ran away. I found myself laughing too, and I followed her, throwing snowballs and dodging hers as we continued laughing.
She his behind the cow shed, and I quietly snuck behind it, spooking her. She tried to run, but slipped, and in a flash, I caught her before she hit the ground.
“Good reflexes,” she grinned. “Thanks.”
I smiled happily. “Anytime.”
“Guess this means I ‘fell’ for you, eh?” She winked.
I laughed. “It appears that way.”
“Well, you’re cute, so I’ll go with it.”
I blushed a little, letting her go as she stood up. She giggled. “You’re blushing.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I guess I am.”
She brushed her finger across my cheek. “Ethan, you’re adorable.”
I blushed again. “So are you.”
She took my hands, stepping closer as she leaned in and kissed me. Shocked, I just stood there for a moment, my head spinning. My first kiss! With her! How could I be so lucky?
“I’m sorry,” she said, moving away. “I acted without thinking. We barely know each other. I shouldn’t-“
I caressed her cheek. “Daisy.”
“I’m sorry Ethan!”
I laughed softly, taking her hands. “I liked it. Don’t be sorry.”
“Ey, lovebirds!” Kyler shouted from the bedroom window. “Dinner time!”
I sighed and turned away from Daisy. “See you inside.”
“Y-yeah.”
We ate very quietly. Daisy and I barely even looked at each other. It was awkward as hell. As soon as she was done, she excused herself and I didn’t see her again for the rest of the night.
Not even to say goodbye when we set back out on our hunt.
“So, little big bro is in love, eh?” Kyler teased.
I stared at the snow in front of me as I walked. “Something like that.”
“Hey, hey.” He stopped in front of me. “What’s going on?”
I glared at him, stepping to the side and continuing my trek. “Let’s just go and focus on the task at hand, kay? I don’t want to keep this up any longer than we need to.” I heard him following close behind, but without a word. I sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Nah, it’s alright, man.” Kyler waved his hand. “I get it. This isn’t easy on any of us, and I guess I did ruin your moment back there. I’m sorry for that.”
“I shouldn’t even have a moment given this nonsense.” I growled my reply.
Kyler sighed. “Ethan, we will pull through this, with everything they need, and you’ll get your girl too.”
“This isn’t a fairytale.”
“Then you have to make it one.”
I gazed at him, perplexed, then finally just decided to drop the subject. We continued forward in the dark, our feet crunching the hardened snow beneath us with each step. We stayed silent, the two of us simply lost in our own thoughts.
Will we actually make it out of this?
Of course, my mind had to go there. Yes, of course we would. Our story couldn’t end here. We weren’t even legal adults yet!
“Wait, stop,” Kyler said quietly, grabbing my jacket. In the sudden silence, I realized what he wanted me to hear. A faint growling coming from the west of us. No wait, north. Maybe east?
No. We were surrounded. We couldn’t tell by what, but that didn’t really matter. We were surrounded by wild animals who really didn’t like company.
“There’s so many,” I whispered, in shock. Kyler followed my gaze as our eyes swept over our surroundings, only managing to make out angry eyes and bared teeth from our visitors. Why were there so many? I glanced around nervously. “What do we do?”
Kyler shook his head. “Run like hell.”
And with that, we darted away, fearing for our lives as we ran straight into the forest, zigzagging as we ran in order to lose the animals. It worked, and we stopped to catch our breath. Leaning against the tree, I kept my ears trained on any and every noise I could, just to ensure we would be safe.
“What are you guys doing out here?” We heard, startling the both of us. I glanced around, noticing Kyler was doing the same.
And then we saw her; a muscular girl with a multicolored mullet hairstyle approaching us in the darkness. Her eyes began to glow a little in the dark, but stopped once she got closer to us. Placing her hands on her hips, she scowled. “Well?”
“We are looking-” I started, but was abruptly cut off by Kyler clamping his hand over my mouth.
The girl smiled in amusement and folded her arms in front of her. “Magical plants? Guarded by oh so ferocious creatures of the night?”
I nodded as Kyler gave me a stern look. “We aren’t supposed to get help from any outsiders. Please. Let us find them alone.”
She put her hands up in a surrendering motion. “Alright, alright. You got it, boys. But uh, I’ll say this….they ain’t too far. Got a compass?”
Kyler nodded.
The girl patted his shoulder. “Due north.”
As she started to walk away, I stopped her. “Hey wait! We didn’t even get your name.”
“Ah.” She held out her hand. “Rory. Rory Oaklow.” She gripped my hand quite firmly and shook it. When she saw my look of pain, she released it and put her hands behind her back. “Oh, sorry. Werewolf strength.”
Kyler’s jaw dropped so far it could have penetrated the snow beneath our feet, while I stared on in awe. “You’re a werewolf?”
She laughed softly before transitioning into an anthropomorphic wolf before our eyes. “Yessir. Got any more questions?”
Kyler continued staring as I excitedly nodded. “I didn’t know werewolves existed!”
“Sure!” Rory laughed again. “Why not? I mean, you boys are spellcasters, vampires exist…hell even aliens and ghosts wander around, but you thought we, of all creatures, were a fairytale?” She giggled and patted my head. “You’re cute.”
“Never in my life did I think I would be pet by a dog.”
Rory laughed again. “Get used to it, bud! There’s only one wolfy who is mean, and that’s Greg. The rest of us are pretty chill, as long as you give us a chance to be.”
“Why are you all the way out here?” I asked, perplexed. “Do you guys live in these woods?”
“Hell nah!” Rory once again roared with laughter. “I live in a house, boyo. In Moonwood Mill. My friends and I play manhunt in these woods at night. They connect Moonwood with the countryside of Henford. Perfect for a night long game.”
“You don’t get lost?” Kyler finally asked.
“Nah. We have our noses. And if we do have humans with us, as soon as they get lost, we smell their fear and help ’em out!” She nudged Kyler’s shoulder. “You two should play with us sometime. No magic allowed though.”
I grinned. “That sounds like fun.”
“But,” Kyler interrupted my thought process, “we do have magical ingredients to grab so we can save our father and the magic realm.”
“Something’s wrong in those parts?” Rory asked, tilting her head as her ears perked up, eager to hear what had happened.
“Long story short, our half brother was a bad dude,” I said. “He brainwashed our parents and they took over the realm. Then he killed our father.”
“Damn,” Rory said solemnly. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“That’s why we need the plants,” I explained. “To bring our father back and restore balance to the realm.”
“So y’all are….superheroes?” She asked inquisitively.
Kyler burst out laughing, surprising me. “nah. You won’t see us in spandex or capes or whatever.”
“Wouldn’t mind seeing that,” she winked.
I blushed as Kyler rolled his eyes. “Keep dreaming, because no one will ever see that.”
Rory and I laughed, with Kyler joining shortly after, not realizing what he said was so funny.
“We should get that stuff though,” he said finally. “Sorry to cut this get together short.”
Rory waved her paw. “Nah, I best get headed home anyway. Nice meeting you guys. Safe travels.”
We parted ways and followed the compass north, as Rory had instructed. After only a few moments, we came across a small clearing in the forest, lit up white, pink and blue from the various magical plants and energies in the area.
“Wow,” I said quietly.
“Alright, let’s grab these bad boys and go.” Kyler began heading straight for the clearing without making any note of our surroundings. I grabbed his jacket and yanked him back.
“What the hell are you doing?” I lectured in an angry whisper. “You think we are off scot free just because we found the clearing? This stuff is heavily guarded! You’ll get us both killed!!”
Kyler nodded solemnly. “Sorry, brother. You’re right. So, what do we do then?”
“Look and listen. Go slow. Together.”
We slowly stepped out together, moving cautiously toward the first plant. Kyler noticed quickly there was a trap on it, so we needed to bypass it before harvesting from the plant. I found a stick and placed it near the plant, triggering a string that activated a bear trap. The stick was immediately obliterated by the trap. As Kyler harvested the plant, I searched for more sticks. Glancing over the side of one tree, I was met by a pair of very angry eyes and rotten breath. A lone wolf.
“Oh God,” I said quietly. “No, no, puppy, I’m just leaving. See?” I stepped backwards. “Moving slowly. You can go back to sleep now, alright?” I continued backwards, unable to see where I was going. “You’ve got a family right?? You’d understand why we were here if you could speak. I swear. Just let us-AAAHH!!”
I stepped into a hole on the ground and fell backwards quickly, startling the wolf and making it lunge at me. Before I could say a word, I felt a searing pain in my side as the wolf began to mercilessly attack me.
Kyler heard my screams and came running, dropping everything in his hands as he realized what was happening. The snow around me grew darker, stained with my blood as the wolf tossed me around like a ragdoll.
“Go!” I shouted hoarsely. “Just…go!!”
“No!” Kyler argued, grabbing a large branch. But, before he could do anything, there was another roar from the trees and three more wolves jumped in front of him. But to our surprise, they were coming toward the wolf that had grabbed me. They were…saving me?
The leader of the small pack snarled angrily at the lone wolf, who immediately dropped me in the snow and ran, drops of my blood staining more of the snow as he left the area.
I gazed up at the blurry leader, and just before I lost consciousness, I saw why they came to our rescue.
“Rory….” I smiled happily as my eyes closed.
Beauty Within Beasts
Kyler POV
Rory! She was a goddamn angel in disguise. “Oh my God, thank you!” I started to hug her, but she snarled.
“One, I’m not a hugger. Two, your brother needs help. Now.”
I nodded. I had managed to bypass all of the traps and gather everything we needed in the clearing. I quickly, but clumsily grabbed everything I had dropped, stuffing them into my backpack as Rory gathered snow and her own button down over shirt to stop Ethan’s bleeding.
“I’ve got him. Hitch a ride with one of my friends,” Rory instructed. Before I could say anything, another wolf scooped me up. I held on for dear life as the wolves took off running through the dense forest, making their way to Moonwood Mill in record time.
“Dennis! Your Mama’s a nurse, right?” Rory called as she stated down at a like of homes.
“Yeah, but she can’t fix this, Rory!”
“She’s gonna have to try. Let’s go.”
In a flash, we were at a house, and all of the wolves shifted back into their human forms. Dennis opened the door and his mother gasped at the sight of Rory carrying my wounded brother.
“What did you guys do to him?” She asked, panicked as she knelt at his side. “Playing roughly again?!”
“No ma’am,” Rory said, shaking her head. “He was attacked by a lone wolf. Not our kind. Feral, stray wolf.”
“Does this look like something we would do while playing?” The other girl in their group asked, crossing her arms. Rory shot her an angered look, and she stopped. “I’m sorry.”
Dennis’s mother shook her head. “Of course, upon closer inspection, no. This was a deliberate attack. But this isn’t the first injury you three have come to me with.”
Dennis shrugged. “It is the worst though.”
His mother nodded solemnly. “I can do my best, but I don’t think he’s going to make it.”
A pang ran through my chest, them down my entire body, making my knees weak and wanting to give way. I quickly sat down, palm outstretched on the table before me as I glanced down at it. My heart began to race, and my breaths sped up. “no,” I said simply. My hands clenched into fists. “No! Not after everything we worked so hard for!! Death isn’t an option. It wasn’t part of the plan.” Tears filled my eyes, blinding me quickly. My tone and expression softened. “Especially not for you.” My hands rushed up to my face, both palms covering it as my tears flowed like a river from my eyes. Rory began rubbing my back gently as I sobbed.
“I think a hospital could do him better justice,” she said quietly.
Everyone collectively nodded. Rory crouched in front of me.
“Hey,” she said softly. “Listen, I can go to the realm with you if you want. Just so you aren’t alone.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m staying to be with my brother.”
She looked down with a saddened expression. “Alright. Well, my offer still stands if you choose to leave.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
She nodded and stood back up. “Let’s go then.”
Thankfully, there was a small hospital in Moonwood Mill. It was nothing like the hospital in Newcrest, but it was something that would help my brother. I stayed at his bedside, even sleeping on the sofa in the room when visiting hours were over. The hospital staff were very kind to allow me to stay. I contemplated telling my mother, but I knew that wasn’t a wise choice. She would come and try to help with magic or something, and it would ruin our entire goal. It was best if she didn’t know.
But she would be so angry if she didn’t know. I hung my head. I would take that hit. She couldn’t see Ethan like this.
As we arrived in the emergency room, we had to be kicked out of the room several times as Ethan needed to be stabilized. Everything became a blur after only a couple of those moments, and I bowed my head, saying a prayer to a God in which I didn’t even believe.
“Please,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes. “Save him. I need him. We both need dad. Don’t let him die.”
It was hours, and I had nodded off on Rory’s warm shoulder a few times, but we were finally given good news.
“He is stable,” the nurse said with a smile. Her face turned serious. “However, he really should rest.”
I nodded as my tears flowed again, filling my eyes and streaming down my cheeks. “He’s okay,” I said softly as my body began to tremble. I felt Rory’s hand on my back. I sobbed hard as she rubbed my back slowly. “He’s…okay…”
“This way!!” We heard from just behind the emergency room door. I perked my head up, blinking away my tears.
“What do we have?”
“It looks like the wolves were at it again! Room five! We need all hands on deck!”
“Oh shit,” I said, standing up and poking my head out the door. “That sounds really bad.”
Rory sighed. “Dee, can you go look? I don’t think it was one of us, but that could be the same wolf that got Ethan.”
Dennis stood up, curious like the rest of us. He stepped into the hallway and came back in a panic.
“I smelled…I couldn’t see…” he began hyperventilating and fell to the floor.
Rory cleared my head, jumping over to him. “Dee!”
“Daisy,” he said. “It’s daisy “
My eyes shot open wide. “Daisy?”
“Yeah, the farm girl.” Rory’s eyes darted over to me. “You know her?”
“We stayed with them last night. That house belongs to our parents. The people living there are the property caretakers. Ethan and Daisy kind of hit it off the other day, you know?”
“Shit.” Rory’s face fell. All of the wolves collectively stared at me until Dennis finally closed his eyes, lifting his head as if he was sniffing the air.
“I think she’s gone.”
Rory followed suit and nodded. “Yeah. That’s her. She didn’t make it.”
“God…” I lowered my head again.
“Kyler, come with us tonight. We can all crash at my place. You’ve gotta get outta here for awhile.” Rory stood up and extended her hand.
I sighed. “No. I want to stay in the room with him. You guys can go.”
“We aren’t staying at my place,” Dennis said, standing up. “We need to take care of those wolves.”
“Please, stay safe,” I said, my ton a beg more than a statement.
Rory nodded. “We will. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
I waved as the pack left the room and looked back at my brother. He was usually tan. More than the rest of the family. Right now, though, he was pale. Sickly. He has an IV and a blood drip, and the machines beeped repeatedly, signaling his recovery. Music to my ears. I felt a deep sadness for poor Daisy, but I was thankful Ethan would be alright.
Lying on the couch in his room, I closed my eyes. Ethan was okay…
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