to himself, Blake felt a surge of nausea eat into his stomach and he allowed himself to return to human form as well.
The transformation back was simpler, more fluid. The heavy black shag of fur fell off of him like brown-black snow, coating the ground beneath him, and he stood up straight, shaking the rest off his naked back and thighs. Several deep, lateral cuts also crisscrossed his shoulder where Tanis had gotten in a few lucky strikes, and there was a numbness in his other arm where several deep teeth marks had gone deep into the muscle. He flinched it off as he walked forward and knelt by Tanis, turning him over.
The kid was still breathing, but barely. The wounds were too terminal.
“Goddamn it! Goddamn it,” Blake repeated, his voice a mixture of guilt and anger and irreconcilable sadness—it shouldn’t have come to this. Tanis looked up at his Beta and his eyes grew wider as a thin trail of blood dribbled from his lips.
“It’s you,” he murmured.
“It’s me,” Blake said. “Tanis… Oh, Tanis, what’s going on? Why?”
If Blake felt a certain measure of guilt, the look that crossed Tanis’ face far exceeded it. He closed his eyes for a moment, and a single tear welled at the edge.
“I’m-I’m sorry, it was… I don’t know what I was doing. I thought, for the Ursas. I thought I was doing it for everyone. But… but, it’s wrong. I knew it, the moment it happened, I knew it was wrong!”
“Tell me what happened,” Blake said soothingly.
More tears welled at Tanis’ eyes as he coughed. “It was my mission, he told me, he told me that it was to protect the tribe, that if I did it—I would be a general, I’d be protecting my brothers and sister,” he said, “the tenets. Loyalty.” Tanis held up his hand where the ancient script for the word was inscribed in ink across his knuckle.
“I know, I know,” Blake urged, feeling the life drain out of the young one, and biting back on his own disgust at what he’d done. “Tell me… what happened?”
“It was Ogre,” Tanis said, coughing again, and blood flecked his lips. “He told me that I had to kill Ogre, because he’d betrayed us. I didn’t—I didn’t think… but I obeyed. It was easy, Ogre didn’t see it coming. I thought it would be different. But I only felt sick… Oh god, Blake, what did I do?”
“Shhh, it’s okay,” Blake said, lifting the youngster’s head into his hands. “Who told you to do it?”
Tanis closed his eyes again, opening his mouth in an expression of pain. His hands had gone white, and his wounds were still bleeding profusely. A dark pool had already formed under him, and his pale flesh was now coated in the dark sticky substance which refused to dry in the humid climate. “It was, it was Connor,” Tanis replied, barely a whisper. “What… did I do?”
They were the last words Tanis spoke.
The muscles in his neck went slack and turned slightly in Blake’s hands. Gently, he lowered the shifter back onto the forest floor and stood up, his lips already muttering on instinct a small prayer for the lost soul of the boy. Blake’s arms shivered, his body coated in grime and dirt and blood that was a mingling of his own and Tanis’. But it wasn’t the cold that caused him to shiver. It was rage, unadulterated, unfixed. His jaw bit down so hard that it was a vice, and his eyes became as cold as untempered steel as he touched his heart above the tattoo representation of a bear paw and he finished the prayer.
“You will be avenged, brother,” he murmured, more as a vow to himself than as a statement of fact. “Blood by blood, you will be avenged.”
He turned away from the corpse and stumbled back several footsteps, and was surprised by the presence of the woman who was limping behind him, her eyes now not full of terror so much as wonder. He had forgotten about her temporarily, entirely, and now found himself face-to-face with a young looking waif with black hair. And a face that he had
The transformation back was simpler, more fluid. The heavy black shag of fur fell off of him like brown-black snow, coating the ground beneath him, and he stood up straight, shaking the rest off his naked back and thighs. Several deep, lateral cuts also crisscrossed his shoulder where Tanis had gotten in a few lucky strikes, and there was a numbness in his other arm where several deep teeth marks had gone deep into the muscle. He flinched it off as he walked forward and knelt by Tanis, turning him over.
The kid was still breathing, but barely. The wounds were too terminal.
“Goddamn it! Goddamn it,” Blake repeated, his voice a mixture of guilt and anger and irreconcilable sadness—it shouldn’t have come to this. Tanis looked up at his Beta and his eyes grew wider as a thin trail of blood dribbled from his lips.
“It’s you,” he murmured.
“It’s me,” Blake said. “Tanis… Oh, Tanis, what’s going on? Why?”
If Blake felt a certain measure of guilt, the look that crossed Tanis’ face far exceeded it. He closed his eyes for a moment, and a single tear welled at the edge.
“I’m-I’m sorry, it was… I don’t know what I was doing. I thought, for the Ursas. I thought I was doing it for everyone. But… but, it’s wrong. I knew it, the moment it happened, I knew it was wrong!”
“Tell me what happened,” Blake said soothingly.
More tears welled at Tanis’ eyes as he coughed. “It was my mission, he told me, he told me that it was to protect the tribe, that if I did it—I would be a general, I’d be protecting my brothers and sister,” he said, “the tenets. Loyalty.” Tanis held up his hand where the ancient script for the word was inscribed in ink across his knuckle.
“I know, I know,” Blake urged, feeling the life drain out of the young one, and biting back on his own disgust at what he’d done. “Tell me… what happened?”
“It was Ogre,” Tanis said, coughing again, and blood flecked his lips. “He told me that I had to kill Ogre, because he’d betrayed us. I didn’t—I didn’t think… but I obeyed. It was easy, Ogre didn’t see it coming. I thought it would be different. But I only felt sick… Oh god, Blake, what did I do?”
“Shhh, it’s okay,” Blake said, lifting the youngster’s head into his hands. “Who told you to do it?”
Tanis closed his eyes again, opening his mouth in an expression of pain. His hands had gone white, and his wounds were still bleeding profusely. A dark pool had already formed under him, and his pale flesh was now coated in the dark sticky substance which refused to dry in the humid climate. “It was, it was Connor,” Tanis replied, barely a whisper. “What… did I do?”
They were the last words Tanis spoke.
The muscles in his neck went slack and turned slightly in Blake’s hands. Gently, he lowered the shifter back onto the forest floor and stood up, his lips already muttering on instinct a small prayer for the lost soul of the boy. Blake’s arms shivered, his body coated in grime and dirt and blood that was a mingling of his own and Tanis’. But it wasn’t the cold that caused him to shiver. It was rage, unadulterated, unfixed. His jaw bit down so hard that it was a vice, and his eyes became as cold as untempered steel as he touched his heart above the tattoo representation of a bear paw and he finished the prayer.
“You will be avenged, brother,” he murmured, more as a vow to himself than as a statement of fact. “Blood by blood, you will be avenged.”
He turned away from the corpse and stumbled back several footsteps, and was surprised by the presence of the woman who was limping behind him, her eyes now not full of terror so much as wonder. He had forgotten about her temporarily, entirely, and now found himself face-to-face with a young looking waif with black hair. And a face that he had
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