With Rory dragging Anna in a death grip and Dane and a few other werewolves close behind, they burst through the twisting, hidden mountain paths and into the entrance to the Wolf Clan's lair. The blood in the air swirled and swirled here, converging into a mixture of damp earth and an unspeakably ancient, fishy sweetness. Gusts of restless agitation and wolf howls came from deep within the lair, many of the wolves already on the verge of going berserk under the influence of the blood moon.
The interior of the lair was no simple cavern, but a vast and complex underground network, the walls and floors covered in ancient claw marks, and the air echoed with the whispers and power of their ancestors.
But at the moment, the power is not peaceful.
Rory pushes Anna roughly into an empty stone hall. In the center of the hall, Kieran Wolfsbane, the Wolf King, is standing in front of an altar, holding in his hands a crimson shard of the very thing Rory was tracking in Grey Mist Town. The shard was emitting a faint but haunting red light.
Kieran's grey wolf form appears even taller and more twisted against the red light. His red eyes glittered with frenzy, and a rich, fishy-sweet scent emanated from him, a testament to the power of the Shard that had eaten away at him.
'There you are, Rory.' Kieran's voice was eloquent, with a hint of morbid excitement and unquestionable authority.
His gaze turned to Anna, his eyes like he was examining a precious object.
'Well done.'
Anna was pushed over to the altar by the werewolf, and she looked even paler, the blood on her wrists flickering even more violently.
'Kieran, what... what are you doing?' Anna's voice trembled, fear in her eyes.
Kieran didn't answer as he grabbed Anna's wrist and directed her cut blood towards the shard.
Anna's blood dripped onto the shard, and in an instant, the shard glowed red, as if it had come back to life. The red light exploded in all directions with a sickening aura of decay and power. The ancient claw marks on the surrounding walls became clear in the red light and even began to crumble. The ground shook violently, and many werewolves let out howls of pain, their bodies twisting and contorting under the stimulation of the blood light as they went berserk and out of control.
'Stop!' Rory instantly felt bad and rushed forward to try and stop this from happening.
The red light wasn't power, it was a curse!
The tattoos on her back felt like they were on fire at the moment, the sharp stinging pain making her almost unsteady on her feet.
She had thought Kieran was looking for power, but now she realized he was unleashing a destructive force out of control!
'You're destroying us!' Rory yelled down at Kieran, her eyes were incredibly disappointed and angry.
He had been her 'family', saving her from the fire, promising to watch over her, and now he was doing something even crazier and more destructive than the Hunter.
Kieran's red eyes swept up to Rory with a warning and a hint of sick mania.
'I am not destroying, Rory, I am awakening true power!'
Just as the lair descended into chaos and the maniacal werewolf wailed in pain, there was a loud crash at the entrance to the lair. Stones flew as a figure burst in, wrapped in the cold air and the smell of smoke.
It was Milo.
His blonde hair was slightly disheveled, and his amber eyes were bright in the bloodlight, glittering with determination and fury. He flung out the chains in his hands like silver lightning, wrapping them precisely around several of the berserk werewolves who rushed forward, slamming them against the wall.
'Where is she, Anna!' Milo's firm voice echoed through the lair with anxiety and strength.
Rory froze, her red pupils locking onto Milo. She hadn't expected Milo to find this place, let alone that he would dare to barge into the Wolf's Lair alone.
'Have you come to die, Paladin?' Rory squeezed a sarcastic remark out of her mouth, but instinctively moved a few steps in Milo's direction.
Milo's eyes instantly locked on Anna by the altar, and Kieran, who was clutching her.
Undaunted, he growled, 'She's mine! You beasts, let her go!'
His voice echoed through the lair like thunder as he waved the chains in his hands, forming a silver barrier to block more berserk wolves from pouncing on him.
Rory watched Milo's figure as he fought his way through the wolves, and watched the rage that blazed in his eyes. Her heart raced irregularly once more.
This hunter, this enemy she was supposed to hate, appeared again and again in her most chaotic and dangerous moments.
She rushed forward, not to attack Milo, but to try and pull him away, to yank him from the center of the battlefield. She grabbed Milo's jacket by the chest with enough force to rip through the fabric and yank him towards her.
Milo was pulled by the sudden force in the middle of the battle, and he turned his head, his anxious eyes instantly meeting Rory's blood-red pupils.
Their bodies were so close together that they could feel each other's hot temperatures from the battle through their clothing.
Smoke, pine, blood, and earth ... various scents entwined together.
Rory's hand gripping his jacket trembled a little as she sniffed the familiar scent, her insides once again in turmoil. She could have taken the opportunity to deal him a fatal blow, but her claws stayed on his chest and did not fall.
Milo's eyes shifted from anger to a hint of dismay as he seemed to read the struggle in Rory's eyes, read the wordless pull of that close proximity.
For a brief moment, the howls of frenzy and the sound of crumbling stones around them seemed to be far away, leaving only their pressed bodies and rapid breathing.
A subtle, unspoken understanding flowed between them.
'Why not?' said Milo, his lips quivering instinctively as his uncertain gaze traveled over Rory's face, trying to read a message he couldn't understand.
Rory doesn't respond and the air freezes again.
'I can feel it...' Anna's voice sounded again, with a morbid attraction and mesmerization. Her blue eyes looked lost in the red light, looking to the shard and back into the depths of the lair.
Rory catches the flickering light of Anna's blood seeming to connect with the roots of an ancient tree in the distance. At the same time, she smells the ancient blood, like it's coming from a huge, dying being - what she smelled before, the wail of an ancient tree.
The shard's red light flickers even more blindingly hot, fuelled by Anna's blood, and it lets out a sharp chirp as the stone wall cracks in response, an even brighter red light coming through the cracks with devastating power.
Kieran's red eyes locked on Rory in a death grip as he sensed the subtle connection between her and Milo, and her rebellion.
'Don't make me, Rory.' A snarl erupted from Kieran's throat, threateningly. His possessiveness of Rory, and his mania for the Shard's power, made him seem particularly dangerous at the moment.
The lair began to crumble even more violently, the rocks overhead slamming downwards, dust flying like the end was near. The surrounding berserk werewolves became even more frantic, attacking indiscriminately, blood and flesh flying.
Milo shook off the entangled werewolves and tried to rush towards Anna, but being alone, he could only deal with the obstacles in front of him.
A strong pang of unease floods through Rory, knowing that if the Shard's power goes completely out of control, the entire lair, including her, will be destroyed. And Kieran had been consumed by desire and power and lost his mind.
She glanced at Kieran, then at Milo and Anna, determination flashing in her eyes. She would never allow this to happen.