Luna's Angel Ch. 07-12

"Well, I don't see as you have much of a choice," he said. "I'll give you thirty seconds to think about it. Count it down." I saw the man with the knife to her throat look at his watch, his hand was twitching, causing the knife to dig into her skin a little more. She was trying to move away from it without success.

I prayed to Luna myself for guidance; I couldn't let these evil men live, but I couldn't watch her be hurt or killed either. Not a second time.

I had ten seconds left, the man on screen was counting it down. I looked at her and softly said, "I'm sorry," then I looked up. "I Nathan, Angel of Luna, vow that I will..."

I stop as a loud noise comes over the screen, the door of the room has been broken. The camera is rolling as a man in hybrid form runs into the frame, tackling the man behind her. As they crashed to the side, the knife moved with them.

It was like slow motion as I watched the knife slice her throat, moving across and down. Skin, muscle, her trachea, finally her arteries. By the time the knife had exited her neck, I could see the blood spraying towards the camera. Her head fell back, opening the cut and causing more blood to rush out, and that's when I completely lost it.

The phone fell to the ground as I let out a terrifying roar. I shifted into my wolf form and let him have full control; we were both furious and wanted blood, starting with the man trembling in fear next to me.

He pissed himself when he saw the size of my wolf, even as he shifted he was only half my size. He turned, but I was on him in a heartbeat, my jaws grabbing his hips just above the tail and clamping down. He let out a pained whine as his vertebrae were crushed; I tore the flesh away, nearly severing his back. He fell to the ground, his back legs useless to him, but my wolf wasn't anywhere near done. I jumped for his neck when I was attacked from all sides by his minions.

I moved without ceasing, a perfect predator killing wolf after wolf without mercy. Every time I broke a neck, tore a throat or ripped out a heart with my claws, another would take his place. I was being bitten constantly, four or five wolves at a time would be on my back trying to hold on and get me to the ground, but I wasn't going. I spun them off, flinging them into the crowd. Chunks of flesh were ripped off only to regenerate and heal a few moments later. Bodies littered the ground, wolf form wasn't working so the next wave came with spears and swords.

I shifted to my hybrid form and pulled my katanas free from under the mounds of limbs and dead bodies that covered them. They used teeth, and I gave them more than they could handle; if they wanted steel, I would skewer them like shishkabobs. They didn't have my knowledge of the fighting arts, my strength or my reflexes. All they had was numbers, and those were rapidly dwindling. My swords flashed about, lopping off heads here, limbs there in a virtual symphony of death where I was the conductor.

And I fucking loved every second of it.

When I ran out of people to kill, I looked around for more and was disappointed that a number had run off. I pulled out the weapons stuck in my body, shifting back to my wolf form I let out a howl that would scare wolves two states away. Raising my nose, I scented the direction they had gone and went in pursuit.

I caught one last glance at the phone lying on the ground; Wendy wasn't in the picture, but I could see Alpha Christopher and some of his men, covered in blood spray, working to lift her up. I vowed to avenge her.

I would bathe in the blood of my enemies, I would use their intestines for necklaces, and their bones would be tread underfoot. I was a killing machine now, giving in fully to my rage, and I would not stop until every bit of evil had been eradicated from the earth.

I took off into the trees, following the trail back of those who had fled to the safety of the pack house. Those who ran got no mercy; I would overcome them with my long stride and tear them apart, scattering their limbs around me, then I would take off for the next one. I killed a dozen or so before I crashed out of the underbrush into the lawn surrounding the house.

It was a large home, three stories and made of stone and concrete. The Pack members had barricaded themselves inside against the threat.

Me.

Rifles started to fire as soon as I came in view. I could see dozens of shooters, hiding behind the steel sliding shutters with plus sign shaped firing openings. I ignored the pain of the bullets tearing into me, my body would push them back out and heal over even as more wounds were created. I let out a howl and charged.

Racing across the lawn, I focused on the main door. It was a large steel door, it looked thick and was probably braced on the inside, but I didn't care. At full speed, I crashed my shoulder into it. The impact made me dizzy; I had moved the doors slightly, and they didn't return to the previous position. I stood there for a moment, healing; the angle was too sharp for most of the shooters to get to me while I was by the door.

I shifted to my hybrid form and moved far enough back I could get a running start, then launched myself at the doors again. They moved a little more, so I kept going. The shooters in the windows were now joined by a new group behind the door; they fired through the steadily widening opening as I ran at it again and again.

I ran again, this time I saw something fly out of the door and roll towards me. I leaped high in the air as the grenade exploded, shrapnel joining bullets in a futile attempt to stop me. When another came flying, I swatted it back through the door. It exploded in the air, and the guns went silent behind it. With one more crash, the reinforcing door bars failed and I was inside.

I was a little disappointed as I looked around, as most are dead. The ones that survived the blast are quickly torn apart, and I head into the house to do a little cleaning. Room by room I kill everyone I find, ignoring their guns and their teeth as I decorate the house with their blood and guts. I move to the second floor, by now the men are hiding from me, but my nose finds them so my claws can rip them apart.

I've been killing for an hour now, and my rage has finally abated. I finish the second floor, and the house is now quiet. I shift back to human form and walk through again. Looking at the carnage, I'm not struck by the death or the violence or the blood. I'm struck by the lack of women and children.

They have to be here somewhere.

I shift back to wolf form and let my nose lead me. I follow the feminine scents, the freshest are all heading for one place. A door, set into solid concrete, with a keypad on the outside. A safe room.

I move around, the room has a single entrance. I can still smell the people inside, barely hear their talking so they have no escape tunnel. Many are crying, probably due to the loss of their mates. My fury today was on a biblical scale; a verse came to mind, 1 Samuel 25:22 So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

No male adult would be left in this Pack, it would be utterly wasted. Women and children, I would have to see about once they came out.

And they would come out.

I calmed down, sitting by the door with my shoulders propped against it. I closed my eyes and focused my mind on the people hiding inside; with everyone else dead for miles around, it was easy to pick up their minds, and from there I could force the bond. I filled their minds with the images of the recent past; their Alpha's threats, Wendy's death, the death and destruction. I could hear their cries of anguish as they saw their mates and sons dying, their shock at the level of violence I was capable of.

When they were done, I put my words over the link. "Come out, and I will judge you by Luna's will. Stay, and die in the fires of hell. I will bring this house down upon you and turn your safe room into an oven. You have thirty minutes to decide."

At twenty-seven minutes, I heard the latches go free and the door slowly opened. A girl of about twelve poked her head out, freezing when she sees me and my wings. I look at her wide eyes, light blue and full of tears. "It's all right, child, come here and be judged."

She came forward slowly, her head and eyes on the ground. I touched her head, letting the knowledge of her sins flow from her mind to mine. "Oh, you poor child," I said, "He cannot hurt you anymore, and he certainly will not touch you there."

She hugged me and started to cry. I moved her into the kitchen, then opened the back door. There hadn't been a battle there, and they didn't need to see the rest of the house. "Wait here for the others," I said.

It took two hours to bring them out, one by one. Most were innocent and went to wait in the back yard. Those that were not, were quickly and painlessly killed and hidden in a nearby room. I found no satisfaction in what I did, it was just the sorting I had to do. It was my life now, all that I had left, and since I was immortal it was all I would ever have.

I just had to wait for Wendy to reincarnate, to find her again. Maybe then I could be happy.

Ch. 11

When everyone was in the back yard, I took an hour and stacked the bodies in the media room of the house. I knew the people left would be upset by the blood and gore left behind, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

I made a call to Alpha David at the Flume Creek pack. I told him what had been done and asked him to help with the women and children of this Pack. He was shocked at the destruction, and immediately promised to help. I wanted to call Alpha Christopher, but I didn't have the guts to do it. In my heart, I knew it was my fault for leaving her without adequate protection. I failed her, again, and now she was truly gone.

So, I called my Mom. "Luna White, how may I help you Alpha?"

"Mom, it's me. The Alpha and the rest of his evil men are dead." There was silence on the line for a while, so I continued. "Mom, they kidnapped my Wendy. They were holding a knife to her throat, telling me they would kill her if I didn't swear to leave them all alone."

"Oh Luna... Is she all right? Did you do it?"

"I was going to, but their hiding place was found. In the struggle..." I paused to collect myself. "She was killed, Mama. Oh Luna, he slit her throat while I was watching and I COULDN'T STOP IT!" I broke down crying, sliding down the wall in the office I was using until I was sitting on the floor. For a minute or two, I just cried while my Mom tried to comfort me over the phone. "I loved her, Mom, and she died knowing that I couldn't save her."

"Oh Natie, my boy, she loved you too. Tell me, when they were threatening her, what was she telling you to do? What did her eyes say?"

"No, don't do it. She was so brave. She didn't want to be the reason evil men walked free." I slammed my fist against the floor, smashing the wood. "She's a better person than me. Stronger. She would rather die than help evil, and I would have done anything to save her, even giving up my reason for being here."

"When you showed us what happened, up with Luna, what do you think will happen with her soul?"

I paused for a bit. She was a good person, great even, but her eyes were still the same bright green that captivated me when we first started training together. They weren't silver to me. "She will hold until there is another spot for her, and she will come back to live again."

"So she isn't really lost then, is she? I mean, you're immortal, she's going to come back to you. You just have to wait for her and find her again."

"It could take decades, Mom, and who's to say I could even find her again?" I banged my head against the wall.

"Well, it sounds to me like someone better get on their knees and pray to Luna they can find their mate," Mom said. "Now you have a job to do. Take the anger, take the rage and focus it on who deserves the anger. Let it drive you to find and eliminate those who would do such things." She paused for a moment. "I've heard the stories of what you've done, Nathan. You're making the world better, you are the answer to the prayers of so many. Focus on that, and let Wendy come back to you when Luna deems the time is right."

She was right, I thought. Moms always knew. "Thank you, Mom. I've got to go. I love you."

"I love you too, Natie. No matter how big you are or what you become, I'm still your Mama." I put the phone down and walked out into the back yard.

I told the people they had two hours to remove anything they wanted to take with them and pack for a journey, because this Pack was being disbanded. They could pack a bag, take their money, whatever they needed, but they couldn't stay here. During that time I gathered the bodies from the woods and piled them in the room with the others. When I was done, I set the place on fire.

The remaining Pack members watched, shock and loss on their faces, as the house went up in flames. I turned and flew away, heading south. I still recalled the map, I knew where the evil Packs were. I went from Pack to Pack with the same basic plan; land, confront, cleanse and move on.

I must have killed more men and women than I could count, and my path of destruction took me months. I didn't rest, I didn't listen to prayer, I didn't call anyone or ask anyone for advice. I had become a killing machine. My tears were gone, my pity left next to that phone on the grass with the last image I had of her, her neck opening up as the blood sprayed out. I sprayed a lot of blood avenging her, and nothing would bring her back.

I was currently on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington, having finished cleansing a Pack there. It was one of the last ones to visit west of the Mississippi, and one of the worst. The werewolves who had fled me before had been pushed farther and farther until there was no place left to hide. These mountains were where they had chosen to make their stand, and it didn't work for them.

My face showed no emotion as I methodically waded through their lines, tearing their bodies apart as I went. They tried everything; mass attacks, swords, spears, firearms and even explosives and fire. The land mine I set off tossed me in the air, but I was fully healed before I hit the ground again. The propane tank that exploded next to me only singed my hair. I finished the job, then wiped my katanas on a dead Alpha's shirt and sheathed them again.

Looking back, I felt nothing. No victory, no sorrow, no accomplishment. It all meant nothing to me, in fact nothing meant anything to me. I was doomed to walk the world now, without a mate, without a Pack, without hope.

Even the innocent were afraid of me. Children were scared with stories of my exploits, mothers hid their children and ran if they saw me, and men either ran or fought. I let out a heavy sigh and looked up at the moon, it was going to set soon. Letting my wings out, I flew to the west, finding a spot on a cliff overlooking the water. It was a beautiful summer night, the view was magnificent, the reflection of the moon in the still black waters before me. It was the kind of place I would have liked to take Wendy to.

Tears fell from my face as I looked up at the moon. "WHY?" I pleaded to the moon to answer my question; I had given everything, done everything that I had been asked and yet I was miserable. I wanted to die, to be with her, but I knew I couldn't.

The moon was just hitting the horizon when I heard wolves approaching. I didn't turn around, I kept my focus on the moonset. I didn't sense the person approaching until the scent filled my nostrils, and my eyes opened wide in shock.

"Wendy?"

I spun around, daring to believe, and she was there. She was naked, she must have run here in wolf form. I could see some wolves in the treeline behind her, but I didn't care. Jumping to my feet, I ran to her and gathered her in my arms.

She was here, she was real, and I was never letting her go.

She pushed back a little, and I let my arms loosen so I could look down on her face; she was much shorter than me, her head didn't even reach my shoulders. I put a finger under her chin, looking over her face and down to the bright white scar across her neck. I could see the hurt in her eyes, but more than that I could see the love. She was here for me, she had found me, and she wanted me.

I crashed my lips to hers and we kissed each other hard, our tongues exploring each other. I lost myself in her feel, in the sensation of us being together. Her body pressed up against mine, her soft curves molding to the hard planes of my muscles. My hands roamed her body as I could smell her excitement rising quickly. It was happening so fast, but I didn't want it happening here, in front of others, in the middle of the woods. I pulled back, kissing her softly as we came apart.

I sank down to my knees and just hugged her tight around her back, my face resting just above her full chest. I cried into her as her hands moved through my hair and down my neck and back, and her tears fell on my head. After a minute or two, I stood and picked her up, carrying her to the cliff edge where I sat down again, holding her on my lap in front of me. "I can't believe you survived," I said. "I saw you die."

"I almost did. When they broke into the storeroom I was being held in, you saw what happened." I squeezed her a little and she continued. "Doctor Julie was close, she was in the room in moments. She managed to clamp the severed arteries and stabilize me long enough to make it back to the treatment room. It was touch and go, she said my heart stopped once and they were pushing blood in as fast as they could. She was able to sew things back up enough for me to survive, and for my wolf healing to kick in again. I was in the hospital for three weeks, and it was only a few weeks ago that I was able to shift and run again."

"I... I lost it when I saw it happen to you, Wendy. I've been lost ever since."

"I know," she said as she snuggled closer. "We've been following your trail of destruction. You never called home, never called Alpha Christopher, never talked to anyone so you could know I had lived. My Alpha sent me, along with those guards, to find you and talk you down."

I looked at the wolves evenly spaced around the clearing, they were facing away, looking for threats. I was glad he had sent them with. She must have figured out what I was thinking. "Don't worry, I've been well protected. After word got out about what you did to the Pack that took me, after the path of destruction you've left behind, people are bending over backwards to make sure I stay safe."

I kissed the top of her head and we watched the moon dip below the horizon. "You're the only one who could bring me back, Wendy. I'd lost the ability to feel anything but loss, right up until that moment I scented you again. You are MINE, Wendy, and I am yours."

She kissed me hard and whispered, "And you are MINE, Nathan, and I will always be yours." With that, we completed the first part of a werewolf mating, the declaration. All that was left was the marking, which was part of the consummation act and that was coming soon. It could be done in human or wolf form, but with no twig and berries the wolf form wouldn't be near as much fun.

"It's late, do you have a place to stay?"

"Not yet, we have been running all day. There weren't many places left for you to go to, so we figured we might find you here. We got to the Pack House a few minutes after you left, we think."

"Come on then." I stood up, letting my wings spread. I looked at her guards. "There's a hotel about five miles east of here, along Tanner Road, I saw it as I passed. We'll be there, meet in the woods out back at sundown." They nodded their wolf heads, their front shoulders low in respect. I flew down to the water, and we walked into the cold and took turns washing the blood off each other. When we were clean and out, I flew us up into the air, making her shriek in fear for a moment. She soon grew comfortable enough to start looking around and even enjoying it as we flew over the mountains and forests.