Page 71 of Red's Beast

What has he done to her?

I finally arrive at the edge of the woods and stand there wishing I could cross over, but my curse won't allow me until the night of the full moon.

I push against the invisible barrier that prevents me from leaving the woods, but it singes my fur. Determined not to beoutwitted by magic, I push harder, but the pain causes me to wail out in pain.

As I try repeatedly to cross, more of my fur disappears as it's burned away from the barrier. I pull my paw back to examine it. It is now completely hairless, and the flesh is burned badly. I'm not sure it will ever heal properly, just like the others I gathered all those years ago.

There has to be a way.

Another flash of Corbin leaning close makes my heart race. I have to get to her, or it'll be too late. Backing away from the wall, I take a running leap toward it and collide, knocking myself backward a few feet. Shaking my head, I try again and receive the same results.

I tip my head back and howl. When I look at the village, his men have heard the ruckus and are coming closer.

Well, if I can't get out, I can draw them in and cause a commotion.

They approach cautiously as they scan the woods, looking for any signs of me. Finally, one ventures too far inside into my domain, and it's show time.

He turns to the right as I come out of my hiding spot and plow into him. The man falls to the ground and I take that moment to drag my claws through his stomach as my teeth find the flesh ofhis throat. He yells out in pain and tries to get away from me, but I’m too fast and end up ripping his head from his shoulders.

I chuck it out into the open area of the village, letting the other man find it.

A low growl behind me alerts me that another has come into my playground. Instead of being in the village, I guess the other man decided to come in as well.

When I turn, all it takes is one look at me with my massive size and bloody jaws to make him run. With a laugh, I chase after him deeper into the woods, my paws thundering against the ground.

If this wolf thinks he can escape me, then he is about to learn the hard way that you never escape once you enter my woods. Isn’t that what Nigel always said?

I can be every bit the monster he accused me of, though I never was.

The wolf tries to zigzag his way to throw me off, but it doesn’t work. When his tail is within my reach, I latch onto it with my teeth, which causes him to come to a dead stop in his tracks.

The poor guy pulls hard to free his tail from my jaws, but with one quick twist, his tail comes free, leaving him with blood gushing from the wound.

Oops.

The wolf yelps loudly and heads in the direction of the village, but he doesn’t quite make it. I catch him at the edge of the tree line and rake my claws against his side.

Sadly, my fun is over because someone in the village hears his desperate yelps for help and drags him out, where I can’t reach him.

"Man, we got to go tell Corbin. Let's get out of here."

Yes, run while you can from the big bad wolf. Next time, you won't escape me. I will rein blood down on this village and show you chaos like you've never seen. If I’m going to be accused of being like that, then I might as well, so I get what I want.

My blood thirsty side knows no bounds and I can't wait until they come to play with me. Visions of Corbin on Lily fill my view and it makes me snarl again, but then she looks to the side and the man that lost his tail is standing in the doorway.

Yes, good. Exactly as I planned.

Their blood tastes like a sweet victory in my mouth. As I lie in wait at the edge of the woods, it feels like Corbin is taking forever to respond to the man in the doorway.

Another glimpse comes through, and Corbin is displeased that I interrupted his play time. Corbin looks at Lily and then at the man, a look of frustration on his face crossing his features as he decides if he really needs to respond to this.

I can hear his stomps from here as he goes down the stairs in his house. He isn't a quiet person and never has been. Suddenly, his footsteps stop, and it seems like he goes upstairs. I'm not sure what he's doing and wait a few more minutes for him to make an appearance.

When he opens the door, my heart sinks. Lily is in his grasp and struggling in his hold. "Let me go, you idiot. This won't work."

What won't work? What has he been telling her?

Corbin drags her from the house into the open in front of the woods and places a knife to her throat. His eyes darted madly at the woods in search of me. He lets out a long, angry huff as his rage builds. "Beast, show yourself!"

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