Page 41 of Cruel Alpha Beast
Whatever is outside of our dome must clearly sense us, and must have some sort of idea of what’s going on inside of here. It must be looking for us. I have so many questions, but I know I have to wait until this danger passes before I can pick Penelope’s brain.
There’s a horrifically long moment where everything is still, except for the dull thudding inside my chest. I look at Penelope out of the corner of my eye and see her do the same. I’m about to ask her if she thinks whatever is out there has gone away, but I’m not able to get the words out.
All of a sudden, a large, shadowy beast comes pouncing through the same entryway I used earlier. Though misty in form, there’s a weight to the four-legged creature, a sharpness to its bare fangs. It’s too large to be a wolf, and it’s far too gangly to be a bear. I can’t quite place what this is, but for the first time in a very long time, I’m intimidated.
Just as this thing starts barreling towards Penelope, she lazily flicks a finger at the shadow monster, creating a bright yellow flame from nowhere, and sending it to the beast’s center. It lets out a horrible yowling sound, then disintegrates.
I turn to Penelope, impressed by her powers, but I have no time to compliment her. Once the first monster is gone, several more burst into what was once our safe meeting place. Penelope grits her teeth and continues swiping her fingers at the monsters, but five more come through the door with every one that disappears.
“Sawyer,” she hisses at me. “Run!”
“No!” I shout back, raising my arm as one of the monsters comes for me.
Penelope turns the monster into a thick cloud before it can get to me, narrowly able to fight off another as it gets closer to her. “Go, young wolf! I can handle them long enough for you to escape!”
Just at that moment, another shadow monster pounces at me. I shift into a wolf in that instant, swiping my sharp clawsthrough its form. Whatever I’ve done, it’s caused the monster to shriek out, but it keeps gnashing its teeth at me.
I stand on my hind legs, growling and spitting, clawing my way through the monsters one by one, two by two. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the old witch getting absolutely swarmed. There’s a claw-shaped scratch on her arm, rich crimson blood seeping through her silk coverings. Her eyes are glowing with all of the magic she’s been using this whole, horrifically long time to repel these horrible creatures, but the more she flails her arms around, the dimmer that light in her eyes is getting.
She’s overwhelmed, I realized. And she’s getting weaker.
I wasn’t going to run away and leave her here in the first place, but now I definitely can’t.
Eventually, I’m able to fight my way through the shadow monsters, though I feel one of them biting my tail. I sweep one of my hind legs back and kick this thing right in its eyes, then muster enough energy to leap forward and block five of them from getting to the old woman.
Holding them off for her, I’m finding it more difficult to breathe, but I can tell that Penelope can now conserve some energy. I cast one haphazard glance over to her and see her hands swirling around, similar to how I saw Danielle this very morning, when she extinguished Violet’s flames.
The light in Penelope’s eyes returns to its full brightness as I block several more of these shadow monsters from attacking her. “Get behind me!” she finally hollers.
I’m reluctant at first, but then I see the bright white ball of energy and magic growing between the palms of her rolling hands. I can feel its heat as it grows even larger, and I know Idefinitely don’t want to be in this thing’s way, so I scuttle back behind her flowing skirt.
With a loud cry, Penelope thrusts her arms forward, engulfing the rest of the dome in this radiant light. Whatever this is, it burns my eyes, forcing me to squint them very close together. Still, I can see the shadow monsters turning into nothing but that black mist, howling that horrible, piercing sound at a volume that leaves my ears ringing.
When her magic light disappears, the shadow monsters stop pouring into the dome, and soon all is quiet. I shift back into my human form just in time for the old woman to slump onto my shoulder. Her breathing is heavy, and it concerns me greatly.
“You saved us,” I tell her. “Come on, we have to go before they come back!”
“I can’t, wolf,” she tells me. “You should be able to run home, though. Tell Lacey I’m proud of all she’s become.”
I shake my head vigorously, throwing her arm around my shoulders. “Tell her yourself later. I’m getting you out of here.”
Before she can protest, I pull Penelope through the entryway and head back to where I came from. I want to move faster, but she’s struggling to keep up with me. I keep one arm around her waist and help her as best I can.
Just as we reach the pitchfork path, however, my newest, greatest fear comes true. More shadow monsters appear between the trees, blocking our way home. I’m forced to turn and pick up the pace. Penelope tries her damnedest to keep up with me, and the two of us are able to evade the monsters.
I hear the old woman muttering under her breath, and both our sets of feet begin to hasten, almost as if they’re movingof their own volition. Outrunning the monsters, we go and go and go.
“Do you smell smoke?” I ask.
Penelope doesn’t even have to answer because, in one turn to the right, we approach a large, gnarled willow tree—undeniably the same from the tapestry, the scroll, and Lacey’s crayon interpretation. The willow stands strong ahead of us, but its sweeping boughs are smoldering, sending curls of smoke up into the air.
Smoke that turns into one of these horrible creatures that have been chasing us.
Our feet stop several feet from the tree’s roots, and soon, the witch’s eyes glow again. She has enough strength to create another radiant ball of light and sends it toward the tree. The creature wails, as do the others coming along behind us. But this time, the tree ceases smoking, and everything is quiet for a moment.
I turn around, finding that all of the shadow monsters have dissipated. I look at Penelope, who’s using her whole body weight against mine, but she’s still breathing. It’s shallow, but she’s alive.
Just as I’m about to turn us back around, a heavy gust of wind blows toward us, sending my hair far away from my forehead. A voice, smooth and satiny, whispers through the breeze.
