[r for possible language/gore]

Isleen found herself at the guild hall more often than expected. She had been given a room despite the fact she still had not agreed to be an official member. Nosse stood for helping people, and she didn’t care much about that. She would not refer to herself a selfish. That was her mother. Instead, the wolf would describe herself as selective. The seer felt she had enough family to be concerned about. She did not need to save every innocent that had been wronged in order to sleep at night. Instead, she typically slept soundly next to her vampire-diowolf mate after making love and a little bite. She did not have a lot in this world but Ethan and her family were enough. The guild? It was a sweet idea but her talents were much darker than the majority of theirs. To align herself with them fully felt like she was somehow betraying herself and lying to all of them.

She sat on a bench at a table in the kitchen. The sun’s setting rays poured into the room.The wolf knelt over, eating a bit of venison stew quietly. A pair came in talking loudly and did not stop to acknowledge her. Isleen didn’t mind. It was better that way. New recruits? she questioned for a moment before turning attention back to her meal. “They think the number is up to three,” the first shared. “Wait, three dead or three missing?” the second replied with wide eyes and shock. “Oh, three missing - and that includes the first dead werewolf.” “What a shame! And at just six and seven years old, Gods be with them.”Isleen’s ears perked up as a streak of icy anger poured through her like a frozen waterfall. The gods did not care about such things. She lifted her gaze to watch the pair as they continued to ramble. “Where,” the dark haired wolf cut in with a dry tone. Her voice seemed to have surprised them. “Oh, um, Adeluna,” they shared. “When did they go missing” the wolf asked, her tone sounding more like a growl than anything. “Less than a week, three maybe four days,” the first replied. With an angry huff, Isleen pushed back from the counter, abandoning what remained of her meal and the scent of fear that she had caused.

The wolf did not care much for other beings, especially humans, but the thought of young pups being snatched made her blood boil. Depending on their bloodline, the young werewolves likely did not have a handle on transitioning back and forth between forms. Briefly she thought of her own experience before the fury drowned out those thoughts. Instead, the anger continued to build the more she thought about it. She roughly crammed anything she thought may have been important to a bag and tossed it over her shoulder. Adeluna was not far. She’d get there by sunset.

The seer briefly considered shifting so she could run down the mountains and to the city to save time but knew she couldn’t due to her supplies. Instead, she trekked down the paths her paws had worn down over the months. Isleen did not know if these children were lured away from their pack in their wolf form or if they were snatched in their human form. It did not matter to her either way. There would be no mercy, no forgiveness, when she was done. A rational creature would have likely calmed and reasoned during the hours that it took to approach the city. Isleen, however, after arriving at what she deemed the worst case scenario, kept circling back to that thought. There was a lot of raw, carnal power wrapped in young weres. It took a long time for most to cleanly shift without the aid of magic. Diowolves transitioned between forms easier but they also had to deal with whatever elemental alignment that ran through their veins. Both races struggled to trust their wolf and hunt properly in the beginning.

The dark haired girl slowed as she approached Adeluna. She crouched down and dug her fingers into the dirt. Instantly she found a leyline and tapped it, pulling a small thread of magic into her form. Ancient symbols glowed upon her porcelain skin and her senses heightened. Her grey orbs closed as wave of calm washed over her. The muscles in her face relaxed and her breathing evened. She opened her eyes, now purple, and her gaze was in grey scale as she scanned the horizon for auras. The wolf knew she was not alone but to assume so would’ve been stupid. She was trying to determine the size and number of beings around her. The wolf released the earth and magical current. The plum hue remained on her orbs as her vision returned to normal. She licked her lips, deciding to slowly prowl the outskirts of the city. Isleen could not be certain if the kidnapper thought it was wise to have the young wolves in the forest or in the bustling city. Both had their advantages.

He had looked away from her for one second! All he had done was put her down so he could pay for the food at the stall. After he finished he had looked down at the ground only to find that she was gone. Wesley searched the town and eventually was able to track her down. Somebody had taken her and Wesley had been preparing for a brawl. Instead, he spotted her lying down in the alleyway near the outskirts of town. His eyes widened and he rushed over to the little girl. The little girl whom he had sworn to help, to protect, and to raise. 

"Charise. Sweetie?" He softly called out to her. 

She was motionless. Wesley dropped his satchel and got onto his knees right in front of his little sister. The toddler's neck was covered in fresh blood and she was softly breathing. Realizing that she was alive, he reached out to her and pulled her into his arms. He was ready to run to a doctor or anybody who would be able to help. But when he looked back down at her, the little girl's breathing had stopped. 

"Come on, please don't do this." He whispered desperately, "Please stay with me Charise. You're all I have left." 

He held her tight to his chest as he tried his best to muffle his own sobs. His worst nightmare was coming to life. Everything he had been trying to do, everything he had known was gone. A failure. That is what he was. It had been his job to protect her. It had been his job to give her a future. Yet here she was, dead in his arms. There was only one person to blame and that was himself. A real brother would have done better. He was a failure. Nothing more than a pathetic weed in the garden of life. A guardian with nothing to protect. A waste of space. 

"I'm so sorry." He whispered softly over and over again as he held his toddler sister tight. 

Wesley's father was right. All he would ever be was a worthless piece of garbage, doomed to be thrown away and forgotten. He continued to hold his little sister, not caring that there was blood getting all over his shirt. He didn't care that it would look strange to any witnesses. Everything he had was gone. Everything he loved would always end up dead. There was nothing for him anymore. Nothing. 

[permission to god-mode granted for plot]

Frankly, she wanted to go home already. The wolf couldn’t help but think if she had been with Ethan, she wouldn’t have been at the guild which ultimately meant she wouldn’t have heard the news. It was easier to be a recluse - and she was good at it. If it did not involve her family, typically she wasn’t concerned. “But they’re children,” she reminded herself as the moon grew full. It was unrealistic for the wolf to expect to find the culprit quickly. She could not be sure that someone else had not already apprehended him for his crimes. Something in her gut motivated her to carry on, to be patient. Isleen quietly built a small semblance of a shelter before shifting to her wolf form for the night. She circled the space three times before curling into a ball. Her tired gaze looked to the sky with a sigh. She inhaled deeply before allowing herself to drift to sleep.


It had been four days without any progress. The girl remained as a rust colored wolf more often than not and satisfied her hunger with a couple of rabbits. Occasionally she left the outskirts of the town to go deeper into the woods again for water. Sleeping had been more challenging than originally expected. She appreciated the sounds of the nocturnal creatures but it did not help the overall loneliness that crept into her soul. Her emotions were on edge as her grasp on controlling her wolfish nature grew thinner. Instead, her vampiric nature was taking control. Anxiety shifted to anger. Patience detortiated into frustration.

Isleen changed into her last set of clean clothes consisting of a wrinkled tunic and simple pants. Her feet were covered in dirt but she preferred that over shoes. It let her feel more connected to the earth beneath her. Upon catching a glimpse of her reflection in the creek, she kneeled down to get a better look and used a piece of leather to pull her onyx, wavy locks out of her face. Then she growled audibly as the majority of hair fell out of the binding. Her gaze narrowed, noticing her dark circles for the first time. The bright pink of her mouth was a sharp contrast against her pale, cracked lips. She snarled at the woman staring back at her. Isleen’s eyebrow arched at the sight of her pointed teeth. The wilderness she felt in her mind had seemingly taken over her form.

Monster.

The seer started her way back to her camp. Her movements were slow and intentional until she heard sounds of protest. Her body burst into a sprint. The scent of fresh blood made her eyes dilate immediately and made her run faster. Her muscles did not dare protest as adrenaline filled her form. As she grew closer, Isleen was certain she heard a child’s voice and could smell tears. She was too engrossed in her senses to stop and consider that she was wrong. Her wolf knew there were other lycans nearby. This had to be it. This person would be stopped.

She saw the boy first and then the girl. Between everything she was smelling and the limp body, the wolf grew certain. The rage from before came rushing back like a broken dam. The sound of blood pumping muffled any other sound. The vaewolf’s movement did not slow. Instead, she pounced forward and tackled the boy down to the ground. The dead body fell from his grasp. Isleen, despite her fairly small size, was incredibly strong due to her bloodline. She straddled him with one hand on each shoulder. Isleen gnashed her teeth and hit him across the face with her rough nails. “Never again” she growled. The seer immediately tapped a leyline to draw in the raw, magical energy. The surge caused bright symbols to appear on her skin as she dipped her head down. The wolf bit directly into his shoulder. The blood hit the back of her mouth like hot lava. Involuntarily, her body shuddered but she buried the desire to feed off of him. He did not deserve death. Instead, she twisted a curse from his life force. Isleen pulled back, her gaze bright with hate and mouth covered in blood. She rose from him, panting slightly. Using the back of her hand, she wiped her mouth slightly.

“Shift,” she demanded as a wave of alpha influence pushed out. He wasn’t her pack but between the curse that was now making its way through his veins and her power, Isleen was not concerned. She didn’t fail - it simply wasn’t an option in her mind. The transition wouldn’t be easy on him. Under any other conditions, it would have been hard to watch but instead she stood with an air of arrogance. The girl’s arms were crossed, shoulders back, and chin raised. Her eyes never left him. Staring back at her was a dark wolf with three eyes and horns. Isleen went down to one knee to meet his gaze directly. “I bind you to this form. Kill anything and another year will be tacked on - control yourself, my pet.” She grinned, proud of her work. No other children would die at his hands. The hybrid rose to her feet and ultimately made her way back towards the camp to back up and go home.