Skinned
Withered Pain, New Silence

I pulled out the flashdrive and shut my laptop down, my mind thrown into a state of stupor as I attempted to let everything sink in—let the truth about him sink in.

Just like us, Killian had the ability to shift, but he was nowhere near an ordinary werewolf.

The structure of his features reflected a wolf, but he held the posture of a human being, standing on two of his feet with a muscle mass that overpowered the likes of my kind. It was like he was a disfigured mix of skin and wild, and I could only imagine how horrific it would be like to stand in front of such presence.

Mikhailov had managed to mutilate the very nature of our kind by completely corrupting the essence of Killian's wolf.

And through Killian's torment under her needles and constant probing, she had tipped the balance between skin and wild into a dangerous irregularity.

"What have they done to you?" I muttered.

I jumped when I heard someone knock at the front door.

"Valerie! It's Reed, open up!" Reed's muffled voice called out.

I immediately placed my laptop down on the sofa and stood up to answer the door.

I was greeted by a distraught looking Reed, his features dotted with sweat and a bruise forming just above his right cheek.

I gasped when I noticed the harsh line of open wound that traveled along the expanse of his chest, and I became concerned with the blood seeping through the navy cotton shirt that he was wearing.

"Shit, you need to come in. I'll patch you up," I opened the door wider to make way for his entrance, but Reed quickly shook his head.

"Now's not the time, I'm fine," Reed said.

"What happened, Reed?"

"Heath's missing," he mumbled, completely taking me off guard, "He went on a rampage as soon as he got off of the morphine. It all happened so fast, I just— I couldn't hold him down long enough for Maxon to come back. I lost him, Valerie. You have to help me replace him, I've no idea where he went."

I swallowed down the impending anxiety from the possibilities of where Heath might have gone as he carried with him the danger of an uncontrolled wolf.

He could honestly be anywhere—he could be on his way to the nearest city or maybe even trespassing a neighboring pack, and both of the circumstances could lead him to his death.

I couldn't have that, not even Reed.

"Give me a minute and I'll be out with you."

"You know what to do when you replace him," Reed said, "I'll go south and you head north. Don't try and fight him, shift as fast as you can and run if you have to, and then make the call."

My features softened as I noticed how completely on edge he was, and I laid a comforting hand on his arm and gave it a light squeeze, "We'll replace him, Reed. He's going to be okay."

He had to be.

Reed and I then dispersed onto our separate ways. I switched on my flashlight, clutching it tight in my hand as I entered the band of trees and into the northern perimeter, keeping my nose tipped up in caution to try and catch a familiar hint of scent carried by the wind.

But the deeper I went into the forest, the darker it became, the glow of the moon completely veiled by the hovering leaves of the forest trees.

Minutes turned to hours, I was already growing anxious as I began to think that I was getting nowhere near to replaceing Heath. I hadn't found any trace of him around the area, and I was starting to lose my mind running in circles throughout the north with hope that was slowly draining to none.

I only wished that Reed had at least found a clue as to where his brother had ran off to.

"Heath!" I called out, my voice breaking in despair.

I started walking while calling out his name, forcing out my voice until I could feel my throat run dry and my lungs ache.

I was utterly afraid for Heath.

I wasn't ready to acknowledge the idea that Reed and I were too late and that Heath had finally made an exit from the territorial grounds.

At a state where he didn't have full control of himself, anything could happen to him outside the pack.

"Fuck," I cursed, eyes welling with unshed tears as I halted on my steps to calm myself down.

There was a sudden rush of the wind, blowing the hair out of my face as I came to a full stop to catch whatever scent it carried with it, and I felt the air get knocked out of my chest when I smelled a hint of Heath's scent.

He was just nearby.

I immediately bolted, kicking my feet into a force full speed as I ran to the opposite direction of the wind.

"Heath!" I screamed out, completely ignoring how my lungs felt like it was getting punctured as I tried to push my legs further and replace him as quick as possible.

I kept my flashlight held up in my hand as I zoomed through the darkened forest, until I could finally see the outline of Heath's physique in the distance with his heavily bruised back facing me.

I slowed down my movement into a cautious approach as I tried to gauge his current state, and my throat bobbed as soon as I took notice of his extended claws completely lodged into the forest ground.

"...Heath?" I called softly, "Can you hear me?"

His left shoulder jerked as if the wolf inside him made an aggressive jolt, and my eyes began to water with tears when I continued to hear his struggled grunts.

"Heath, w-we need to go back. Everyone's looking for you—"

With a hostile growl, Heath looked at me over his shoulder, and I was immediately pinned by the crazed look in his bloodshot eyes that seemed to have been stripped off of its cerulean color.

His lips pulled back to reveal the sharpness of his teeth as he meant me all the harm he could do.

And I didn't want to believe it, but I already knew that I wasn't talking to someone I know anymore.

"You need to listen to me," I pleaded, the pressure in my sternum growing worse upon seeing the absence of the familiar softness in Heath's eyes.

Keeping his gaze pinned onto me, he gradually stood up on his feet, his palms open from the extended claws that promised a great deal of violence.

I took a step back, "I know you're in there, Heath. You just have to fight it."

"Just let me take you home," I breathed out, and I couldn't help but cry when I failed to see past the wrath in his semi-shifted features.

He was far long gone.

And when Heath took a purposeful step forward, I cautiously backed away, my bottom lip quivering in utter fear.

He wouldn't.

He would never hurt me.

"Heath, please," I sobbed out.

And when he suddenly made an advance for an attack, I immediately turned on my heel and made the run for my life.

I heard him shift, the sound of his wolf's paws hitting smoothly hard on the forest ground.

The long hours of training and war had done his wolf the capacity to an efficient chase, and it set my blood to run cold upon realizing that outrunning him was going to be impossible.

I had no choice, despite putting the pup I was carrying at risk from shifting, I had to allow my wolf to take surface.

I pumped my legs harder, preparing myself to shift, and I failed to notice the large downward slope ahead of me.

Before I could make a full stop, I tumbled straight down with a surprised yelp.

And as I violently rolled down the steep slope, my body painfully took on the form of my wild with Heath just a breath away from me.

As soon as my wolf landed messily on the even ground, she swiftly shook off the leaves sticking to her fur before kicking her limbs to the very limit of her speed.

Even my wolf knew she couldn't fight Heath, not in a state where she was most vulnerable.

She couldn't risk it, so she ran.

When she knew she was at a safe distance for a call, she stopped and howled for help, her warning effectively resonating throughout the territorial land.

But her message for alarm was short lived as soon as Heath's wolf had come in and clamped his teeth on her scruff, hauling her hard against the nearest tree.

She was quick to regain herself by rolling off of her back and hiding the vulnerability of her belly from Heath's teeth.

Standing up, she fixed her posture and opened her mouth to sound her threat, completely prepared to protect herself from any more damage that could potentially harm the life growing inside her.

Heath's wolf snarled, biting back with just as much tenacity. And my wolf sprang onto him, clamping her teeth down the side of his neck and slamming him down onto the ground.

She ran further into the northern perimeter, until she reached the lake with Heath terrifyingly close to catching up.

But I felt the excruciating pain of canines sinking into the flesh of my wolf's upper hind leg. And her body scraped harshly against the muddy ground, her fur covered in blood and dirt.

Heath's wolf made its gradual approach as my wolf desperately inched farther away from him, and when he finally stood before her, he settled a heavy paw against her chest to keep her pinned on the ground.

But when the wolf was about to open his mouth to lay end on my life, he made the mistake of letting his hungered gaze catch my frantic eyes.

As if an inward switch was suddenly flipped, he suddenly reeled himself back with a struggled wince, snarling almost in defiance as he coward away from the pain within.

My wolf inched farther away as she watched what looked to be Heath trying to fight against the influence of his wild.

And I was begging the gods that he'd win.

The sound of bones snapping met my ears, snarls fading to pained groans, until the beast in front of me turned back into the man I knew.

Heath groaned, fighting to even out his breath as he fell on the ground on all fours.

My wolf didn't fight back when I urged for control, and as soon as I was shifted back into skin, I ignored the pain the bit harsh on my leg and stood up on my feet to walk over to Heath.

"Heath?" I mumbled, and as soon as I was about to reach out with a hand to settle on his shoulder, he raised a halting hand.

"Get a-away from me," Heath managed to choke out, and he suddenly made a guttural growl, his head jerking from his wolf's incessant fight for control.

"Reed's on his way, he'll—"

"Get the fuck out of here, Val! Please!" Heath exclaimed, shooting me a frantic look, and his features suddenly dropped as soon as he noticed the large bite that he left on my upper thigh.

Heath's eyes began to pool with tears, his lower lips trembling, "I didn't—I'm so fucking sorry."

"You have to get away from me, I can't hold it back anymore, please," His voice cracked, "Valerie!"

I flinched and took a step back when his canines abruptly descended, breaking the skin of his lower lip in the process.

Another wave of growl escaped Heath's throat, and his arm jerked, forcing himself onto his back as his claws involuntary extended and clawed onto the muddy ground.

"Run!" Heath screamed, his voice shifting to a deeper tone as I turned around and started running as fast as I could.

But I wasn't running in hope of escaping anymore, I was running in order to delay my demise, to give more time for Reed to catch up.

I refused to look back and see how Heath had lost himself to his wild again.

I refused to look at Heath in pursuit of my throat.

And I refused to look at Heath whose eyes harbored all the intent to make the last blow to my demise.

I was tackled back down onto the ground, and Heath's clawed hands circled around my throat, planting my head painfully down onto the ground.

My hands gripped his wrist, trying to breathe in as much air as I looked at Heath's semi-shifted features, but I could see clearly the tears still fresh in his eyes.

"I-I'm—" I choked out, "I'm pre—"

Heath's claws had sunk deeper into my neck, completely taking out my voice as my vision started to blur from the pressure of his hold.

Suddenly, his weight was lifted off of my body, but I was far too lost in my daze to witness what had happened.

And as I filled my deprived lungs with air, I looked up and saw Reed with Heath in his arms, the two of them engulfed in a tight hug.

Reed's back was facing me, but I saw Heath whose eyes had suddenly turned hazy.

Heath released a heaving breath,

blood began to meet the muddied ground,

and Reed hugged his brother tighter.

I felt my heart drop, my lower lip quivering as I saw the whithering look on Heath's face, his gaze going up to meet his older brother.

Heath inched himself away from Reed, his eyes going down to the silver dagger that was plunged straight through the center of his chest, with Reed's hand weakly circled around its wooden grip.

And when Heath was about to lose his balance and fall, Reed caught him in his arms.

"Heath, I—" Reed choked, his voice breaking into a broken sob.

"Reed, i-it's okay. This—this is okay," Heath assured, completely holding his brothers eyes as he meant every word he just said,

Because Heath knew that Reed was going to blame himself.

"I'm o-okay," Heath gasped out, and his hands desperately gripped Reed's arms to keep himself upright.

Reed lowered his brother onto the ground and held Heath's upper body with his arms. And amidst the pained silence, Heath's eyes met mine.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed with a soft look in his eyes, before looking up at Reed to say something that was meant only for him to hear.

And we remained in the same place, until the sun made its first greeting, and Heath took his very last breath.