THE BEAST

Sam was confused with the storm of emotion battling through her. Her very soul seemed to pull her back to her mate, but her head told her that she needed to move on. Lex was impatient and this confused her even more.

She walked briskly down the deserted streets, the cold biting at her fingers, and tickling her nose. She caught a glimpse of the forest and changed direction. Nature called to her and all the creatures roaming its grounds. With every step she took towards the darkness of the woods her racing heart seemed to relax and Lex begged to be let free.

With a calming sigh and a relaxed mind, Sam gave complete control to Lex who grabbed at the chance and shifted immediately. She stretched out lazily and shook out her fur before sprinting into the woods. The earth seemed to tremble beneath her as her large paws dug into the dirt. Her fur shone brightly in the moonlight giving her a magical glowing feel.

Lex felt free within nature, and her spirit reached out to the creatures around her. She felt the presence of a pack of wolves and turned to them. When she emerged from the trees into a clearing she allowed Sam to also see. Pups ran around the older wolves while the slightly older pups mock fought amongst each other. A rather large male wolf laid lazily on a rock watching his pack. A few wolves were licking each other, and some were fast asleep in the moonlight.

The large wolf lifted his head and looked at Lex. He stood up proudly and started to descend from his perch. His walk was strong but cautious. Lex lowered her head in respect to his authority when he stood in front of her. Though she was easily three times his size and obviously much stronger she did not want to fight and to protect his pact the wolf did not engage aggressively. Instead, he pressed his head to hers in a sign of acceptance and allowed her into the center of the pact.

Sam was amazed by the exchange between the two wolves and how they automatically knew Lex would not attack them. Lex lay down lazily and very soon the other wolves relaxed around her and the air was light and open.

One brave and curious little pup crept closer and closer till soon he was standing between Lex's two large front paws, sniffing her nose. Lex looked down at her and without warning licked his little face. The pup yelped and jumped back in fright, his mother stood up sharply and rushed to him only to find him wagging his little tail and jumping playfully in front of Lex. All tension seemed to leave her body and she plopped down next to Lex. Soon the whole litter of pups were playing around and on top of Lex. Two of the pups decided her ears were big enough to use as a chew toy and were currently both pulling at it. Another was asleep on her neck sucking her ear subconsciously.

Sam was laughing loudly within her head as one particularly active little pup decided Les was his next meal and started biting at her throat, though his teeth were too small and her fur too thick he kept trying. He was later joined by three others which made Sam laugh even more.

One of the older wolves moved closer and soon Lex was being groomed by quite a few other wolves. The amount of trust they put in her astounded them both. The pack has accepted her and even though they could feel her threatening power, they did not react to it.

Something shifted in the air as Lex sniffed a foul odor. The other wolves felt the shift and soon the pups were ushered into the mouth of a large cave and four warrior wolves stood at the entrance. The alpha wolf stood at the ready his teeth snapping as he growled into the dark. All the wolves stood ready for a fight.

Lex moved to the front of the pack and stood next to the alpha. He looked at her briefly and took a step closer to her. He was placing his pack's life on Lex and she knew she would fight to defend them. A rustle in the brush had them all at attention, it seemed to come from all around them, but Lex recognized the stench. They were about to fight hell hounds, and from the smell of it, there was only a few of them. Growling low, Lex allowed her power to stretch over the whole area, to show the hounds that they were entering a protected area. The air shifted again and this time a smell of fear also filled the air. The alpha stood taller as he felt her power wash over his pack in waves. The whole pack seemed to become more confident and ready for a fight. Lex waited for the alpha to give the go-ahead, but he waited. The first hound emerged from the trees with large red eyes and a foaming mouth. He had no fur, instead, it seemed like his whole body was some kind of plastic leather-like substance. It had two tails that seemed to be tipped with sharp spikes. Its paws were decorated with three-inch, black claws and it snarled at them evilly.

Lex did not break eye contact as she heard at least five more emerge from the trees from all around them. Sam seemed to be furious with these awful looking creatures, due to them wanting to harm this pack. Her pack.

Lex took a step forward and growled loudly before snapping her jaws at the creature who seemed to be the larger one and also the one in charge. Lex took another step forward and with that, the hounds attacked all at once. The wolves fought smart. They attacked two at a time, fighting them from both sides. One of the hounds tried to break through to the cave but was cut short by a very aggressive mother who stood with the warrior wolves to protect the young. Lex waited for the hound till he reached her then she struck out. She slashed at his head and hit the target viciously, causing the hound to lose his balance and fall to the side.

The hound stood up slightly dazed and snapped his head around to Lex. The side of his head had four deep slashes leading from his ear across his eye and over its snout. Before he could strike Lex leaped at him with more speed than expected and dug her jaws into his throat. The hound fought furiously by scratching at her and snapping his jaws in her direction, but by the amount of scalding hot blood burning down her throat, Lex knew he would not survive the bite.

It felt as if her body was on fire with the blood burning in her, but she refused to let go. It felt like a lifetime later but it took no longer than a few seconds before she dropped the lifeless form of the hound harshly to the ground.

Ignoring the pain she turned to the rest of the battle to find two more dead hounds lying on the ground, but also the body of the furious mother. Her small body was shredded like old rags, her glassy eyes staring straight at Lex. The pain froze in her last glance, along with the fear for her pups.

Ander burned like a furnace in Sam's soul and she pushed this anger through Lex, who reacted instantly to it. She could feel her muscles tens before she jumped towards the first hound she saw. He was much smaller than the other hound she killed and she snapped his neck easily. She tore his head from his shoulders to make sure he could not heal himself and headed for the next. This one was fighting one of the warriors guarding the pups, creating an opening for the last one to slip through.

Lex jumped over the first one into the opening just in time to grab the hound by one tail. The other tail swung around and stabbed into her side, but Lex ignored it and pulled the hound from the cave. It growled and fought to get back inside but was unable to break free. Realizing it was stuck; it swung around and slashed Lex over her shoulder. She pulled back in pain, pulling the hound further away from the cave. From the corner of her eye, she could see the other hound lying dead on the ground with three wolves panting heavily around it.

Again the hound swung its tail back and stabbed her in her side, it continued this till Lex swung his head back. The momentum sent the hound flying over her head; the tail tore from his body leaving a trail of blood behind it. The hound howled in pain and tried to run for the forest but Lex leaped forward and bit into its leg. Before it could stab her with its tail, the alpha and two other wolves bit into it. The hound tried spinning around but more wolves started jumping on top of it, holding it down. Lex let go of the hound's leg and walked around the wolves to look the hound in the eyes. It seemed panicked and almost scared when she lowered her head to his level.

With a small amount of effort, she allowed her sent to wash over him and the hound immediately calmed down. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, when he opened his eyes they were no longer red but a dark shade of brown. Lex lifted her head and the alpha looked up at her. With a silent sigh, the alpha stepped away from the hound and was soon followed by the rest of the pack. The hound stood up shakily, but did not run nor did he attack. Instead, he stood quietly waiting for Lex to do what she chooses is right.

Lex allowed herself to transform into her human form but did not let her guard down. The hound started shocked and wide-eyed, and without a second thought bowed down to her.

'My queen.' Lex heard his gruff raspy voice fill her head and she smiled lovingly at the hound. 'I am so sorry my queen, I did not know.' Lex placed her hand on the beast's head and calmed him, hushing his words.

"Come now, how could you have known?" She answered in the softest of voices. His eyes flashed down to her still bleeding wounds and he whined quietly.

'May I?' he asked and Lex nodded. The beast lowered his head to her side and licked it softly. The burning sensation was immediately replaced by a cool and comfortable feeling. Lex closed her eyes allowing her power to heal the wound alongside the healing of the hound. Soon her wounds were completely healed, minus a faint scar over her ribs and shoulder. The beast looked sadly at the scars but he knew they would last forever.

Lex smiled at him. "Go and share your story. You must tell more of what you have discovered here today. Let them know the fight will start soon." The hound nodded and tried to move, but his body was injured beyond repair. He looked at Lex with such sadness it tugged at her very heart. With a gentle touch to his forehead, she recited a spell she remembered from the ancient book hidden in Esree's house.

She recited the spell three times then placed a soft kiss on the snout of the beast. The beast pulled back from the tender action and sneezed. Lex laughed before walking around the beast and reciting the spell repeatedly. A small glimmer started to lift from the ground and wrapped itself around the hound.

The hound growled at the foreign light around it and snapped at it, but the light seemed to dance away from his jaws. Suddenly it started shining almost blindingly around the hound.

Lex stood away from the magic and watched as it started to, not only heal; but to change the hound. His always exposed teeth were covered and his skin started to change also. A layer of pitch-black fur grew over his skin. His tail also changed into three fox-like tails, but Lex could see sharp spikes hidden beneath the fur. His size also increased causing him to be slightly larger than Lex, but not too large. His claws were changed from their gruesome grey to a sharp black, but his paws seemed to accommodate the length perfectly. Looking closer Lex realized his stomach was grey instead of black and his tails were also grey and black. The light faded away slowly exposing one beautiful beast.

"Was this how you looked before your death?" She asked petting his soft fur and looking at every inch of his face. The beast nodded with his eyes downcast, but Lex lifted his large head to look at him. "Do not feel ashamed. You are reborn and will roam the halls of my kingdom with me." The beast looked up at her with such respect it made her proud and she shifted back into her wolf form. Together they walked into the forest. She turned back to the pack to see the mother standing between her pups; it seemed the light brought more than just one pure heart back to life.

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Dear readers thank you for reading this far with me. This is a cliff hanger chapter.

Any questions?