Beware, they are hunting you

-----His nose sucked in all the scents and his brain began categorizing them. His enormous paws padded meticulously over the cold and partially solid ground. Christian absorbed the power the wolf gave him and his ears twitched as he listened to the distance.------

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"I need to head into the village for a few things, I'll be back later," Tiana said as she closed the door behind her.

Cole nodded, then lifted the ax and with a heave thrust it into the log. The crack of the wood splitting echoed around the yard and Tiana hurried down the long drive. It didn't take long for her to reach the village and she turned toward the shop she needed to go, but a prick at the back of her mind stopped her. She sucked in as she understood it was similar to the premonitions she had from time to time.

The instruction was to turn and go another way, so she did. Tiana followed behind the backside of the building and stopped at the edge. She peeked around the corner and sidestepped to the next building. A voice emerged, and she carefully closed in on the sounds.

Tiana leaned against the wood logs of the building and held her breath. She scooched carefully to the edge and slowly let out the breath she was holding.

"I have tracked the beast here, in these woods," a stranger said gruffly.

"How long have you been tracking the beast?" Franklin asked.

"Longer than I can remember,"

"What do we look for?" Philip asked.

"Sharp, jagged gashes in the dirt, or in dead animals. There's an odor that smells like a rotting corpse but without there being one,"

The men cringed.

"A human corpse?" Drim asked through a heavy swallow.

"Aye, a human corpse. The legend says it carries the stench of its first victim,"

"A man?" Philip asked.

"Aye, my great, great, great, great, great grandfather," the stranger said, trying to count on his fingers how many generations ago.

The men gasped and sucked in, but tightened their grip on their weapons.

"Well, let's stop standing around and go get it," Franklin said.

"Heyah," the men chanted in unison.

The beefy strides of the stranger cracked the cold dirt under his weight and Tiana hurried back the way she came. Her skirt rounded the corner a second before the men came from the alley and headed into the woods.

Tiana studied their movements for some time until they were no longer in sight. She couldn't help the pit in her guts, and she worried for the man in the cape. She wanted to warn him, but how? What would she do?

There was no way she could outpace them, and even if she could, she had no idea where he was.

"Beware, men are hunting you," Tiana whispered. 

****************

Christian stopped, stood tall, and looked around. The sound of the woman's voice hit his inner ears with solid strength. His chest heaved and his heart beat with a thunderous drumming. He slipped behind a tree and opened his ears to his surroundings. His nerves dumped a surge of anxious energy into his guts, and panic surfaced.

Christian unlaced his tunic, gripped the back of the collar, and yanked it off in one swoop. He draped it over the log and relaxed into his inner wolf. The animal inside him woke and ignited the transformation. His muscles tightened with a hot tingling sensation, and he cracked his neck to ease the tightness as his back arched.

His bones lengthened, sending painful ripples through his body, but it was the scratching, itching sensation that bothered him more. Thick black fur grew rapidly over his body, and his knuckles cracked and popped as his hands and feet became clawed paws.

Christian's face shifted, and his nose became a muzzle with long fangs. His brain reorganized his thought process and allowed the wolf to have full access to his reflexes. His nose sucked in all the scents and his brain began categorizing them as his body grew in size to accommodate the massive wolf frame. Christian's body morphed into a black wolf that was nearly three times the size of a regular wolf.

Christian absorbed the power the wolf gave him and his ears twitched as he listened to the distance. His sharp eyesight took in all the details that his ears and nose didn't as his enormous paws padded meticulously over the cold and partially solid ground.

Christian decided he would take a prowl around just in case and shoved his paws against the ground and lunged into a fast run. His chest heated with exertion and his brain opened with a dose of clean oxygen. He picked out the rabbits, coyotes, pheasants, and rodents.

It didn't take him long to make a full sweep around, so he decided he would widen his search just in case. After a few rounds, he was certain there was no one in the woods, plus he understood they would be searching for the wolf, not a man.

He returned to his things and released the wolf. He eased out of his wolf form. His body shifted with a weird wriggle and shimmy as the fur, long tail, paws, and fangs returned to his human features. His body once again tangled the human with the animal and his blood raced through him. Sharp pains in his bones released as they cracked and shifted back. His nerves realigned and his human senses took over.

His mind digested her words, and his heart searched for the meaning. He was certain the woman was nowhere near, so how he heard her he hadn't a clue. He was convinced, however, that he heard her. In a way he wished she was there, but in another he was glad she wasn't.

Christian lifted himself off the ground, and his muscles trembled. He hadn't ever pushed the transformation so quickly, and he found an oddity about it. Christian usually allowed nature to be more ravaging in the transformation, but he decided he liked having control over it. He shoved his legs under him and stood. His head wobbled with the decrease in blood to his brain and he steadied himself on the tree.

Christian dressed and continued on his trip, but kept his senses on high alert. He ran through several scenarios and outcomes to establish his plans if he ran into the hunters. He was certain he needed to stay in human form, though, since he figured they would be looking for the wolf but wanted the heightened senses of the wolf.

The day passed and his mind wandered between the calculated plans and the woman's voice. Her face sat behind his eyes, and he found himself thinking more and more about her,

His brain kept circling back to how he could be hearing her? By what power was this happening, or was he finally going through the last stages of madness?

His need to know surged and engaged his mind in a game of cat and mouse. Offering details, then chasing them until it satisfied him and he understood, except it always ended with, he had no idea.

******************

Tiana's guts tightened, and she wanted to run into the woods. A clunk behind her shook her from her thoughts, and she returned to the village square. She rounded a group of people that were gathered in the main square and wondered why so many people were standing around.

She squeezed through a well-endowed woman and the man with the extra long beard, who scooted with her presence and offered a flirtatious grin.

Tiana rolled her eyes but nodded a curt head tilt and moved to the next group of people.

"What's going on?" Tiana asked a woman carrying a long basket of goods.

"There's an announcement,"

"Announcement?" Tiana asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Would seem the church is sending a new courtier to oversee these parts as there have been an increasing amount of witches about," a man said.

Tiana examined his tight brow, tanned skin, and long nose. She didn't see a hint of jest in his expression, instead; it was one of uncertainty.

"Witches?" Tiana asked with a side eye.

"I've heard noises coming from the woods these last few nights. I bet they're having their séance's calling up the devil," another woman said.

Tiana wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn't want to make a fuss.

"I, to have heard noises in the forest. In fact, I think you were coming back from the woods," another woman said to Tiana.

Tiana turned to her and examined her round pink face and deep eyes on plump cheeks. She wasn't sure what to say, but the image of her mother and the ghostly apothecary crossed her mind. She did return from the forest early in the morning after waking there. Her guts tightened and sweat dripped down her back.

"It was the perfect time to pick the blackberries," Tiana said, holding out her hands to show the stains from the dark red berries.

The women glanced at her hands, then into her eyes with a scrutinizing glint. Tiana moved her hands closer to them with the 'see,' expression, and they huffed. She turned to the commotion as a pudgy man with a dark green robe draped over his round frame and decorated with gold embroidered symbols down the sides climbed out of a wagon.

The man's head was bald on top, leaving only a crescent of dark hair on his head, but he sported bushy eyebrows which somehow softened his wrinkled face. The driver of the carriage hopped off and helped the man to the platform in the center of the square. The crowd rumbled with murmurings and speculations, and Tiana felt her guts tighten even more.

Layla maneuvered through the crowd and stopped next to Tiana.

"What is going on?" Layla asked.

"The clergy has sent a prior to oversee witch hunts," Tiana said. Layla shot her a stunned expression. Her eyes bulged and her lips tightened. Tiana took her hand in hers and squeezed it tight. "Don't say a word, or think, or look at anyone," Tiana said.

The man smiled a kind grin and raised his arms over his head to signal the crowd to quiet. It took a few minutes before the noise died down and he held his hands out in a gesture of welcoming.

"Brothers and Sisters of our neighboring communities, I am pleased to come and be a part of your village. While we search out the evil that has been spreading amongst us. I am here to warn you of a grave menace that plagues our blessed society—the malevolent presence of witches among us. As faithful followers, we must shed light upon this darkness and expose the wickedness that festers within their souls.

"The Holy Scriptures clearly condemn the practice of witchcraft. In Exodus 22:18, it is written, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." These words, divinely inspired, reveal the abhorrence that God holds for those who dabble in the occult and seek to wield supernatural powers for their own selfish gain.

"Witches, my brethren, are agents of the Devil himself, spreading his corruption and chaos wherever they go."

Layla grunted, and Tiana gripped her hand tighter. Tiana tugged gently on her arm and Layla sucked in a deep breath.

"They consort with demons, forge pacts with the forces of darkness, and commit unspeakable acts of sorcery. They summon storms, blight crops, misfortune upon innocent souls, and bring the devil himself disguised in the shape of a wolf,"

Tiana's heart thumped, and blood pumped at a fast rate. Her skin heated and Layla turned to see her eyes filled with angry passion. Layla squeezed Tiana's hand, and she looked at her, then released the breath she was holding.

"Their very existence is an affront to the divine order established by our Creator. Now I ask you all to be diligent in heeding the cause. Your prior has been gracious enough to host me at his church, where you can bring reports. Along with the warden, we will find and rid ourselves of this evil," the preacher said.

The crowd cheered and many made their way to the preacher and shook his hand or thanked him for the sermon.

"Come on, let's go," Tiana said.

Tiana and Layla turned to leave but the prior called to them. He scooted around a group of people and waited for a group of children then hurried to them.

"I have a few questions to ask you, would you please follow me?" the man asked.

The prior was a simple man with a dark cloak and tunic and a braided belt around his waist. He was kind and usually had a smile on his face, but this time it was hidden under concern.

"We really don't have the time," Tiana said.

She took Layla's hand and started to leave but the man snagged her arm.

"I think you do," he said.

Tiana yanked her arm from his grip.

"Do not touch me or my sister," Tiana growled.

"I'm not asking,"

"I don't care,"

The minister stepped back with shock and squinted as the sun overhead hit a reflective pot into his eyes. He shifted to avoid the glare and when he looked, Tiana and Layla were gone. Tiana and Layla ducked behind a wagon hauling hay and hid behind it until they made it to their street, then ran down the road.

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-----Christian slowly turned to Tatiana and looked directly into her green eyes. His chest nearly exploded, and he struggled with the intensity. Tatiana's heart burst and her hand trembled. An immediate connection forged. Like, chains of solid iron in a fiery furnace were molded by the most of skilled craftsmen. Bonds that were unbreakable.-----