CHAPTER ELEVEN. A Fiery Nightmare.

Cherry had offered to follow him back to the forest to find her brother, but Arud refused. Instead he'd insisted that she stay with her mother, who had readily agreed and had bundled their daughter safely into the house to calm her down. 

In the end, he hadn't needed her help to find the way; Jaden's scent had eventually led him here.

There was something dark and ominous about it, like he was overwhelmed by a strong emotion, an emotion that didn't exactly belong to him and yet did at the same time. 

Worried, Arud had quickened his pace. 

The scent had led him away from the borders of his hunting territory, and down a narrow path that led into a forest filled with small trees.

When he walked past the treeline and into the forest, there was quietness at first, not even the chirping of morning birds came to him. 

Then, like an army of dark storm clouds approaching, Arud heard a cacophony of sounds coming his way. 

Small creatures came bursting out of the undergrowth, panicked. 

Skipdiggers bouncing past him on small sturdy legs. Dust - covered Thornears, even tiny, bushy-tailed Earthdwellers. All scampering toward and around his feet, tumbling through the carpet of dead leaves all over the ground, before disappearing into the shrubs and trees behind him.

"What in the Elders' name..."

A loud cry interrupted him, swiftly followed by the sound of large feet drumming against the ground. 

Arud stumbled to side as a crowd of graceful, four legged, Skyspringers, huge flightless lyrebirds and even the occasional potential predator thundered past him.

None of them bothered to pay him any attention.

The Prince paused, wondering what had frightened them like this. Scanning the trees, he soon had his answer;

Weaving through the trees like white ghostly fingers, was something Arud had never expected he would find here. 

Smoke.

That could only mean one thing, the forest was on fire. 

"Jaden". 

Arud shifted the next moment, his large paws pounding the earth as he broke into a run. 

His nostrils stung with the harsh smell of burning leaves. His beast just as eager to find Jaden as he was. 

Alas, the smell of smoke had washed away all traces of his son. 

Arud's eyes stung, yet he dived deeper into the haze, tearing his way through the forest. 

He knew this place well, but it would be impossible to find Jaden if his beast couldn't even sense him. 

Driven by instinct, his beast let out a call that sounded like something of a roar and a moan at the same time, hoping his son would hear and respond just like he had been taught soon after the boy's first shift into beast form in case he ever got lost.

There was nothing. 

No response.

Arud bounded on, streaking through the trees. Never slowing down. 

The air soon began to grow hotter, and Arud could see flames licking at the trees and grass, smoke stinging his lungs with each breath. 

His clear sight was soon stolen from him by the thick haze of white smoke that had enveloped the forest, and every part of his being begged him to turn tail and run away, but concern for his son was the only thing that drove him on. 

The air was white - hot now, the red flames were every where, licking their way up already blackened trees, eating at the undergrowth on the forest floor. 

Breathing had become painful. 

Arud held his breath, but kept going. Desperately searching for Jaden, his heart pounding in fear.

He was about to let out another roar when he saw something that brought him to a sudden halt, sending embers and blackened leaves into the air.

Up ahead, surrounded by a raging inferno... was Jaden. 

His back was turned to Arud. And his hands were on fire. 

The Prince panicked, expecting to see Jaden trashing about in pain, but the boy stood still and, Arud soon noticed, his skin wasn't even burning.

He just stood there, he didn't even act like he was affected by the smoke or the hot flames. 

Confused, but not willing to waste any more time, Arud gathered his large body and sprang over the wall of flames that stood between him and the boy. 

The fire licked at his belly as he flew over, singeing his fur. 

But he managed to land on the other side safely, the hot ground searing his pads. 

Shifting back to human form as he walked, he moved to his son, who still stood there, motionless.

The boy didn't seem to notice the sweltering heat, or the flames that drew even closer with each passing second, or the thick smoke that hung heavily over the trees.

Arud held an arm over his nose, trying not to breath in the harsh fumes. 

They needed to get out of here. 

He moved to grab Jaden and leave when he noticed something that made him freeze in terror.

Not too far away from his son, was a small figure, sprawled across the ground, on fire, the stench of burning flesh blending with the smoke.

A child.

Arud didn't even have the time to digest what he was looking at when a Gregor came running into the burning clearing.

Arud's heart sank with dread when he recognized the owner of the fiery red beast even before he shifted into human form.

"REN!" Alan called, bearly registering their presence as his eyes darted around the clearing, desperately searching for his child.

His gaze soon fell on the charred body in front of them, and he froze for what seemed like a thousand years.

Arud felt sick, wishing he could wake up from this nightmare.

He looked down at the boy he had raised as his own. 

Jaden was staring at what had once been Ren, his young face contorted in horror, the fire casting its reflection over his wide emerald eyes.

"He killed him", Alan's voice sounded pained. 

Arud could hear the agony in his words. The sound of it had snapped him back to the reality of things. And with it came a strange foreboding feeling that things would never be the same after this.

"That monster killed my son!"