Madness

Coughing, Renat pinched at his wet nose. "Blasted stuff is so stinky!" He coughed again. "And I can barely breathe..."

Renat gave one of the two large pits a final stir. He had kept the fog going as long as he could, but hearing that the battle had begun, he slowly let the chemical reaction die down so that the Imperial troops could see and attack the enemy.

In a second pit behind him, the smell-concoction that Eliana had invented was working a little too well. He wasn't sure if he was just extra sensitive, but even through the cloth the stench was giving him a headache. Though the fact he was right next to the smelly brew probably didn't help.

It was so strong that he felt like he might pass out. Thankfully, it was time to move away and join the battle.

His position had been such that the smell would instinctively drive the monsters north and west to get away. It had worked at least to some extent, for the few enemies nearby were lying on the ground already weakened or dead.

Leaving them in peace to suffer their fate, Renat rushed through the trees and into the camp. Having been unable to see the sky through the trees, he was aghast by the sheer number of flying creatures swooping overhead. One of them immediately spotted him.

"It's you!" she screeched.

Renat did not immediately recognize the grey-skinned bat lady, but she seemed full of hate for him. Her hair streamed behind her as she dove at him with all the malice that her heart could contain without going feral.

Rolling out of the way, the brown wolf dove back into the tree line. The bat landed and began to chase after him. "Come back here, you coward!"

Even with the high whine, Renat suddenly realized who the former human was and why she was angry. 'What was her name?' he tried to think. 'Ryse!'

The young helper had been the one to discover that Dania had escaped the first time. She had probably become Taran's scapegoat in the end for not reporting the matter sooner. Rather than blame her boss for misplacing his anger, she had trained all her frustration on the brown wolf she was chasing.

'A woman scorned. Not good.' Renat tried to remain calm and think. He didn't like the idea of killing Ryse--she was still a woman in his head, and he was supposed to be a gentleman--but he did need to stop her.

Ryse leapt as she ran, digging her clawed feet against the bark of the trees to propel her forward faster. The feminine monster was intent on destruction. "Stop running and face me. Is your friend here? I'll kill him next and then all the others. But you will never see it."

The threat stopped Renat in his tracks. His own death he could handle, but the deaths of Alaron and the others were not acceptable losses.

Ever.

'Woman or no woman. Don't threaten my family.'

The brown wolf turned around, baring his teeth toward his pursuer. Not anticipating his sudden stop, Ryse slammed into his body, sending both of them crashing against an ancient oak.

Renat discovered multiple arrow shafts protruding from Ryse's arms. The archers had been trying to help him , but their aim had been haphazard against the half-flying abomination. He would have to do the job himself.

He clawed at Ryse's wounds hoping to rip them open, but the bat was too quick and agile. She darted to the side, leapt behind him as he pushed off of the tree, and bit into his neck from behind.

The pain that shot through his body was intense, but nothing close to the pain of transforming in the first place. The poison was already in his body, so the new wound barely added to its potency.

"Is that the best you've got?" Renat grabbed Ryse by her hair and bent over. The monster came flying over his shoulder and crashed into the ground. Renat leapt across the bat's torso and tried to pin her to the ground.

"They'll all die..." Ryse hissed at him. "Even your little princess..."

The brown wolf narrowed his gaze. The woman knew who he was--knew who his wife was--and still she taunted him. The fire in his belly burned. 'Love,' he tried to calm himself. 'Think of love.'

But Ryse wanted to hurt his love. Destroy it. He had to stop her.

With each hit he landed against the batlike abomination, the anger inside Renat grew. His calm eyes darkened, becoming the color of pitch. He would take down anyone who stood in between himself and Mairwen.

By the time the brown wolf left the bat alone, they were both covered in her blood. Ryse was barely breathing when Renat finally fled to seek out Mairwen.

His fear for the woman engaged a primal instinct within the wolf, and not even the spilled blood could entice him to finish off his carnage.

Pulling down his bandana, the brown wolf's fingers tingled. The cold of the cloth reminded of something, but he was too overwrought to remember exactly what. He shook off the feeling of a memory as he sniffed at the air. It was filled with a gross mixture of smells, but he sniffed determinedly against the burning sensation in his nose.

Feeling a pull deep within his being, the brown wolf charged along the edge of the camp. Flying creatures tried to catch him up into the air, but his determination to drag them down instead made them seek easier targets.

As for the lizards and wolves on the ground, the feral prince tore through them indiscriminately. The imperial troops who saw the bandana around his neck scurried out of his way, reluctant to harm one of their own who had lost his way.

The few troops who were not fast enough received scratches or bruises, but none of Aurora's troops died by the brown wolf's hand.

The same could not be said for Taran's army. The creatures who dared defy the brown wolf on his quest met a formidable foe. Renat's body seemed to have grown once again, his intense emotions feeding the poison and enlarging his muscles beyond their capacity.

Even through his dark fur, the lines of his veins could be seen in his neck and arms as he bared his teeth and attacked his enemies. He snapped the neck of a lizard before it could even finish lunging at him.

Enraged by the loss of their comrade, two more hissed at him and charged. He kicked the first in the chest, and knocked skulls with the second. Both creatures went falling towards their Imperial adversaries, blood spilling from their enemy's swords.

The brown wolf did not look back. He clawed, bit and throttled his way through the battle, paying no attention to the battle's lines.

Not that the lines were discernible. Certain jagged edges of Aurora's forces wedged slowly into the camp, unable to keep any type of formation against their unconventional foes. Others were pressed back by the sheer ferocity and numbers of the abominations which required many humans to subdue.

At last the feral scientist broke free of the masses. He spotted a familiar white wolf being carried away from the fighting. The sight gave him a momentary pause and his pupils lightened. His brain pulsed with recognition as his consciousness clawed back into the forefront.

"Junayd?" He rushed toward the victim to check the white wolf's beathing. It was shallow but there. "Don't give up. We can get you help." But then a scream nearby over took his ears. It was a call-- a cry of warning. It was not just any scream. "Mairwen!"

Losing his composure once more, Renat left behind the advisor and continued on his way. It was hard to discern anything over the din of the battle, but the brown wolf was certain that his mate had been the one making the shout of distress.

At last he reached the set of trees he sought. One of the mighty behemoths had toppled over with a bat lying dead at its feet, but its neighbor held two ladies fighting off monsters with arrows and wind.

Tired of the onslaught, two lizards had begun climbing the tree, forgoing his own safety to take down the menaces to Taran's army. The lizards' skin was almost as brown as the bark, making them invisible to the two females who were aiming at the ground. As such, the first one's bite was coming dangerously close to the unsuspecting princess's ankle.

He could catch the lower one without issue, but he would never be fast enough to reach the other before it attacked.

Renat roared. His warning came out merely as a guttural cry. But somehow Mairwen heard it. Her eyes locked with the brown wolf and filled with sadness.

How had Renat gotten there so quickly? And all covered in blood...and with that crazy, dead look in his eyes...

"No!"

Just then, the tree reached up and grabbed Mairwen's foot. A bark-like mouth bit down firmly on her ankle.