Trouble

[LUCIAN: 'TROUBLE']

WE CREPT THROUGH THE FOREST stealthily, dirt covered our paws and fur as we laid low, slowly but surely sneaking through the mud. The pattering against the leaves of the trees around us continued from the recent rainfall and I paid my focus toward it. However I knew it wasn't going to last long. There was no silence when it came to wolves and humans.

The sticky sound of mud caused by Adam's movement beside me meant that it was time. Adam took my left as I had ordered him and I circled to the front. The hairs raised on my skin and I bared my teeth. 'They're already here. I can hear their breaths.' My wolf made known and despite that I did not wish to listen to him, he was right. 

My pack was yet to pick it up. We were heading directly to conflict, Garnet's recent attack sent them into hiding, they knew to be cautious. 

However Garnet was not a cautious individual. I should've expected his upcoming rage after what he did to the girl. After the death of Dash he became anguished and his pain led to an increase in his appetite toward vengeance.

It was too quiet and my pack was deafened by the rain. Garnet knew this, he consists of enough sense to know but the thing about pain is that you don't care after a  while. He no longer cares. 

I sink my paws into the moist earth, sprinting after him. 'Don't you fucking dare!' I screamed inwardly. Garnet looked at me from the corner of his eye and though I growled out a warning to him, he took none such because he never had the intention of following orders.

 He wanted to give them. He stared into my eyes and howled, disagreeing. The screech echoed through the forest and alarmed everyone to leave their hiding position. 

The hairs on my back stood once again, something was off. Though the wolves were now in the open, there was no other sign of life. They were still hidden, the question was, what for? I knew it was trouble but before I could put a pin in it Garnet made a second order. 

There were two young brothers at Garnet's sides and he turned to one of them. The  young wolves at his side were often very determined. They looked up to him before they could even be considered boys, they were like babies. They followed his every word even though there were sometimes none to be followed. 

One of the boys sprinted toward the fence before I could reach them.

He never fucking listens. 

I roared out so the others can know who's in charge, so that they can know who their alpha is and not follow Garnet's stupidity. They stopped but the boy was already rushing toward the fence while I ploughed after him. 

The boy jumped onto the fence, holding himself up on his paws but didn't get a single bite in before the metal fence went up in sparks. Soon there was the scent of burning flesh and I watched his body disintegrate in front of me until he was unrecognizably burned, pink flesh covered with black fur. 

The burning left thick smoke around us.  

I squinted my eyes further through a space between the fence, I couldn't possibly be seeing things. Creeping closer towards it I realised that I hadn't been. Dark leather shoes were seen. 'It's a trap!' Connor roared.

A rifle—belonging to the owner of the leather shoes—peeked through the fence and I made a turn just as it was fired, slamming my shoulder into Garnet so he was out of the bullet's path. I howled when numerous other guns started firing. I couldn't afford to lose anymore men in a single day. 

Luckily my pack knew the way of the forest perfectly, knowing which turns to make and which ones to not.. I huffed when I circled a tree and continued to run, Garnet ahead of me. My breathing was becoming shallow and my heartbeat was pounding in my ears. 

I started to feel a crippling sensation in my waist but ignored it until I was in a safe expanse. We stopped between some trees and I shifted immediately to human form. My body felt weak and I collapsed with my back against a tree. 

"Fucking hell!" I jerked my head back and pressed my palm to my waist, releasing it to see that my hand was covered in blood. I hissed as I slowly pressed my finger into the bullet wound, hoping to get the piece of metal that was poisoning my body but it was concealed by my flesh. 

"We could've gotten our asses fried…" I slammed my fist into my thigh, "Tell me can you imagine that? Everything being over within a few seconds? That boy was dead just as he touched it, he didn't even get time to moan. The same would've been to all of you," I massaged my temples, blood smearing on my skin, "How can you be so foolish?! You know what your guys' problem is? You can be guided the opposite direction for fucking candy." I scoffed.

"Brother?" I heard Garnet's shaky voice called. I personally thought he knew better not to come searching for me after what he's done but the older brother wanted to play brave. 

"Brother Lucian." He looked like a little boy again while running toward me. His arms linked behind his back , his eyebrows arched. I examined this whenever he was scared, however I shook my head. We are not children anymore and I will not lower my head because we were once in the same situation.

I stood before he could get to me and grip him by his shoulders. "What were you thinking? Brother you were not thinking at all. I have warned you Garnet, multiple times, but yet my words refuse to stick, why is that you always challenge your luck." I stared at his deadpan face. 

"What happened could not have been avoided." 

I chuckled softly under my breath, surprised by the bullshit that came out of his mouth. "Couldn't have been avoided? Iis that what you think?" I narrowed my eyes on him. "Now, now, you shouldn't have shifted. Would've landed you at an advantage as a wolf."  I tutted and did not give him a time to reply when I lifted him so that his feet were a little above the earth and shoved him into the tree. 

"I warned you, Garnet but that was my mistake, treating you so closely toward me is what made you spoiled. It made your mind spoiled!" I barked while slamming his back into the tree continuously. He coughed struggling with my strong hold. I then dropped him to the floor and followed by straddling him, sending my attacks to his face. 

My knuckles were heavy and cutted his skin like paper.

"Tell me Garnet, are you proud of your leadership?" His blood coated my knuckles, every throwing punch evident on his face. The others watched but didn't bother to interrupt because they knew that his problem would become theirs. 

"Alpha…f-forgive me." He grasped my arm and I returned to the present, seeking out his fucked state. His face was covered in blood, his eyes swollen and his lips busted.

I stood and glared down at him, "You will answer to the boy's mother. I'm…" I had intended to carry on but a shock went through every part of my body, the forest started to spin around me and my throat felt as if it was slowly closing. 

"A-Aspen…" I drawled out when I could no longer feel my feet and Aspen shifted immediately, allowing me to fall onto his back.