Chapter 216

Vorbuk ran as fast as he could while taking in the scents of the surroundings. Using his wolf senses, even in human form, he was able to pick up on the scent of the king as he ran after him. His red eyes flashing as he looked for any sign of him up ahead.

Splash. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Vorbuk ran along a rocky stream. The water splashing and rippling under his feet. It was cold water, but Vorbuk could not waste time worrying about his own comfort. He did not take time to control his mana to cover the sounds his movements made. Worried that if he kept pressing his luck he would drain himself to the brink of exhaustion before he could accomplish his task.

Ssshhhhh.....

The sound of a waterfall could be heard as Vorbuk came to the end of the stream. It was not a large waterfall. The stream lead to a small pond created by a small waterfall. Water ran down from the upper mountain range. It was cold, clear, and clean. Beautiful trees decorated the areas as they bloomed with flowers.

"You should come out and stop running." Vorbuk called out for King Luke. He could smell the king's scent and knew it was hiding in the vicinity.

"Who said I was running from you?" King Luke asked in return.

Vorbuk turned his head to see King Luke standing on top of a tall boulder. There was no fear in his eyes as he began to remove his cloak. Dropping it to the ground, the king breathed a deep breath of the fresh air around them. The scent of blood was not heavy in the air anymore since they had put a bit of distance between themselves and the battle.

"It has been a while since I've done this." King Luke thought out loud as he concentrated his thoughts on himself.

A gray fog began to envelop around King Luke as he stood there. From head to two the fog covered him. Fading away the king's human form could no longer be seen. In its place was a large wolf. Its fur was gray and white. The king was taking on his beast form.

Grrrr... Rrrr..

The wolf growled down at Vorbuk.

"Shit-!" Vorbuk flinched as he quickly returned to his natural wolf form. He did not give himself time to finish swearing outwardly. In front of him he could see the large gray wolf rushing at him.

They were two beasts, though their species were far apart, at that moment they were not that different from one another. Both of them fought for something they believed in and wanted to protect. The conditions their lives had for them to live were vastly different but that did not mean they could not understand each other to some extent. That was what allowed them both to hold a sense of respect for each other.

Bam!

The gray wolf slammed into the black wolf, Vorbuk, from the front. Biting down at Vorbuk the gray wolf growled fiercely at him. Vorbuk had never imagined himself in a situation similar to that of a dog fight. King Luke being a werewolf was willing to use his full wolf transformation to fight for his life. It was a form that he rarely took on.

As king he was not able to spend much time in his beast form. Unlike other werewolves who could shift form more freely, he had a duty to uphold that limited his opportunities to let himself loose in beast form. Werewolves did not try to hide their beast form. In fact they were proud of their beast-like bloodline. They felt a sense of freedom and it was their bloodline that gifted them with a strength beyond average mortals. Even if the king did not shift form often like others, like all werewolves, his beast form still felt natural to him.

SNAP! Gggrrrrrr....

The gray wolf bit down into Vorbuk's shoulder. Vorbuk let out a yelp in pain as blood spilled from the wound where the wolf was biting him. Growling in pain he twisted his body around and bit his own fangs down into the gray wolf's side. Ripping and tugging at the wolf's flesh with his sharp fangs.

Dust was kicked up under them as they struggled against one another. Bashing and swiping at each other with their front paws. It was not like a simple slap from a human. Every time their paws struck one another there was a heavy pressure behind the hit. Every hit was like being smacked by someone holding a solid object. Pain could be felt from each strike that held enough force to leave bruises on the skin. Being a wolf, however, Vorbuk's bruising would not be easily seen as it was easily hidden below his shadow-like fur. He could feel the aching pain in his own body.

Splash~ Splash~ Drip. Drip. Drip.

The two of them struggled as the gray wolf forced Vorbuk to step backwards into the rocky stream. Water splashing up onto their fur coats. Droplets of water mixed with blood from their wounds, dripping down into the water. Vorbuk could feel his paws slipping on the rocks in the stream. His balance was beginning to slip away from him.

Grrrrr!

Vorbuk snarled and lunged his body forward. Snapping down onto the gray wolf's ear. His fangs piercing their way through it like a ear ring and ripping downward. The gray wolf yelped in pain as blood dripped from his torn ear.

Panting Vorbuk from exhaustion Vorbuk watched as the gray wolf flung his head to the left and right in pain, blood splattering the ground. The method he had just used felt low but all was fair in a fight when his life was on the line. King Luke on the other hand continued to yelp in pain from having his ear torn apart. A feint growl echoing in his throat as he glared coldly at Vorbuk. It felt like he had been humiliated and mutilated.

The two wolves began to pace in front of each other slowly. Both of them were growling as they considered their actions carefully. A black fog slowly creeping up around Vorbuk's paws as he moved. When the gray wolf saw the fog his eyes began to panic. Dashing forward to attack the black wolf in fear of what Vorbuk could be planning.

Vorbuk's body slowly sunk deep into the shadows beneath him. Swallowing him up into the darkness that felt cool and comfortable to him. He moved among the shadows out of the gray wolf's sight.

King Luke began to panic as he lost sight of the black wolf, Vorbuk. His eyes shaken as he glanced all around trying to decipher where Vorbuk had gone. It was hard to know where the black wolf had gone or where he could come out from when his focus was lowered. Listening to the surroundings he tried to carefully keep his guard up against any surprise attacks from behind.

Vorbuk moved from shadow to shadow til he was behind the gray wolf. His red eyes glowing brightly as his body shot out from the shadows of a tree close by. Shadows sprang forth from the darkness with the black wolf.

Like lances made of darkness itself the shadows shot out from the black wolf's sides straight towards King Luke. Smashing into the ground around him, tearing up the earth and causing the gray wolf to cough from the heavy dust and dirt in the air at first.

Grrr!

The gray wolf yelped in pain as one of the shadows shot right through his hind leg. His left leg was pierced right through, blood splattering. King Luke fell to the ground instantly while whimpering and growling from the strong pain he felt in his leg.