Chapter 146: Red Glow Rising

Maddie Pov

Lila pulled the trigger but I was already moving. I did not think about the bullet. I just thought about the metal of the gun.

I hit her chest with my shoulder and I heard the air go out of her lungs in a loud whoosh. We hit the dirt together and the rifle flew out of her hands. It landed in the tall grass near the trees.

I pinned her wrists to the ground. Lila was strong but she was tired. She looked at me and her eyes were full of tears, she was shaking underneath me.

"Kill me then," Lila said and she stopped fighting.

"I am not going to kill you," I said and I let go of her wrists.

I stood up and I walked over to the rifle. I picked it up and I threw it into the deep part of the creek. I heard the splash and then it was quiet again. I looked at the girls. Elara was still on the ground and she was staring at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked and I reached out my hand to Elara.

"I think so," Elara said and she took my hand.

I pulled her up. Her legs were shaking and she had to lean on me for a second. I looked at the other girls.

They were still tied up. I walked over to them and I used my fingernails to pick at the knots. My fingers felt different, they felt longer and sharper.

"Thank you, Maddie," one of the smaller girls said.

"Just get ready to run," I said and I pulled the last rope loose.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the pack house."

"What about her?" Elara asked and she pointed at Lila.

Lila was sitting in the dirt with her head in her hands. She was making a quiet sound. It was the sound of someone who had lost everything. I looked at her and I did not feel angry anymore. I just felt sorry for her.

"Leave her," I said and I turned toward the path.

"She tried to shoot you."

"She is not a threat anymore."

We started walking through the woods. The moon was high and it made the trees look like long fingers. I walked in the front and Elara walked right behind me. The other four girls stayed close together. I could hear them whispering but I did not listen to what they were saying.

I was listening to something else.

Deep inside my brain, I heard a voice. It was not a human voice. It was a low growl that sounded like stones rubbing together.

It was Gory. She was the red wolf and she was angry, she wanted to go back and find Lila. She wanted to find Theo and rip his throat out.

I felt my skin start to itch again. It was a hot feeling. It started in my feet and moved up my legs. I looked down at my arms.

The white light was still there but there was something else under it. It was a red glow, it looked like blood was moving under my skin.

"Maddie, your eyes look weird," Elara said and she stopped walking.

"What do they look like?" I asked and I turned around.

"They look like fire."

"I am fine. Just keep moving."

"You don't look fine."

"I said keep moving," I said and my voice sounded deeper than it should.

Elara flinched and she stepped back. I saw the fear in her eyes and I hated it. I did not want her to be afraid of me. I turned back around and I kept walking. I gripped my hands into fists. I tried to push the red feeling down. I tried to think about Calix. I thought about the way he smiled and the way he smelled like pine trees.

The itch did not go away. It got worse. It felt like my fur was trying to push through my skin before I was ready to shift. It was a sharp pain.

"How much further?" a girl asked.

"We are almost at the border," I said.

We climbed over a fallen log and pushed through some thick bushes. The air changed. It usually smelled like damp leaves and old wood. But now it smelled like something else. It smelled like smoke. It was a heavy smell that stuck to the back of my throat.

I ran to the top of the next hill. I looked out over the valley toward the pack house.

The sky was not black anymore. It was orange. The pack house was a big square of flames in the distance. I could see the fire jumping from the roof. It looked like the building was being eaten by a giant animal.

"Oh no," Elara said and she stood next to me.

"The house is gone," another girl cried.

I felt my heart break. It felt like a physical snap in my chest. Everything we had worked for was burning. My parents' things were in that house. Calix was in that house.

"Stay here," I said and I looked at Elara.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go to him."

"It is too dangerous."

"I don't care," I said and I felt the red feeling explode in my chest.

I did not wait for her to answer. I started to run. I felt my bones move. I felt my face stretch. It hurt so much I wanted to scream but the scream turned into a howl. I hit the ground on all fours.

I looked down at my paws. They were not white. The fur was dark red. It looked like I had been dipped in a bucket of paint. The red glow was coming off me in waves. I could feel the power. It was bigger than anything I had ever felt before. It was a mean power. It wanted to break things.

I ran down the hill. I was moving so fast the trees were just a blur. I jumped over a creek and landed on the other side without slowing down. I was a red streak moving through the dark.

I reached the edge of the lawn. The heat was very strong now. It made the air move in weird circles. I saw wolves fighting near the porch. Some of them were Keane wolves and some were Silverthorn. There was blood on the white paint of the house.

I saw a black wolf standing near the front door. He was big and his eyes were completely black. He was holding an elder down on the ground. He raised his paw to strike.

It was Calix.

I skidded to a stop. I watched him. He did not look like the boy I loved. He looked like a machine. He looked like he did not know who he was hurting.

"Calix!" I shouted in my head.

He did not look at me. He was looking at the elder. He was going to kill him.