The fortress

The pack’s house...

“Is it just me or Hazel’s been acting weird all morning?” Fay asked Clare, as they clanked their swords.

“I have absolutely no idea why.” Clare pulled his sword across his chest to stop her attack.

Fay had become more ruthless with her attacks. He was glad she was picking up well already.

“It’s like she’s someone else and she seem to have gotten super stronger.” Fay dodged his sword, recalling when she had a bawl with Hazel earlier.

“Or maybe you’re just over thinking it.” Clare said.

“Maybe.” She shrugged.

Clare and Fay’s relationship seem to have grown past the initial stage and they seem to have grown closer as the day passed by. Being the cutest couple in the pack.

Hazel watched all what was going around her, she couldn’t help the smile that came on her face when she heard she was being talked about. She was going to give them more to talk about, as she was yet to do all she had in mind to.

“Hey Hazel!” Evans called, pointing his sword at her.

“Why are you sitting idly there when you are supposed to be training.” Evans the training leader asked.

“Nothing. No partner I guess.” She shrugged.

“Come on. Let’s fight.” He challenged her to be his partner.

Hazel hide the mischievous look in her eyes, as she picked up her sword and walked to where Evans stood.

They both slightly bowed to themselves, before they begun.

Hazel allowed Evans to get the upper hand first, letting him get to her defenseless spot, letting him keep on till he gets to relax.

Once she noticed how relaxed he was, she stroke. She pulled out her sword with force, after digging it deep into his torso, as he stared at her in shock, falling back to the ground.

“What have you done?” Evans placed his hand to his injured torso and brought it back out to see a pool of blood on his hand. His eyes widen in shock as he stared at Hazel who had a smile dancing on her lips, standing above him.

“Silver..?” He felt darkness engulfing him, as he fell back to the ground.

“Evans!” Someone who had seen Evans fall to the ground called out, with others running towards him, as Hazel made her way out of the training ground without a backward glance.

“Go after her!” Fay yelled to Clare, as they both had seen what had occurred with Hazel and Evans not so far from them.

“I’ll go get Ryan and Ives!” She said running off to the opposite direction.

Clare ran after her, looking opposite directions as he got to a street with double pathways. Following his initiative, he took the right pathway, running with hopes to catch up with her.

Hazel came out of her hiding place and chuckled at Clare’s retreating back and followed after him.

“Looking for someone?” Clare came to a still at the dark alleyway, as a silver blade pointed at his throat.

“Hazel?” He called out, as she came out of the shadows with her blade still on his neck.

“Yep.” She smiled at him, her blade still on his neck.

“What’s wrong with you? You just stabbed Evans with a silver blade?!”

“Yes I did and I wouldn’t blink doing same to you.” She pushed the blade closer to his skin, making him gulp down in fear.

“Hazel this isn’t you.” Clare said, with hopes to pacify and probably get to her.

“Is it?” She giggled. “Get on your knees!” She commanded.

“You know what.” She stopped him from going on his knees. “Get over there.” She pointed at the pole that stood close to a wall.

“And don’t you dare try anything funny. Raise your hands up where I’ll see them.” She instructed.

Clare raised his hands to the air, moving towards the pole she pointed at, as he felt Hazel’s knife poking his back.

“Yep. Right there, place your back there and sit down there.” She instructed as he got to the pole.

“Hazel this—“

“I wouldn’t mind using this knife on you if rile me up.” She stopped him mid sentence as she brought the knife to his throat again.

He slowly got to the floor as his hands was still raised to the air.

“Your hands to the back.” She swiftly walked behind him and grabbed both his hands, tying them firmly with the ropes she had strapped on her belt.

“This ropes are laced with silver, the more you pull on them, the deeper they get into your flesh and you know what that means.” She smiled, pulling out a short cloth from the bag she had strapped around her waist.

“And don’t try coming after me.” She tied the cloth around his mouth. “I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if you do.” She tighten the cloth around his mouth.

“Enjoy.” She blew a kiss at him and ran off.

Fay and the other two brothers ran towards the alleyway some minutes later to see Clare gagged and tied to a pole.

“Oh my god. What happened?!” Fay exclaimed, as she ran to where Clare was tied up.

“Who did this to you?!” She moved to where his hands were tied, ignoring the fact that he was frenetically shaking head and muffling incoherent words as he shifted away from her.

“Argh.” She screamed out as her hand came in contact with the ropes.

“Damn.” She examined her reddish fingers, wondering why her hand got burnt from the ropes.

“The ropes are laced with silver.” Clare panted our, as Ryan pulled down the gag from Clare’s mouth.

“Why would she bind him with a silver laced rope?” Fay asked, as Ives used his per knife to cut through the ropes that binded Clare carefully.

“The question should be, how she was able to grab hold of a silver laced rope without getting burnt herself.” Ryan said, squatting and checking out the rope on the ground with a stick.

“I knew something was off about her this morning. Like she’s someone else.” Fay said, helping Clare to his feet.

“What direction did she go?” Ives asked, looking solemnly at Clare.

“She went off that way, towards the borders.” Clare said, as he got fully on his feet. “She said she shouldn’t be followed or she’ll kill whoever comes after her. And from what I saw, she seem to mean every bit of what she said.” Clare huffed out.

“Where are you going to?” Fay called out to Ives who started moving to the direction Hazel left to.

“I caused this. I should fix this.” He said, as he cane to a halt but not looking back at them.

“What do you mean by that?” Fay asked.

“I’ll join you then.” Ryan offered, walking towards him.

“I’ll join too.” Clare said, walking towards both of them.

“Are you all okay?!” Fay flared up, throwing her hands down in frustration. “She’s with a silver blade, which can cause more harm before any of you can over power her, if you can over power her. Let’s get higher authorities involved. We don’t know what she’s capable of at this moment.” She said.

“You can go back and involve them. I’m going after Hazel.” Ives said, walking away, with his two brothers following closely behind.

“Why are you guys so stubborn.” Fay huffed out. “Wait for me. You can’t leave me behind. She’s my best friend after all.” Fay said, following them closely behind.

They moved into the woods they suspected she might have gone into and kept going on for hours.

“Where would she had gone to?” Fay panted, bending to support herself with her hand on her knees. “We’ve been walking for hours with no sign of her.” Fay complained.

“No one told you to come along.” Ives said, as he cleared the shrubs that blocked his way with his blade.

“We should separate and go different directions to find her. Use our mindlink to inform the rest when anyone gets to see her.” Ryan suggested, as it all felt like deja vu.

“Fay, you’ll go with Clare towards the west, Ryan will go south, while I’ll go north.” Ives instructed.

“Alright, we’ll meet by the waterfall at the center, if we don’t get to see her.” Ryan said, taking off first as he shifted to his wolf.

“See you there then.” Fay said as she moved with Clare to the other direction.

Ives heaved out as he was left alone. He started walking off, pushing his nose to the air to sniff for her scent.

He felt guilty all over again for her reaction. He couldn’t believe she had actually rejected him. But he couldn’t help but blame himself as he had failed to explain to her the situation with Betty from the start, to keep her calm. Things were already going perfect with them, till Betty came along for a good cause though, but ended up sabotaging all with Hazel.

He was going to make things right, bring Hazel to her senses and plead for her to take him back.

A quick movement in the bushes, made Ives turn over to the opposite direction.

“Who’s there?” He called out, setting himself in a position to fight, if it’s a threat.

He sniffed the air to pick the scent of what it was, but he got nothing.

“Show yourself or I’ll use my sword on you.” He pointed his sword before him, slowly turning in circles, as he expected the attack from anywhere.

Ives stood for a few more minutes but no one showed up. He thought he was imaging things, but he knew for sure that he saw a movement by the bush beside.

Curiosity got the best of him, as he moved towards where the movement was.

Ives eyes widen in awe, as he pulled aside the tall grasses that were before him, which revealed a wide span of bare land, with what seemed like a translucent veil dividing the side he stood from the other side of the land.

“This should be the fortress.” He said, as he moved closer to place his hand on it.

“Woah.” He pulled back his hand immediately he saw it could go through it.

“A wolf can go through it, but other forces especially the demons can’t come through it, amazing isn’t it?”

Ives immediately turned over to where the voice came from, to see Hazel slowly approach him.

“Hazel?” He called out, standing transfixed, watching her approach him.

“I thought I warned sternly that no one follows me?” Hazel quirked a brow.

“What has gotten into you Hazel?” Ives took a step towards her.

“I won’t take a step further if I were you.” Hazel lazily said, stopping Ives in his tracks.

“What are you trying to do?” He asked, as he saw her get close to the fortress and slowly trying to place her hand on it.

“This fortress is getting in the way of my people and I need to take it down.” She said, taking both hands down, still facing it at the fortress wall, as she heaved out.

“You’re not Hazel.” Ives noted, as he couldn’t perceive her scent.

“Someone finally noticed.” She laughed out, still facing the fortress.

“Who are you and what have you done with Hazel.” Ives growled out, as he took precise steps to her.

“I said you shouldn’t come any closer!” She flared up, as her eyes turned completely white, pushing the fortress off the ground, as a fence uprooted out the ground.

“Hazel! I know you’re in there, stay with me, I’ll bring you back!” Ives screamed as he came to stand before her.

“Stubborn one yeah?” She chuckled.

“I told you not to come any closer.” She said as she suddenly plunged in the silver dagger right into Ives chest, making him fall to his knees at the impact, still looking up at her.

“Hazel, I know you’re in there. Please come out, I love you.” He said before letting his head fall back.

“Ives?!” Hazel’s eyes widen in shock, as she saw the bloodied knife on her hand and Ives in his pool of blood on the ground.

“Ives?!” Fay, Clare and Ryan called out, as they ran towards them.

“Not so fast.” Hazel heard a voice in her head as she blanked out again.