Nicon

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THE CASTLE WAS eerily quiet. Her vision was darkening around the edges and she was so focused on making it to the door that she barely took in her surroundings. Some of the doors were boarded up, others left open with large chunks taken out of them. She kept stumbling forward.

She could hear snarling as she neared the front of the castle and chose to dip quietly out one of the side doors. She pushed the heavy metal door open, and the sunlight from outside blinded her vision. The light reflected off the snow and everything around her sparkled as it caught the beams.

Elysie hadn't felt snow in what seemed like forever, but the scene in front of her made her stomach swirl with unease. Everywhere she looked, snow was stained red. Mangled bodies of wolves lay resting in piles, and men's bodies were scattered everywhere, their guns deep in the snow next to them.

She could hear more gunfire in the direction of the forest, and she picked up one of the forgotten metal weapons before trudging through the cold snow toward the wood. Her fingers trembled as she held it gently in her palms. She didn't want to use it again.

She let her mind drift to Nicon as her body filled with anxiety and adrenaline. The anxious ticking of her heart continued as she carried herself as quickly as possible.

The forest grew thicker and she passed more and more men and wolves. Some called out to her with short gasping moans. She desperately wanted to stop and help them, but she too suffered from the trauma of silver. She wasn't even sure how to cure herself.

A low growl caught Elysie's attention and she froze. Her eyes swept the forest on her right and she caught a glimpse of the wolf. If it were next to her, she was sure it would tower over her, its menacing stance and large body commanding her attention.

The gun fell from her fingertips as she stared at it. His eyes were dark and feral and his teeth bared intimidatingly at her. His coat was matted with blood, his or others she couldn't tell.

Nicon.

She continued to stand still as she stared back at the wolf. A feeling deep in her gut told her it was him. She could feel it. Elysie didn't know what to do. Another sinking feeling in her stomach formed as she thought of all the dead wolves she passed. Did he do this?

Another sound shook the forest from off to Elysie's left, and she watched Nicon's ears perk and his head snapped in the direction of the sound. He bound off toward the noise.

After a moment of hesitation, Elysie took off after him.

She didn't know what to do. Where was everyone else? How many Shifters had he done this to? What about the hunters? Alpha Cayn?

It didn't take long for Nicon to outrun Elysie, and she trailed behind slowly as she lost sight of him. She was nearing the village and her chest burned with fear. Her mother.

She heard rustling on either side of her as other wolves bound in her direction, passing her with ease. She felt four or five pass her and she quickened her pace as fast as her body would allow her.

The sound of snarling startled her as she approached another clearing. Nicon stood proudly, baring his teeth at one of the wolves who passed Elysie. The wolf stared at him for a long second before bowing his head in submission. A quiet second passed as the rest of the wolves in the clearing seemed to relax. Not a single wolf bothered Elysie as she stood on the edge of the clearing, staring in quiet astoundment.

Nicon's eyes darkened as the wolf in front of him stared at the snowy ground. He bound toward him with one large leap and sank his large canines into the wolf's neck, shaking his now limp body to the snow next to him. He turned his head to the wolf nearest to him whose head darted back and forth. He contemplated running, but knew he would barely make it one step before Nicon caught up to him.

Elysie shook with fear. She wanted to stop him. She wished she felt as confident and as powerful as she did in the dungeon cell, but struggled to find the courage to try.

One of the other wolves leapt out of the clearing and darted behind the trees until he was out of sight. Nicon bound after him with a sharp growl, and not even ten quick seconds later, the wolf was brought back in the tight jaws of the King.

She tried calling out to Nicon in her mind, but knew it would be hopeless. She knew he wouldn't hear her, too consumed in an uncontrollable violent rage.

"Nicon," she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

Nicon didn't move, but his jaws released the other wolf and he fell to the ground with a thud. His eyes were cold as he looked at the small girl.

"Nicon."

The wolf snarled, a long strand of spit shaking off his mouth as he stared at her.

"It's me, your Luna."

Nicon didn't move, but the wolves surrounding him pawed at the snow in discomfort. One wolf stuck his front paw out and bowed his head in Elysie's direction. Elysie's eyebrows drew together at the sight of the wolf submitting to her.

Nicon didn't turn around, and his paws remained planted in an aggressive stance.

Elysie slowly raised her hand, careful not to upset Nicon any further, and her fingertips brushed the dip in her neck where Nicon marked her. She stared at the wolf with wide eyes, careful to remain still and nonthreatening. She thought about submitting to the wolf, but felt that a sign of weakness would get her killed.

"Your Luna," she repeated.

A growl slipped through Nicon's teeth and he took a bounding step toward her. His paw jerked out in front of him and his body crashed into the ground forcefully. Elysie took a few steps back as she stared at the wolf.

He was whining now, a sharp, high pitched noise that made Elysie wince slightly. He seemed to be wrestling with himself as the wolf howled angrily.

"Shift back and lead these people, Nicon," she said.

The first crack startled Elysie more than anything. A sharp sound that seemed to reverberate through the trees. Another followed, and another, before multiple started happening at once. The fur receded and after a few greuling minutes, Nicon lay on his human chest in the snow.

His hair was plastered to his head with sweat and a small grimace graced his lips. The skin above his left eyebrow had a deep cut that dripped along the side of his face off his chin. The tiny drops hit the snow one after another.

He had various cuts and bites all over his body, some worse than others, and Elysie felt herself drop to her knees.

The snow seeped in through the fabric clothing her legs, but she couldn't feel the cold too much. In fact, Elysie couldn't really feel much of anything.

As her eyes drooped one final time with exhaustion, Nicon's eyes met hers.

"My Luna," she thought she heard him say.