Page 59 of Shrouded in the Dark

I pressed down on the aerosol can so that the spray hit the lighter and watched as my impromptu flamethrower came to life. The monster jumped right into the spray. The howl that erupted from it as it backed away hurriedly from me was filled with pain. I followed as close as I dared, keeping the spray on-going. It wouldn’t last forever. I needed to get as much damage done to the monster as possible to get it to leave us alone.

The smell of burning skin and fur permeated the air. The wolf was trying to clear its eyes out with its paws as I followed, aiming for its face again. As I watched fire begin to lick around its fur, it was distracted enough that I quickly lowered the lighter so that the spray went directly into its eyes and nose.

The monster began rolling around trying to put out the fire along its fur before it began to sneeze in between snarls mixed with whimpers.

“Get out of here! Or I’ll come at you again with more!” I’d moved back to stand where Axel still stood weakly. He grumbled at me, pressing his nose against my stomach as he tried to get me behind him but I stepped slightly away from him. “Get!”

The monster snarled in our direction but its eyes were swollen shut as well as its nose was running. It threw back its head and gave a huge howl that made me want to clamp my hands over my ears. It turned into the forest before disappearing into the trees.

Both Axel and I stood where we were, not moving and at the ready, at least as much as we could be, to see if the asshole returned. After giving it five minutes, I turned to look Axel in the eyes.

“You have a lot to explain, you know that?”

He moved his head once.

“What do we do? You’re really hurt.” The wounds still looked like they were bleeding. I held a hand over them, not touching so I didn’t hurt him, but heat poured from the wounds. I was afraid he’d get an infection. Could he get an infection?

Axel moved his head so that his nose touched my hand and snuffed it gently. He looked over to the quilt before looking at his torn clothes.

It was time to see if Scotchgard was resistant to blood. When I grabbed the quilt that had survived the fight without a scratch, there was a grunt behind me. Spinning around, Axel was on his hands and knees on the ground, butt naked. The gulp that I took became stuck in my throat.

His whole back was covered in open bloody wounds. As I got closer, tears began to fall when I saw the back of his neck. Parts of the skin were loose, exposing muscle beneath. How he was still conscious was a wonder to me.

“Axel.” His name came out choked. “What can I do?”

He was breathing heavily. His arms were shaking as he held himself from falling forward. “Did you call Seth?”

“Right before coming back here.”

He huffed in a mix of a strangled laugh and moan of pain. “We’ll talk about that soon. Do you still have your phone? Mine didn’t survive my shift.”

“Uh, yeah. It should be. Here.” I gently placed the quilt under his chest and lower body. I made sure that my eyes were looking into his so I didn’t embarrass him. “Lay down, slowly. I’ll call them again. Okay?”

He nodded, knowing that I would wait to make sure he did it. He tried to hold in how this was hurting him but a small whimper fell from his lips just as he lay on his stomach.

“God, this hurts.”

Understatement of the year.

Dozens of missed call notifications displayed on the phone screen as I unlocked it. All of them were from Seth. The last one was two minutes ago. I couldn’t believe this whole thing had been less than fifteen minutes.

Seth’s voice was strained the second he picked up. “Becca, we’re two minutes out. What’s happening?” Before I could get a word out, he continued, “Please, tell me you’re unhurt.”

“I’m fine.” There wasn’t a scratch on me but now that the immediate danger had passed, my whole body started to shake. I fought to keep the attack at bay until they were here. I had to protect Axel until they were here. “Please, hurry. Axel’s really hurt.” My throat felt like it was raw as I focused on not losing it.

“We’re coming, baby. Hold on. Stay on the phone with me. Focus on my voice.” My eyes closed briefly as his comforting purr rolled over me.

“I see them!” Jasper’s voice shouted out through the phone, but I could also hear him.

The phone fell to the ground with a small thump as my anxiety finally rushed at me now that I knew we’d be safe with them here. When they came into the clearing, they found me curled on the ground next to Axel, who was cooing at me, even though he was in so much pain, as I silently sobbed out the fear and panic. I had his hand clutched to my chest.

“Shit,” Cody’s whisper was shocked as they came to stand around us. “Axel.” He sounded close to tears himself.

I didn’t look away from Axel’s eyes. They were glazed over, yet he still kept his attention on me. I wanted to be strong for him, for the others, but after the adrenaline left me, I had nothing inside of me any longer except the fear, horror, and confusion that I’d pushed down during the fight.

Someone knelt next to my head. The scent of Seth drifted close just as his hand clutched my shoulder, squeezing gently.

“We’re here. Axel’s going to be okay, baby. He just needs to shift again to finish the healing process.”