Her heart. Her what?
"What does that mean?" She whispered.
His silver eyes met hers. "It means I'm supposed to kill you Eleanor"
Silence fell like a stone in between them. Her feet urging her to leave but her heart compelling her to stay.
"I won't hurt you. He said lazily but assuring while staring at her face. "Not now. Not after…" He looked away, as if regretful…
"After what?" she pressed.
"You smell like earth and soil after it rains," he said softly. "Like peace. Like the part of me that died years ago"
Eleanor didn't understand half of what he was saying, but something in her chest cracked open. A pull. A tether. It made no sense_ A pull to him? _ but she felt it too.
"What's your name?" She asked quietly.
He hesitated, staring lostly at the dark night, his eyebrows furrowed as if scanning the dark forest, his eyes darted back to her lean face and back to the forest.
He closed his eyes and answered lazily "Jedrek."
"Jedrek," she repeated, the name like a strange melody on her tongue. "we need to stop your wound from bleeding. You're not dying tonight."
"You have no idea what you're walking into, Eleanor"
"Then tell me about it, show me."
Jedrek gave her a long, unreadable look.
"you'll regret it," He muttered.
But still… she reached out for his hand.
And far above them, the red moon flickered…like it had just blinked.
The cabin was abandoned_ or at least, it looked that way. Old, dilapidated, tucked within the forest and shrouded by years of moss and dust, it felt like a place forgotten by the world. Eleanor struggled to drag Jedrek inside the cabin, using every ounce of strength in her body to get him to rest on a battered old couch.
He was loosing consciousness slowly, his breathe becoming more shallow by the second… sweat beading on his brows.
She founded a rusted basin and filled it with water from a nearby stream, praying that it was clean enough. Tearing the strip from her shirt, she cleaned the wound as best as she could.
Jedrek winced but didn't open his eyes.
"You're lucky I attended first aid class," she whispered half to herself. "I think."
Then she saw it_ beneath the blood, at the tip of his artistic looking breast. Carved into his skin, was a symbol. Burned In. A pattern of twisted runes, alive with dark energy. The edges pulsed faintly, as if the curse itself breathed.
She traced it gently with the tip of her fingers, and Jedrek's body tensed.
"Don't touch that," he rasped, opening his eyes
"is that…the mark he gave you?"
He nodded slightly "Kael calls it the Hunter's Mark. He brands anyone who defies his orders."
"what law did you break?"
"I fell….." she stared at him curiously "in love…with the wrong person."
Eleanor blinked "Wait_ You were in love before?"
"No," he said, looking at her with an intensity that made her chest tighten, "Back then…it was easy. This…with you Eleanor...It feels like fate. And fate isn't kind."
She pulled back, unsure of how to respond. The air between them felt heavy, thick with loads of work unspoken.
Then came the sound that shattered the silence…
A growl.
Low. Menancing. Not from Jedrek.
From outside.
Eleanor rushed to the window. Through the thickness of the woods, eyes gleamed. Yellow. Dozens of them.
"They found us," Jedrek muttered, forcing himself up despite the pain
"Who?"
"The bloodfangs. Kael's pack"
Eleanor's heart pounded "Can you fight?"
He gave her a twisted smile "I can try."
He staggered to the door, blood still dripping down his side. Elara followed, grabbing the only thing she knew she could_ a rusted metal rod lying at the far end of the room.
His eyes followed her every step, he watched the curious little human wondering if this was bravery or foolishness. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"Fighting with you," she said.
"You're human."
"I noticed," but I'm also stubborn."
Jedrek stared at her for a moment, then nodded.
He sighed admiring her stubbornness "Then stay behind me. And if anything happens_ run."
But Eleanor knew something deep within her bones:
She wouldn't run.
Not from Jedrek.
Not from this.
Because fate had already claimed her.
The cabin door creaked open, and Jedrek stepped into the night.
Eleanor followed slowly behind, the rusted metal rod trembling in her grip. She could feel the fear crawling up her spine, but she shoved it down. Jedrek's scent _ moonlight and blood_ was everywhere and around them, the forest breathed danger.
The Bloodfangs circled around the clearing, massive shadows with teeth. Their eyes glowed in the dark like fireflies turned feral. One step forward_ a brown massive wolf -like form that shimmered and shifted until it stood on two legs. Half-man. Half-beast. All death.
"Eleanor" Jedrek said without turning back to look at her, "no matter what happens, you don't run towards them. Understand?"
She nodded slightly.
A slightly darker wolf stepped forward ahead of the park_ The lead bloodfang growled, voice like gravel. "You're bleeding, Thorn. Broken and Weak. The girl won't save you."
Jedrek straightened himself, wincing. "You came a long way just to die, Kieran."
A low snarl rumbled through the pack.
Kieran grinned, baring yellowed fangs. "Kael wants the girl. Give her up and maybe we'll leave you breathing."
"She's not yours to take," Jedrek groaned.
"Not yet," Kieran said, eyes flicking to Eleanor. "But she's marked, isn't she?" He smirked "We can all smell it. The bond's already begun."
Eleanor blinked, confused "What bond?"
Jedrek's hand tightened into a fist.
And then it began.
Jedrek surged forward, faster than she'd thought possible, slamming into Kieran with a roar that shook the trees. They crashed to the ground, claws striking, teeth snapping. The rest of the bloodfangs howled and charged.
Eleanor didn't wink_ she swung the rusted metal rod at the first one who lunged at her, catching it in the jaw. It howled in pain, but another wolf tackled her, sending her crashing into the pool of wet mud and dirt.