Chapter 37: The Rise Of Jealousy

As the women exit the trees, Eliana’s gaze immediately searches out Jasper. Her heart begins to flutter when she eventually does see him, but it is short lived. He is standing near Alma, laughing. He moves his hands around, explaining something to her.
The werebird nods, closing her eyes.
Eliana only stands there, watching, with Olisnia by her side.
Alma’s brow furrows, her shoulders tensing up, but almost immediately, feathers begin to form on her arms, her hands welding together. Her legs shrink but only slightly. Her face protrudes out into a large beak. Jasper folds his arms, cocking his head to the side as he watches. After a minute nothing else happens. Alma flaps her wings around angrily, her beak clacking together, before she squawks and her human form is returned to her.
“Come, let us get closer,” Olisnia says walking forward.
“Wait,” Eliana squeaks trying to reach for the Drulian. As her heart is ripped from her chest, she eyes Jasper. She cannot help but realize that the two of them go well together. They may be of different clans, but they work well. Jasper has a caring nature and after Alma was put into slavery, she deserves someone such as him.
The ache in her chest causes tears to creep up her throat, tingling her nose, but she refuses to allow them to surface. Jasper deserves the best. To be happy. Eliana is promised to Drake, for the betterment of her people. Even though Olisnia promises Eliana is a werecat, she knows it cannot be true. She cannot even shift.
Maybe if it were, Eliana could have a chance with Jasper. Maybe the nonsense of soul bonds would be real. They would be meant to be.
But she is not a Pivurlion.
“What are you doing?”
Evyn’s abrupt interruption snaps Eliana from her reverie. The werebear drops the deer carcass down on the ground and storms up to his friend. Jasper is comforting Alma by patting her shoulder. He’s inclining his head towards her, to try and look her in the eye.
The image itself is burned into Eliana’s mind.
“What do you mean,” Jasper takes a step back, facing Evyn. “What has gotten you so angry?”
“Stay away from her,” he growls out, his chest puffed out. His dense gaze is wild; his teeth bared in a snarl.
Jasper’s brow creases, “What are you talking about? Why are you acting like this?”
Eliana wonders why Evyn is reacting so harshly. He rejected Alma and refuses to accept their soul bond, yet he is overprotective and possessive.
“Evyn, stop,” the werebird bites out.
Eliana has never seen, or even thought it was possible, for Alma to show such anger.
“You need to mind your own business,” she continues.
Evyn’s expression falls as he stares down at her.
“Alma,” is all he says before every person, excluding Eliana, freezes, staring out at the expanse of land behind them.
Jasper is first to Eliana’s side, all but picking her up to get her to the horse.
“What’s going on,” she bites out as she is thrown up onto the steed. She narrows her gaze in the direction they had come from, trying to calm her thundering heart. She strains her eyes trying to focus on whatever could be the cause of the chaos.
“Xefol,” Jasper rasps out near her ear as he places himself behind her, his body once again leaning against hers.
Dread washes over her, “Assassins?”
“Or they’re from Viptan. Either way they are nearing us fast and I don’t smell any other animals with them.”
Eliana swallows, the implication dawning on her, “In Drein? Would they really shift?”
“It’s the only way they could be moving so quickly,” he grunts snapping his reigns and sending their horse galloping in the opposite direction. The rest of the group quickly follows after.
“Will we be able to outrun them?” Eliana focuses her gaze around Jasper’s arm. As his body continues to press down on hers, heat creeps along her body, burning her vision. Everything goes blurry for a moment, before a shiver bites at her neck and her entire body comes alive. Her vision becomes crystal clear and, in the far distance, she can see a cloud of dust. The bears are gaining on them.
Her mind becomes dizzy with scents bombarding her nose. When she inhales, her entire body reverberates with Jaspers’ intense lavender aroma, but underneath it are hints of a sweet smell that lingers on her tongue. A wet, mossy, stench coats her throat.
Every nerve in her body lights up at every point she is touching Jasper. A shiver ignites whenever he moves, causing a friction to wrack her body. She gasps out at the intensity of her senses changing.
Eliana falls back into Jasper, her body going weak.
“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” His breath hits her neck, and she opens her mouth, a silent pant releasing from her throat.
“Jasper, we need to figure out a plan. We can’t outrun them,” Evyn shouts over the sound of the horses’ hooves that deafen Eliana. Fur sprouts all over his body. His back enlarges, ripping his shirt.
“We will need to stand our ground. They won’t run out of steam for a while. Our horses won’t last that long.” Jasper’s face is already beginning to change, his mouth and nose protruding out.
“They’re already too close,” Olisnia announces, her vision flashing violet.
As the words leave her mouth, a large bear bounds from the obscure trees next to them, barreling into Evyn and knocking him to the ground.
Alma releases a scream as Evyn is thrown around, his body limp. They all pull on their reigns to halt their horses.
Olisnia swings her arm around, her tattoos shifting as a glowing whip forms in her hand. She spins it around, snapping it at the assassin. The weapon wraps itself around the creature’s neck, yanking him down to the ground.
Jasper hops off the horse, ripping off his shirt and tossing it to the side as his back hunches over. His body begins to be covered in thick fur and his hands form into paws.
Eliana holds down a cry of panic as two more Xefol reach their location. She slides off her steed, her ankle giving out and causing her to fall to the ground. She quickly shoots back up before anyone is able to notice. Every nerve in her body is alive, her vision clear as she watches the Xefol attack the group.
Jasper, his body still growing, lunges at one of the new bears. He does not have the weight of his bear form yet, and is unable to knock the creature to the ground. He is picked up instead in a pair of paws and chucked several meters, his body slamming into a tree. He groans and falls.
Eliana’s throat tightens, but a scream rips its way out of her mouth, “Jasper!”
She begins to snarl, rage at the werebear taking hold of her mind and actions. She almost does not feel the change come over her. It happens so quickly, that she is not sure it even occurred. Her hands are hooked into claws, fur sprouting out of her pores. Her teeth grow into points and her ears disappear. Two large feline ears form at the top of her head.
Eliana releases a loud growl that reverberates through her chest and is released on a hiss. A long tail flicks back and forth from her back, brushing her arms.
“Eliana,” Jasper gasps out dragging her attention from the werebear. His body has completely shifted now, his beady eyes on her.
She swivels to look at him, making eye contact. The shock and confusion washing over him, hides any show of pain he might have. His snout is beginning to crinkle and he forces himself to stand.
Gulping, Eliana realizes that this might just be the end of everything that she was trying to protect.