Blade to the Throat

*Hezzlie*

My eyes adjust to the situation as Aiden huffs in a deep breath and spins, his back pressed against the chest of his assailant. He isn’t able to move. Whoever has him is huge–muscular and strong. When I raise my eyes to focus on the attacker’s face, I’m not surprised to see a jagged scar along his cheek and jaw.
Fucking Zeb.
“Well, well,” he growls. “What the fuck do we have here?”
“Let him go!” I demand, my voice nearly as low as his. “He’s the prince, and you have no right to touch him.”
“He’s the prince who’s trying to escape the castle, along with the princess–the little bitch who likes to stir shit up–and that tasty little snack of an ambassador’s daughter.
“He is the prince who is allowed to go wherever the fuck he wants to,” I say with as much authority as I can muster. Ordinarily, I would be too afraid to confront someone like Zeb, but knowing I have powers gives me more courage than I’ve ever had before.
A low chuckle fills the air. “That might be true if you weren’t trying to get to our enemy. I know what you’re up to, little girl. I’ve been fucking watching you.”
“Have you?” I take a step forward, and he presses the blade to Aiden’s throat.
In my head, I hear my brother’s voice. ‘Take him out, Hezzlie.’
‘I will,’ I tell him. ‘I just have to make sure I don’t hurt you.’
‘Do what you need to do.’
In the distance, I hear howling and realize Zeb has called for back-up. We are running out of time. “Only a pansy fights with a fucking knife, Zeb. I never pegged you as one of those, but I guess that’s what you are.”
“Oh, I’d be happy to fight him wolf-to-wolf, but not with the three of you so close to this gate. Let’s head back to the courtyard, and then I’ll tear him limb from limb.”
“Are those your friends I hear?” I ask him. “Doesn’t sound like a very fair fight.”
Again, he laughs at me. “Nothing’s fair in this life, Princess.”
“Well, in that case….” I lift a hand and direct my beam of light toward his head, trying to stear clear of my brother who throws an elbow into the bastard’s sternum at the same time the beam of golden light reaches Zeb’s face. I have no idea what it will do, if it will hurt or maybe just tickle. It does move faster with my fury than it ever has before, and when Zeb shrieks, I’m not sure if it’s from the light at first or my brother defending himself.
Zeb staggers backward, dropping the knife as his hands reach for his face. I hear a sizzling sound and get the impression I’m burning him. Well, his face couldn’t get any scarier.
Aiden is free now, but the wolves are still howling behind us. “Quick, sis! The gate!” he shouts, and it takes me a split second to realize I’m sis–I’m his sister.
I move my attention to the gate and use my light on it. I have no idea how I command it to melt faces in one second and unlock barriers in another, but this time, the glow is softer as the mechanism inside the lock pops, and Aiden pushes through the gate.
We scramble after him, and then I use my magic to lock it back in place.
Zeb shoots to his feet, his face drooping on the same side as his scar. “You fucking bitch! You said you didn’t have magic!”
“I guess you don’t know everything I’m up to, asshole!” I raise my hand again, shooting another beam at him, but he ducks this time, and we don’t have time to stand around and bicker, so I turn and run. When I realize both Aiden and Abby have shifted, I do the same. My clothes shred away, but my backpack stays in place, and then we run like the wind.
Aiden says in my head, ‘There will be patrol out here as well. We’ll have to skirt them.’
‘Okay.’ It’s all I can manage as we run as fast as we can. It’s clear Aiden could take off and leave us in the dust, but he doesn’t. Instead, he makes a zig-zag pattern, probably making sure we stay clear of potential threats.
We run over uneven ground, through another forest, across a creek that leaves my fur dripping wet, and up an embankment before I see a car in the distance. A young man sits behind the wheel. I’m surprised. I thought he’d just leave the car for us.
‘Fuck!’ Aiden says in my head. ‘He’s not supposed to be here! Stupid Tony!’
‘Maybe it’s for the best,’ I say back. I hear howling, and it’s getting closer. ‘He has hands.’
‘Good point,’ my brother replies.
Tony hops out of the car and yanks open the back door. I have no idea if we will all three fit back there, but I follow behind Aiden, certain we will not leave Abby behind.
A wolf darts out of the trees to our right, its teeth gleaming in the moonlight, saliva dripping from its tongue. It moves like lightning toward Aiden, who has almost reached the car.
I lift a paw and concentrate, and my powers manifest, even in my wolf form. I hit the wolf in the side with a beam of light. It whines and falls to the ground, the scent of burning fur filling our lungs. Another wolf behind it pulls up, like it’s afraid of me.
Maybe it should be.
Aiden dives into the back seat but then climbs into the front. I shoot into the backseat, and a moment later Abby joins us. Tony slams the door closed and flies back behind the wheel. He turns the car on a dime, gravel flying and speeds off.
In front of us, a massive wolf blocks the road. Like the one I shot with my powers, he’s hungry for a fight.
‘He’ll move,’ Aiden says in my head, and I think he’s talking to Tony, too.
“What if he doesn’t?” Tony says aloud.
‘He has to,’ Aiden argues.
I don’t know that we have time for this, but I note the vehicle has a moonroof. I use my nose to press the button and then pop up. It’s a tight squeeze because my wolf is so big, but I manage to get my head and a paw out. I shoot a beam of light at the wolf, thinking I would be better if he moved than if I obliterated him, so I think about him flying, and sure enough, he glides up off the ground right as the nose of the vehicle reaches where he’d been standing. I have to flick him to the side to keep him from hitting me in the face as we barrel by. I hear him whimper in shock and pain as he hits the ground.
The car speeds off into the night, and I pray we have no other barriers in our way of getting us to Moonstryker Mansion–but something tells me the danger isn’t behind us just yet.