My Dark Knight (COMPLETED)

Chapter 13

((EDITED 5/18/2016. Dialogue changes, and one scene has been slightly altered. Nothing significant.))

(Dedicated to xxscoobyxx because of the banner...check it out on the sidebar, it's awesome!

I really appreciate you taking the time to make it for me without me even asking :)

I recommend pressing 'play' on the video to the right as soon as the funeral starts. It's a really good song for such a scene, and there aren't any words so it isn't distracting. )

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I stood there, numb with shock, as I watched the last vestiges of life leave the small body on the ground in front of me. The seconds passed by, and part of me knew that my Wolf was howling at me, urging me to snap out of my trance, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the grotesque sight. As a werewolf I had seen plenty of violence in my lifetime but never had I witnessed something like this; the brutal slaying of a boy that was but a child. Judging by the size of the hole in his chest, his heart had been ripped clean from his body; that was one of the only ways to kill a werewolf.

I registered all of this in mere seconds, and it was then that my instincts kicked in and I quickly sank into a defensive position, tearing my eyes away from the body as I slowly turned in a circle. The attack had been fast and silent, faster than even my werewolf vision could detect. My eyes bored into the trees as I sought the attacker. In the darkness of early night my Wolf senses aided me, but still I detected no movement other than the swaying of branches and the rustling of leaves.

As I was examining our surroundings, Bree's shrill scream had turned more into a gurgling wail before she quickly clapped her hands to her mouth, stifling the noise as she sank to her knees in front of Riley's corpse. Her sides heaved and she was seemingly unaware of the possible danger as she sobbed.

I narrowed my eyes, frustrated. My nose detected nothing but I didn't expect to smell the vampire. Gabriel had said they were almost impossible to track. Still, that did not stop me from forcing down my nausea and seeking the creature that did this to an innocent child. I wanted to tear it limb from limb.

Seeing nothing, no enemy to attack, my eyes inevitably wandered back to the scene in front of me. Bree was hunched over Riley's form as a high, keening noise escaped her throat. I dimly realized that warmth was still trickling down my face and front as Riley's blood stuck to my skin. I fought down the bile that threatened to rise.

"H-he...i-it..." Bree stammered, looking up at me with bloodshot eyes. It struck me how even a good fighter like her could look so broken and vulnerable. "-W-what?" She whispered, her voice breaking.

I shook my head. "It happened so fast..." I said softly, trying to reassure her, but I couldn't help the guilt that arose. If we wouldn't have taken so long to get back to camp.....then again, if we had hurried, we would never have met up with Riley in the first place. Had our presence even made a difference? What kind of vampire could get past two strong werewolves and kill another in an instant without being detected? It had to be far stronger than those I had previously encountered. Questions continued to assault my brain as I wondered why it had attacked us in a group and then left Bree and me alive.

In the distance I registered shouting and my Wolf hearing picked up rapid footsteps. They no doubt heard the screaming, or Bree had mentally contacted them. Tilting my head I inhaled deeply; I recognized Gabriel, Eli, another scent I faintly recognized, and then one I didn't.

I stood there, my body beginning to shake from suppressed emotion as I kept my gaze averted from the mangled body. The stench of blood hung heavily in the air and I couldn't keep Riley's lifeless eyes out of my mind, the vacancy in them that indicated that both he and his Wolf were gone forever. I felt sick.