Wicked Winter Book. 1

❅ Chapter 5 ❅

Large fangs dripped with clear saliva as I stared into the maw of something born out of nightmares. It had two terrifying heads: both wolves with midnight fur and eyes the color of bleached stone.

I flipped onto my back and used my elbows to put as much distance between me and the monster as possible. One head nipped at my ankle playfully while the other cackled into the night sky, scraping the ground with its paw. "The Queen will be pleased," the head that had nipped at me earlier grunted. My spine knocked into something solid, and I risked a glance up to see a towering evergreen, it's foliage casting me in a dark shadow.

I was trapped. The monster dog crouched low, both heads snarling with gleeful triumphant as they caged me in. "No where to go, little prin-"

"Sorry mutts, but she's my cargo. You can't have her."

The wolves turned with a snarl, their lips pulled back to reveal razor sharp teeth. "A witch," they spat in disgust. Sebastian stood with his back to the moon, his form silhouetted against the luminescence.He flicked his arms downward, and two small blades appeared with a zing of metal on metal by his wrists, a flash of iron in the night.

Hidden daggers, I thought with awe.

"Now which head shall I decapitate first?" he asked while flicking his blades, and I heard the smile in his voice.

One of the wolf heads gave a short bark of warning while the other snapped its jaws together, as if imagining how Sebastian's blood would taste rolling off its muzzle and through its teeth.

"Sebastian," I wheezed through clenched teeth. My breath came in ragged gulps. "Just go, don't risk yourself for me."

He chuckled, rolling the blades in his palms. "I'm not doing this for you, sweetheart." He sunk into a crouch, and soon the beast and the witch began a small dance of death. They circled each other, daggers and fangs flashing in the moonlight.

The wolves hunches rolled with tension as it sunk lower, its large chest skimming the frost covered grass as it moved. With a roaring battle cry it launched itself into the air, both jaws snapping towards Sebastian's throat. He danced away, slashing with his blades as he spun. The silver edge bit into the monsters flank, drawing a human-like howl from the the creature's throat. Dark blue blood exploded in a fine spray, and I cringed away as the beast stumbled in my direction.

I watched in fascination as Sebastian danced out of another powerful blow, his iron blades slashing.

Despite the huge laceration still dripping a deep cobalt, the wolves spun with a shriek, their front paw raking across Sebastian's upper arm. He tried to jump away, but he wasn't fast enough. The witch sank away with a hiss of pain, his hand coming up to cup his wounded arm. Dark red blood, black in the night, welled between his fingers and dripped onto the lawn.

"You are no match for us, witch," the monster dogs hissed, their lips curved into a hideous, spite filled smile. "Surrender, give us the girl, and we will make your death quick."

Sebastian's eyes simmered with golden fury. "Over my dead body."

One head tilted back, and a deafening howl ripped through the air. "Very well," the other wolf cooed, it's teeth snapping. "Prepare to die!" And it lunged.

Both launched themselves into the fray, and it finally dawned on me that they were both occupied, completely oblivious to the small, seventeen-year-old girl standing not ten feet away. They wouldn't even know if I crept away into the night, tail between my legs. No pun intended.

I pushed myself to my feet, a little unsteady, and bolted in the other direction.

Finally! I was free! My knees wobbled a bit as I ran, but I was too high on sweet taste of freedom that I didn't mind. Wind tore at my ponytail as my boots pounded the moist earth, muffled thumps and growls rising into the air behind me.