Forever Mine

FIFTY

Isaac knew the risks of fighting Abaddon. One bite from him would be all it took to bring him down. The poison would seep into his body, ending the life he knew. The thought of never returning to Roxy pained him, but he had to be realistic. The chances of him dying were greater than surviving. As long as Abaddon died first, that's all that mattered. He jogged through the thick marsh, leaping over fallen logs and weaving amongst the trees. While there was no shrubbery for his opponent to hide amongst, the darkness was creating all sorts of shadows. Being a black wolf himself, he knew how well they could camouflage. The only thing that could give them away was the glow of the eyes. Abaddon no longer had any. As satisfying as it'd been, Isaac began to regret his hasty decision. Now he was quite literally chasing a shadow.

The sounds of the battle faded away as he got deeper. Water soaked his paws and he made sure to step as delicately as possible. The smell of blood still lingered in the air, telling Isaac he wasn't far from his target. In the far distance he could still sense Roxy and a growl came from him when he imagined Abaddon finding his way to her. Picking up the pace, he continued following the bloody scent. There wasn't a breeze, and it hung heavily in the air. The smell became thicker and he paused, holding one paw up as he sniffed deeply. There was a splash of water followed by heavy puffs.

Isaac whipped around to face his challenger, only to be smacked into the water. The force of the collision sent both the wolves sliding into the trunk of a tree, making it fall down with a crash. Using his back legs, Isaac shoved Abaddon's wolf off him and shook his fur free of water and moss as he stood. It took Abaddon a few seconds to find him again, his nose sniffing about before his eyeless face was turned to him. Both the wolves moved into a defensive position, each of them snapping towards each other with menacing growls. Abaddon's ears were focused on Isaac, able to hear whatever move he made thanks to the deep water.

With spine-chilling snarls, the wolves charged towards each other. It was hard to see where one wolf started and the other stopped as their black coats merged into one another to create a large shadow. The only colours which could be seen were the white and yellow of their teeth along with the rage-fuelled green of Isaac's eyes. Abaddon's tail came into Isaac's sight and he clamped down on it quickly, making the blood wolf yelp. Digging his hind legs into the ground, Isaac began spinning, getting faster and faster until Abaddon was flying around in fast circles, smashing through trees. Just when he thought he couldn't get faster, Isaac opened his jaw to release the blood wolf's tail, sending him flying for metres through the air before landing with an almighty splash. Abaddon was quick to clamber to his feet, his nose sniffing about as he charged back to Isaac.

On hind legs, they collided. Isaac fought hard to keep his anger in check, not wanting to lose his head and become clumsy. Abaddon's large paws rested against his shoulder, making his hind legs tremble as he fought to keep upright. Their jaws snapped at each other, strings of thick saliva creating cobwebs across their faces. Isaac grunted with effort when he straightened himself beneath the crushing weight. Thanks to his lack of sight, Abaddon's jaw was clamping about blindly. His ability to smell allowed him to find Isaac far away, but without his eyesight, finding the crucial spot on his neck seemed to be proving difficult. Taking his chance, Isaac used all his energy to stretch his neck outwards. He expected his teeth to wrap around the blood wolf's neck and for the thick blood to dribble into his mouth. But all he managed to grab was a chunk of fur.

Panic rose in Isaac when Abaddon finally squashed him down beneath his weight. The large wolf pinned Isaac underwater, his jaw bursting through the surface, yellow and jagged teeth snapping around his head. Isaac squirmed, trying to get his back legs beneath the other wolf to spring him off, but Abaddon was bigger and much heavier. His lungs began to burn, bubbles of precious oxygen floating from his nostrils. The image of Roxy played throughout his mind, giving him the drive to dig into the minimal reserve energy he had left. He was growing tired. Usually he could battle another wolf for hours without a single warning of fatigue. But battling a blood wolf for minutes after stressing for days and travelling all night was taking its toll. The reserve energy was all he had left to make one final move.