The Look: Alpha Male, Feisty Female Romance

by Blair Aaron

  “OK. I'm going with her.”

  “Come on, brother! You won't last a minute with our help!”

  “I have my bow. Once I get past that swamp, the edge is free and clear. There won't be anything to stop me.”

  “I can't believe you, brother. You're making the biggest mistake, and I can't sit idly by and watch you walk to your death, because you hate your life here so much you will do anything to leave.”

  “So be it, Humby.” And with that, we buckled up his bow and marched forward through the group of shifters, toward the swamp. The situation was not a bad thing, Elsa guessed. She just needed their protection until they got to the edge of the forest and left them behind. She wondered if Augustus would attack her when he inevitably found out she didn't know exactly where Theo was. He would more surely follow her out of the forest. Maybe she could explain the truth to him and he would listen. He did seem to be the more rational of the twin pair. Niklas, Humburt, and Kirbleitz looked on at them as they approached the swamp area. Elsa hustled up behind Augustus.

  “You're going to protect me, right?” she asked, hoping he would show some sort of vulnerability before they entered the swamp.

  “I'll get you to the edge of the Forest. If I find out you're lying, all bets are off sister,” he said. Elsa's stomach practically hit the floor. She had no choice but to follow him into the dark area of the swamp. They continued on, and Elsa looked back at the Niklas, Humburt, and Kirbleitz, tiny figures in the distance behind them now.

  ------------

  The darkness enveloped them from all sides, and yet the black didn't blind them. Elsa could still make out the outlines of crows on the tree limbs, and the owls hooting from within the enclosures of the trunks. A blue-gray mist hovered near their feet, though Elsa could not see where her feet met the floor. This scared Elsa, and she grabbed Augustus' arm, the muscles bulging in anticipation of an attack. She could hear the metal on his bow clacking against his powerful chest. But he showed no signs of fear, as if fights like these were familiar to him. He simply looked up and around the area, sniffing the air for signs of danger. They continued on, their footsteps quickening with every stride they took. Elsa saw Augustus' large gait, because she had trouble keeping up with him. The darkness began to take shape on her right and left, as she trailed behind him--at first it was very faint, but she could see the outline of a half bird, half human shape in the silvery mist. Soon the shapes became more defined and only then was Elsa sure her fear was not getting the best of her. The shapes began to move in her direction, reaching for her.

  “Augustus, look--” He ignored her and pulled his bow and arrow from around his waist. He was ready to fight. “But they're just clouds. You can't do them harm.” They began to run through the mist, the swamp water rising from around ankle height to their knees. The swamp was full of mud and grit and mired them in one place.

  “I'm getting stuck, Augustus.”

  “Me, too.” Up ahead, she could see a small flickering red light, a point of contact to which both Augustus and Elsa sought refuge. “That light up ahead, that's where the edge is. We always see a red light. Don't know what it's from.”

  “Let's get there then before we get taken down,” she said.

  Elsa's feet sank under the clay on the bed of the swamp, at first hard and steady enough to hold her weight but then giving way to her, almost like the swamp knew who was walking its waters. As they plodded on through the darkness to the red light in the distance, the mud pulled them farther down into the ground. Soon enough, they were unable to continue walking.

  “What are we going to do? I'm stuck,” she said. Augustus reached over and grabbed a tree branch to pull himself out of the mud. His strength was no match for the suction of the mud. Once on dry ground, at the edge of the murky waters, he grabbed Elsa by the hand without a single indication of strain and pulled her onto the ground. She lay there for a second, trying to catch her breath, before a giant hand emerged from the depths of the swamp to grab Augustus by the ankle and pull him back into the mossy water.

  “Augustus! Grab this branch,” Elsa said, trying to help him. She maneuvered herself sideways as he struggled with whatever creature had pulled him under, and before she knew it, she was standing right next to an ivy covered wall. She leaned back against without realizing it, as her attention was solely focused on helping Augustus. He continued to fight against the monster of the swamp, and Elsa felt a mild heat on her back. She looked over her shoulder at the wall, which featured a red, fiery ivy blossoming all over the surface of the muddy concrete. The ivy grew before her eyes as if it had a life of its own, and Elsa found herself transfixed by its beauty. Augustus screamed, and she looked back at the horrific scene in the swamp. “Dear God,” she said. “What do I do?” Just then she saw a pair of red eyes emerge from the area where they had come. “Augustus there is something coming toward us.” The seconds before the shadow creatures from the woods which emerged, the fire from their angry souls glowing from within were the longest seconds of Elsa's life. When the creatures came close enough, she could see they were no creatures at all, but Niklas, Humburt, and Kirbleitz.

  “Oh thank God,” she said. “Please help him. I knew you guys wouldn't let us down.” They looked down at their fellow wolf struggling with a gargantuan creature underneath the waters and then immediately dived into the swamp, without a single moment of hesitation. There was a violent struggle under the water, most of which Elsa could not make visual sense of, then Niklas, Humburt, and Kirbleitz jumped onto the side of the swamp, each holding a long arm of some creature whose body the swampy waters obscured. They tied the arms around the vines of a tree, and then Elsa jumped into the swamp to help Augustus. All five men sat on the banks of the swamp coughing and dry heaving from the struggle.

  “I thought you guys weren't going to help us,” Elsa said.

  “We're not here to help you, sister. Augustus was the one we were worried about,” Humburt said, wiping the sweat from his brow. Elsa tried to act as if she wasn't bothered by the burn.

  Just then, as the boys stood with their backs to the wall of the forest's exit, Elsa saw a flickering red light, buried among the red ivy. “Guys, there's something flickering behind you guys,” she said. They turned around, to see the flickering in the wall.

  “This is the Daevan God,” Niklas said. “She's not going to let us leave. You were right, Doc.”

  “I told you so,” Kirbleitz said.

  Humburt and Augustus looked at Elsa, betrayal in their eyes. “You lied to us,” Augustus said, finally on his brother's side.

  “I didn't,” Elsa said, backing up as they approached her.

  “You did, and now She's here to take us back with her. We're doomed,” Niklas said, his eyes glowing red. Augustus, Niklas, Humburt, and Kirbleitz marched toward Elsa, backing her to the edge of the swamp. They were angry and betrayed.

  “Please, don't hurt me,” she said, her voice shaking. She looked behind her and saw the swamp boiling, in anticipation for Elsa falling into its clutches. She looked behind the men who approached her and saw the glowing wall, now completely transformed into a ruby stone, imbibed with the red glowing spirit of the forest, crumble into a pile of rubble. Behind the wall, Elsa saw the towns sitting idly in a valley away from the mountain. That was her getaway, and she thought maybe she could get past the boys before they took her, knowing now they would not follow her out of the forest. It was now or never. She had to make a run for it.

  “Please, guys, you have to believe me. Theo lives outside of this place. He's fine. I'm telling you. Look, we can leave. Look behind you.” Yet the men continued their approach, transforming into wolves, their ears pinned back and violent snarls bared. They would pounce on her into a moment's notice, if she didn't take the opportunity to get out now. She jumped instantly between Niklas, now a thin wolf with spindly legs and tensed muscles, and the tree. He snapped at her, but missed, hitting the tree on the crown of his head. Elsa ran for her life, for the only cha
nce she would only have to escape the forest once and for all, the chance to get back to Theo and resume her life with him, before it was so painfully interrupted by Freja and her jealous antics. The hole in the wall got closer as she ran, out of breath, her heart beating out her chest. Almost there, the wolves lapping at her feet, barking and growling, she could practically feel the fresh air on her face. But then, a black wolf, massive in size and terrifying in appearance, stepped in her way. His eyes were green, his paws black as night, the same wolf she had met upon first entering the forest. There was something mysterious about the creature in the sense that his dangerous, powerful, and potentially violent frame did not necessarily make him so. Elsa stopped, as his snarl grew big and terrible, and he braced his figure for a fight. Elsa looked behind her and saw the other wolves in defensive mode. They would not back down, but even in wolf form, Elsa could see they were afraid. The biggest wolf, Kirbleitz, approached first, and yet he was only half the size of the black wolf. Elsa realized just then the black wolf was Zamir, whom Kirbleitz told the other wolves in the pack about. It occurred to Elsa that she should probably get out of the way before Augustus and Humburt ate her alive, and as she stepped to the side, attempting to hide behind a rock formation, her hand touched a red ivy, alive and growing, as it wrapped itself around her finger and struck blood with its thorns.

  Elsa shouted in pain, looking down at her pricked finger. A single drop of blood fell from her hand and landed on the soft, damp earth of the forest. From that spot an entire red ivy bloomed instantaneously from that spot, and Elsa could see it caught Zamir's attention. He seemed unafraid of the wolves ready to pounce Elsa, as much as wolves can express fear. He turned his gaze in her direction and walked over to her. Elsa backed herself against the rock formation as the lumbering black mass that was his body made its way to her location. Her heart rate sped up, as she could feel a vital force emanating from the black wolf, as if he was no mere wolf. Physically, his body was nearly twice as big as the other boys, but there was something subterranean about his presence which Elsa couldn't quite put her finger on. Being near him in proximity was an electrifying experience, as his life force struck a familiar chord in Elsa, which she didn't know she had. Panic set in when he got close enough to eat her, as he opened his large jaws and licked his lips. Her fear paralyzed Elsa, and she closed her eyes when Zamir swiped his tongue along her cheek. Zamir sniffed her entire body, clearly looking for something that was not necessarily a meal. Once Elsa realized this, she calmed down. Up close, when Elsa opened her eyes, she could see Zamir's eyes, and she shrieked to realize they were not merely green, but glowing radioactive yellow, a wild and dangerous reflection of a mysterious dark prince of the forest, a uncontrollable yet wise knowing shining gaze.

  “Please leave me be,” she whispered, as Zamir stared at her without blinking for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating several courses of action all at once. Then he turned away just as quickly, as if he had made up his mind. His movement was graceful yet powerful.

  “Hey, where are you going?” As Elsa tried to follow him, dress pulled back against her, in the other direction. She felt a further tugging against the surface of the rock, and looked at her sides to see the scarlet ivy tying itself in sinuous fashion around her waist. Panic set in, and she struggled to get the thorny vines off her body. For the second time, in a row, a wire chocked the breath from her waist, sealing its teeth into her skin as if to squeeze her blood drop to every last drop. Tears streamed down the sides of her cheeks, because she could now see Humburt, Augustus, and Niklas following their precious Doctor Kirbleitz, all in wolf form, approaching her from this most troubling position.

  “Oh no,” she said, under her breath. The wolves growled and hissed, stepping one deliberate foot after another in her direction. Violent hunger for freedom lay in her flesh and bones, for them. “Please Zamir, help me. They're going to kill me.” But he was already far off, out of her sight. The little wolf, Niklas, was the first to get close enough to bite. He took one lick of lips, ready for the kill of his life, as Elsa knew everything this hunt represented to his pack. “No, please forgive me. I can show you where he is.” She turned her head for the inevitable bite to the throat, rendered immobile by the ivy now wrapped around her arms and wrists.

  But the bite never came, and instead Elsa heard a sharp yelp from Niklas. When she opened her eyes, she saw the black figure of Zamir tearing him to shreds. There was no doubt Elsa wanted to survive and make her way out of the forest, but she didn't enjoy seeing Niklas get mutilating by Zamir. He soon dropped Niklas from his powerful jaws, and the other wolves surrounded him, ready for an ambush.

  “Stop!” she said, and while the other wolves ignored her calls for them to quit fighting, Zamir looked back for a second in Elsa's direction, again showing almost no expression. But his stare spoke volumes in Elsa's heart, and despite her resolution to get out of the forest, through that clearing, back into her home village, she could not look away from Zamir. Something within her awoken, the same unfamiliar and fiery passion she felt when the crystal glowed for the first time. Why now, would she feel such a titanic undertow of longing and abandon for a black wolf she'd never seen in human form? Elsa loved Theo, she wanted to marry him, once she found him, but looking at Zamir, the seams in her soul unraveled and she found herself split in two. She could not control this other, wilder side of herself. Before she could speak, the hold the ivy had on her body suddenly lost its grip and she fell to her knees. When she looked up, Zamir still gazed in her direction for a split second, then the other wolves attacked him with all their might, knocking him over for a brief moment. He righted himself, and turned his attention to Humburt and Augustus, who flanked both his sides. With his powerful paws, he raised his arms in the air, swiping away Humburt like a rag doll. Humburt flew in the air several feet, hitting the rock formation which Elsa had previously hid behind with a hard thud.

  “Humburt!” she said, running over to him, unable to turn away from the heartbreaking scene. The wolves wanted to kill Elsa, but she could not shut down her own compassion for them, even if they were misguided. When she got to Humburt, she never had time to comfort him, as he was already back on his feet, attacking Zamir from behind. Elsa watched in helpless despair, doing her best to keep out of the way, lest the wolves use her as a human shield. Soon she found herself next to the crumbled wall, a pile of dying orange embers. The opening to the Forest was still there. Elsa fumbled her way over the rocks and finally reached the edge of the Forest. The heat from the woods, hot and stuffed in its own world, warmed her back. But the chill wind from the valley nestling her home town stung her cheeks. Now was her chance, and she looked down at the dividing line between the Forest and the outside world. The forest side featured lush vegetation, full of vibrant colors, bright greens, spots of blue and yellow, and of course deep, scarlet red. On the other side was dull brown, lifeless and without hope. Elsa wondered for a split second whether some rift in the universe would occur once she stepped a single toe outside the Forest. Perhaps what the boys said was true, that she was part of the Forest now.

  A single shriek came from behind her, and Elsa turned around to see the most beautiful human being she had ever laid eyes on, black hair and green eyes, standing with the Jordan twin entwined in both of his powerful arms, with his hulking and muscular thigh pinning down Niklas. Zamir's human form pushed the limits of her ability to make sense of anything, as something so physical exuded such supernatural and ever-mysterious adventure. This was nothing like she had ever experienced. Elsa realized she was distracted for a split second and turned to the hole in the wall, her only escape. She saw the red ivy come alive once again, spreading its feelers out from the ground underneath Zamir's feet, over the wolves he had defeated, in her direction. She thought the forest would take her captive again, but the vines made their way past Elsa and slipped under the glowing rubble on which she stood. And before she knew it, the wall had repaired itself, imprisoning Elsa once again.

/>   “No!” She screamed and cried, having lost her only chance to escape the prison of the Forbidden Forest. “Why won’t' you let me leave!” She spoke to the entire Forest, but got no answer other than the wall now being her cell, her cage. She beat and railed against the wall, glowing red hot now, for minutes, fighting her way out of the forest. But her struggle amounted to little. “Tell me why,” she said, her cheeks flushed and fleshy. “I don't understand. Why are you keeping me here.” She was sure to get no answer, at least in her mind, but fighting for once felt good. Once she drained her energy, she slumped down onto the ground, exhausted. She sat there, leaning against the wall, her eyes glazed and blank, for several minutes.

  It's all your fault

  She heard a voice in the air, or so she thought. It's the forest, she thought. Or perhaps the Daeven God the Doctor kept talking about. Or maybe she was going crazy. “Who's there?” she asked, looking up into the night, seeing nothing but swaying canopy of trees and large owls looking down on her with pity. If the other wolves were right, the Daeven God would probably have no good news for her. “What did I do to you?” she said out loud. She looked over at Zamir, who stood there with four unconscious wolves, staring at her in a curious fashion, not quite sizing her up for a meal, yet not quite showing any signs of concern over her wellbeing.

  “Do you even talk?” she asked him from several yards away, still hunched over glowing wall. But he didn't answer, just glared. His skin seemed a deep tan, almost golden. “I'm guessing you don't get any sun around these parts,” Elsa joked to him. But he remained silent. She huffed to herself and got up, dusting the crumbled leaves off her dress. She thought for a second about what the voice could have meant.

  I meant what I said. It's all your fault.

  Elsa jerked her head up into the air. “Who's saying that?” she said, looking around the forest, getting scared now. “Come out and show yourself.”