The Heartstone Saga by Archibald Bradford (pdf to ebook reader txt) 📗

rushed over towards them, the waggling finger that the man was directing at the anxious girl only adding to her annoyance.

He grunted when she collided with him, her strong grip taking hold of his shirt as she slammed him into the wall of the building behind him, his feet now dangling off the ground.

“How about me tough guy?”

But as she growled her challenge at him, hoping for a fight, all she caught from them both was the smell of fear.

The woman screamed.

“Help! Attack! It’s an attack!”

“Wendy r-run!” He wheezed out, tears standing in his eyes as he clutched at Lilly’s arms, trying to keep her busy long enough for his wife to escape.

All of the aggression in the big Wolfen melted away when she realized how completely in the wrong she was.

She set him down immediately, her claws going limp to her side as he stumbled into the arms of his wife.

“I’m... I’m sorry. I thought that-”

“Just leave us alone!” The woman cried out as she helped her winded husband towards one of the buildings nearby.

Lilly opened her mouth to apologize again but closed it after a moment, unable to find the words.

She turned and ran, shame creeping up on her and searing into her soul, only for her anger to rise to meet it.

And watching from above, a pair of golden eyes narrowed.

Chapter 15:Duty and a Weirdo

Before the Wolfen’s confused emotions could be unleashed upon another unsuspecting couple, an angel landed with a whoosh and a thud in front of her.

“Why are you here?” Lilly blurted out in surprise as Volka’s glowing form lit up the empty alley.

“Because there are those that still care about you. Miranda and some members of your pack sought me out, fearing the path that you have set yourself on. Seeing you for myself, I can agree that their concern was warranted.”

The Wolfen drew herself up at the judgment, her lip curling slightly and her tail low in agitation.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

The Valkyrie’s response was to spread her wings and bring her shield up, adopting a defensive posture that was both a warning and a challenge.

“We live in a world now where everyone must fear the Tenebrae, out of control monster girls that would attack innocent people.” As she spoke her condemnation became much clearer; “And you choose now to let loose with your temper and set upon those very innocents?”

Lilly let out an instinctual whine, still trying to fight off her guilt with anger, but Volka wasn’t finished, her words cutting deeper into the pack-leader.

“Tell me, are you a mindless beast or are you a Wolfen?” The Valkyrie demanded; “Think carefully before you answer, as the pride of your ancestors hangs in the balance.”

Despite the Dominar’s presence, the pack-leader’s answering growl was thunderous as she charged at her: she’d been looking for a fight and she’d found one.

Or at least, she thought she did, in reality all she found was an ass-kicking.

Volka spun to the side and her shield smacked into the side of the big wolf’s head, knocking her sprawling and making her ear sting from the harsh impact.

As she paced around the downed girl, the angel spoke, almost conversationally.

“The Wolfen that I knew once upon a time were brave and loyal monsters who rushed headlong at life, their hearts full of fierce joy and love. It was that relentless passion that made them so dangerous on the battlefields. With every drop of blood in their bodies they protected their bond-mates and their sisters.”

Lilly stumbled to her feet and lunged at her again, but as Volka had told Tiana: the Wolfen was a child to her.

She countered her easily, striking her elbow with the rim of her shield to deflect the attack as she seized her wrist to jerk her off of her feet to land on her belly on the unforgiving cobblestones.

“Compared to them, you are a mere puppy. Ignorant, foolish and arrogant.”

The fight not quite knocked out of her yet, the Wolfen flipped onto her back.

But Volka was suddenly looming large over her, her glorious shield low at her side while her sword of light was pointed directly at Lilly’s throat.

She was through with the child’s tantrum.

Her eyes blazed gold as her aura washed over the troubled girl at her feet, filling her heart with the joy and hope that she had lost sight of.

The big wolf’s ears flattened and she let out a whine of pain.

“Speak, beast.” Volka ordered implacably; “Convince me that you still have it in you to run with your sisters. Show me why I ought to spare you.”

Lilly said nothing, a whine escaping her throat from the guilt raging within her heart and her tail tucked firmly between her legs, so Volka repeated herself, louder this time.

“Wolfen! Speak!”

At the Dominar’s command, Lilly had to respond.

“You shouldn’t!” She cried out.

“And why not?!”

The wolf broke down, sobbing on her back as her whole body went slack.

“Because I failed my pack! I led Katie to her death, and then I led the rest of them into losing the trust of the Aegis when I killed that blasted woman!”

Volka was silent for several seconds as she watched the bigger girl sob, wracked with the weight of her perceived failures.

Finally she relaxed her defensive posture and released the mental hold on her sword, the light of it dissipating into nothing.

“Would you take it back? That woman, Sinclair, who was responsible for the deaths of so many, including precious Katie... would you restrain your jaws were they on her throat once more?”

She was a Valkyrie, a creature of sacrifice and righteous judgment; were she forced to choose between the two of them, than Bethany Sinclair would have died on