The Last Aethri

The freezing mud tried to swallow my bare feet with every desperate step, but I didn't stop. I couldn't afford to feel the bleeding. Rain poured from the sky in relentless sheets, soaking straight through my thin clothes until they clung heavily to my skin. The flickering streetlights at the edge of town cast weak reflections across the wet pavement, but the darkness swallowed almost everything else. My chest burned violently with every breath, my lungs struggling to keep up as I forced myself forward. Behind me, the dog's barked. Closer. The sound echoed through the empty streets like a death sentence. I lowered my head and pushed harder, my wet hair sticking to my face as I turned sharply into a narrow alley between two abandoned buildings. The stench of damp garbage and rust filled the air. My glasses slid down my nose again, blurred with rainwater, but I didn’t bother fixing them. My hands were shaking too badly. A bright flashlight beam suddenly cut through the darkness behind me. "Check the perimeter! She couldn’t have gone far!" The harsh voice sent pure panic crashing through my chest. I ran. ​I pushed my oversized, taped-together glasses up the bridge of my freezing nose. The cracked lenses were smeared with rainwater and dirt, blurring the trees into jagged, dangerous shapes. I didn't need to see perfectly to know I was running out of time. At the end of the alley stood a rusted chain-link fence. I grabbed it immediately, ignoring the sharp metal biting into my palms as I climbed. My muscles screamed in protest, exhaustion making my arms tremble, but fear pushed me harder than strength ever could. I threw myself over the top and landed hard in the wet grass on the other side. The town ended there. Ahead of me stood the forest. Big black trees stretched endlessly into darkness, their towering forms swaying violently in the storm like living shadows waiting to swallow me whole. Most people in town avoided these woods after dark. Stories surrounded them—stories about disappearances, strange sounds, and creatures no one could explain. But right now, the forest was safer than the people hunting me. ​"Check the ridge! Don't let her cross the border!" a harsh voice yelled over the thunder. ​I turned sharply, pushing through a thick wall of thorns that tore through my soaked clothes. Just keep moving, I told myself, my lungs burning with every ragged breath. The world changed instantly. The smooth pavement disappeared beneath slick mud and tangled roots. The weak glow of the town vanished behind me, leaving only darkness and rain. Branches clawed at my arms and face as I pushed deeper into the woods, thorns tearing holes into my soaked clothes. Still, I kept running and I had to. The barking grew louder behind me as the dogs entered the forest. I could hear them crashing through the undergrowth, following my scent with terrifying precision. My breathing turned ragged and uneven as I stumbled through thick patches of ferns. My vision blurred from exhaustion and rainwater coating my glasses. Just reach the ridge, I told myself desperately. Just get over the ridge and keep going, But fate had already decided otherwise. My right foot suddenly stuck against something hidden beneath the mud. a thick tree root slick with rain. I lost my balance instantly and pitched forward, reaching out blindly for support. There was nothing. The ground beneath me disappeared completely. A scream ripped from my throat as I fell.​ I hit the bottom hard. Cold mud filled my mouth. A sickening crack echoed in my left leg, and a blinding spike of agony pinned me to the earth. Pain exploded through my ribs when I hit the side of the ravine, knocking the air from my lungs before gravity dragged me even farther down. Somewhere during the fall, my glasses were ripped off from my face. I crashed hard into the freezing mud at the bottom of the ravine. For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe. I lay flat on my back, rain hammering against my face while agony radiated through my entire body. My vision was nothing but blurred shapes and shadows without my glasses. A sharp pain shot through my left leg the moment I tried to move. I gasped. Above me, flashlights swept through the trees at the top of the drop. The dogs barked furiously over the edge, pacing back and forth as they searched for a way down. It was over. They are going to be find me and then.... My chest tightened painfully as I stared blindly up at the stormy sky. Water mixed with the blood on my lips while exhaustion slowly dragged at my consciousness. I closed my eyes. ​I clenched my jaw, tasting copper. I wasn't going to cry. Survival in Arthur's house had taught me to swallow my pain. Then suddenly The dogs stopped barking. The violent barking were replaced with whimpers. Claws scrambled frantically against the wet earth. above me as the dogs backed away from the edge. whimpering as though they had seen someone or something they feared. Then suddenly air around me had changed. The freezing cold of the storm disappeared beneath an overwhelming heat that pressed heavily against my skin. The scent of rain and mud was overwritten by the sharp and strong smell of crushed cedar, ozone Fear crawled slowly down my spine. From the shadows between the trees, figures began to emerge. Huge men stepped silently into the clearing, their massive forms barely visible through the rain. They moved with unnatural stillness despite their size, like predators perfectly aware of their own power. They didn't carry flashlights. The absolute dark didn't seem to bother them at all. The man at the front stepped into the small clearing. Even with my blurry vision, his silhouette was impossible to miss. He was enormous, easily over six-foot-four, with shoulders broad enough to block out the storm behind him. Even standing still, he radiated a terrifying dominance that seemed to consume the entire ravine. The air itself felt heavier around him. He radiated a quiet, absolute authority that made my broken ribs ache just from his sheer proximity. Arthur’s thugs were cruel, but this man... this man felt like a god of war stepping onto a battlefield. My mismatched eyes struggled to focus on him. My survival instincts screamed at me instantly. first thing I feel that I was trapped. But I was also broken, bleeding, and completely out of options. So I lifted my head slightly and looked toward the towering shadow standing only a few feet away. “Help...” I whispered weakly. The word barely survived the storm. The giant froze completely. ​ The terrifying, oppressive aura surrounding him suddenly fractured. violent pressure surrounding him shattered without warning, replaced by something wild and completely uncontrollable. A deep growl rumbled from his chest, so powerful it seemed to shake the earth beneath me. Then, through the pouring rain and darkness, one single word echoed like thunder. "Mate."