Latya staggered back and reached for her gun immediately. With a shaky hand, she pointed it forward, expecting them to lurch out from their coffins and attack her.
Her breaths were loud enough to echo back to her, her body trembling; breathing was starting to become a herculean task.
Fuck!
Focus, Latya! Focus!
They didn't lurch out of their coffins, instead, the moonlight became brighter and brighter, till she saw them float out of their coffins like they were hooked up by invisible strings, light emitting out of them from every part that had a tattoo, their eyes, and well, every opening it seemed.
It was a spectacle. One that she ceased to see when the light got blinding.
This… this she had never seen before. She staggered back, hit the wall of the cave, and trembled to the cave floor, her back against the wall. The gun had gotten heavier now, so she supported the weight with her other hand.
The light vanished just as quickly as it had appeared, and the men were also no longer hanging in the air.
Latya's eyes ransacked the cave as quickly as she could.
Where had they gone to? Where were they planning to attack her from?
Then she heard it.
A low growl.
It came from the coffins.
Luck must have stopped finding her sexy because of how messed up she looked, and that must have been the reason, while it kept on making things worse for her.
The men started to move their way out of the coffins, but much as that was what Latya feared, what happened next was even worse. They were changing, spruting black furs and… oh, fuck, they looked animalistic.
They looked like wolves on two feet, bigger than anyone should even have a reason to exist. They were probably three times her height, and she was a tall woman.
They were terrifying, the most terrifying thing she had ever seen, and for someone who had been married to husbands whose livelihood involved violence, blood, and illegal deals, she had seen some pretty horrible things.
Yet, this. Oh, goodness. This was out of a nightmare.
She fired without a thought at one of them, and he turned in her direction immediately. She stayed frozen as their white glowing eyes found her.
Maybe it had been stupid to shoot. Maybe they wouldn't have noticed her if she had stayed quiet.
FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!
The one who had been shot pulled out the bullet from his chest like it was nothing, inspecting the golden coloured bullet smeared with blood like it was a mere pest and not something that could end his life. The other looked over his shoulder at the bullet, too.
Their gaze held curiosity, and when they turned her to her this time, Latya felt that maybe she could reason with them.
"I— I'm not—" her hands still trembled around the gun, and she thought for a fleeting moment, if she would have to place it on the floor to show surrender.
Ah, goodness, that was too dangerous.
What if they couldn't be reasoned with? What could become of her then? She had to hold this gun!
"I'm not going to shoot, just let me go." She managed to say as much as her fear would allow.
Growls rumbled in their chests, and their gaze stayed focused on the gun.
Fuck! She might have to put it on the floor.
She gulped and placed the gun on the floor, her gaze fixed on them. "Please," tears welled up in her eyes, reminding her of the last time she had spoken the words she was about to speak, the desperation that flamed in her in that doctor's office as she stared at the X-ray result of her brain, while the doctor pointed at the tumor she had just realized she had, while telling her that it was impossible to surgically remove it. "I want to live. Please."
In that moment, she had thought dying would be better than all the marriages. But what would happen to Juliet? Juliet, who was an orphan, Juliet whose family was only her.
Her Juliet.
Her Juliet that betrayed her?
Her Juliet that she killed?
Latya let out a breath. Now she had another reason to live, one that she didn't think she would.
Manuel.
And something else she couldn't figure out. Some strange feeling in her chest, in her veins. It felt hot and demanding, like a need to live that she did not even understand.
They stepped closer, like they understood her. Calm, logical—— until one suddenly snapped like madness had been released into the air. Latya's heart lurched into her throat, her desire to live vanishing and being replaced by a need for an easier death; she grabbed her gun. In a flash, she pressed it against her head and fired.
Although she had heard the gunshot, death didn't sweep her under. Instead, she felt electricity pulse through her veins, a strange sensation she couldn't explain. It felt like her hand was being caged above her, then blood dropped down on her forehead, and she dared to look up.
It was one of those wolf creatures, staring down at her with those silver eyes. The other was standing next to him, and it plucked out the bullet that had gotten stuck between the forehead of the one still holding her hand. He inspected the bullet, and brushed his paw over his chest where she had shot him.
What was going on?
They won't let her kill herself. Goodness, they must like their food fresh.
"Just let me go. I promise I will lead more men to you. I am just one person and not very tasty. You are too weak to step out of your cave, so I will bring you food." The words rushed out of her mouth, but they didn't budge. "I will tell no agency of this, no labs, no thing! I will never cross your path again, I promise. That is after I bring you the men——" Her words were cut short when the one who held her hand suddenly started sniffing her.
What?!
This was one of the reasons she didn't have a pet. She hated this, along with the many other things they would usually do, which many people would term as being affectionate. She saw it as a transaction; there was nothing that was getting that wasn't going to be paid for, and she was already paying for too much in her life. So, why would she add to her long list of debts?
This was even worse. This thing was sniffing her to know if she was good meat. She was hoping she would be bad meat.
But because she was ever so unlucky, the other one joined in the sniffing exercise. It did not help that the electric feeling in her veins soared to a consuming point, that her racing heart began to feel at ease, that her eyes were falling shut, that her fingers threaded slowly through their furs like a prey possessed.
Goodness, they were using whatever powers they had to make her calm enough so they could feast on her in peace!
She forced herself to snap out of it, just to see the first one who started the sniffing with his mouth open and his sharp teeth ready to snap her neck into pieces.