As Waverly sank her teeth into the side of the hunter, she caught a glimpse of some bright green light out of the corner of her eye.
The shapeshifter second-guessed herself because her senses were overloaded from the sounds of fighting and the smell of blood, but she soon realized that something was undoubtedly glowing behind her.
She pulled her muzzle away from the human in her grasp, taking in a breath. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth as she turned to head to find the source of the light. The hunter beneath her cried out, pressing his hands down on the bite.
Waverly's head snapped around, her slitted pupils landing on Wyatt. He was still sitting beside Willa, his head down, but the shapeshifter could see something glowing green—she paused. His eyes. His eyes were glowing green.
She saw him retract his claws. The werewolf lifted his head, eyes blaring an eerie emerald. There was no emotion in his expression. He almost looked...bored.
Willa hadn't noticed her brother's sudden change in behavior, she was too focused on the necklace in her hand. Wyatt raised his arm in the air, preparing to slice the alpha's throat.
Waverly leapt into the air, rushing towards the Lykensen siblings. She tackled Wyatt to the ground, pinning his arms down underneath her large gray paws. He didn't even try to struggle.
"Waverly," Willa sniffed, finally taking her eyes off of Miss Lykensen's moonstone. "What the hell are you doing?"
Wyatt stared up at the shapeshifter with hollow eyes, as if he wasn't even inside of his body. Maybe he wasn't. Waverly had no idea how Matthew's mind-numbing shit worked. All she knew was that it was controlled by a device. She needed to find that device.
She could see her own reflection in his irises. Blood was smeared all across her face, staining each of her canines. She looked like a monster. Good.
Waverly transformed back into her human form, hovering over Wyatt, still firmly pressing his wrists into the dirt. He just laid there, gazing up at her with two dull, ominous green irises. All she could think about was William.
Was this why Wyatt had been acting so strange, why he was so afraid to touch her? Because he knew he could have hurt her? William was barely able to control himself when Matthew was fucking with his mind—was this the same thing?
"What's happening?" Willa questioned, her dark eyes glued to Wyatt.
"Matthew." Waverly seethed.
"I thought Matthew was dead?" The alpha muttered. "You said you killed—"
"His mind control," The shapeshifter interrupted, tightly clenching her jaw. "Someone is using it on him."
Willa shook her head. "Are you sure?"
Before Waverly could convince her, Wyatt kicked his foot out, pounding it against her chest. She was thrown backwards, hard, as if she weighed nothing to him. The werewolf was on his feet in seconds, teeth bared.
Willa scrambled backwards, horrified by the thought of her own brother turning on them. How were they supposed to fight one of their own without hurting him, if he was intentionally trying to harm them?
"Wyatt!" Waverly announced, ripping his attention away from his sister.
The remaining hunters were thrown to the ground, some dead and the rest bleeding profusely. Willow, Winston, Zane, Wynter, and the other wolves were all standing over the bodies, panting heavily. Their arms and faces were soaked in blood, but they were still standing.
Everyone was still standing.
"Snap out of it." The shapeshifter begged, taking a step closer to Wyatt.
William was able to fight it, maybe he could too. Her hope was soon crushed when he swung at her, slicing his claws through the air in an attempt to tear open her throat. The easiest way to kill. She jumped back, flashing her blue eyes at him.
"Waverly!" Willow gasped, rushing forward to help.
Waverly held out her arm, signaling for the werewolf to stay back. Willow hesitated for a moment then paused, shuffling back to where the rest of the pack was standing.
There was no point in getting anyone else involved, especially when the other wolves looked like they were about to fall over.
"What's wrong with him?" Winston asked, his eyebrows knitting together.
He looked extremely concerned...so did everyone else. Waverly held her arms up, preparing for him to attack again. Wyatt's eyes were glowing brighter than before.
"Matthew's mind-control." She informed them, attempting to stay calm.
"Mind-control?" Willow repeated. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Just go find the rest of the pack," The shapeshifter ordered. "I can take care of him."
Willa stepped forward, wiping the tears off of her cheeks. "You're crazy if you think I'm leaving you alone with this deranged version of my brother."
She looked broken. Waverly couldn't imagine what was going through her head. She had just lost her mom, and now Wyatt was gone too.
None of them moved. Wyatt slowly walked towards Waverly, his canines bared. She couldn't help but feel scared. Scared for him, and scared for herself.
Sure, she was much more powerful than him and could take him out with less than a flick of her wrist, but Waverly knew she wouldn't. She couldn't hurt him no matter how hard he begged.
All of the wolves were standing around them, beaten and terrified. Winston had his fingers interlocked with Zane's, Willow was standing alone with her arms crossed, Willa was standing on the other side of Waverly with her jaw clenched, and the other wolves, like Wynter and Windsor, were seemingly frozen. Wyatt didn't seem to notice any of them.
Waverly was clearly the target, but why? None of the other hunters seemed to hold the same grudge against her that Matthew did. They were focused on decimating the entire race of werewolves, not a lone shapeshifter.
"Wyatt!" Willa shouted as he lunged for Waverly.
His claws slashed across the shapeshifter's arm, slicing her skin clean open. Waverly cried out, throwing her hand over the gashes.
The alpha grabbed her brother by the arms, twisting them behind his back. Again, he didn't struggle. Waverly squeezed her hand over the cut, waiting for them to begin to heal.
They didn't.
"Waverly," Winston muttered, staring down at the blood seeping between her fingers. "What's wrong?"
"It's—It's not healing." She stammered, moving her hand away from the gashes.
Four large cuts traveled across the outer layer of her arm. They were gushing pools of blood.
"Shit," Willa muttered, still restraining Wyatt's arms. "You need to get out of here."
A gunshot sounded in the distance, followed by a cry of pain. Waverly whipped her head around. They couldn't lose anyone else.
"We all do." The shapeshifter spat. "Our pack is dying, and you're focused on a werewolf with a sudden craving for blood."
Wyatt's lips parted.
Willa's eyes began to water. Waverly could see the pain behind her eyes. She knew exactly what the alpha was thinking about.
What if there was no more pack? There were only about...ten of them left. That they knew of, anyway. Waverly had seen hundreds of bodies. Some werewolves, some zombies, mostly humans.
She couldn't fathom the thought of their pack dying. The Lykensen's had been thriving for centuries. Was she their undoing? A shapeshifter with no family, no home, was the reason for their demise.
Waverly knew she was a destroyer, but she never thought it would be the whole pack suffering.
"You heard her." Willa said, her voice cracking. "Move out."
The werewolves exchanged confused glances then slowly walked into the forest. Willow stayed back a while, desperate to help, but Waverly gestured for her to go as well. She did.
Willa, on the other hand, ignored her command. Tears burst from her eyes as soon as the other wolves were far enough away. The alpha dropped her brother's arms and fell to her knees.
Waverly watched Willa fall. She was crumbling at the thought of losing their mother. The shapeshifter understood the feeling all too well.
Wyatt ran at Waverly, his expression as blank as ever. She was ready this time. Waverly raised her arms, pointing the palms of her hands at him. She blinked hard then allowed power to slip from her fingers.
"I'm sorry..." She whispered as energy burst from her body.
It struck him hard, knocking the werewolf off of his feet. Waverly paused. It should have done more than that.
Willa had her hands over her face, blinded by grief. She was beaten and bruised, horrified at the thought of losing the only person who understood her. Sure, Miss Lykensen was a hard ass but she and Willa had a bond like no other.
Wyatt got back up fast. Waverly did her best to avert her eyes away from his face. She hated seeing him like this. Like a monster. Nothing behind his eyes, just the need for violence.
"Wyatt, you need to fight this!" She roared, eyes glowing bright blue.
Waverly could barely feel the connection between them anymore, just the pain in her arm. It was...special...like some kind of brand. Wyatt had never hurt her before. Maybe her body wasn't used to it? Whatever it was, it was making her power practically useless.
The werewolf disregarded her words. He passed Willa, not even sparing her a glance. Waverly was the target, and he was determined to eliminate her.
"Wyatt!" Waverly snapped, her canines bared. A gust of wind shot past him.
He flinched for a second, the green in his eyes flickering. The shapeshifter suddenly became hopeful, but that hope was once again pushed aside when they flashed an even brighter shade of emerald.
Wyatt ran at her faster than she thought possible. His hands were on her throat in seconds, pinning Waverly against the ground. She choked.
"W—yatt." Waverly spluttered, feeling the warmth from his palms on her neck.
She loved it, but hated it at the same time. This was the first time he had genuinely touched her in a long time, but he was also not himself and trying to kill her.
Wyatt's claws dug into the back of her throat, sending a searing pain down her spine. The werewolf released one of his hands and squeezed the cuts drawn across her arm. Waverly held back a scream. His knees were crushing her wrists, disabling her from fighting back.
The shapeshifter kicked out her legs, desperate to get him off. She knew that if he were to snap out of the trance, he would never forgive himself for hurting—or killing—her.
Willa looked up a few moments later, watching as Waverly struggled beneath her brother.
"Wyatt, stop!" The alpha roared.
She rushed forward, hurling herself onto her brother. Wyatt didn't budge. Instead, he threw his sulking sister off and into a tree.
Waverly could hear the agonizing sound of Willa's bones cracking as she slammed against the bark.
"N—NO!" Waverly cried out.
Her eyes filled with tears. Wyatt's hand tightened around her neck and arm. Her whole body was throbbing painfully. Though, even with the pain flooding through her, Waverly could feel her powers trying to break free. Trying to save her.
Her eyes became blue once again, clashing with the green flashlights above her. Wyatt was taken aback for a moment, his grip slipping.
Waverly tore her arms out from underneath his legs, smashing her hands against his chest.
The shapeshifter finally released the scream she had been holding back.
Almost immediately, a crippling blue light exploded from her palms, hurling Wyatt off of her.
But it didn't stop there. As Waverly turned on her side, coughing uncontrollably, that same blue light seemed to rip through the forest, pulsating through the trees like some kind of bomb.
A terrible sound filled the air. Somewhere between wood shredding and screaming. Waverly put her hands on her neck and closed her eyes. She couldn't help but feel betrayed by his attack, even though she knew Wyatt couldn't have been at fault.
A fuzzy view of the forest popped up in her mind a moment later. She watched her power grow stronger as it collided with the trees. And once it did, each of the trunks burst to pieces.
Waverly stayed still until her arms and legs stopped tingling. Once they did, she slowly removed her hands from around the bruises on her throat and opened her eyes. The energy seemed to dissipate as she focused.
She hesitantly lifted her head, doing her best to ignore the stabbing pains in her temples. Waverly froze once she saw the mess she had created.
"Fuck."