Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
Lina
I felt the waves crashing against the board, the cold ocean water soaking into my skin, glinting in the evening sun. I let myself be dragged away by the wave and laid down on my stomach, my fingers slicing through the water on both sides of the board. My lips were pressed into a line and I squinted as the salty water splashed into my eyes. Though I like the burn, welcomed it really. Anything was better than the feeling in body, screaming at me. I wanted the water to wash it all away. Wash away his fingerprints off my skin.
I breathed out and turned, paddling back out into the ocean. As I looked up, I could see how the sky turned darker and even felt how everything around me suddenly seemed wilder, and more dangerous. I clenched my teeth and paddled further out, moving against the waves only with great effort. The light was slowly bleeding out of the sky, replaced by sheer blackness. The waves started to pick up, growing taller and stronger and my heart began to race in my chest. Still, I wasn't ready to go back yet, I just needed some more time.
But soon enough I couldn't even stand up anymore. The ocean quickly became uncontrollable, water hitting me from all sides.
"Fuck," I muttered under heavy breath and tried to turn my board around, but I wasn't given the chance. With the sound of thunder crashing down, a wave snatched me up und pulled me from the board. My body was limp in the face a fear and flopped around in the water, desperate to get back to the surface. I was spun around, my eyes not able to distinguish up from down. For a moment, I stopped fighting against the current. I could just let go, let it drag me under, take my body out to never be found and never be touched again.
For a second I broke the surface and gasped for air, but only an instant later I was a hit by another wave and crashed down into the sea. This time was different though. I didn't have the time to panic, as I was overwhelmed with a sharp pain in my skull. My vision blurred and I was swallowed by an almost calm darkness, reminding me of the color of the storm clouds in the sky.
Paul
Can‘t you fucking run faster, I‘m not in the mood to be caught in a storm. I thought loudly and glared at Seth, who was weaving through the trees besides me. He growled, but did pick up his pace a bit.
I already felt the thunderstorm brewing behind us, painting the sky with dark clouds.
Suddenly Seth stilled, almost crashing head first into a tree. My paws caught in the mud and I rather ungracefully came to a stop a few feet in front of him. My head snapped back and I looked at him, mostly annoyed, though also the tinniest bit concerned.
What are you doing?
Seth ignored me. His head was turned toward the oceanside and turned to a slight angle, as if he was trying really hard to concentrate.
Seth?! I growled, growing more irritated by the second. I could already hear the first thunder rumbling.
Finally he matched my gaze, his eyes wide.
I can hear a heartbeat at the shore.
I squinted my eyes, what was he talking about? But then, when I focused my ears in only that direction, did I also pick up a faint thrumming sound. The rhythm seemed off, and for some reason that me unusually anxious.
Without thinking I turned and sprinted in the direction of the shore, hearing Seth follow me only a second later.
The trees opened up quickly, revealing the foaming waves, crashing wildly against shoreline. If it wasn’t for my great vision, I didn’t think I would have spotted the body of a girl laying crumpled next to a boulder, the waves washing over her, dragging her in a few feet, before pushing her back up against the sand.
Due to my hightend senses, I was also able to smell the scent of iron stinging in my nose. Blood.
My mine was reeling, I had to help her.
Confusion hit me. Why did I care so much, what was it to me? Usually I felt indifference toward most things, or anger. The need to help wasn't in my normal range of emotions.
Seth pushed past me and rushed down to the girl. With a grunt I followed him, my paws pushing up sand. Her eyes were closed, her skin pale and blue, making the blood running down the side of her face an even more vibrant red. Her brown her was sticking to her wet forehead, soaking up some of the blood dripping down, from what seemed to be a two inch cut the side of her head.
Seth lowered his head and dragged her away from the water by the fabric of her board-shorts. He was panicking, I could clearly see it in his head. The strange thing was, that I was also.
Paul, help me get her on my back. She needs help.
I hesitated a second. What if she became conscious whilst on his back, how could they explain the two giant wolves to her. Though leaving her here didn't feel like an option either, not at all. I scrunched my nose and heaved her onto Seth's back. Nobody would believe her either way. They would just chalk it up to her head injury.