Call Of The Dark

Magnus couldn't help but sit at the door of the bathroom as her scent filled his nose which was mixed with that of honey soap bar. When she came out, he hurried to sit on the bed. He picked up a book to read it but dropped it when he saw that she was wrapped in a towel.

Olya blushed when she found him staring at her. "Lord Magnus, are there any clothes for me to wear?" she asked innocently.

"You can wear me! I mean, you can wear mine."

Olya blushed deeper. "Where can I find them?"

"Over there," he said, pointing an armoire.

Olya walked to the armoire and had to apply a little force in opening it and her towel snapped open and pooled on her ankles.

"Oh Olya!" Magnus groaned as he instantly traced to her and stood behind her. Lust coated his mind like a thick fog and his fangs grew. A drop of water on her shoulder glistened in the warm light of the fire and he dared to lower his mouth and lick it. In the process his fangs grazed and Olya whimpered.

Magnus's breath became ragged. He closed his eyes and then willed himself not to get driven by his lust. So he bent down and picked up her towel. Wrapping her with it, he said, "Lazarus in the next cabin and he has called us for lunch."

"Lord Lazarus?" Olya was both excited and happy. She clutched the towel tightly around her. "Is Emma also there?"

---

Lazarus woke up with a jerk when suddenly he had this ominous feeling that there was something not right. Nightmares pounded his dreams of rogues hunting not very far from the cabin and Emma running away from them, trying to save her life.

"Emma!" he bellowed. There was no answer. The mortal! She had run away? The thought made him stiffen. Tossing the fur away, he got up. He strained his ears to hear any sound, but there wasn't any. He traced to the kitchen, remembering that she had said that he calls Olya and Lazarus, but she wasn't there either. She had prepared food and it was still there in the pots and pans.

Enraged with a deafening roar he punched a wall which cracked under impact and the debris flew around him. "Emma!" He traced outside but she wasn't there either. It was evening and the sun had set behind the mountains long back.

Magnus and Olya came in a hurry. "What is the matter, Lazarus?" Magnus asked as he looked at him with pure terror. "Where is Emma?"

"The kuepha has run away!" he grunted as he hurriedly put his shirt on him.

"I will come with you!" Magnus said. "To search for her!"

"No!" he snapped. "I will go alone. "She couldn't have gone much further!" Once he was going to bring her back, he would punish her. He would chain her and leave her in this cabin and return only at the time of ritual. He would ever trust a mortal again. "You stay with Olya!" Saying that Lazarus traced to the nearest cave that was to the cabin.

There was nothing. The cave was as empty as it had been all these years. His worry went a notch higher and he became anxious. "Emmma!" he roared and then traced to another cave. She wasn't there either. Where could she have gone? The whole mountain was covered with snow and it was possible that she was running in the open. That thought made him so nervous that all his years of training as a warrior flooded in panic. She must be exposed to the rogues and wild boars. After that he traced throughout the snow-covered slopes, hoping he would see her. And as soon as he saw her, he was going to grab her and get her back.

Lazarus's panic turned into fear when he still didn't find her. His teeth chattered as he stood in the open under the moonlight. Mist spread all around him rapidly as the tendrils curled around his legs and then enveloped him. The mist was so thick that despite his enhanced vision, he could see nothing. Nothing but the thick, choking, milky white mist. Dread bubbled up in him.

"Uhnnn…" a small, thin voice came from somewhere. He snapped his head in that direction and strained his ears to listen to that thin thread of a voice. "Uhnnn…" the voice came again and this time it was all the more strained.

"Emma!" he rasped and traced in the direction. The thick white mist still enveloped him. He stabbed his fingers in his hair, sniffing the air for her smell or hoping she made that sound again. "Emma!" he called her.

"Uhmmm…" The sound made hair rise at the back of his nape. It seemed like she was tortured.

Clenching his jaw, he traced to the exact place where Emma was. He was going to make everyone pay for their insolence. How dare they capture his mate? Didn't they know who she belonged to? He was going to rip their limbs and drink their blood from their skulls!

This time he found himself standing in front of a cave from where he heard her painful whimpers. He entered the cave with his fists clenched. He could scent the musty earth and rot and also hear the insects buzzing.  With caution, he padded inside with his back against the cool stone of the wall. Voices trailed from the inner side amidst laughter and clanking of metal. "Uhnnn…" he heard Emma whimper again. He controlled himself to not go there and kill every and each rogue unless he saw that she was safe.

When he reached closer, he saw that she was… shackled. His chest rumbled with a dangerous growl. Emma was shackled to the chains in a cave and there were four rogue shifters sitting around her, drinking wine and eating raw meat. There were bruises on her body and blood on her wrists. She was gagged, sitting on the ground that was littered with bones and blood. Blood rage filled his vision.