Gone (Book Two of the Dark Lycans Series)

Blood. It was everywhere, covering the walls, the ceiling, the floor. I was drowning in it.

The liquid was hot and burned as it flooded my throat, I choked and coughed, only succeeding in making it worse. My eyes caught sight of a door, but my feet slipped when I took a step forward.

I opened my mouth in a scream, but no sound came out. My eyes squeezed shut and I cringed waiting for the impact of the floor, but none came.

When my life eyes opened, the blood was gone, I was standing in a cave. It was dark, and I couldn't see anything.

Screams suddenly filled the tunnels, echoing off the walls and creating a horrifying symphony. They were bloodcurdling, pain-filled screams that chilled me to the bone.

I covered my ears and they suddenly got even louder. My screams soon joined them as I ran through the tunnels, away or towards the screams I didn't know. They came from every direction and I could not escape.

I stumbled into a room, and fell to the stone floor. The screams died away, and I looked up. A little girl sat with her back to me, she was crying.

I crawled over to her, and set a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She sniffed and turned to face me. My scream filled the room as I see bloody streaks trailing from the corners of her eyes.

She was crying blood, and she suddenly smiled at me. I jerked away from her and scooted backwards until I hit a wall. Her laugh filled the stone room, crazed but innocent.

Her body began to morph into a large man, one all too familiar. Her laugh turned cold, deep, and evil. I his away from him, trying to make myself smaller.

"Raven, you are a murderer, you belong with me. We are the same you and I, we kill for fun, we have the same cruel hearts," he grinned maniacly. I shook my head, tears falling down my face.

"No, we're not. I may enjoy killing and torturing people, but at least I am still capable of love and compassion. I hate you, and I will never be like you," I spat.

He growled and stalked towards me. I cried out as he wrapped his fingers around my neck. My feet dangled off the ground, and I tried to gasp for air. I dug my fingernails into his hands, but it didn't faze him at all.

"You will respect and fear me, I will not tolerate you disobeying. And no, you are not capable of love, I made sure of that," he snarled. I was thrown away from him, and my back hit a metal gate.

I coughed violently, and I heard him laugh again. I watched as the shadow of his figure began to move closer again. The gate behind me started to lift, and I felt panic set in.

I feared what would come out, and the man moving towards me. A growl filled the room, and my breathing quickened. My eyes moved to see a pair of fiery eyes in the darkness.

I screamed again and jumped to my feet when I saw the creature lunge. But it went straight past me and attacked my father. His body was torn to pieces, and blood covered the ground.

The cat turned towards me, and I slumped onto my knees. Tears fell down my face, as I recalled everything that just happened.

Something warm and soft surrounded my body, and a low rumbling sound caressed my ears. I suddenly felt safe, and protected.

***************

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up with a gasp. My lungs filled with oxygen, and I took multiple exaggerated breaths. It felt as if I finally had access to air after almost drowning.

I was in a stone room, dimmed lights above me. My head ached horribly, and I could hear the faint sound of echoing growls in the tunnels.

I looked to my left to see a glass window, and I instantly recognize it as where Shade and I had seen our animals for the first time. Only now I was on the other side of everything.

My eyes caught onto a black and gold pile of fur next to me.

"Zelda!" I shrieked running over to her body. She was curled in a ball, and I saw that her wound was almost completely healed, but the blood still stained her sleek fur.

At my voice, her ears perked up, and her eyes opened. I loved her them, they glowed red-orange like an ember. You could see all the fire in her spirit just through her eyes.

She uncurled herself with a big stretch, and got up to a sitting position. I threw my arms around her neck, happy that she was okay.

Zelda purred, and rubbed her head against mine. I laughed at how a dangerous cheetah taller than me when she sat down, could still act like a tiny innocent kitten.

The events before I passed out suddenly replayed in my mind.

"Where is Blake?" I called out to the empty room.

"He's gone. After he attacked Zelda he ran and Shade has been trying to find him, but his Lycan has taken over. He is dangerous right now, his Lycan is scared, confused, and on what he considers enemy territory," a voice said through a speaker.

My head swiveled to see my mother looking at me through the glass.

"How did she heal so quickly?" I nodded to Zelda.

"You. She and you are bonded, together you are stronger, she heals faster. That is why you can feel their pain, because it let's you know when they are hurt so that you can help them." She smiled at me. I felt my lips tug at the corners.

"I need to help find Blake," I said to my mother looking around.

"He is deep in the mountain, it would take you too long, let Shade handle it. She owes you one," she pointed out. I chuckled with a nod.

"Why did Zelda even attack Blake in the first place? Oh wait, they are supposed to, never mind." I recalled my thoughts together before I spoke again. My face fell, and I gave my mother a dark look.

"What?" She panicked.

"Zelda was making chirping calls right before we found her. Who was she calling to?" My teeth were gritted and I dared my mother not to tell me.

"Turn around," my mother sighed with a small smile.

I raised an eyebrow at her, and slowly turned on my heel. My eyes widened and I gasped in shock at the sight.

"Zelda's a mother!" I yelped in surprise. I heard my mother laugh, and I ran to my cheetah. She was laying down with her kits romping around on top of her.

There were three of them, a mix of black and gold. One was identical to Zelda, another had beautiful rosettes, and the third had stripes and rosettes.

"She has three? They are so beautiful!" I smiled, and looked at my mother. Her face was extremely worried.

"She has four cubs," she told me, fear in her voice. My heart pounded in fear.

"I have to find it," I told her.

"Zelda is the only one who can find the cub, she knows its scent," my mother said. I heard a low whistle, and all of the kits went tumbling into a room, a gate locking behind them.

Zelda stood and walked over to me. I felt her neck and breathed a sigh of relief to see it fully healed. I climbed onto her back, and noticed how she was much slimmer than Madox or Abelardus.

"Zelda invenire infantem cheetah," I commanded her when I saw a gate open. Shesmelled the air and I held onto the longer fur at her neck.

The area along her black dorsal stripes had longer fur, giving me a place to hold on. Zelda purred and chirped before lunging for the gate.

I bit back a scream as within seconds, we were racing at sixty mph down the tunnels. My sudden fear was quickly replaced with exhilaration. I decided to try a mind link with Shade to see if she found Blake.

Shade?

I'm here Raven, you need to see this, she said in an worry filled tone.

I'll be right there, I told her becoming anxious.

"Invenire Shade," I said to Zelda, changing course. She smelled the air, and I saw her ears twitch. We ran even faster down the tunnels, and I was shocked when we took a 90 degree turn without sliding.

My eyes traveled down to Zelda's paws, they were pure black, with claws that looked sharper them Madox's, but not as long. According to my studies, cheetahs' claws couldn't retract like other cats, giving them better traction.

I was jerked out of my thoughts when Zelda began to slow down. Shade was standing at the entrance to a room, looking straight at me.

I jumped off my cheetah, and stood next to Shade after patting her neck.

"What is it?" I asked Shade, staring wide eyed into the room. She pointed and I followed her finger to a small shadow on the floor.

I squinted my eyes and walked over to the figure. My breath caught in my throat when my eyes adjusted to the dark. Zelda sat down beside me, and let out a mournful growl.

Tears pricked my eyes when I felt a sharp pain in my chest, just like when Zelda had almost died. I looked over to see that Shade felt it too.

I looked back at the figure, and put my hand out. It came back covered in blood, and a tear fell down my cheek. I grabbed ahold of the shadow, and pulled it onto my lap.

I heard a small heartbeat, and it began to fade and slow, until it was completely silent. I whimpered in agony along with Shade, as pain hit our bodies harder.

My arms wrapped around the little creature, tears falling down my face. Shade came beside me, wrapping her arms around my body.

"Its just not fair," she cried.

"We have to find him," I referred to Blake. She nodded and we both looked back at the bloody body, torn apart by a wolf's teeth and claws.

Zelda's lost kit, we were too late.