The Falcon Ridge Series Book 4: Art of a Girl

(Chapter song ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings' by Tommee Profit)

SAMMY

I feel like I'm drifting away.

I'm trapped in a never-ending internal nightmare. She’s eating my soul and I have nothing left.

I’m done panicking. I’m done crying. I’m done fighting.

She’s made it clear.

I’m stuck in my mind, watching her steal my body for her own purpose with no hope of escape… Ever. The only thing I have is the pink light to the outside when she lets me.

I sit with my knees up and my arms wrapped around them as I wait for the next window. She makes me watch her kill animals she finds as she moves through the wilderness and I take the quick moments to figure out where I am. I have no idea where she’s going. She’s blocking her thoughts and feelings from me. I’m truly alone in this mental void.

When she decides to show me what’s outside, only then does she talk with me. When the light on the ‘wall’ of my mind opens, the light shimmers like water and I have to squint my eyes to adjust to the brightness.

The images projected were horrific, but they weren’t mine. These belong to someone else. I stand and walk to the wall. Through the pink haze, I see burnt out homes and cars. Decaying garbage and results of vicious attacks. The homes fall to pieces and I see the broken, dirty and black toys of children. I hold my waist because I suddenly feel sick as she walks through the rubble.

“Where are we?” I whisper.

‘This was once your kingdom. The home of the creator.’

Her gritty wolf voice surrounds me.

"What happened here?" I walk to the wall and put my hand on a broken doll as she lowers her head to sniff it.

‘War.’ Her tone was quiet. ‘Perpetrated by those with closed minds. They chose death.’

I look around the void. “Why am I here?”

‘We need the prophecy. It’s here. In the castle that was meant for you.’

Sick of her crap, I storm the wall. "I don't have a castle! I'm an interior decorator!" I punch wall with anger and frustration. “You’re insane!” I yell to her.

‘You are so much more than that. You'll see for yourself. Your mind will open and you will embrace the life you were created for.’

“No. I won’t.” I grit as I cross my arms.

‘You will because I’m making you.”

I drop my arms and furrow my brows. “What does that mean?”

She falls silent and trots through the winding streets. The roads become clearer like someone came through and moved everything. I look over the state of everything. “Does… Does someone live here?”

‘At one time, after the creator was murdered, another stood up. Again. A minor loss. The Alpha had no business running an empire he was never meant to run. They killed him for it.’

“Who?”

‘No one worth mentioning.’

I raise a brow. “How do you know about all this? What are you not telling me?”

Again, the black fills with silence as she turns onto a road. I step up to the wall and see something rise in the dark. A vast gated property with a large, white mansion in the center of it. She turns into a driveway and I scan every inch of the place. “Is this a pack house?”

‘Yes.’

She slowly approaches the house and I see a black car parked out front it. She sniffs it and looks to the door.

“I thought you said there was no one here.”

‘This changes nothing.’

I furrow my brow and widen my eyes. “No. This changes everything! You can go in there!” I demand.

‘There’s no threat. Be still.’

She walks to the front door that’s open. She lowers her head and looks inside of it. It’s all dark. The doorway looks small in her vision, then it starts grow. The ground gets closer and the perspective of her vision changes.

I scan the wall. “What’s happening?”

‘I've taken your body. You can see my eyes, but you will not hold any control. Not until you see the prince.’

My brows shoot up. “You can’t do that! Bastian said…” I run to the door and pull on the handle as I smack the door.

‘The Alpha has no idea what I am or what I can do. I decide how much control I give you. Access to your body is a simple skill I’ve developed over the years.’

I take a step back. “That’s how you got out of my house without evidence or waking anyone else up. You used my body to leave so you could shift outside.”

‘Precisely.’ She walks in through the door on my human feet. ‘What we need is upstairs.’

I walk to the wall and watch her walk to a set of stairs. I see my hand lay on the railing as she slowly starts to climb.

“There’s people here! What are you going to do when they find you?” I turn to the black.

‘Kill them…naturally.’

“YOU CAN'T!” I pound on the wall.

‘I can and there’s nothing you can do but watch.’

I search the images coming into view in front of me hoping beyond hope that whoever belongs to that back car is nowhere near here. My heart pounds as I pray that whatever she’s doing goes without incident. I’ll never forgive myself if I kill someone.

“Maybe it’s this stupid prince.” I hold myself and watch the world through her eyes.

‘It's not. He's far from here waiting for you.’

“Of course, he is.” I scowl.

She inspects the darkened house as she walks with stealth. The walls are filled with bullet holes and old blood. Handprints, kicked in drywall and blood smears line every wall.

Almost all the doors are broken. The floor is covered in pieces of walls and ceilings and furniture is smashed.

“The fight… It was here.”

‘Yes… As you can see. It wasn’t a victory.’

“Good.” I lift my chin smugly. “You and your creator don’t deserve to win. You're evil.”

‘Not evil. Empowered. The world will see you for what you are and it will cower.'

“Right. A Goddess.” I furrow my brow.

‘I need to show you your legacy to understand. Once it’s clear, your mind will be, too.’

“Doubtful.” I clench.

She slows her steps and I hear sounds. I lean to the wall and listen closely. Voices. Women’s voices. My brows shoot up and I see lights moving around a doorway to a room on the left side of the hall. She approaches quietly.

I close the gap to the wall. “No, don’t!!!” I yell as I bang my fist on the wall.

She’s silent as the voices become louder.

“STOP!!”

She slows to a stop and stands in the darkened doorway. I feel the floor under me start to vibrate. I feel her anger rise as the shadows of two people come in and out of view in the beams of flashlights. They’re talking to each other, but I can barely make out what they’re saying over the increasing growling in the black.

I slam my chest to the wall and bang my open hand on it like they can see me. “RUN! PLEASE! GET OUT! SHE’S CRAZY!!”

As I beg them to save themselves, she steps into the room. Through the dark, I see walls lined with books. A library. The two women start to become a little more clear. They don’t notice the beast as she walks into the room. They’re bent over an open book and reading it.

One has long dark hair. She looks to other with red curly hair. “Lex, this can’t be real.”

"It's fits, Anna. It has to be." The red haired woman stands straight and leans a hand on the table.

"We need to get this to River." The one called Anna says as she closes the book and Lex picks it up.

The beast then makes her presence known with a dark growl. Both women whip their head in my direction and their eyes go wide.

It's a stand off as I see the beast cautiously looking the women over then dropping her eyes to the book.

Anna pushes Lex back behind her and puts a hand up as a precaution. I see her other hand drop to a holster on her hip. She pulls out a baton and extends it. “Hi…” She steps cautiously. “You…” She looks back at Lex then back at me. “Sam?”

I feel the black vibrate harder and hear her growls rise. I see my vision lower like she’s getting ready for a fight.

"NO!! DON'T!!" I scream as I watch Anna step closer. “PLEASE STOP!!” I run to the door and try to pull and kick it open. “RUN, DAMN IT!!” I turn my head to the wall and feel the beast ready to attack.

Anna reaches out her hand. “We won’t hurt you, Sam. Bastian’s really worried and wants you to come home. We can take you home, sweetie. He's not angry or anything, I swear.”

I stand at the door as my eyes well. I want to go home. A tear falls as I walk to the wall. “Please… Help me.” I hitch.

Lex grabs Anna’s arm and points to me. "Look." She says with worry.

The beast raises her hands and claws grow on her fingertips. She turns her attention to the women and her growls become so loud I have to cover my ears and fall to my knees.

“NOOOO!!” I cry out as my tears roll down my cheeks.

“ANNA, MOVE!!”

The beast lunges at them with a barking growl and throws out her claws. She hits Anna's face and Anna falls to the floor. Lex jumps over Anna and high kicks me in the head which does nothing. My jaw falls as I watch the while thing unfold.

Lex jumps on my back to try and take me down. In the chaos of the moving vision, I see Anna rise to her feet. She runs at me and punches me in the face. She kicks Anna in the stomach and throws Lex on top of her.

“LEX, RUN!”

My wolf rushes them as they scramble to their feet and run out the door.

“LET THEM GO!!” I scream at the wall.

‘Never.’ She growls and takes off after them.

“THE WINDOW! JUMP!”

The two women run down the hall as I feel myself change. Everything is small again and I see paws in the bottom frame of her eyesight.

Lex smashes through the window and jumps to the ground. Anna follows just as my wolf tries to bite her. My wolf smashes out the rest of the window and falls to grass. As she lands and shakes glass out of her fur, she turns to watch the women run down the side of the house and around the corner.

My wolf growls then lets out a nasty bark before digging in and breaking into a full run after them.

"Get to the car!" Anna yells as they reach the driveway.

They part and reach their doors as the beast hits the pavement. I see headlights and the roar of an engine. The tires smoke and squeal as they hit the gas to the floor. The beast jumps into the air as the car starts to race away.

The vision rattles as she lands on the car. The women scream as the car hits the road and turns.

My beast bites and barks at the windshield. The glass starts to crack and spider web. She slams her paws on it and her body dents the hood as she digs her back claws in.

Anna swerves the car left and right to shake her off, but it’s not working. The windshield breaks and blood coats the glass as the beast tries to get her muzzle into the front seat.

Anna clubs her on the nose with her baton. The beast yelps, shakes her head and gets angrier. She digs into the glass harder, smashing it in even more. She bites the edges and pulls, breaking large chunks off and throwing them on the road.

The car speeds through the town and Lex punches her in the head. Anna tries desperately to see where she’s going.

“LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!” I yell.

The car turns as sharp corner and the beast almost slips off but still hangs on. She shoves her giant paw into the front seat and tries to claw at them. Anna stabs it with a chunk of glass and she yelps loud as she yanks it back.

As Anna squeals the tires and the beasts growls ring through the abandoned town, I see something horrifying in the images.

"Is that gun?" Shock fills my face and I back up.

Lex aims the gun barrel through the hole in the glass and gives me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Samantha." She pulls the trigger and the sound of a gunshot fills the dark space of my mind.

I fling my hands up in protection. “NO, DON’T…” Searing pain rips through my body as my shoulder is struck and I’m thrown across the void. My wolf yelps and howls in agony as she’s thrown off the car to the road. Her body rolls down the street as the car swerves around her and speeds away.

I gasp for air as I rise up on my hand and hold my shoulder. My arm and shoulder burn as I pull my hand away and see blood.

I raise my eyes in confusion to the wall. “What?” How did I get shot when I’m in my head? My wolf stands and we watch the taillights of the car disappear into the night.

She looks over her shoulder and licks her wound. I see a flash then hear the tinkle of something hit the pavement. She lowers her nose and sniffs the silver bullet that was in her. She raises her head back up to the now empty street. I turn my head to my shoulder and touch it. The bullet hole is gone.

I rise to my feet and walk to the wall. She starts to walk down the road.

“You didn’t have to do that.” I grind as I hold myself.

‘They want me back in your prison. They kept me secret and away from our destiny for too long.’

She leaves the town and pads into the outskirts. The trees start to thicken and she disappears into the trunks.

“My destiny doesn’t include you or the murder of innocent people.” I challenge her vision.

‘The path to our destiny is clearly made. I will show you, but it will have to be another way. Your power will feared by all. Who we kill will not matter.’

"I will find a way to beat you.” I shoot daggers at the pink wall while anger drips off my words.

‘There’s nothing you can do, child. Sleep. You’ll need it for where we're going.’

I watch the shimmering light start to fade and shrink. The black surrounds me again as the pink disappears.

I sink to the floor, pull my knees up and wrap my arms around them. I bury my head and shrink into the void.

“Bastian… Please hurry.” I whisper as I start to quietly cry.