The Last Beast

Elmira’s POV

I began shaking as I stared at Anna. Normally, I didn’t take commands, but this time I had to, Aron’s life was on the line. Using him as a shield was a smart move on her part, I’ll admit, but I’d still get to her somehow.

My bones rearranged themselves, growing and shrinking to the correct sizes for my next form. Fur grew from beneath my skin, and my ears moved to the top of my head. I bent over as the transformation continued, my hands and feet morphing into paw, and a tail grew from my backside. The transformation only lasted about 30 seconds, but eventually I stood before the two of them as a large black wolf with golden eyes.

I barred my pointed, white teeth at Anna and allowed a growl to escape my throat. Aron’s eyes were even wider than they were before, but this time it seemed to be in wonder. It was almost as if he was in awe of my wolf form. Anna, on the other hand, stared at me with jealousy and greed in her brown orbs.

I stood still, waiting for an opening to get Aron away from her. After a few minutes of silence, Anna’s hand relaxed just a tad, that was her first mistake.

I lunged forward, putting one paw on Aron’s chest and using my other paw to push the knife away from him. It left a thin red trail of blood, to which I growled angrily at, but he would be fine.

After getting the knife away from his neck, I bit Anna’s wrist to get her to drop the weapon. She let out a high-pitched screech as my teeth sunk into her thin flesh.

I dropped onto all four of my paws once Anna backed away, holding her bleeding wrist, and pushed Aron further away from her by leaning against his legs. I placed myself between the two of them, facing the threat.

“So I was right, he is your mate,” Anna smiled sadistically. I growled a warning at her, she’d better not threaten him again.

I padded forward, my head bowed to watch her every move. She walked toward me, picking up the knife once she was close enough. I decided to allow this and give her a fair fight. She held the knife in her injured hand, knowing that she’d do better with her dominant hand, even though I’d sunk my teeth into it.

I waited for an opening, waited for her next mistake. She attempted to circle me, crouching down slightly, prepared for anything. I growled at her, seeing that she was getting too close to what I was protecting. Her back straightened, surprised at my growl, and I leapt.

My front paws pressed back on her shoulders, causing her to fall onto her back. I landed with one paw pressed against her throat, ready to snap it with a bit more pressure if need be. My other paw was on her shoulder, holding her down.

I growled in her face, and waited to see if she would give up or not. For her sake, I hope she doesn’t continue to fight. I’d just finished that thought, when something terrible happened.

She plunged her knife into my gut, and I lost my balance. A snap was heard as my paw crushed her windpipe and I collapsed on top of her. I groaned wolfishly and attempted to get up with the knife stuck in my stomach, but all I could do was roll off of Anna.

I lay next to her deathly still body, whimpering and unable to shift back into my human form. Aron walked toward me from where he stood during the fight. He sank down to his knees next to me and examined my wound. We both knew that there was no way Anna could have survived what had happened.

I whimpered when Aron touched the knife, he smiled sadly in apology. He ran his fingers through my thick fur, I would have purred if I were a cat. Just as I focused on him petting me, he pulled the knife out of my gut. I howled in pain, just barely refraining from biting him.

Blood spilled freely from my wound as he took off his shirt and tore a piece of fabric from it. He balled the rest of it up and pressed it to my wound. Helping me to stand, he tied the balled up shirt to my stomach with the strip of cloth he tore from it.

I leaned against his legs for support, panting and attempting to gain a bit of energy I needed to transform back into a human. The transformation process worked in reverse, until I stood before him in tattered clothing, my wound still bandaged just as well as it was in my wolf form.

I would have collapsed if Aron hadn’t raced to my side and held me up with an arm around my waist, avoiding touching the bandage and causing me pain. I was pressed against his bare chest, listening to his racing heartbeat. Looking up at his face, I noticed that he was blushing. It looked so cute, but I didn’t want him to worry, so I wrapped my arms around his waist in a hug.

“What Anna was saying about me being your mate, is it true?” he whispered, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“Yes, our souls are bound together for eternity… About Anna, I wouldn’t have killed her, had she given up. My paw slipped when she stabbed me, there was no way I could have prevented it,” I replied quietly.

“I understand, she would have killed many good people if she killed you and became the next beast. Even if you let her live, she wouldn’t have stopped trying. I’m not saying that it’s okay to kill, but I think it worked out for the best this time.”

“I was hoping to give her the benefit of the doubt, I suppose it’s too late for that now, though. I wouldn’t have let her kill me either way, I plan on dying naturally and taking the beast down with me.”

“What do you mean?” he asked quizzically.

“If the beast dies of natural causes, and isn’t killed by another human, then the beast will cease to exist. It was foretold in a prophecy I read, that one day there would be no beast, and all would live peacefully,” my lips turned up in a smile just thinking about it. Aron smiled softly as well, staring into my eyes lovingly.

“It may be too late for Anna, but it’s not too late for us. Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend Elmira?” he spoke softly, cautiously almost.

“I’d like that,” my smile widened, I’d been waiting for him to ask me that for years.

His eyes shined with happiness as he kissed my cheek. I laughed softly and placed my hand under his chin, turning his head to face mine directly.

“You missed,” I whispered, before pressing my lips to his in a magical kiss.