A Forbidden Love

Ch 4: Logan

Another day, another murder. I was really getting tired of this, but I knew I couldn’t back down on this case. Everyone thought it was another serial killer, and it was; it just wasn’t a human one. Ten years of being on the force, five of those years as a detective, and twenty-eight years of living as a werewolf, none of it prepared me for these murders. It did give me the advantage of knowing our killer was a werewolf like me, it let me know who it was, but it didn’t matter at this moment; another girl was dead, and the killer hadn’t been caught yet. Daniel; I couldn’t believe that Daniel would turn into a monster. We had been neighbors through childhood, and I always thought he was stronger than the monster that waged wars within his mind; not the wolf, but the sickness and depravity in his mind. I guess he got tired of fighting it.  I sighed as I walked back to the murder scene with a fellow cop, James. He had joined the force about a year ago and was only in his early twenties. I hated having to break him in on a case like this; it strips away the innocence and the positive outlook of humanity.

 I heard a slight sound as we approached the clearing, and I made sure to walk into it first. A quick glance showed no one around, but I caught a slight scent. It smelled feminine, and I hoped that it wasn’t another victim that had been lured here that we had yet to find. As James and I surveyed the scene for evidence, I heard a slight rustle in the leaves. I looked up and towards where the noise was coming from; I didn’t see anything, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. Unable to take it and wanting to explore on my own, I turned to James, “Come on, James. We can continue this tomorrow.” The sun was setting anyways, so he wouldn’t think it was out of the ordinary to leave. I walked him back to his patrol car and watched as he drove away. I quickly shed most of my clothes and walked back into the forest. I took a deep breath and began to change into my other form; it was uncomfortable as bones began to shift and elongate, popping as they did so. Fur began to cover my skin, and I would never understand this, but my shorts stretched to fit my new form, and they would shrink back down when I shifted back to human form. When the transformation was complete, I stretched and let out a sigh of relief.

            I began to walk back to the scene of the murder, and when I reached it, I was able to recognize the scent. It smelled like vanilla and strawberries, and I started tracking it. As I walked through the forest following the scent, I prayed that I wasn’t walking towards another body. I didn’t smell blood, but that didn’t mean anything right now; I knew the killer drugged them and bound them to a tree for a few hours before coming back to eviscerate them whether they were still alive or dead. I noticed limbs that had been knocked off trees by something large, the faint footprints of something small with larger ones behind them, and tufts of fur and cloth caught in bushes. As I drew closer to the stream, I heard noises. It sounded like fighting, and then I heard howling. I knew that howl from anywhere, and I picked up the pace. Still in the tress, I heard a feminine cry of frustration. What I saw had me stopping in my tracks, frozen, unable to believe what was happening. A girl stood facing the werewolf; he was in human form, but he still towered over her. She looked like a small flower beside a massive oak tree. She was short and curvy, and she looked horrible; bruises forming across her body, scratches and cuts covering her arms and legs, a gash on her head, and I could tell she using everything she had just to keep him from killing her. She failed to block a punch, too slow from exhaustion, and I watched as his fist connected with her jaw. She fell to one knee, still refusing to go down, and he pulled his fist back again.

            Unable to take it, I yelled out his name as I launched myself at him. I pummeled him, fists flying and connecting with any surface I could reach, trying to keep him from shifting forms. For some reason, he kept trying to go for the girl. Time and time again, I grabbed him and threw him backwards to keep him from touching her. He landed a few good punches, but I shrugged them off and fought back harder. I notice him shift his hands into claws as he launched himself at the girl again. I caught him, but I was slow enough that his claws cut open her skin. As I tossed Daniel into a tree, I spared a glance at the girl. He turned and ran into the woods as I took a step towards him, and I stopped. I was torn between going after him and helping her. “GO,” she yelled at me before collapsing to the ground. At this point, I probably wasn’t going to catch him, and she needed help. What if I left her to go after him and he came back here and finished her off? I decided to stay with her. I shifted back into human form as a sigh escaped her lips.

            I approached her and looked down. For all her injuries and the dirt, she was pretty. Her dark brown hair was short, her eyes were a blue that rivaled the clear afternoon skies, and her face was flush with exhaustion and pain. I noticed her grimace, and I knelt down beside her. “Are you ok?” I asked, mentally kicking myself at the stupid question. She opened her mouth to answer, but a groan came out. She looked annoyed, and I chuckled, “I know it was a stupid question.” She smiled and said, “I’ll be fine.” I noticed the claw marks on her chest were deep and still bleeding, “You need to get those looked at.” “I can’t,” she whispered. “Why not?” “I’m an angel….” she began. I cut her off, “I’m sure you look like one when you’re not covered in bruises and blood, but you’re still injured.” All I could think of when she said “angel” were the pictures I’d always seen where the angels are tall and slender with long, flowing hair and gowns. She didn’t fit that description with her short, brown hair and her short but soft, curvy body. She shot me another look filled with annoyance, “I’m an angel…like Heaven’s guardian angels…I’m here on a mission.” “So are you a peace maker or a dream weaver?” I asked remembering the stories my grandfather told me as a child. She looked at me in shock. “I’m part of the Guardian Sentinel,” she stated. “You’re a warrior?” I asked in disbelief. “Yeah,” she replied. “And you got beat this bad?” She sighed, “I’m a newbie. I just graduated from training and was thrown into my first mission by myself. I’m thinking the reason I got this one is because I fit the vic profile.” I gasped, “They sent a newbie to take down Daniel?” she frowned, “I did graduate top of my class.”

            I frowned and helped her sit up, my hand on her back to keep her steady. I stared into her sky blue eyes, “I’m Logan.” “Isolde,” she said. “Do you have a place to stay?” “No. I descended directly here and was attacked before I could leave to find a place. I didn’t expect to encounter the rogue so soon,” she answered without hesitation. “You can stay with me for now. We really need to tend your wounds, and I need to fill you in on who it is you hunt since your high council failed to do so.”  She nodded, and I helped her stand up. “Can you walk?” I asked. Again, she nodded.

            The walk through the woods was quiet, and I was mad that they had sent a newbie to fight Daniel; not only was she a new warrior with no field experience, she fit the victim profile. I wondered if these angels were trying to get her killed. Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice her lagging behind at first. A small sound behind me had me turning my head back to glance at her, and I noticed the tree looming in front of her. “Isolde!” I snapped, and she looked up. I let out a sigh, walked back, and picked her up. “It’ll be faster if I carry you,” I stated. My hands slid behind her knees and her lower back, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. She fit is the only way I could think of describing it; I held her, and it was like a lost puzzle piece had been found to complete the picture. I could feel the blood singing through my veins, heating up and reacting to this woman. I could feel her heart pounding, and I knew she felt something, too. I didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. I’d been looking for someone to spend my time with and love, but I knew angels weren’t supposed to mix with werewolves. Fate was definitely playing games with us I decided. When I reached the car, I put her in the passenger seat and buckled her in before getting in myself. I let the radio play in the background as I thought of what all I needed to tell her about Daniel and the murders because I’m sure the high council and her trainers told her next to nothing. I was still livid that they had sent her here to do this job when they knew it would be a suicide mission. I was making it my job to help her, to better prepare and train her, and to try to get her to admit her feelings towards me. If her high council was sending her here to die, then I was going to get what I wanted and make them mad in the process. All too soon, we pulled up in front of my house.