Blood + Tears (all 15)

Chapter 3

I ran through the tops of the trees, not even looking back if the two were with me. Victor had tried to talk to me about his family, but I was annoyed at them and thankfully he had quietened. If it was up to me, I'd just leave them all to flounder in the forest. I mean that would be their punishment for their stupidity to enter the Dark Forest. There is a reason why it is called the DARK forest. So far my opinion of this family is that they are annoying.

Below me were the tracks of the lycanthropes, leaving an easy trail. I dropped to another limb when I noticed something off to the side. Faint yelps and muffled curses drifted to me, making me smile. The limb shook slightly as Victor and Marc dropped beside me. He looked at me in confusion. "What are we doing?"

I pointed to the north. "I think I found some of your family."

His head whipped to the direction of his brothers and his eyes lit up when he started to hear them. He started to run towards them with Marc trailing behind him. "Let's go."

I followed them, the voices getting louder and louder. It wasn't until we were almost above them did we notice them. Below us on the ground were three guys that were fighting back to back against a pack of ten lycanthropes. Without hesitation, Victor jumped into the battle, cutting a lycanthrope in half. Marc stayed up in the trees, firing arrow after arrow at the beasts. I sighed and stepped off the tree limb.

The ground rose to greet me, and I forced myself to roll before jumping back up with my blades up. My blades blocked a handful of sharp claws and a snarling mouth. I almost puked at the smell of the beast's foul breath before pushing him back and separating his head from his body. I had taken down another lycanthrope when one appeared out of nowhere and hit me in the side. I crashed to the ground, losing one of my swords. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the beast lunge at me. I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop his attack without getting an injury so I brought up my left arm as a shield, readying my weapon. Warm breath washed over my skin before a yelp filled the air.

Bringing down my arm, my eyes widened at the beast standing over the lycanthrope. A lion stood at least five feet tall. His fur and mane were a beautiful soft gray that shined in the dim light. Gold eyes looked at me. His eyes looked at my body, but I knew that he was checking for injuries. Ivory teeth peeked from his lips as he growled as he saw a scratch on my already healing cheek. Black claws at least five inches long dug into the ground as he walked until he stood ten feet from me.

I lifted myself from the ground, sheathing my one blade in the scabbard on my back. Walking the few steps, I stood in front of the lion. The lion sat down, watching me with wary eyes. His tail was curled around his body but his claws were still unsheathed. Inside me, I felt Amara looking at the lion shifter with curiosity.

Cute kitty. she purred before she went back to sleep.

"Thank you for helping me," I said with a respectful nod.

I watched with wide eyes as the lion seemed to shrink and become disfigured. Bones shifted, limbs shrinked, and the tail disappeared until a man with one knee on the ground was left. He lifted his head, and I watched as his gold eyes faded to a warm brown. He gave me a smile that showed his white teeth before he stood. I frowned at his height. Damn, he is tall.

Black hair came loose from a half up half down hairstyle and landed onto tanned olive skin. Soulful brown eyes gave a sense of gentleness despite his animal. "Hello, Aggele Mou. I am Silas Korba."

I plastered my fake smile that I always used with people. "My name is Sang."

Silas' eyes narrowed at my smile, telling me that he knew my smile was fake. Hey, if he knew my past, he would understand why I don't smile anymore except for pleasantries or shit like that. The last time I smiled for myself was when Amara and I freed ourselves from our shitty family.

"Sang," a voice turned my head. Victor and Marc stood beside two other giants. Damn what did they eat to get that tall. Victor pointed at the stranger. "You already met Silas. These are also some of my brothers, Nathan and Brandon."

I tilted my head at the odd combination of this family. A demon, a lion, a mer, and an archangel. The archangel named Nathan stepped forward. His hair was a shade of red that looked as if it couldn't decide if it wanted to be red or brown and decided to be in the middle. Blue eyes looked at me as he watched me as if I was a threat. "Hello, peanut."

I nodded at him before turning towards Victor who pointed at the other man. "This is Brandon."

He was also very handsome. He had sun-kissed blond hair done in a short cropped hairstyle. He was tall with a gorgeous tan that made me jealous. His face had a five o'clock shadow, making him seem more dangerous. His eyes were on me. They were a very mesmerizing cerulean blue, but they seemed sad. As if the past was hard on him and those decisions weighed heavily on his consciousness. He nodded at me.

I glanced at the devil. "This is some family you have, Victor."

Nathan smirked. "He is the only devil in our family although some of us have been called demons. Trust me, don't let our looks or forms distract me."

I smirked. "Already know that, archangel." I turned away from his surprised expression. Brandon had a small smirk on his face, and I smirked back at him. "Your looks won't affect me either, Mer. You're going to want to have some weapons."

All three of them closed their eyes for a moment before opening them. As they open their eyes, their weapons appeared. In Silas' hand was a gold trident that glowed a dark blue before returning to normal. I raised an eyebrow at the length of the weapon. It was taller than Silas who happened to be over six feet tall.

In Nathan's hands was a scythe. It was also taller than him. The weapon was made of a white material that glowed red before settling back to its normal state. At both ends were blades but both were wicked looking.

Brandon had a spear-like weapon called a Yari. It was almost seven feet in length and the blade was about 15 inches long. It had glowed a dark red before settling into a blue-gray metal. The blade was a dull gray, but the sharp edge made it look wicked.

"Ready to hunt some lycanthropes?" I said. At their smiles, Amara purred at their cruel looks in their eyes. I turned, smirking. Maybe they weren't so bad or annoying.