Chapter 16 - Who Are You?

The neotides emerged from the darkness of the forest. The wind was chilly and could cut through human skin. As they ran towards her, they growled in anger and shape shifted. At first, Adrianna could only see them as silhouettes and their growls were carried by the wind. However, as they neared her, their fur became more noticeable. Their fur was not very thick and was colored, in whatever color their natural hair color was before they had become neotides. As neotides, they had only the killer instincts of a wolf and looked to be driven by revenge.

They communicated with each other in low grunts, circling around her and , swishing their tails, cutting off any means of escape for Adrianna. All of a sudden, one of them leapt into the air and attacked Adrianna. She ducked, making him miss her and jump over to the other side. He landed hard on his belly and whimpered loudly as it puckered and crouched with its tail down.

She could only use her motorcycle to protect herself. She revved her engine and thought of breaking the circle, but by time she could even take an action, two of them were looking hard at her. Their lips were retracted, baring their canines and incisors as they leapt towards her.

They landed on her with so much force that she was thrown off her motorbike. Adrianna fell on her sides and supported herself with her forearms on the ground. As soon as she was on the ground, they surrounded her and started circling her, growling at her to show their dominance.

Slowly, Adrianna sat up. The two who were barely an arms length away attacked her again. This time, they aimed for her neck with their bare canines. But Adrianna was fast, and she defended herself by using her strength to hold their heads as she tried to freeze their minds with her wild and unrefined ability to reach their thoughts. The impact was so harsh that both of them were left paralyzed.

A sudden gush of pain jolted throughout her body as she felt blood flowing out from somewhere. She could feel her legs begin to weaken. The magic was also beginning to affect.

"They will not get better of me," she thought as she dropped on the ground, her tongue soaked in blood. Bruised and winded, she grabbed the front arms of another neotide, who had leapt at her again, and pulled it to the ground. The neotide whimpered as she twisted his leg with enough force to crack the bone. She rose from the ground and in her anger, she shape shifted. Gnarling at the rest of them, she waited for them to make the first move.

Two of her opponents charged, barking and growling at her. She moved to the side, dodging them in a fluid move. They swiveled back in her direction. Her enemies in the front looked at her with blazing yellow eyes as they thrust their bodies towards her. They were attacking her from all sides. However, one of them was suddenly lifted into the air and thrown back onto the ground with a loud thud. A large werewolf with grey fur had appeared out of nowhere and was taking out the neotides that were attacking her from the back.

Adrianna was quick to react and she attacked the rest of them with a renewed vigor and force. She leapt at the one in front of her. Baring her canines, she caught a hold of its neck and sunk her teeth in, making it whimper in pain. Throwing it aside, she looked intensely at the others and attacked fiercely, slashing at them with her strong paws. She could feel her power surging through her claws, as she tore through their skin and made deep wounds like a wild beast .

Unable to withstand the attack from both sides, one by one , the neotides fled back into the deep forests with deep wounds and gashes.

When the fight was over, Adrianna turned towards her savior. As she walked towards the wolf, she shape shifted back. The grey wolf was looking at her intensely with cold eyes. Sensing the metallic taste in her mouth, she wiped her face with her sleeve. Slowly, she went near him. The giant wolf was only within an arm's length. She extended her hand to feel him. He gave in and lowered his head, as she softly touched him. It felt warm and fuzzy.

As she touched him, she tried to read its mind, but she was immediately blocked. She smiled through her cracked lips and fresh blood trickled out. The wolf in front of her licked her wounds.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

He turned and ran inside the jungle, leaving Adrianna stunned.