Chapter 57: It Got More Intense

There was a blur of midnight scales and navy-blue fur clashing.

Blair recognized the specific species of Rain’s snake form instantly. It was a notoriously venomous breed. In the regular animal kingdom, a single bite could only possibly kill a human. Blair was certain that a bite from a beastwoman of that species would be instant death.

She had no idea what that kind of venom would do to a beastman, and she didn’t want to find out.

Daemus was doing a surprisingly good job dodging the snapping jaws. Rain struck like a whip, her large head darting forward with great force, but Daemus used his raw agility to weave around her. His paws scrambled for traction, stepping just out of reach as her jaws slammed shut on empty air mere inches from his muzzle. Every close call made Blair’s heart skip a beat and her breath hitch in her throat.

This is ridiculous, Blair thought, her hands gripping the rough bark of the oak tree. Beastmen and their stupid, stupid pride.

The fight was quickly becoming a brutal, bloody mess on both sides. Daemus found an opening, launching his frame forward and swiping his paws. His claws sank into Rain, tearing deep, bleeding gashes along her black scales. Rain hissed, her body twisting to retaliate. She snapped at him as he tried to retreat, her sharp teeth catching his fur and leaving several nasty, tearing bites along his flanks. Blood spattered across the grass.

Blair considered running off to get help. But who would she even get? Which of these elitist, terrifying beastly teachers would even spare a single glance at a human, much less listen to what she had to say?

Blair stifled a terrified squeal.

Rain had just reared back, lunging and feinting hard to the left. Daemus shifted his weight to dodge the strike, but it was a trap. The snake immediately snapped her head back to the right, successfully nipping Daemus in the shoulder with one of her dripping fangs.

The wolf staggered backward, a sudden sluggishness overtaking his limbs as he grew disoriented. Rain didn’t give him a second to recover. She whipped her body around, using her thick coils to sweep him off his paws and throw him through the air, slamming him against the very tree Blair was hiding behind.

Blair screamed, throwing her arms up to cover her face as the trunk shuddered and leaves rained down around her.

Daemus hit the grass with a heavy thud. He whimpered, his paws scrabbling against the dirt as he struggled to get back up, but his limbs buckled. Ultimately, he couldn’t rise.

Rain slithered forward, closing in for the finishing blow. She reared up high into the air, her jaws opening wide. Her fangs were fully extended, glistening with thick drops of green venom.

Suddenly, it all seemed to happen in slow motion.

The air around Blair grew still. The terrifying hisses and snarls of the fight faded away into silence. The only sound left in the entire world was the deafening, frantic thump-thump of her own heartbeat echoing in her ears like a beat of impending doom.

Blair’s wide eyes darted from the towering snake down to the struggling, helpless wolf on the ground.

Her feet moved faster than her brain could ever hope to keep up with.

She sprinted around the trunk, turning her back to Rain, and threw her arms open wide in front of Daemus just in time.

Instead of sinking into the wolf, Rain’s fangs plunged straight into Blair’s back. They drove deep into her flesh, sinking all the way to the hilt of the snake’s mouth.

The impact knocked the breath out of Blair’s lungs. Blood pooled instantly in her mouth, dripping past her lips and falling onto Daemus’s dark fur. Tears spilled hot and fast down her cheeks.

She looked down into Daemus’s wide, silver eyes.

"Thank you...for everything," Blair whispered quietly, a small smile touching her blood-stained lips. "I’m happy I got to save you for once."

Above her, Rain realized what she had just done.

The snake panicked. Rain rose to her full, towering height, twisting and thrashing her head wildly in the air to try and get the human off her fangs, but Blair wouldn’t come off.

Below them, Daemus forced his body to shift back. He hit the grass, violently coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Blair!" Daemus called out, forcing himself up onto his shaky, failing legs. Fear and panic strained his deep voice.

Rain thrashed her head some more.

Blair finally flew off the fangs. She spiraled limply through the air like a ragdoll, crashing hard into a thick patch of bushes. She rolled across the dirt until she ultimately came to a stop, hitting her head against a rock.

Rain instantly shifted back and raced frantically toward the direction Blair had landed.

"Come!" Rain ordered her pet over her shoulder.

Daemus tried desperately to follow them. He took one step, but his limbs felt incredibly heavy. He could barely even open his mouth to form her name. Still, when his feet could no longer trudge forward, he dropped to his hands and knees and stubbornly crawled after them.

Rain didn’t care at all about her nakedness. She paced in frantic circles around Blair’s lifeless, bruised, and bleeding body.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Rain chanted, her hands flying up to pull at her hair.

What had she done? Killian was going to kill her. He was going to kill her for sure.

Rain pulled manically at her own scalp until her fingernails drew blood. "He can’t find out," she muttered, her green eyes wide and bloodshot with terror. "He won’t find out."

Her frantic mind hatched a plan. She would hide the body. Blair Willows would just be another unfortunate human that went missing at the academy.

"The wolf prince," Rain gasped, a manic smile touching her lips. "I’ll blame it on him. He lost control and fucked her too roughly. Yes. I’ll tell Killian myself."

She looked down at the bleeding girl. But first, they had to get out of here.

Rain sneered in disgust. She was never going to let her skin come into contact with a filthy lesser. It was already bad enough that her fangs had tasted human blood. It was disgusting.

"Pick her up," Rain ordered her human pet.

The naked male hurried forward, the chain rattling against his neck. He knelt down, straining his skinny, bruised arms as he tried to lift Blair’s limp body from the dirt. His limbs trembled violently under the weight.

"Mistress," the pet whispered, his voice shaking. "She... she is still alive."

Rain’s head snapped toward him, her green eyes flashing with fury. "Who gave you permission to speak?!"

The pet flinched, immediately clamping his mouth shut and lowering his head, terrified of being punished.

"Come along," Rain said coldly.

With her pet dragging Blair’s body behind her, Rain started for the darkest part of the woods.