My Most Precious Human

The monster standing right before me lowered its massive jaw, exposing its blade-like teeth. My ten-inch knife was still stuck in its chest, but it didn't seem to weaken it at all. Its breath felt burning hot against my face as it tried to sink its teeth into my flesh. I ducked and pulled out my knife, cutting the monster wide open.

It let out an awful howl, making my ears ring. I jumped to the side, dodging the sharp claws trying to reach me. That creature was fast, and its movements were more agile than those of an average wolf. Risking getting into the range of its claws, I swung my knife across its stomach and then leaned back, avoiding the hit, but my moves weren't swift enough. Four of its claws pierced my flesh right below my ribs I screamed in pain and raised my head to meet the pair of monster's vicious eyes. I could have sworn that it seemed to be enjoying my suffering. Its jaws were getting closer, preparing to tear my skin, flesh, and insides apart. It was the only chance I had. I pushed my knife all the way up from the softer bottom of its chin, deep enough to reach its brain. The creature jerked its head up in a violent move, letting out a harrowing, hoarse roar while spitting blood. I used that moment to push myself against the claws that were still penetrating the side of my stomach. I freed myself with a painful gasp, observing the monster squirm in agony. My knife was still stuck in his head. I needed to finish it now!

I pushed through the pain, allowing a furious growl to escape my throat. I stepped onto the monster's slightly bended knee, climbing high enough to reach for my knife. Dodging its claws with one rush move, I grabbed the knife's handle and put all the strength I had to cut through its throat and jaw. I jumped back, panting and trembling. The monster collapsed onto its knees. Covered in its blood, I clenched my teeth and swung my knife again. I cut its head off.

As I struggled to take another shaky breath, I stood staring at the monster's headless body, still alarmed and uncertain if the fight was truly over.

"Lilith!" lan's restless voice pulled me out of my daze.

I turned my head towards the sound. He was running my way from the side of the second house. He was alone. As he got closer, I noticed that he was covered in blood like me. He was barefoot and shirtless. All he wore was a pair of sweatpants. I guessed that he had to shift into his wolf form, and ripped the rest of his clothes while turning. I was still holding the bloodied knife in my hand, trying to sense if more creatures were lurking around to attack us. I didn't detect any, yet I refused to let my guard down.

"Where is the rest of us?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"Dead." lan gritted his teeth. "We fought against three of those monsters... I barely survived."

"Three..." I muttered under my breath.

I felt confident standing against a werewolf or a vampire but seeing the monster I had just faced filled my heart with fear, which reminded me of the time before my alpha genes activated. "What about the humans?" I voiced another pointless question.

lan shook his head. "No survivors."

I nodded, closing my eyes with a painful acknowledgment. Not only didn't we save anyone, but we also lost three of our fighters. I felt as if it was my fault. I should have known that this rescue mission had little chance of success. I should have calculated better, but I wanted to save human lives. I knew how defenseless they were against the horrifying power of those hybrids. The fact that I couldn't help them increased the anger within me. I hated this frustration and helplessness.

"Let's get out of here." lan patted my shoulder. "Those fuckers might still be around here somewhere."

With a brief nod, I turned around and started heading back to our van, but after taking a few steps, I felt it again... The malevolence spread across the air, more intense than before. I stopped and closed my eyes. I heard hurried, rustling sounds coming from all around us. At least six of them were moving toward us.

"Run!" I snatched lan's hand and dashed to the van.

We weren't fast enough. One of the hybrids jumped on the hood of the car, blocking our way. Two others appeared behind us, and more were coming from two other sides. We were surrounded.

lan pushed his pants down and turned into a wolf. I held my knife tight in my hand, preparing myself for the monsters' attack. My heart beat erratically, wildly pumping my blood to boost my muscles' strength. My senses sharpened beyond limits, registering the enemy's slightest move.

Those creatures used no tactics: they all stormed at once. Ian and I fought for our survival with everything we had. Since my kicks and punches had little effect on them, I cut and stabbed them as much as I could. I tried to injure them as much as possible, but there were too many of them against the two of us. Suddenly, lan and I got separated, as I was forced to move back while he had been chased to the other side of the clearing. Once I lost sight of him, I hoped he would stay alive and kill any of those creatures. I was facing four of them alone, and it was unlikely that I would survive long without him to help me. A few minutes later, I was still left with three opponents and multiple stab wounds on my body that weren't healing fast enough.

At one moment, I thought I heard a car's engine. Could it be that someone came to help us? I prayed so because the blood loss had already made me feel dizzy. I ran to the side of the forest and climbed a tree, just to even my height with one of those monsters. As it came closer, I jumped down with my knife, penetrating its flesh deep with a long cut starting from his throat down its chest. As my feet touched the ground, I stumbled from exhaustion, and even then I had to jump aside to dodge sharp claws and teeth. Still, I roared, fueling my muscles with miraculous power to cut off another monster's head.

It was my limit. I desperately needed a break. My wounds stopped healing, and the pain drained my body even more than in the moments of a fight. My fighting stance became weak, yet I refused to let those hybrids win. I grabbed my knife tightly, ready to receive another attack. My muscles tensed, watching the beast before me open his large jaws.

Suddenly, I heard a vicious groan coming from the creature's back. A heartbeat later, the monster was slashed in two from head to toe. I gasped. As the two pieces of the corpse fell to the ground, I saw Sariel with his claws bloodied from the cut. I exhaled and fell onto my knees. As the soldiers that came with Sariel rushed to finish off the one still breathing hybrid, the Vampire King ran to pull me into his arms.

"Are you an idiot, my love?" he growled angrily, then pressed a quick kiss on my forehead. "Why the fuck did you come alone?!"

I slowly put my arms around him and muttered, "I didn't. I came with four wolves."

"You took four weaklings," he hissed.

"Ian...?" I mumbled, restlessly leaning out of Sariel's embrace to search for him.

Sariel cursed under his breath and lifted me in his arms. I didn't object. "That mutt is alive." Sariel jerked his chino pointing in the directiond had lost sight of lan before.

I sighed in relief and leaned my head against Sariel's chest. "Thank you for coming to my rescue... again," I chuckled weakly.

"Don't you dare go anywhere without letting me know, and without taking anyone from the Royal Army with you," he said harshly while carrying me towards the car.

"I wanted to save humans living here..." I muttered.

"Well, did you?" he sneered.

"Stop it," I snapped, "I get it, ok? I did something reckless, but there was no time to think-"

"There's always time to think, Lilith." He exhaled in a rush and put my feet on the ground to open the car door. "You cannot save everyone." He cupped my face in his hands, locking his eyes on me.

"Was I supposed to leave those people without even trying to help?" I asked restlessly, leaning against the car.

"You could just save this task for the

Royal Army's soldiers. Going outside the safe border requires taking at least twenty or thirty of them. Do you have any idea how frightened I was coming here? I cannot even imagine what I would do if you..." he paused and hugged me tight instead of saying another word.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, listening to his anxiously beating heart. "I'll stay close to you next time."

"Or you can just stay somewhere safe," he argued, bending his head to kiss my hair.

With a faint chuckle, I said, "No, I'd rather fight hand in hand with the man I love."

He leaned back to look at me and narrowed his gaze. "You do realize how tough this fight is going to be, and how unprepared for this fight you were?" "Yes, I do." I nodded.

"You need more strength to defeat these hybrids," he said decisively.

"I disagree. I struggled because they have many sharp claws, and my knife is way too short." I glanced at him daringly.

"Seriously?" Sariel gave me a lopsided smile.

"I don't need more strength," I stated confidently, "Next time I'm bringing a katana sword."