Accepting the darkness

Prelude

"Rayan," a gentle voice carried across the room, finding uncaring ears. "Please," Kate sighed. "It is not what you think. I was not there to see anyone."  Her smile retreated for only a second. "I went to see my mother," her eyes sparkled, "to tell her the news."  She paused, running her hand along her side before stepping closer to the thick wooden table. A slow distant look came over her eyes recalling the violent stomach she had been nursing. "I have not felt well so I went to see the healer this morning." Kate glanced over her shoulder to the man who was now pacing several feet away. "She gave me wonderful news, and while I was in town, I stopped to see mom."

Pouring a glass of mead, she held it to her chest surveying the table. The clutter that had once lined the edges had been cleaned up and three plates had been set in prep for the dinner and news to come. Catching the center vase which now held freshly picked Gerber Daisies; she leaned forward to remove a yellow one. Happy with the setting, she spun on her heel coming chest to chest with her husband-- offering him the mead and the flower.

"You are lying to me!"  He protested, knocking away her hand that held the daisy. "I know you went to see my brother."  He added sniffing the air and trying to find his scent as if to prove a point. "I was watching the store and he left just moments after you did."

"For the last time, I have great news to share with you."  She protested. “Now will you simmer down and let me speak?”

“What could you tell me? Nothing! Nothing you say will convince me you are nothing more than a liar."  His hand went to the side of her head, gripping a few strands of hair as he pressed against her. "You will pay for seeing my brother and betraying me."  His grip tightened on her shoulders.

"By Gaia, would you please listen to me?"  She said in a forceful voice. Leaning her head to his shoulder, she drew a deep breath. "I'm--"

"--I know what I saw today."  He interrupted releasing her shoulder long enough to trust his hand forward, sending the dagger into her side and up at an angle.

"Pregnant."  The woman fell to her knees still looking up at her husband. The look of shock spread to fear as her blood-laced hands came into view.

"Pregnant," he said with a look of confusion. "What," he whispered, dropping with his wife to his knees. His mind cleared from the black rage he had been under. For the first time in a week, Rayan’s mind was clear. The horror of what he had set in. "No! Kate,” he pleaded. His hand hovered over the wound. “You can't,” his gruff tone settling to panic. “Die.”

"Why," she mumbled. It was clear she didn’t understand why he had stabbed her.  Her eyes fluttered as her body went limp.

Rayan gently kissed her forehead before taking her lifeless body into his arms. "What have I done?"  he whispered slowly, placing the body on the bed. Time seemed to slow down around him. The cabin twisted and contorted as though reality was rejecting her death. Darkness invaded his vision, and it was only at that moment did it sink in what he had truly done. He had killed the one person who could have saved him from this madness, this encroaching darkness, this deceitful rage.

Moving away from the bed as though denying what he was seeing, his hand gripped the handle of the door, though it faded into a silhouette and became obscure in his mind. He settled his weight from left to right before rapidly shifting into his battle form. His face elongated, and his fingers mutated into talons as his body stretched to nearly twelve feet in height.

Ripping the door from its hinge, he released a sorrow-filled howl, which carried on the evening air. A flock of birds took to the sky and animals scurried into their shelters. Wolfin, surrounding his home, looked to the night sky before responding at record speed. The howl was so deep and loud it called to the entire pack no matter the distance.

Rayan was still on his knees when his brother approached. He stood slowly, having shifted back to his human form. "You were right."  His tone was cold and vacant.