Chapter 22 ~ Soulmates Part 2
It's around seven in the morning when Iris finally emerges from the woods. She'd spent hours talking and getting to know Penelope and Selene. Duarte is back in the necklace in case someone was outside, which is very likely since daylight has made it's way into the sky.
As soon as she's on the grass leading back to the house, she spots Kanan, who is looking around aimlessly. He looks worried, and as Iris draws closer, his head snaps to her and she notices how tired he looks.
"Damn it, Iris. You scared me! Where were you?" He asks, immediately bringing her into his arms. He hugs her close to his chest and she hugs him back, slightly confused. It's seven in the morning. She'd only been gone for a few hours, most of which Kanan had probably been asleep.
"Relax, Kanan. I just went for a walk," she lies. He lets her go, giving her a quick once over to make sure she isn't hurt, before he looks back into her eyes.
"You can't just go for a walk in there! You could get hurt!" He yells, now seeming angry with her. She takes a step back, confused and slightly startled by his sudden change in behaviour.
Just as she's about to tell him off for yelling at her for no reason, both of their attentions are captured by a man approaching them. As the man gets closer, Iris realises that it's Mr Kingsley. His strides are even and fast, his eyes zeroed in on her as he approaches.
"Iris, I need to talk to you," he says, coming to a stop in front of her. Kanan looks confused, watching the other man place his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder to steer her away from him. She doesn't move though, just as confused as Kanan.
"About what?" She asks. Mr Kingsley glances at Kanan, and then back at her. Instead of trying to explain why he can't talk in front of her boyfriend, he takes her hand in his and tries to lead her away.
The sparks that shoot up Iris' arm is overwhelming and Mr Kingsley lets go of her hand like it's on fire. Iris frowns, confused, as Mr Kingsley's eyes widen dramatically.
"No," he mutters.
Kanan watches the two of them stand there, staring at each other. Suddenly, it hits him and he catches on to what just went down between the two of them. His fists clench as a sudden fit of rage hits him.
"No! You can't just come waltzing in here and take her away from me! Do you know how hard I worked to get her attention?! You don't deserve her!" He yells, furious. He feels his body convulse violently as he begins to shift.
Iris yelps as the horrifying sight in front of her unfolds. Kanan drops to the ground, his clothes ripping as his body becomes scarily deformed. Terrified, she clasps a hand over her eyes. Still, the sound of bones snapping and moving fills the air. It's a sickening sound and Iris has to do everything in her power to prevent herself from bending over and throwing up on the grass.
She removes her hand from her face as soon as the sounds stop. A dark grey wolf, three or four inches smaller than Selene, stands in Kanan's place. The creature snarls at both her and Mr Kingsley, letting out a vicious growl.
Before Iris can move a muscle, the wolf pounces. She's not sure if he's aiming at Mr Kingsley or at her, but they're standing close enough to make it both. She screams, fear gripping her heart.
In a flash, the wolf is gone. Confused, Iris looks around, only for her eyes to land on Duarte pinning the wolf to the ground a few feet away. The wolf, much smaller than Duarte, desperately tries to nip the larger creature's legs, but it's no use. Duarte growls down at it with so much menace that even Iris can feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Another snapping of bones sounds next to her. Iris looks to her side, just to catch the last bit of the shift. Suddenly, Mr Kingsley is gone and in his place is a jet black wolf. This one is actually as large as Selene, and that's quite terrifying, because it launches itself at Duarte.
The red wolf sees it coming and jumps out of the way, the black wolf missing him by a millimeter. Iris holds her breath, her heart racing. She fears for her companion's life, and the lives of the other two wolves.
Duarte charges at the black wolf, tackling it to the ground. The grey wolf doesn't make a move this time, just licking his wounds as he watches the two beasts struggle. Just when Duarte has the black wolf pinned down and is ready to bite into it's neck and end it's life, Iris bursts into action.
"Stop! Don't hurt each other!" She yells, running closer. The three creature look at her, their fight forgotten. She is the thing they're fighting over, after all.
"Duarte, don't hurt it. Come on, just step away," she says when she reaches them. She tugs at the red wolf's leg, hoping he will listen and come with her. He stares at her for a moment, surprised.
"Iris, move. You were in danger. I need to eliminate the threat," he says, turning back to the black wolf with steely determination. Iris doesn't move, though. She clings to his leg, trying desperately to come up with domething that will make him listen to her.
"Please, Duarte," she pleads, "They're not a threat. I'm sure as soon as you step away, they'll run off and we can go find Kanan and Xavier together. Come on, just listen to me. No one needs to get hurt here."
Still, he doesn't listen. He doesn't even look at her. She feels panic start to rise in her chest. She suddenly remembers something Selene told her earlier. She said Duarte was the fighter and she was the peacemaker. She also told her that she hated seeing him hurt other beings, but she knows that it's in his nature. He was born to kill.
"Duarte, is this what Selene would have wanted? Don't you think she'd want you to give these wolves a chance to run? Come on, let's just step away and let them go," Iris tries the last feeble attempt she can make to get him to relent.
To her surprise, that seems to snap him out of his bloodthirsty rage. He looks back up at Iris, his bright blue eyes searching her face for any hint that she might be lying. He realises that his soulmate wouldn't, in fact, like what he was about to do to these wolves.
Slowly and carefully, he removes himself from the black wolf. Both Iris and the wolves seem to be surprised by the action. Duarte moves away quickly when he isn't pinning the wolf down anymore, dragging Iris with him.
She stumbles a little, but clings gratefully to the big red beast's fur. The two of them watch the black wolf rise slowly. It looks Iris straight in the eye, letting out a low whine, before he looks up at Duarte.
They exchange a look. The meaning behind it is lost on Iris, but they seem to understand each other. With one last glance in her direction, the wolf turns around and runs away, disappearing into the trees with a few quick bounds.
The two of them then turn their attentions to the other wolf. It's still sitting there, stunned. When it realises they're looking at it, it stands, shaking it's fur out.
The sound of cracking bones suddenly fills the air again, but this time Iris doesn't look away. As horrifying as the sound may be, she's curious. She's heard it twice now and each time a wolf appeared.
A moment later, the wolf is gone. In it's place is a stark naked Kanan, his body covered in healing scratch marks. Iris' eyes widen, not because she just saw a wolf turn into her boyfriend, but because he's naked.
Quickly, she slaps a hand over her eyes, horrified by the sight.
"Come here," Kanan says gently. Iris quickly shakes her head, moving closer to Duarte.
"What the f*ck just happened?! And why are you naked?" She squeaks. Kanan sighs dramatically.
"Iris, I think we should talk. Let's go inside and I'll tell you everything, I promise."
*ð*