You know what sucks most about the underworld? Fairies , fucking fairies ! Forget what you see on tv and in movies. Those little shits are actually vicious. Last week heretic HQ sent me out to Mayfair in London to break up a fairy fight. Lamp posts had been knocked over , huge slabs of pavement missing and magic flying everywhere. It wouldn’t of been so bad but the fae were having a full blown magic match in one of the busiest parts of London. Bloody fairy dust everywhere. Do you know how long it takes to wash fairy dust out of your hair ? Fucking weeks ! To make matters worse one of those evil little midgets even managed to bite me ! Tiny little gremlin teeth sunk into my arm and it still burns now a full week later. I may have accidentally clipped off the edge of his wing afterwards when loading him for transport.

So while I sit here in my Ford Focus in some shady part of west London tracking a rogue wolf I actually thank the gods that it’s not another fairy wrestling match. Movement in the alley to the left of my car catches my eye and I know the rogue is on the move. Unfortunately the alleyway is small so I’m going to have to hunt the target on foot. There are perks of being half wolf and half witch of course , I have an Arsenal of skills at my disposal. But nothing beats shifting and letting my wolf Nala take over the hunt. The sounds of bottled breaking and cans being crushed up ahead makes me pick up the pace and jump out of my car. It’s night time and freezing cold, the kind of cold where you can see your breath and feel the chill in your bones. Even still there’s way too many humans around for me to be able to shift. As I step towards the alley Nala stirs “let me shift , we can get this done quicker” she begs. “ no there’s too many humans , hang back and don’t be a distraction” I warn her. Although we communicate through inner mind dialogue it can be distracting and the last thing I need right now is a distraction. She growls but pulls back as I asked.

A growl comes from the alley followed by a blood curdling scream. “Fuck” I curse and dart forwards in to the alley. This rogue has been on a killing spree for the last 3 days. Human bodies stacking up, each has been mauled beyond recognition. I’m not letting him get away again , I can’t. I joined the heretics to protect humans and supernatural alike. Yet it seems no matter what I do , no matter how hard I try we are teetering on the edge of a war. The underworld hide from the humans out of fear of being hunted and executed. Yet there are some supernaturals who want this war. Want the humans to find out about us and try to exterminate as. This gives them a reason , an excuse for the bloodshed and murder of humans without fear of punishment. That’s why the heretics exist to keep the peace between supernaturals and humans so this war never takes place. We punish , we kill , we mind wipe. We keep the peace by any means necessary. The alley is dark. Barely touched by the streetlights and covered with litter. The smell of human waste is so strong to my heightened senses I have to resist the urge to throw up as I treck further down into the alley. Another scream rings out and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I lunge forwards , my eyes scanning the darkness trying to find the murderous fur ball. I can just make out the rogue up ahead. The alley comes to a dead end and I can see him crouched down. He’s snarling and biting at something. I glance down and focus to see that something is actually a human. “Son of a bitch” I spit at him anger humming through my veins that he had claimed another victim. The rogues head snaps up to look at me , a low growl echoing from him while he sizes me up. “Come on then “ I taunt “ come and get it you mangey mut!” He looks between me and the human at his feet who has moved or made a sound in awhile.

Fear courses through me as my eyes cautiously shift to the motionless human willing them to still be alive. That one moment of divided attention was all the rogue needed to decide to attack me. And his choice to attack me was all I needed to lure him away from his human buffet. He launches himself at me and must clear 6ft off the ground. My pulse spikes as adrenaline kicks in and my wolf reflexes have me rolling beneath him him as he lands hard and fast where I was just stood. Had I not of moved that could of been fatal. He turns and stalks forward. His snout snapping and growling at me as he starts to box me in at the end of the alley. Nala stirs again “let me take over!” She begs. “No!” I snap and go to push her to the back of my mind just as the wolf lunges again. I’m too distracted dealing with Nala that I don’t realise in time. I’m not quick enough to react and his jaws lock on my thigh.

His teeth grinding down further and further until I feel a tendon snap in my leg. I scream as he snaps his head back dragging me to the floor. For a moment I feel his bite loosen and disappear completely. I briefly wonder if he’s escaped before his weight is on my chest pinning me to the ground and removing any chance of me getting away. He’s going for my throat biting and clawing any flesh he can reach. There’s something wrong here , something is seriously wrong. He’s too strong , too tactical. I can’t move him or flip him off me. I’m one of the strongest on the team and I’m pinned by a rogue who should genetically be weaker than me. I feel my magic humming and itching my skin ready to be released. I have no choice. Kill or be killed. I jam my hand into his soft underside left exposed as his jaw clamps down on my collarbone. The pain is blinding as his teeth tears through my skin and my blood pours out around me. My palms burn against is underside as my vision starts to go black. Oh god he’s actually killing me! I’m losing too much blood and healing in human form is slower than wolf form.

If I don’t do something now I will die. I send one last surge of power into him before the world goes black. I can’t see or hear anything. But I can feel. Feel the wind on my skin , feel my power swirling inside of me and Nala’s fear that we might be dying. After awhile I’m able to open my eyes and my sight and hearing rushes back. I’m confused for a moment and my body is weak. There’s a heaviness on my chest restricting my breathing. Memories flood back and I remember where I am and the rogue I’ve been hunting. Panicked I glance down to find a dead man laying across my chest. Killing the rogue forces it to shift back to human form. I groan and struggle to roll him off me , my body had already started to heal thanks to my wolf but I would definitely be sore tomorrow. Once I’ve successfully rolled him off me and staggered to my feet I look down to get a better look at the rogue. Yep somethings definitely not right. There was more muscle than you would expect on the rogue. In fact the only obvious sign that he was a rogue was the distinctive smell. All rouges smell like compost that’s been left out in the sun. Rogues are normally scruffy and look unkept. Their wolfs fur matted and patchy, bodies usually covered in scars from fights with packs they’ve tried to invade. Yet all he had was the smell.

A whimper pulls me from my thoughts. I glance over to the human the rogue has attacked and see now it’s a young woman. Maybe mid twenties. Light blonde hair matted with blood. I stumble over and crouch down next to her and I’m amazed she’s still alive. Bite marks litter her body and in some places the skin has been ripped clean off exposing muscles and fatty tissue. From what remains of her clothes I would guess she had been on a night out at a local bar or club before falling prey to the piece of shit that now lays dead across from us. Where are her friends I wonder , doesn’t anyone realise she’s missing ? Did no one think they should escort her home or put her in a cab ? She can’t speak, a chunk of her throat missing leaving a big gapping hole of expose airways. She just makes whimpering noises as the tears fall from her swollen eyes. I press my hands to her chest willing the magic forwards to heal her. My palms tingle as the magic rushes forward yet nothing happens.

“She’s too close to death , there’s nothing we can do” Nala whispers. I knew she was right, knew this young woman had already endured more than anyone should have to. And yet I couldn’t leave her here dying , alone and in an empty alley scared and cold. I press my hand to her chest again , this time removing the pain instead of trying to heal her. “I can’t do much but I can at least make her more comfortable “ I tell Nala. I pull the young woman closes to me and cradle her head in my lap. I can see she is still scared but the pain is gone. “ shhh it’s ok , everything is going to be ok “ I lie. She looks up at me , her eyes going glassy and filled with tears. What’s left of her lips are going blue as she mouthes the words thank you. A tear runs down my cheek as I process she’s laying here dying and still thanks me. At least she isn’t afraid anymore. I hum quietly while she lays in my arms. She smiles up at me once then closes her eyes. She dies here in this dirty alley without any loved ones or people who know her. Covered in blood so deformed from what she once looked like. Her only company in her dying moments was me a complete stranger who lies to her and told her everything would be ok. “At least she wasn’t alone , she had us” Nala sighed her sadness rippling through our bond. My eyes blurry with tears I pull out my phone to arrange the heretic clean up crew to attend. I sit and stay with the humans body waiting for the crew to arrive.

I close my eyes for a moment and allow the sadness to take over. A hand clamps down on my shoulder and I look up to find the kind brown eyes of Leon peering down at me. “Nova , you can let go now. I’ll look after her from here” he whispers. I nod once and loosen my grip not realising I had been holding her so tightly. He bends and takes her from me and carried her over to the waiting van with ease. We aren’t meant to be emotional. We witness so much death , we even hand out death daily when there is no other choice. Yet it always takes a chunk of my soul when I see an innocent killed before their time. As I watch Leon cover her body and handle her with a lot more care than many of the other crew members would of. He understands , he feels the loss and the pain too. Leon puts on a front , a stone cold mask that barely anyone sees behind. But I know what’s behind the mask. I know he cares as much as I do. I look down at my shirt and realise not only is it ripped to shreds it’s also covered in blood. Mine , hers , it’s everywhere. Leon approaches me his hand goes to my cheek as he looks me over. “What happened ? This should of been an easy target for you so why do you look like you’ve just fought with a whole pack of rogues?” I gulp at his words knowing it’s true. I step closer to him and whisper in his ear so we don’t alert the rest of the crew “ there’s something wrong with him , he’s stronger than any rogue I’ve ever fought before” his eyes go wide as he glances down at the rogue that’s being picked up by our new crew member Tom. “Ok” Leon whispers “I’ll get a lab set up and we can run some tests on him”. “Ok thank you “ I mumble feeling my powers surge inside. I need to get away and find a safe space before my powers leak. I walk away from Leon without another word. The walk back to my car is painful and I know what’s coming next will wipe me out.

I pull my car up outside an empty field. Nothing around except trees and open space. “Perfect” I mutter slamming my car door. I’ve had to drive for over an hour to find a secluded space at this time of night. I walk out to the centre of the field and allow my emotions to take over. My power rises to the top , my skin burning as the rage takes over. Another life lost. A murder without meaning. A young woman taken well before her time. Was she a mum ? A daughter ? And aunt ? A girlfriend? Someone’s best friend or life line ? My eyes burn as I cry for the woman who’s family will never know the truth about why she will never return home. The more I cry the angrier I get. The angrier I get the more dangerous I become as my magic starts to break free. Gold and violet lights Start shooting into the night sky as my breathing gets heavy. Everything burns as I take a deep breath ready for the release. The air snaps and sizzles around me like it anticipates what’s to come. My body trembles as a scream leaks from my lips and the power explodes destroying everything in its path. Even the biggest of trees is ripped from the ground caught up in the hurricane of power. The ground beneath my feet is scorched and the fire travels further out still. Everything in its path reduces to dust and charcoal as my rage burns on. The inferno lasts for as long as I can stay conscious until the toll of the night and my emotions pulls me into nothingness.