
He had heard rumours about her, rumours that could either be dismissed with the wave of a paw, or could be taken seriously. It was hard to tell, really, but most of the gossip that floated around the Hall of Angels was nonsense, hollow words intended to stir emotions.
She had a thick coat of angry violet, apparently, and large, dark bat-like wings, far beyond the Angels’ feathered ones. Two small horns poked out from her skull, and she had a dark puff of fur that wrapped around her neck like a pompous scarf. Her tail was large and round, covered with sharp, ugly spikes obviously intended for more than show. She was bitter and vicious, more hate-filled than a wasp’s hive.
The cool night breeze wrapped around him as he perched on the balcony of the Hall, his wings half-extended, feathers ruffled slightly. His halo glowed dimly, the golden light barely illuminating the stone beneath his snowy paws. His heart sparked suddenly as he spotted two flashing yellow lights directly above him. Another breeze beat down on him – not a natural wind, the air pushed by the beating of wings.
He didn’t hear the ruffle of feathers.
It was not an Angel.
A fog sprung up, cloaking him within it. He began to choke, the deep gray mist veiling him from view. The rogue wolf appeared in front of him, and his breath was torn away from him in his fear.
It was her. By all means, her rumoured description was sugarcoated. Her lips were curled and her gnarled teeth were exposed, stained yellow by blood. Around her muscular front legs were bracelets of dead Angels’ halos. His chest heaved for air, and his eyes grew wider than they ever had before. She lunged for him, grasping his face easily, her wild, tangled claws digging deep into his fur and flesh. He let out a raspy screech, but she planted a passionate kiss on his lips and tore at his throat. She released him, watching him slump to the stone ground, watching his blood slowly flow out of his neck. She leaned forward and grasped his halo in her mouth and heaved backwards.
It was if she had literally ripped his heart out from his chest. He wailed silently and choked, blood pouring out from his ears and nose and throat. She slowly licked the blood from the halo and slid it onto her wrist, admiring how it shone in the starlight, then melted into a shadow.