The Rouges of Coldwood(Rare Breeds #1)

Chapter 27-Fight Like a Mother

Tank-a heavy armored fighting vehicle carrying guns and moving on a continuous articulated metal track

I've been to many small towns over my years as a bounty hunter. Some quaint and beautiful, others barren of life. But this one, this one takes the cake, and not just because there was a small army of gnomes fixing up a tank as we parked outside the town hall. No, it was the twenty or so women, led by Madame Rossetti of all people, gathered in a circle around a slowly growing cloud of snow, ice, and sleet raining down onto the paved street below.

Everywhere I looked, there were supernaturals of all races swarming through buildings and streets. Some herding kids and the elderly into cars made ready to leave, others putting up barricades on the north facing streets and setting up machine guns from the three story windows of the town hall. If not currently being prepared for what looked to be Armageddon, the town would appear as if out of a postcard. Western style brick, mortar, and timber construction, even the rare hitching post and the cliche tumbleweed blowing down the cracked pavement.

As we began piling out of the truck, I noticed the small hurried groups of gun carrying residents hurrying up fire escapes and ladders. Positioning themselves on the few flat built roofs, and hauled up in teams of three, constructing crude grenade launchers and tripod machine guns. Aunt Carol orders us to ready ourselves, pulling on a bullet proof vest before taking off towards the circle of witches being guarded by half a dozen armed male wolves. Solarin, Nichole, and Terrence tagging along behind her loping gait. One of the wolves, a tall blond with a face full of scars, directing clouds of pixies buzzing to and fro. Below them, a dozen or more fae laying down rows of brooms, rifles, and belts of grenades.

"All right you louts," Serena barks, forcing our motley group of three pups, a hybrid, and two males to turn our attention to the two large duffel bags dangling from her fingers. "The one in my right is for the kids, the other is for us four."

My mate tosses the duffel bag to Nick and the twins, the girls' silver mussels quickly finding camo suits and boots that they quickly grab and then run off back into the keep with. Their brother takes his time, laying out three tactical vests, three tasers, a pile of rope, two dozen silver knives, duck tape, razor wire, smoke bombs, and a goddess awful amount of dynamite. The second duffel yielded four other vests, a variety of pistols and rifles, packs of bullets, four dozen knives, grenades, brass knuckles, and a heavy duty bat that Serena promptly grabs along with a vest and weaponry.

We outfit ourselves silently, tucking away knives, loading guns, and for me, watching the twins prowl out in their cargo jumpers as Nick begins cutting up bits of dynamite and wrapping it up with duck tape and razor wire. The girls help him without a word, tucking away their own weapons and pulling on the vests that look as if they might drown in them. Once we've all finished readying ourselves, and Nick piling in whatever hellish creation he crafted from the little he was given, we head on over to where Aunt Carol and the tall blond stand talking in harsh clipped tones.

"Are you sure help is coming?" the male utters, gravely voice reaching my ears as we come up behind them. "I sent a few of the witches to scout up north, and it does not look good."

"What doesn't?" the twins chime in, forcing the male, of who I could only assume to be Alpha Micheal, to do a double take of our motley group. His dark blue eyes widening a little bit more when my four uncles appear on our left.

Alpha Micheal swallows, swerving his head back to Carol and Solarin with uneasy focus. "I've been told that we have at least five hundred wolves, and perhaps half a dozen warlocks less than five miles away from Bevel Rose."

"Fucking shit," I curse, running a my hand unconsciously through my hair and over the coarse beard growing on my cheeks. "And how many fighters do we have here?"