The Wolf Pact: A Wolfwalkers Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty

    We ran out of the prison cells and out into the streets of Kilkenny. Battles raged all over town, and growls and shouts were all around us as we plunged into the thick of the fighting. I still had the guard's sword and fended off attackers as we fled through the town to the safety of the den. "Pull back!" Mebh shouted. "We've got him!" The wolves all stopped and ran to Mebh's side. Together, we fought off guards and slowly retreated out of the town. I glanced behind us and saw a squadron of guards coming from the back.

    "ROBYN!" I yelled through the chaos of the battle. "THERE'S MORE BEHIND US!" She swiveled around and saw the guards. "Steer away! We have to move before we're too compressed!" The wolves backed through a side street and continued their retreat, the guards filing in behind the others to increase their numbers. Slowly but surely, we backed up to the gate. I risked a glance behind again. To my horror, the iron gate was slowly closing to seal us in! "We need to stop the gate!" I shouted to Mebh. We both ran with a couple of wolves to attack the guards who were frantically trying to lower the gate before we got there. With ferocity, Mebh launched herself at the guards and tackled one. The wolves surrounded the others, and they all fled off into the town.

    With the gate secure, we tugged at the chains to raise the iron gate. Pulling with all my might, I saw the battle was working. We were holding off the guards and pulling back towards the safety of the forest and the den. Once we were there, we could regroup and strategize about what to do. Suddenly, I heard a gunshot and saw the iron gate spark. The Lord Protector had arrived, with a lot more guards and two flintlocks, one of which was smoking. "Don't let them escape, especially the prisoner!" The guards redoubled their efforts to break our front line, slashing with swords and doing their best to dodge wolf bites. If one guard went down, two others took his place. We were so close! We just needed to get the last few lines of wolves out through the gate, and then we could flee to the forest. I saw the Lord Protector aim his flintlock right at my head. But to my surprise, he changed targets. Then, I saw who the target was. "DOWN!" I yelled. I rushed over to Mebh and tackled her to the ground just as the Lord Protector fired. PTANG! The bullet sparked off the iron wheel that was turning the gate. I rolled off Mebh and helped her up. "Hey," I questioned. "Where's Moll and Bill?"

    "They're strategizing what to do about the human presence back at the den! They told us to free you for your insight!" Mebh shouted over the fighting. I nodded. I knew quite a bit about the feelings the townspeople had towards the Lord Protector, and they weren't good.

    "I have an idea!" I shouted to Mebh. "I'll talk about it at the den! For now, let's just get out of here alive, shall we?" It was Mebh's turn to nod. 

    "Wolves! To the den!" She shouted. The wolves broke the line and fled to the trees. I sprinted alongside Robyn as we ran through the burned-down part of the forest. "Robyn!" I panted. "Thanks for getting me out of there!"

    "No problem," she replied. "Anything for our friend." Her words warmed my heart, and I smiled.

    After about an hour of running, we took a break. I slumped down by a tree, sweating and panting. "Townie!" Mebh called. 

    "Over here!" I replied and waved my hand. The redhead came over and sat next to me. 

    "I just wanted to say, thanks for saving me. Ye hardly even knew me, and yet you saved me from that bullet." Mebh said.

    "Hey, you saved me first. I'm just returning the favor." I joked.

    Mebh smiled, then got up. "OK! Break's over! We're about halfway to the den, so let's keep moving!"

    I groaned. "Already?" I complained. "You may have the endurance of a wolf, but I sure don't."

    Mebh grinned. "Well then, try to keep up." And she sprinted off into the trees. I groaned again and got up.

    Robyn came over. "Well then, you ready?"

    "Not even close."

    She laughed. "C'mon, I've thought of stuff to talk about on the way there."

    "Oh, good. I can die of exhaustion with a smile on my face." I joked. We ran off to follow the pack to the den, finally free of the Lord Protector. The question was, what were we going to do about him?