The Final Battle (Living in a Pack Book Three)

Chapter Two: Gryphons

"What are you doing here?" The Gryphon growled, his beady eyes staring menacingly down at me. I raised my hands up in the air attempting to show we meant no harm.

"We aren't here to attack, we are simply hear to ask for your help." I said carefully. These guys didn't look like the type to piss off any further.

"Attack? No..." the Gryphon mused. "A couple of half grown shifters against an entire Gryphon tribe? You would last but mere seconds." The Gryphon straightened up. His face and eyes softening ever so slightly in the dim cave light. "I am Kalani, Chief of the Dark Peak Gryphon Tribe. Welcome to our home, what brings you so far from your pack, young shifters?"

"We've come to request your assistance." I bowed to the gryphon chief.

"Assistance? What could you possibly need from us? Are you shifters to deal to handle your own problems? You have the nerve to ask for assistance after breaking into our home?" The gryphon next to Kalani hissed. They were female, her golden feathered head blended perfectly with the golden lion fur on the rest of her body.

"Arella." Kalani growled at her. "You shall not speak so poorly to these young ones. We have not even heard their story."

"But sir, what about the skylight." Arella, the golden gryphon pressed. I stiffened slightly and waited to see how the gryphon chief would take Arella speaking out of turn twice in a row. I didn't know much about gryphons but so far they seemed pretty stricked. Kalani simply held her stare and spoke evenly.

"I understand your anger, but we will first hear what these children have to say, and as for the skylight, we needed a new one anyway." The gryphon spoke calmly, but there was still a slight edge in his voice, has if to warn against speaking up again. "Come small ones, we will discuss these matters elsewhere." Kalani turned and began leading us through the cave. I glanced around as we walked. Gryphons stared curiously from the shadows as we followed their chief through the caves. There were large holes in the cave walls, I didn't know if they were tunnels elsewhere or rooms for the gryphons to live in. It was like an entire village hidden under ground. I felt a wave of sadness hit me. Supernatural creatures have to hide from regular humans for fear of being wiped out. Although there were a lot of supernatural species out there humans still outnumbered us. I wondered to myself if that would ever change.

"We are going to have to go up there." Kalanis voice broke through my thoughts. He was pointing to a large opening metres above our heads.

"Um, how?" Sasha asked staring at the opening above.

"We fly." Kalani said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Suddenly without warning I felt cold talons wrap around my arms. My feet lifted off the ground and I shot upwards.

"Oh my god." I shrieked. It only took a second before I was placed gently on the ground inside the the opening. I looked around trying to get a handle on what had just happened. The cave was large, though not nearly as large as the main one. A huge table sat in the centre, clearly gryphon sized. Various stone carvings stood against the walls, and paintings hung from them. I examined them. The carvings were mostly if gryphons wearing armor and brandishing weapons. The paintings depicted ancient battles that must have happened long ago.

"This room was once used to discuss plans for war." Kalani spoke as he walked into the cave.

"War?" I asked curiously. Kalanis face darkened.

"Gryphons are an old race. When you find a race as old as this, you'll find that it's past is not as clean as you might hope." Kalani didn't meet my eyes as he spoke. I glanced at Dylas quickly, I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was. Would these gryphons want to fight? After their ancestors had fought so hard to bring peace to their race. "So, young shifters, what do you need out assistance for." Kalani asked, the darkness gone from his eyes. I swallowed hard.

"I'm afraid you aren't going to like this request very much." I started. "There is a war coming. No. A war has started. The finale battle looms ahead."

"I'm listening." Kalani whispered. There was an edge in his voice that wasn't there before.

"A woman named Scarlet, they alpha of the Dark Forest shifter pack is amassing an army. She means to over throw the supernatural council and then the world. We can't let that happen, so our pack is gathering reinforcements from all over the world to fight against her army. We had hoped you would join our cause." I explained. Kalani was quiet for a moment before he looked up at me. Eyes unreadable.

"I am old. Older then you can even comprehend. I was cursed with immortality. Yes, it is a curse. To watch those you care for die time after time. I was there all those years ago for the war my species fought in. The war that shook the earth as it raged. I vowed when that war ended to never fight again. To never put my species through that again. But when darkness comes clawing at my door I find I have no choice but to break that vow." Kalani growled darkly. I watched as he walked forward to a spot in the wall I hadn't noticed before. A large boulder rested up against the wall. We began to follow him and watched as he shoved the boulder out of the way revealing another cave inside. He stepped inside and beckoned us to follow. I quickly followed him into the cave and looked around. My jaw dropped in shock as I took in my surroundings. Weapons and armour filled the cave. Ancient and filled with dust from centuries of not being touched.

"Wow." I breathed quietly at the sight. Kalani walked forward to the centre of the cave where a large set of armour stood. I watched as he wiped a hand across the helmet, breaking a thick line through the dust that coated it.

"Its been a very long time since I've worn this armour. I had hoped to never wear it again, but when you live as long as I have, you learn that nothing lasts forever." He straightened and turned towards us. "We will help you young shifters. The gryphons will take up arms once again and fight. Maybe this time for a good cause, instead of a useless one." Kalani spoke and dipped his head to us. Maybe there is hope for us after all.