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| Damon |
The chase led Damon out through the back of the building and towards the battlefield. He didn't know if Kane was still inside or if he was attempting to flee his territory entirely, but Damon didn't plan to stop until he found him.
He watched as Sebastien used his wings to propel himself into the sky, and then the hound dived back down and crashed into one of Kane's retreating wolves. Everyone else stopped around Sebastien, so Damon did, too, letting the rest of their enemies get away.
"Where the fuck is Kane?!" Sebastien growled into the wolf's ear.
"Get off me!" the wolf yelled back while he tried breaking free, but the hound was clearly a lot stronger than he was.
Sebastien harshly stabbed the spike of his left wing carpel into the wolf's side. "Tell me where Kane is!"
The wolf shrieked painfully and writhed around beneath him. "He's going for the Amarok!"
Dread filled Damon's racing heart, shoving aside his anger and hatred. If that thing got out, it would kill hundreds—it might even kill everyone. And when he looked around at his new allies, it was written all over their faces that they knew the same thing.
Sebastien snarled frustratedly and stabbed both his carpel spikes into the wolf's neck, ending its life. Once he severed the head from the body, preventing the dead wolf from resurrecting as a hellhound, he turned to face Damon and the others. "We can't let him free that thing. Cyrus is leading the targets away, and Heir Zephyr's back in the building healing your comrades. We are going to have to deal with it until Cyrus or Heir Zephyr can join us."
Although everyone looked nervous, they nodded. And when Sebastien hurriedly led the way back towards the battlefield, they followed.
Damon thought as he ran. Wasn't that cadejo pit nearby? He remembered Julian talking about Kane leading undead into that place they found back when they were staying at the old Nosferatu Consulate ruin, so it couldn't be far from here.
He looked around, taking in what he could see of the forest and mountains in the distance through the frost-filled air. If they could lead the Amarok to that pit, the cadejo would surely devour it down to its bones.
"Sebastien," he said, looking down at the hound as he ran beside him in his Prime form. "I have an idea."
"Talk," the hound invited.
"There's a canyon filled with an entire fucking ocean of cadejo not far from here. If we lead the Amarok to it, then—"
"We dump it inside and let the corpses eat it. Good idea," Sebastien agreed. "Everyone, listen up," he called to the group,
While the hound shared the plan, Damon took a moment to focus on Jackson through their imprints. To his relief, he could feel Jackson's determination—he had the inimă, and he wasn't far behind.
But then dread filled him again. Jackson didn't know the plan.
"Jackson's coming," Damon told Sebastien.
"Good. We could use the inimă to help us guide that creature away from the battle."
Damon looked over his shoulder, hoping to see his mate running towards him, but savage snarls closed in around his group, and he had no choice but to focus ahead. A gathering of Kane's wolves broke off from the battle and collided with him and his allies, but with him and Sebastien, they made quick work of their enemies.
And then he heard Jackson's voice call his name.
The Alpha looked over his shoulder as he dropped the mangled corpse of the wolf he'd just mauled, and he set his eyes on his mate, who came running over a pile of rubble, his tawny-brown fur spotless of blood. Wilson came running over next, but there was someone with them that Damon didn't recognize. His protective instincts warned him that the ice-blue wolf might be a threat, but then Raphael rushed over the rubble behind them with his once-injured allies in tow, now fully healed and moving as if they hadn't just had their paws ensnared in silver bear traps.
Damon ensured Kane's wolves were dead; Sebastien and the others were recovering, watching as their orange-furred ally raced towards them.
With a relieved sigh, Damon wrapped his huge arms around his mate the moment he reached and pounced up to hug him. "Are you okay?" he murmured worriedly into Jackson's fur, nuzzling his neck.
"I'm fine," he replied and pulled free. He dropped down onto all fours and gestured at the strange-looking ice-blue wolf beside him. "This is Lumi. We found her locked up in some dungeon."
Lumi gawped up at Damon. "Greyson," she drawled, awed.
Damon frowned. "No...Greyblood."
She adorned a confused expression and shifted her gaze to Jackson.
"This is Damon," Jackson told her. "I don't know where Cyrus is."
"You got the inimă?" Sebastien asked, appearing beside Damon.
Jackson nodded in response. "I grabbed your mirror and radio, too."
"Thanks." Sebastien then rushed to Raphael's side and told him the plan to lure the Amarok to the cadejo pit.
"You lead beast away?" Lumi questioned fearfully. "Too strong."
Before Jackson could reply, though, Raphael started barking orders. "Rianna, I want you to take your group and this civilian and head back to the woods to meet up with Alpha Cyrus. Damon, Jackson, and Wilson, you three are coming with Sebastien and me to lure the Amarok to the pit."
But Damon felt hesitant. He didn't want Jackson near that creature. He wanted to tell his mate to leave with Rianna; however, he knew that they needed the inimă to help them fight the monster in the arena. He scowled in confliction and watched as Rianna left with Lumi and the other wolves, but he was going to have to try and fight his protective instincts.
"Keep up and listen," Raphael said as he started hurriedly leading the way towards the arena. "Amaroks listen to no one. They're controlled by their bloodlust, and all they want to do is kill. To get its attention if we don't already have it, we have to piss it off. It'll target the strongest of us or the one it deems the biggest threat. Whoever the Amarok locks onto, it's your job to lead that thing towards the pit. The rest of us will stay close by, and if the Amarok shifts its attention elsewhere, we all work together to ensure it focuses on one of us again." He looked back at Damon. "How far is the pit?"
The Alpha glanced at the trees again. "From here, roughly five klicks east."
Raphael nodded. "Every kilometre, we switch out so that we each get a break from running for our lives. Once we reach the pit, we work together to overpower it and push it in. Understand?"
They all nodded.
Wilson, however, glanced at everyone as he said, "I dunno about you guys, but that thing was faster than anything I've seen. How the hell are we supposed to lead it away if we can't run faster than it?"
"We can injure its legs," Sebastien suggested.
"Jackson, can you use the inimă to break something in one of the Amarok's legs if we keep it distracted?" Raphael asked.
Before Jackson could speak, though, Damon snarled defensively, following Raphael down the passage which led into the arena. "I'm not going to let you make him risk his life like that. I'll do it."
"No offence, big guy, but we need a lot more force than what you're capable of creating," the orange wolf replied.
"It's fine," Jackson assured Damon. "I can do it." But he sounded nervous.
"No," the Alpha refused. "I—"
"Look, we've all been tasked with keeping Jackson alive," Raphael interjected with an irritated tone. "I wouldn't make him do something that would put his life at risk. So long as we do our job—which, trust me, Sebastien and I can do without you two—Jackson will be fine."
Damon scowled at the orange wolf as he followed him down the side of the arena. But he didn't have time to hate him or wonder why he was such an asshole. Kane was up in the observing area of the arena, and he was tugging on a large lever above the place in the wall that opened to release the Amarok.
And the wall was lifting.
"H-he's opening the cage!" Jackson exclaimed worriedly.
"If the thing isn't out yet, maybe we can keep it contained," Raphael said to Sebastien.
Sebastien burst into action. The hound propelled himself up with his wings and raced towards Kane, and Raphael picked up the pace, hurrying down the path with Damon, Jackson, and Wilson.
Damon watched the hound crash into Kane and pull him away from the lever, but he'd managed to open the wall a few feet, and the creature inside was roaring and howling, and the loud crashes that came from inside suggested that the beast was trying to force it open the rest of the way.
But Kane was somehow stronger than a demon hound. Sebastien yelped painfully, and the black wolf threw him into the arena. His body hit the floor, and before Raphael could reach him—sprinting ahead of the others—Kane gripped the lever and pulled.
A deafening roar filled the air. Damon came to a halt and grabbed Jackson. Wilson stopped, too, and Raphael quickly grabbed Sebastien's wing with his teeth and dragged him back towards them.
Damon watched as the huge, monstrous Amarok emerged from its gloomy cage. It prowled on all fours out into the arena, and when he stood up on its hind legs to stretch its gargantuan body, it yawned savagely.
And then Damon shifted his sights to Kane. The black wolf observed from above with a smug grin on his face, and when the Amarok dropped to all fours, Kane turned tail and ran. Fucking coward.
"Uh...okay," Wilson drawled nervously. "We're really doing this?"
"Stay behind me," Damon told Jackson.
"You good?" Raphael asked Sebastien as he helped him to his feet.
The hound grunted and nodded.
"You know the plan," the orange wolf said, glancing at Damon, Jackson, and Wilson.
They all nodded.
Damon watched the Amarok eye them all up, scanning each of them to determine who might be the biggest threat. Damon didn't want to let Jackson move from his side; he wanted to stick close and protect him, but if they didn't deal with that monster, it could very well assist in the total extinction of wolf walkers. And he trusted Jackson; he'd seen what his mate could do, and he had to shove his protective instincts aside and do what was necessary of him.
The Amarok widened its huge jaws and let out a devastating roar. And then it charged, rushing towards them all.
"Jackson, go," Raphael grunted.
With a nod, Jackson left Damon's side and raced off to the left.
To Damon's relief, the monster didn't lock its eyes on his mate; it kept coming for the rest of them.
It was time to get to work.
The monster lunged at the four of them; Raphael and Sebastien dodged to the right, and Damon and Wilson veered to the left. With a savage snarl, the Amarok went for Damon—probably because he stood taller than the others—and it tried to grab him with its monstrous hands. But the Alpha avoided its grasp and backed off. He caught sight of Jackson far behind the creature; he was putting the inimă on.
"Avoid its hands," Sebastien called when Wilson barely managed to dodge the Amarok's swipe.
But the Amarok seemed fixated on the tiger all of a sudden. It lunged for him again, and Wilson stumbled back—
A burst of Sebastien's blue flames hit the monster, which immediately snatched its attention. It sharply turned its body and went for the hound, but Sebastien propelled himself back with his wings.
And then it went for Damon again.
With an irritated snarl, the Alpha dodged the Amarok's swipe and then slammed his furred fist into the beast's face, making it take a few steps back as it shook its head and growled frustratedly.
A flicker of crimson caught Damon's attention, and as he stepped back to avoid the Amarok's jaws, he spotted Jackson. His tawny-brown-furred mate was surrounded by wisps of red smoke, and his eyes were glowing as red as the jewel inside the inimă—and he burst towards the creature faster than anything Damon had seen.
Jackson crashed into the Amarok's leg, using his entire body as a battering ram. The force sent the beast flying forward, and when it hit the ground with a loud thump, it tumbled for a few seconds before coming to a halt. The creature looked startled, but it slowly climbed to its hands and knees—
It yelped painfully and looked down at its left hind leg. The bone was sticking out through its skin, blood pouring onto the snow.
"Fuck," Wilson drawled.
"Nice," Sebastien said as the group backed off.
Jackson huffed and snarled, and the wisps of crimson smoke surrounding his body started to wither. But he didn't take the inimă off, and Damon worried that he might lose control again.
The Amarok climbed to its feet despite its injury, and it focused its eyes on Jackson.
"Back off slowly," Raphael ordered. "Keep away from Jackson."
Damon didn't want to abide by that second command, but he had to resist his urge to protect his mate. He backed off to the creature's right with Wilson, watching as the beast shook its body and snarled almost challengingly.
"Jackson...you're leading it first," the orange wolf said.
Jackson looked horrified, but he didn't argue.
Damon wanted to insist that he did it instead, but there wasn't time. The monster was already charging at Jackson, and his mate turned around and darted for the pathway that led up the arena.
"Come on!" Raphael called as he chased after the Amarok.
With a determined, anxious huff, Damon dropped to all fours and ran with them. He wanted to be closer; he wanted to be near so that he could jump in the way if that thing caught up to Jackson, but the last thing he wanted to do was cause the plan to fail—he didn't want to be the reason that thing went on a rampage and wiped out hundreds of wolves. He had to be patient. He had to trust Jackson—and he did...he just couldn't stop worrying about him.
He hurried up the path, keeping his eyes on Jackson, who raced a hundred feet ahead. "When do we switch out?" he called to Raphael. He remembered what the orange wolf said, but he wanted to be sure.
"Every kilometre," he replied.
"I'll switch out first," Damon insisted.
"Fine by me," Wilson muttered.
"All right," Raphael agreed.
That made Damon feel a little less terrified; however, they had a kilometre to go before he could take his mate's place, and in that much time, anything could happen.
But Damon would do whatever he had to to ensure that Jackson was safe, even if it meant putting himself right in front of that creature's jaws.
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