Chapter 12:
The wind was moving in our direction, keeping our scent from them, but filling our noses with the smells of wolf and smoke from the dying out bonfire pit in the middle of the rather overbearing back yard. No doubt pack meetings and such were held outside with the carved out log benches that rounded the fire pit. It looked to be about three yards or more from the forest line to the back door of the mansion where music blared from and lights lit up the grass below each window. For a moment it made me wonder what they would have done had it been more winter and if they decorated extravagantly, my mind conjuring images of glowing snow.
Shaking the image away, I concentrated on the here and now. A strange feeling was eating away at my gut as my eyes shifted from the three sentries seeming to have slumped over on their watch and fallen asleep from the festivities. Something wasn’t right, though, it all felt too easy. I could feel it in my bones as I watched Cold sneak up on the southern sentry, her movements quick and sure as she pounced upon his seemingly drunken form.
Just as she threw herself onto his back, from the corner of my eye Nyx and Ben also jumped upon the two others hoping for a quick hard hit that would render the wolves unconscious as we didn’t want to have to kill any of our brethren. However at the final moment of each of their pounces, the men they were attacking jerked out of the way, dropping themselves to the ground and quickly rolling to put space between themselves and their attackers.
Watching as my pack mates began to stalk their prey, keeping the others from slinking out of the woods to alert the guards to call for reinforcements, I kept my arrow trained on the wolf in front of Nyx. If need be I would let the arrow fly to hit its mark, but I had faith in Nyx and knew he could take his opponent down. It was the opponent I didn’t trust.
I watched as they continued to circle one another, my eyes fixed on Nyx’s opponent who was still in human form when I heard it, my eyes breaking away towards Cold where her opponent seemed to have multiplied and she now found herself facing off not only against the human shaped werewolf but a wolf whose pelt was a caramel brown, his muzzle pulled into a snarl. But how had he gotten there? Confused, I moved my bow so that the arrow was aimed at Cold’s new opponent and let it fly. The hollow point tip piercing through the wolf’s left side and no doubt breaking after impact allowing the wolvesbane to begin its job.
Pulling out another arrow quickly, I notched it into place and pulled back, prepared to take out Cold’s human-formed opponent when a howl suddenly broke the night sky and wolves came racing around both sides of the mansion ready for battle. Watching them come, I felt dread build up inside me, the dread I had been feeling since I meant with Tanner. They were supposed to be having a party, supposed to be dancing and drinking. Yet I knew they hadn’t been. Somehow, they had known we were coming, and they had been prepared to take us on.
Nyx let out his own howl, having no doubt figured there was a traitor somewhere amongst us. Our own wolves came running out of the forest line, prepared to fight and die as they had been when we arrived. More arrows and throwing knives came from other trees where the others were sitting at their own vantage point. Soon the yard was mess of brawling fur and blood.
Trying to keep my eye on Nyx, I cursed when I lost sight of him, jerking my bow back into its clip on my back and shimming as fast as I could out of the tree, not feeling like risking a broken bone from jumping down at the height I had climbed to. Unclipping the bow and notching a new arrow, I made my way into the fray, cursing Nyx quietly to myself as I looked for him. In the process of moving, I risked being sideswiped by an enemy wolf a few times, thankful someone else in the trees had noticed my stupid idea of getting into this mess personally and was watching out for me, a silver throwing dagger embedded in the wolf’s skull. If I made it out of this mess, I would no doubt be owing Rune a huge thank you and maybe a few dozen playgirl magazines.
As I moved, I ended up using my bow as both a ranged and blunt weapon, bashing wolves in the head with the hard metal while letting an arrow fly, my eyes searching for my pack alpha. In the thick of it, I couldn’t even sniff him out, the musk of wolves, the iron coppery smell of blood and the chocking scent of fire and ash clogging up my ability to pick out a specific scent. To be honest, it was amazing wolves knew who the enemy was and wasn’t at this damn point, that or I was not all there, which could turn deadly for me if I wasn’t careful.
Just as I thought that, a large auburn furred wolf came crashing into me, causing me to fall under its weight, my bow dropping to the ground as I tried to brace myself best I could without causing a possible wrist break at the same time. Groaning, I struggled to push the mutt off me as it wriggled, having been thrown by another wolf rather than pouncing on me in attempts to end me. This close, I could breathe in its scent and knew it was not one of my allies, the smell foreign and almost burning to my sinuses.
“Get off!” Thrusting my arms against the fucking wolf, I watched as it rolled a moment before getting to its feet, turning its eyes onto me in new interest, teeth bared. Rolling my shoulders, I gazed at my challenger. “You wanna go mutt?”
At my insult the wolf snapped his teeth at me, causing my inner animal to bring a snarl to my lips. I didn’t care what this fucking wolf thought, he was a mutt, a mutt who no doubt knew the score and fought for his piece of the prize. Moving a hand in front of me after unclipping my quiver of arrows, letting them fall on the ground, I dared him to come at me. Stupid move really, he was shifted and would no doubt be stronger, but I just didn’t seem to care about the little shit right now. Like the battle around me there was one raging inside my own skin and had been brewing for a few days now.
Stalking down into a fighting position, I waited as the wolf eyed me, pacing back and forth ignoring what was going on to our left and to our right. I could tell he wasn’t sure at the moment, surprised by my lack of an attempt to shift. I wasn’t stupid enough to do that though, knowing it may take me a few minutes to transform and didn’t dare give him the opportunity he was seeking by attacking me while I couldn’t defend myself. Obviously he had been hoping I was, because when he finally got the memo that I’d be staying in my human form, he snorted, crouched and sprang at me.
Bracing my feet, I threw my arms forward to catch the mutt, ready to bring him down into a chokehold, however he never reached me. Instead I watched in sheer surprise as not Nyx but Mange took the hit for me, rolling with the auburn wolf until they were snarling and snapping at one another in fury. Part of me was a little relieved at this, but the bloodlust that had awoken in my veins lashed against my control until it broke, a cry leaving my lips as the change took me against my will. Soon those cries of pain turned into howls as I rose onto my hunches, aware of my new form and the wonderful calling scent of blood and battle.
Raising my muzzle to the sky, I let out a chilling howl of joy, catching many a wolf by surprise before some backed away while others seemed to positively radiate with mirth. Shaking the kinks out of my neck and shoulders, I turned my sights on a wolf who held no link to me and began my attack upon him, my claws raking against the back of his head to catch his attention before I sunk my teeth into his exposed throat as he turned to look at me. As hot metallic blood gushed into my mouth and over my tongue, I felt my logical side give way to my inner beast, the animal fully reigning her head as she dropped the dead wolf and let out a victory howl. Unlike last time she was released, she did not search for someone to play with, but someone to disembowel. Her feral nature was taking over, riding my body into the fray of death and chaos.
To prove our cruelty, my muzzle let out a nasty snarl and my teeth sank into the stomach of the wolf I had already killed, ripping flesh away repeatedly until intestine spilt hot on the ground, the smell filling the air beyond that of just blood. When the wolf would slowly take on its human form again, the sight of what was left would give nightmares to most, and my animal side glorified in that fear.
As I sized up my next opponent, my mind turned only to the kill, I let out a growl of challenge and slammed into the larger male without thought or worry. A dead wolf was at his feet and I knew on instinct if had been a friend, a family member, and that meant he was my new prey and he would feel my retribution. Like an avenging angel, only of the furred variety, I launched myself at him sending both of us tumbling, teeth snapping and growls rolling off each of us.
I felt teeth and claws slice through my fur, my muzzle had been raked and the male wolf had bit into my right foreleg. With a howl of anger and pain, I lashed back at him, my paw catching him in the shoulder and causing him to stumble away from me into another pair of fighting wolves. As he tried to dodge their own teeth and claws, their focus on killing one another, I stalked forward quickly, rearing back on my back legs and sending myself forward through the air. As I landed on his back, my claws dug in as deep as they could go and I bit down on the back of his neck, teeth penetrating the thick layer of gruff that was there. He let out a howl which seemed to catch many wolves’ attentions while he tried to buck me off him. Still I bit harder, his blood pushing me onward, demanding me finish this.
As soon as the wolf under me began to slow in his movements, his blood filling my muzzle and spilling over the edges of my jowls, I began to come back to myself out of my bloodlust. Another instinct was beginning to consume me, push me release the wolf under me and roll of him as he sagged to the ground. I knew, looking at him from his right now, that he was not dead, not yet, but somehow I knew I had to finish him face to face. Circling around to where he could look up into my eyes, I let out a snarl and lunged, my teeth sinking once again into his throat, only this time they crushed his windpipe before I ripped his throat out. As his body dropped, howls took up around me, mournful sounds that suddenly had me worried, my eyes searching wildly for Nyx and my attention taken from possible threats up until I felt the sharp pain of something cracking into the back of my skull and a feral growl released from whoever stood over my body which was now going limp, my vision clouding over with spots until I fell into the all-consuming darkness.
[Authors Note: I am not the best at battle scenes, so if you have any advice, please leave a comment below]