NOTE: i highly recommend listening to the songs above every chapter while you read.
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Meet me on the battlefield
Even on the darkest night
I will be your sword & shield,
your camouflage
And you will be mine.
SVRCINA (Battlefield)
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HIT. BLOCK. HIT.
Movements and time blur as we leap onto them—some in the lupine form, others still human. We spare none. I relish the shock on their faces, the savagery in their eyes morph into fright, right before I plunge the dagger into their necks.
Born for this moment, this war, this brutal bloodbath.
Hit. Block. Hit. Repeat.
A bullet whizzes past my shoulder and I swerve out of the way in the nick of time.
"Look out!" Ashton bellows from my right.
My head whirls in the direction but it's not me he's yelling at. His eyes are on Ariana as she takes down a filthy rogue. In the heat of the fight, she's unaware as another creeps up from behind.
"I got this, GO!" Ashton's eyes never stray as he brings two wolves down with a single manoeuver.
Caught between a dead rogue and a live one, a gasp rips from her lungs when the latter still in his human form tackles her to the ground. Jaw stretched wide and teeth flashing, he flashes her a feral grin before he swoops down.
"Say goodbye, little poppet." He leers, running a filthy finger down her cheek.
I see red.
Don't wait.
Don't stop.
I hurtle my dagger at his heart.
The blade slices through the air and rams into right in his chest. Blood sprays across her face as he topples backward.
Ariana rises to her feet and walks over to him. Her eyes bore into his cold, dead ones as pulls the bloodstained dagger out of him with a vicious yank. "Goodbye."
She turns briefly towards me, specks of blood still smeared across her face. "I got this. Tell Ashton I can handle my own just fine."
She throws the dagger back in my direction. I dive to catch it mid-air before tucking it back in my boot. Watch as she proceeds to take on another. As she swings her leg up and does a full roundhouse kick. Her furry opponent lets out a yelp as he's flung a whole yard away.
Reinforcements are on their way. The Wolverines and the Dark Wolf warriors will be joining us in a moment, but until then—
I whirl when I feel a presence behind my back. A gigantic rogue stands, his paws and snout smeared in blood. Someone yells my name.
Right as I step back, he takes a step forward.
A bullet speeds through the pierces his skull. And he collapses.
Aden stands behind him, eyes glazed, his gun still pointed to where the corpse now lay—white smoke billowing from the muzzle. He shifts his focus to me just enough to ask, "Did he hurt you?"
I only shake my head. A part of me is relieved his lessons with Luna Tessa are finally paying off.
As if reading my mind, he relaxes. "Be careful." He murmurs so low, I barely hear him over the clashing weapons and cries.
Suddenly, a piercing scream rips through the room. I turn in time to see a rogue wolf pounce from on my twin out of nowhere.
Despite her training, she's a split second too slow to react. Her knees give way to the floor as his weight bears down. Razor sharp canines sink into her calf, tearing through the tough fabric and drawing blood. She screams, lashes at him with her free hand.
All she has to do is touch him with her bare fingertips... but, he's making that impossible.
Like lightning I'm onto him.
Déjà vu washes over me as I'm reminded of the same situation in the Opticus. Except that time it had been me, not her.
Does this shift in the future mean something?
The rogue growls in annoyance, teeth digging deeper. I don't waste time. Drawing the sword from my back, I plunge it into his back.
The wolf howls as Ariana rolls him over. Pins him to the ground.
"Shift." I command, pressing my dagger deeper into his wound. He gnashes his teeth in defiance. Struggles under her vice-like grip.
I press the blade in deeper.
"Shift. Do not test my patience, rogue."
He shifts—buck naked and filthy beyond measure. His black eyes are filled with rage as he glares up at me.
"Where is he?" I snarl. "Where is Greyhound?"
He spits out a mouthful of blood. When he cackles his teeth are stained dark red. "What makes you think he's coming?" He snorts. "Our master doesn't involve himself in such trivial fights."
Trivial, my ass.
Ariana releases bolt of power from her fingers. It shoots out like electricity—sudden, sharp and electrifyingly painful. With a gasp, the man arches his back. Shudders. Tugs and thrashes frantically to escape the sizzling current coursing through his body.
"Tell us the truth." I hiss. "And we'll spare your life."
The rogue's eyes begin to water. "We are to bring the girl to him." He grinds out. "He is waiting in the South Tower. He said he'd kill her himself."
The tower that overlooked the cliff—the one we'd jumped out after Greyhound cornered us. The same place, Ariana escaped his clutches for good. Of course the bastard wanted to make her end... memorable.
We look at each other, the same thought forming in our minds.
With a swipe of my blade, I slice his neck in two. Like a tree trunk, he falls. His head rolls until it comes to a stop at Ariana's foot.
Her eyebrow arches. "You promised to spare his life if he spoke the truth."
"I lied."
Does she think Greyhound will spare our people even if they cooperate? No, a battlefield is no place for mercy.
I have to leave. Have to face Greyhound on my own.
"Take me with you." Ariana says.
Days. It's been days since she properly looked me in the eye, and now the first proper exchange between us is this...
Out of the corner of my eye, I spy a giant rogue advancing towards us. In a single move, I whip my dagger and push her behind me.
"No, you're staying here till reinforcements arrive."
The wolf sees me, but his speed is too great to stop in an instant. I use that to my advantage. Right before he comes to a teetering stop, I thrust the dagger into his chest right up to the hilt. Twist. Pull it out. Thrust it again. Again and again until the rogue drops dead.
Ariana clicks her tongue. "Damn, sister."
I wipe the blood off my blade. "We need you here, Arie. The lives of our people is all that matters. They have to survive, even if we don't."
A sharp intake of breath. "Don't—"
I don't let her finish. "I know you're mad at me. But right now, there's no one but you that I trust enough to stop the rogues from going after them in the labyrinth. Do what it takes to keep them alive. Protect them with everything you got. Do you understand me?"
Her eyes blaze with a mixture of grief and anger.
"Fine." Even with tears brimming in her eyes, it's remarkable how she still sounds so steady. "If that's what you want, I'll stay. Go where you want to. But don't you dare say goodbye."
This shouldn't be how sisters part. This moment between us—so bitter, so distraught—if this is really our last, this shouldn't be the memory I have of her.
"You're right." I swallow hard. "I'll see you on the other side."
I cut my way back through the rogues towards Aden and Ashton, towards the entrance where still more are pouring in. They're pressing in from the front, pushing us back, swarming the place, backing us into a corner.
Steel clashes with steel as warriors brandish their swords. Canines tear into flesh as wolves tear each other to pieces. Amid the stench of blood and sweat, I have to find them.
They seem to have drifted off from where I left them.
"Ash!" I see him first, pummelling the shit out of a rogue.
Aden isn't too far off, down on the ground as a giant brown wolf snarls above him. His yellow eyes are slit-like—full of malice. Spit dribbles from the corner of his filthy snout as Aden struggles to push him off. Bringing his knee up, he jams it into the rogue's belly. As predicted, he rears back in pain, momentarily loosening his hold.
And that's all Aden needs.
While one arm is still trapped under his paw, he uses the other to elbow the rogue in the face. Leaps back onto his feet and snaps his neck like a twig. The rogue crumples to the ground, head twisted at an unnatural angle.
They do a double take as they catch sight of me bolting towards them. "Kiara!? Wha—Is Ariana okay?"
"She's okay but we have to leave now!"
Aden frowns. "Leave—but I thought..." Realization dawns and his expression changes into one of pure contempt. "He's not coming, is he? The fucking coward."
Before I can answer, a new howl cleaves the air. At first, my stomach drops when I think of more rogues storming into our territory, but this is different. This isn't roguish or chaotic. Rather, it's synchronous and refined and regal.
Everyone goes deathly still.
Reinforcements. My heart soars at the realisation.
Out of nowhere, they appear. At the doorway, suited in steel armour, in perfect formation. Ten. Thirty.... a goddamn four hundred of them.
And last of all, stand the four fearsome WereGuardians.
Alpha Nathan leads the charge, with Luna Tessa right beside him. In identical combat suits, with the Wolverines insignia woven into their chest plates, their eyes gleam with the promise of revenge, as they stop at the threshold.
Tessa's gaze searches through the crowd before landing on me. Her head dips in the subtlest of nods.
The message is clear.
Raising their voices, they roar in unison, "ATTACK!"
And renewed pandemonium erupts.
While wolves and warriors alike swarm in from every side to destroy the rogues, Aden, Ashton and I have to go. We have a different mission. Our end now lies elsewhere.
"Switching to Plan B." A tight smile pulls the corners of my lips and I reach for their hands, grimy and covered in blood. "Buckle up, boys. We're set to takeoff."
We teleport into the castle— from one gory battlefield to the next—where things are about to turn a hell lot bloodier.
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A/N
We have about 7 or so chapters left until the end. However, due to unavoidable circumstances, I will be taking a three week hiatus. Sorry for leaving you at a cliffhanger.
Next Update: 8th Oct 2020.
xoxo
Chris