Harrison and his remaining nephew sauntered behind them, hands lazily wrapped around the silver chains of the rogues. Harrison wore a deep smirk, barely visible behind his thick, peppered beard. Behind them, thousands of humans were marching. Some carried guns, some carried knives and spears, many of them carried household items, chainsaws, and hatchets.
We were outnumbered, but they didn’t realize they weren’t fighting wild wolves. We were evolved, faster, stronger, able to withstand more. The only thing that would stop us were the silver bullets, but that would mean they would have to be able to aim amidst the pandemonium.
I calmed, and nearly smiled as Rush mind-linked me, “Piece of cake, little wolf.”
Then they launched.
Fight of the Valkyries
The first kill was always the worst. The crunch of bones, the soft tear into the flesh, the sound of air rushing from their lungs; it always came as a shock. The only thing that was more shocking than the killing itself was the quiet prattling the bodies made, patterned in such a way it sounded like a song.
That acoustic thumping, the rawness of it, was horrifyingly romantic.
The song played in my head, watching the wolves plow into the humans with such strength, it became the cello. The sound of metal unsheathing and clanking against each other became cymbals and chimes, it added a whimsical element to the melody.
Casey whimpered my name, pulling me from my trance. “Luna,” he said again.
I bent down next to Emily and placed my hand against her cheek.
“She’s okay,” I told him pointedly, smiling gently to ease his worries.
“She’s not moving,” he barked.
“She’s exhausted.” I nodded my head towards her deep brown muzzle. “She will be okay.”
Casey whimpered again, not moving from Emily’s side. I turned my head, and though the battlefield was still clouded with wolves that hadn’t advanced, I could see through the small holes in the front.
Casey and Rush had strategically placed Warriors on either side of our borders, farther back than the humans. Those wolves had circled around the back of Harrison’s army, herding them forward towards us.
As quickly as a smile appeared on my face, it was taken away as one of our Warriors, Cyprian, was shot through the head with a silver bullet. He had stilled for a moment too long while attacking one of the humans, and it allowed one of them to aim.
It was a clean shot, he died without any pain, but the ache flooded through the pack’s bond. Rush growled and leaped forward, tearing through the chest of a human fighter. His teeth lodged deep into the human’s chest and, with one dreadful crunch, severed the man in two.
My stomach lurched, and I put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from throwing up what I had in me.
The wolves that hadn’t shifted were positioned behind us with tranquilizer guns and rifles, aiming and ready for the order to shoot. It was difficult to organize the type of shots they would need with the number of wolves running around the area.
Off to the side, Harrison opened his mouth, his bear-like muzzle drooping slightly, lazily as he spoke. No one could hear what he said. Whether it was to his own men or to ours, the words were lost behind the scraping sound of claws digging into the dry soil.
The rogue wolves that were kept in chains were released swiftly and shot in the hind side, propelling them away from the humans. They tore through the ground; clumps of dirt and grass flew up behind them as they barreled into a group of wolves.
The rogues were merciless and bit into any part of our pack they could. Tranq-darts were fired into the rogue wolves once a clearing was made around them, and they collapsed on the ground like dead logs.
The human’s numbers were dwindling fast, although our pack was not left unharmed. There were few casualties but many sustained menial injuries.
My hands itched at the urge to heal them.
“Rush told you to stay here,” Casey nearly yelled as I stood up.
“I haven’t moved,” I reminded him in a deep voice. My eyes shot to his in a glare, and he returned the look arrogantly.
“How is Emily?” Rush’s gruff tone inquired.
“Worry about what you’re doing,” I ordered. “We’re fine.”
“I’ll always worry about you,” he teased, and then our link was cut.
The same pitiful, beautiful song played in my mind as I rubbed Emily’s fur, trying to get her to wake up.
“I should take her inside,” Casey murmured.
“And if they set the house on fire?” I prompted. He didn’t appreciate my input and growled. “I’m trying to look out for her.”
“And I’m not?”
“You’re the reason she’s like this,” I seethed, leaning forward towards him.
“I know that!” he screamed. “But that was my mistake, and I will make up for it, in time. Right now, we both want the same thing.”
“What I want is my family to be okay.” I roughly stood up and stepped away from Casey.
“Emily is my family now,” he spat.
I glared but didn’t respond. The shooters in front of us quietly took out the humans in open areas. We had the advantage of being stationary while the humans tried to fire as they moved. Each time they attempted to set up an area for their shooters, our wolves took them out.
Up in the trees, the humans climbed to gain vantage points. It took Jonah three motions to bounce off one tree, to the next, and as he jumped to the third tree, he grabbed the human’s head in his jaws and forcibly brought him to the ground.
Emily stirred in Casey’s arms, who quietly calmed her. I was distracted as he taught her to shift back and covered her with his shirt.
Rush was fighting off three
