Ch. 136: Shadows Appear

CHAPTER 136:
Ally~
I was starting to break a sweat. Where did they get all these people? How was one guy really convincing all these people to join his cause? Why were they following him into this massacre?
They had the numbers, but overall, we were putting up the better fight. I’d seen twice, if not three times as many of them go down than our side. But they still just kept on coming in, like a swarm. I was able to patch the shield a few times to slow things down, but it was too hard to balance that with attacking the people in front of me.
Nick stayed by my side the whole time, popping in out of the shield I threw around myself. I could feel it each time he came in, and it assured me he was still doing okay so I could stay focused. I’m hitting again, making a vampire bend over in pain when I see a bit of blond hair. It’s her. Maxine.
I move forward and head right towards her.
“Max!” I yell, my anger coming from the depths of me.
She turns and her expression is one I can’t name. Maybe I’ve surprised her. Whatever it is, I don’t take a moment to hesitate.
Electricity buzzes on the outside of the bubble I’m using to shield us, and it charges straight for her. She realizes what’s happening at the last second and holds up a small shield. But it’s too small, it had no time to build. So while she isn’t fried like I wanted her to be - she did get hit with enough force to send her flying.
I roar with anger and charge after her, sending a series of strikes at her. Lightning and heat seem to be my strong suits so I send them all her way. One, two, three, four strikes. She deflects the weight of the hits, and manages to send one back - a fireball. I guess with Jake elsewhere, she’s got control of the fire here. So I do the same. I make them two at a time, sending them up through my shield, and straight to her. I hit her with six in a row and she’s still holding up a shield. The air is filled with smoke and wind, and I lose sight of her.
Then I hear a yelp. My head whips backwards and I know it’s Nick before I see him from the pain I’m feeling in my side. No!
I immediately expand the shield but he’s too close to a witch and she gets brought in too. I hit her over and over until she’s blocking her eyes from some light and I use that second to send shards of ice into her face. She screams, holding her face. I’m running as fast as I possibly can towards them and Nick turns to me as I throw a giant icicle right through that witch’s neck.
She falls on her knees and then face-first thumps on the grass.
I fall down on my own knees and examine Nick. His front paw is covered in blood and when I touch it he whimpers.
“Nick, no,” I say in despair.
I feel more hits on my shield, enough to make it shake. I look quickly to see three witches all hitting it simultaneously. Not one of them is Maxine though. She’s seemingly disappeared.
Nick shifts in front of me while I try to stop him.
“Ally, I’m okay, really. I’ll be okay. Stay focused,” he kisses me fiercely. “You’ve got this my warrior goddess.”
He starts to shift back and I swallow down my worry. He’s right. I need to focus. I need to get them.
My fury builds up that they’ve injured my mate - my entire shield crackles with lightning. I’m sending countless strikes to these three. With fireballs at one, and icicles at the weakest one. She’s out first. Icicle straight through her chest. She falls.
I focus on the standing two and they go back to back trying to fend me off. It’s taking too long, I need to keep moving. I feel Nick enter the shield again for a moment, like he’s checking on me, before he exits again. I strike over and over but they’re blocking too well. Nick comes in and barks. I look over at him, he wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t important. He rushes to the opposite side of where I’m standing and growls. It’s Maxine. He’s found her.
He knows how strong she is and while he wants to go after her too, he won’t leave me. I need to ditch these two witches. I need to do something to change this pattern. They’re too good. Fire and lightning seem to be their strongest moves too.
Screw it. Earth it is. I push my hands down towards the earth and move them up, taking a large hot chunk of stone from deep in the earth and send it up straight to where they are standing. They go flying. Not enough to kill them maybe, but I need to get to Maxine.
I look at Nick and we take off after the blond b*tch.

Nick~
I spot her and alert Ally to her presence. While just about anyone can take on the witches she’s fighting, I know there’s only a few of us who can handle Maxine. Plus, Ally really wants to be the one to take her down. And I’ll be by her side as she does that.
She seems to rise to a whole new level and does this crazy thing with the earth. The witches go flying like they were on a catapult. It’s almost comical. But there’s no time to make a comment now.
I follow Ally closely as we head towards where we last saw Maxine. We move around fights, werewolves fending off vampires and witches. Ally sends some attacks out here and there and I pop out of the shield at one point to send a witch flying. Finally we see her. She’s standing by some older guy.
We move closer, going around some wolves chasing a vampire, and Ally balls her fists.
“It’s Callum,” she says, making my heart drop.
Ally steps forward but I block her with my body.
“Nick, I have to do this. It has to be me,” she says, instant.
I whine, and she kneels down on one knee, a hand on my face, and stroking my ear with the other. I huff. I know what she’s doing.
“Stay here,” she says.
I stomp my foot. Absolutely not.
“I need you to be my secret weapon, okay? I’m going to separate them, and I need your help to do that,” she says, stroking my fur.
I look at her and I express all the love I have for her in my eyes.
“I know,” she exhales. “I love you too.”
Then she stands up, leaving me with a small shield, and charges into the open field.
“Max!” she yells, making the blond girl turn around. She hits her with a huge strike of lightning while she yells, “Stop running you coward!”
Callum takes off, heading back outside the remnants of Ally’s barrier, and I’m confused about why. So while I told Ally I would stay here - I knew I needed to follow my instincts and go after this guy.
I moved carefully around the trees and boulders, keeping a watchful eye on my mate. There was wind, mist, ice, fire, lightning, blasting back and forth, with booms echoing through the forest. A few wolves took on the remaining witches, and I noted how the number of them was going down. Were we winning?
Don’t count chickens before they hatch, Asher commented.
I huff and roll my eyes.
I get closer to where Callum moved out of sight, and listen as much as I can for any signs of movement. It’s hard to separate everything else from what I’m trying to hone in on. There is something, like a long low growl, but it doesn’t sound like anything I have ever heard. I inch forward just around the outside of the barrier and what I see doesn’t make any sense.
Callum gesturing wildly at a huge cluster of shadows.
What is-, Asher starts to ask.
But dozens of red eyes hone in on me. And I realize, those are beings. And they’ve spotted me. I see Callum’s evil grin, and I know I have to move. To take off. To warn someone.
The shadows come at me and I’m frozen for half a second before I think of Ally. Ally! I have to warn her!
I turn as fast as I can and head back to her, I need to be by her side to fight these things off.
Everyone - we’ve got a problem. There’s scary shadow things coming in and the way Callum is smiling - these guys have got to be bad, I link the pack.
They’re here too, Jake sends back.
Other team leaders confirm they are coming in.
I rush back the way I came and I see lightning and different elements flying around. She’s still fighting Maxine.
I rush straight out and into Ally’s shield, shifting as fast as I can.
“Al! These shadow demon things are coming in! They’re all over the defense lines!” I shout out.
She hits Maxine again.
“Oh my g- It’s the Soul Eaters. They’re here,” she says breathlessly. A hit on the shield refocuses her attention. “Tell everyone not to get touched by them, they can pull out strength and power, they’re coming for the strongest of us… They’re coming for Jake and Rachel.”
I link the message to Jake and he sends out new orders. We are all going to converge now. Our ring will get much closer to the packhouse. We’re going to need each other.
Teams slowly make their way backwards, and Ally leads Maxine in. I shift and prepare to clear the way. But the hair on my neck stands straight up and I know they’re moving in. I howl.
I hear other howls far off.
“Nick! I need to throw her away! I have to try- I’m sorry!” Ally cries out.
I rush to her and stand next to her. She puts a hand on my shoulders and I feel what she’s doing, what she’s sorry for. It’s me. She’s pulling on me. I know the feeling from Rachel practicing taking a tiny bit of energy from me. But Ally is using more.
“I’m sorry!” she cries again, and I smell the tears in her eyes.
I push my face into her to let her know it's okay, and then I’m using her to help me keep from falling over. I’m so tired. I'm so tired. And Asher is weakening.
There’s a huge blast of light somewhere and I hear her sob as I’m picked up by something cold and soft. I’m freezing. My bare skin is freezing. I’m in my human form. And I’m just so tired.
“Nick, please hold on, hold on,” she whispers.
I’m being moved by something. It feels like snow.
“It’s okay Ally. Whatever you need. Always,” I say, my eyes too heavy to open my eyelids. “I told you to use me if you needed to. I love you.”
I smell her tears and whisper “Don’t cry,” as it all fades to black.