322
David
Oren's head arced through the firelit air, landed, and rolled. His body dropped to the ground, still spurting blood.
Then, all hell broke loose.
The shimmering barrier around the Ball faltered, rippling like a pond, before collapsing entirely. Hunters poured into the arena, their snarls blending with everyone's shocked gasps.
“Defensive measures, now!” I yelled, my voice carrying over the sound of the attack. A group of dragon shifters took to the sky as my blade clashed with the first hunter. How had they gotten through the barrier? I saw a flicker of a ghost and growled.
“Selene!” I shoved the hunter back, slicing through him before sending out a shockwave of air. She’d been behind this, and maybe she’d been planning this for years, using the werewolf virus to spy on the preparations. It would make sense to try and get rid of me. I was the direct descendant of Fenris.
More than that, it was their movements.
Each and every one of them moved erratically like they were being controlled. There was an aura lingering around them that smelled of rot. It seemed that Selene’s personal coven was still active. I’d deal with them as soon as I got a chance.
Oren had just been a pawn. I shoved another hunter away and looked down at Oren’s fallen body. Something wasn’t right. Selene had been using him as her pawn for years. Why would she get rid of him now?
I leaped aside as someone took a swipe at me. I turned and saw Tony. His eyes filled with moonlight as he snarled and panted, focused on me.
Of course…
She had simply found a better pawn, and as usual, she was going to use everyone else’s good nature to her advantage.
As much as I hated what Tony and Matt had done to Lucy, as much as I might even dislike them, killing either of them… knowing who they really were, would haunt me for years.
I stood and faced Tony, aiming my sword at him as his human form melted away, and he fell onto all fours, snarling at me. He was bigger than Oren, smaller than my wolf form, and bigger than the last time I’d seen him shift.
Selene had been experimenting, it seemed. Nearby, I saw Matt leap down, but he didn’t shift. He remained frozen. His face contorted in a struggle; his eyes glazed over.
There was my opening.
I leaped forward. Tony snarled, trying to swipe at me. I kicked him away, tumbled, and rolled before driving the pommel of my sword into Matt’s gut just hard enough to knock him back and stun him.
“Trent!” I yelled. He sailed over from somewhere else and cast a wave of light over Matt. The wave turned to shimmering silver cords across his chest, and Matt gasped, flailing.
“Stop! No! Tony—”
“It’s alright,” Trent said as I turned back to face Tony.
“Any chance you can do the same to him?” I asked.
“Doubtful unless… Unless he was too weak to fight.”
I grit my teeth. But before I could respond, a guttural snarl ripped through the air. Tony, his fur bristling with fury, lunged towards me, claws bared. I dodged, avoiding his claws. I knew Selene’s game now. There was no way I going to let it happen. Matt got to his feet.
“Let me try.”
I blocked Tony’s claws again, twisting my blade just enough to cut his side. He growled and stumbled as he started to bleed. The wound wouldn’t close.
“Tony,” I said stiffly. “If you’re in there, stop. That wound isn’t going to close on its own. You’ll bleed out.”
He snarled. Matt lunged at him, wrapping his arms around his neck.
“Tony, stop!”
Tony roared and tossed Matt off. Hunters surged forward behind Tony, glaring at me. Their eyes glowed with unnatural light. More puppets. Great. I knew a set-up when I saw it. I hated that I was being put in this position, but this was war, and more than my life was in the balance.
“To hell with this.”
I lifted my hand and unleashed a torrent of dragonfire. The fire, tinged green, devoured the hunters and pushed Tony back, but there were more coming. I cut the flow before I hurt someone I didn’t mean to. Tony let out a howl of pain. He’d been mostly spared. His fur was still burning in places, but he charged forward anyway. Selene was either overconfident or reckless.
Mostly, she seemed to just be banking on my mercy. I lifted my sword, gritting my teeth and ready to end it once and for all when I saw a vision of a child with bright eyes and curly hair. He was dressed in a tiny Red Ranger costume and rushing towards Tony.
Tony has a child?
I dodged him at the last possible second, cursing.
“To the king!” Someone called. I almost laughed as people rushed the field, cutting through the hunters around us. A group cut a path to me and formed a shield wall around me, pushing back against the new wave of hunters. How many were there? Were they all just hunters, or were there other werewolves among them?
I clenched my jaw as Cline lunged at a young woman. I set a bolt of lightning at him, striking him dead.
“Deal with the hunters. Leave the wolf to me.”
Spells crackled in the air, blades clashed, and the air reeked of ozone and burnt fur. The hunters didn’t retreat, but they were pushed back until there was space enough to isolate Tony again. Matt had tried to stop him, to contain him, and ended up slashed for his efforts. Trent hung back, watching carefully, intervening as needed. I caught his eye, and he nodded. I sheathed my sword and ran toward Tony. My steps pounded the blood-soaked earth. Matt stagged to his feet. His armor was holding up well, but his tuxedo was mostly in tatters. Tony lunged at Matt. With a burst of speed, I put myself between them. I blocked his claws before trusting and slamming my fist into the side of his muzzle. I put a bit of dragon strength behind it and sent him flying away from me. Trent was casting the binding spell before Tony had even hit the ground. Then, a chilling laughter slithered into the air.
I turned to look at Selene. Her eyes glittered with malevolent amusement.
"Oh, little Fenris…" she crooned, her voice silken yet laced with venom. “You’re as short-sighted as your ancestors.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You think so?”
“Of course. Just like him you fell for the decoy…” She chuckled. “Though, I must thank you for ridding me of Oren once and for all.”
With a snap of her fingers, the spectral tendrils trailing from her form lashed out, wrapping around Tony's unconscious body. A sickening ripple pulsed through him, the virus within him flaring with renewed life. Selene's laughter intensified, an icy cascade echoing through the night.
“I found a much better carrier… Who knew it would take so long for Oren to finally do something right.” She scoffed. “If he had just been a bit less useless… No matter.”
Tony got to his feet, stuttering and shaking, moving forward. Was that resistance or injury?
“The werewolf virus is almost complete,” she said. “Soon enough, it’ll be able to harness the full power of everyone and everything it infects.” She smiled. “I should thank your family again… Without Fenris and your line, I wouldn’t have had a chance to study the black wolf in detail. Soon enough, there won’t be a king any longer…Only a Goddess.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re a psycho, and there’s—"
Fear, a hot poker against my ribs, momentarily froze me. But it was a fleeting terror, quickly eclipsed by a surge of raw, primal fury. My gaze darted across the battlefield, searching for Lucy in the tent behind the Blood Moon barrier. She wasn’t there. I didn’t see Duke either or Hito… Or Amos or Blue.
My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the chaos unfolding around me. Gone. She was gone.
With a snarl, I turned on the spot. “Matt, deal with your brother!”
I pushed my senses, reaching back through my bloodline to see where she could be. Her scent was fading, getting further away, but where had she gone? Who had taken her?
Then, I saw a flash of Peter’s face. His expression was stony and vacant. His eyes were filled with light. Michelle was in the car with him, nervously looking back. There was another person in the car, a werewolf with the same vacant stare. I could see Lucy struggling in the darkness of a trunk, pulling at her bonds.
Then, I heard my mother as if she was right beside me.
You have to hurry.
You have to stop it.
The ritual is beginning.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
