Chapter 52: Ending The War

-Serena-

It was not easy climbing all those stairs with Elisa on my back, but I couldn’t just leave her, so when I got up to the highest level, I gently placed her down and up against a wall. I hoped no one would hurt her since she was unconscious, but I needed to find Rogan and figure out what to do next. The High General was dead, but everything was still one big mess. I was not at all sure what to do with myself.

“I will be back,” I told Elisa, even though she couldn’t hear me.

I pushed away from her, and then started running down the hallway, trying to get to the exit, but it was hard because up here the battle had already begun. Wolves and hunters fought everywhere, and it was hard for me to find Rogan in the mess of it all.

“Rogan!” I shouted.

I had to duck just as someone started to fire wildly in the hallway, hitting everything and everyone. I looked behind me and saw the hunter who was just shooting everything. He was bleeding badly and looked like he was pretty much just on a suicide mission, trying to take as many people down as he could. One of the bullets hit me in my leg and I screamed, right before he was tackled by a wolf and I heard him let out a pained scream, and then turn quiet.

I pressed myself to the wall, helping myself stand, and then I started running towards the big exit again. When I came outside, it was just as much chaos, but it was clear who was getting the upper hand.

The wolves …

“Rogan?!” I shouted again.

I was supposed to find my way back to him. That was what we had planned, but we hadn’t planned it would go south so fast.

“Rogan!”

Just then a bullet flew by my ear, and I looked over my shoulder, seeing Mona with blood running down her face, and looking like a crazy person, holding a gun, aiming right at me. She fired again, this time hitting me in the shoulder and I fell backwards.

“Traitor!” she shouted.

I tried raising my gun but she was quickly in front of me and kicked it out of my hand, before pointing her own at me again.

“After everything, I did for you,” she said.

“Did for me?! You took my life away from me!”

“I took care of you! I raised you the way you should have been raised!”

“No! You took everything from me!” I said.

“Your parents were weak! They deserved to die!”

I stared at her shocked, unable to believe those words were actually leaving her mouth.

“They were good people …”

“They were traitors, and I should have known you would turn your back on us too. I should have killed you when I had the chance!”

“Then what are you waiting for?” I asked.

Mona smiled.

“You really thought you were going to win tonight, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Look around yourself … the war is won already,” I said.

Mona’s eyes took a quick scan of the area, and I knew she could see the hunters were being overpowered. Her eyes landed on me again, and she looked at me now with disgust.

“All those lives you have costs, Serena. How will you ever live with yourself?” she asked.

I smiled a little.

“This makes up for all the lives I took.”

Mona shook her head.

“You had so much potential,” she said.

“No, I was just your puppet.”

“You could have been a general! Perhaps even taken over after me!” she shouted.

“I would rather have died.”

“Then it is a good thing I will fulfill that wish, isn’t it?” she asked.

I could hear the fighting around us turning quieter, and I knew even though the wolves had won, I would not get a chance to see it for myself. I was going the same way as my parents. No, maybe I was going far down into hell if that existed. I bet my parents had been forgiven for their crimes … me, on the other hand, I had barely had any time to fix the mess I had made.

“Well?” I asked. “What are you waiting for?”

“How I hate wasting a good hunter’s life.”

“It never stopped you before.”

She looked at me almost a little confused.

“All those you sent into pointless battles,” I said. “You knew they couldn’t win.”

“We all must make sacrifices.”

“You mean *we* must make sacrifices,” I said.

“We are one.”

“We are numbers,” I said. “And you know this.”

“You really disappoint me, Serena.”

“Good, I would never want to please someone like you.”

“Say hello to your parents for me,” she said.

I closed my eyes, ready to receive my awaited punishment. It was only fair I didn’t get to run off into the sunset with Rogan. It was only fair I got a taste of what it was like to be robbed of everything. I had hurt so many people. I had done so many bad things, thinking I was doing something right, but I was blinded by revenge, and this was what my revenge got me … nothing.

Suddenly a growl rung out into the dark night, and I opened my eyes just in time to see a big black wolf jump through the air and attack Mona. She didn’t even get to fire the gun. The wolf was too fast, and it locked its jaws right around her neck. She got a small scream out before she was silenced … forever.

I stared shocked, as the wolf bit down, even more, the blood running from Mona like crazy. It was like he wasn’t sure if he could let go just yet, but then finally, when he was sure she was lying still, he released her and turned to me. A pair of green eyes locked on me, and I smiled, knowing who that was. He walked over to me and started turning back, before Rogan stood in front of me, completely naked, dirty, and bloody. He crouched in front of me, looking at me concerned.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Just a few scratches,” I said.

He placed his hands on my neck, turning my head a little, but also stroking my skin with his thumbs, before he brought our foreheads together.

“I almost lost you,” he whispered.

“I’m still here,” I said.

He smiled a little and pulled back.

“It’s over now.”

I looked around and saw everything had turned quiet.

“How many dead?” I whispered.

“Not sure yet, but I promise you, the hunters that could be spared were,” he said.

“Are you sure?” I asked and looked at him again.

He nodded.

“I’m sure.”

I smiled a little and then leaned closer to him.

“I guess I do get to run off into the sunset,” I whispered.

“What?” he asked.

I chuckled a little.

“Nothing … Let us just get out of here …”