Chapter 197

Author's Pov

I dig my claws into the ground and crouch down low. The cold slanted rain hits my back, dampening my fur, and through short hot exhales from my snout I can see my breath. Nothing else moves, no sign of life seems to exist anywhere on this barren land until something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye.

By the scent, I know it’s Robert. “I told you to stay back,” I growl making sure to keep my voice as low as possible.

“It’s time to move in deeper,” Robert says back. At least he has the common sense to keep his voice down.

“As your Alpha, I’m giving an order,” I snap. Robert is only beta because my father turned him back into a werewolf when the petty attacks by the vampires kept persisting. He’s technically family and born into it.

I only agreed for him to be beta because he was also once a vampire, he knows how their twisted minds work. Now that he’s full werewolf and the oldest, he thinks he should be the Alpha and after this war, I’ll fight him to the death if that’s what he wants.

Robert concedes though he’s not happy about it. He’s like Dana in that way, except I know Robert won’t cross me the way Dana did. If he crosses me then he crosses Roman, and he has way more respect for Roman than Dana ever did.

We stay crouched down, ears pointed and eyes everywhere. Alpha Braxton is keeping his gaze up to keep on the look out for disgusting bats while his Beta, Cody, is beside him scanning our backs. Then we have Alpha Morris and his beta Jonas, snacking the outskirts ready to give a howl at the slight indication of danger.

Truly this is the last place I want to be. I’d rather be home tending to my pregnant wife, unfortunately, the only way to ensure that can happen is by putting an end to whatever the vampires think they want to start.

As far as I can tell, their territory looks just as poor and desolate as it always has, which makes their actions all the more suspicious.

“We have to go in the town if we want to see what’s going on,” Robert says again and I snarl at him.

“You think I don’t know that?” I bare my teeth. “We’ll get there, slowly and unnoticed. If we charge in we open ourselves up for attack.”

Robert moves away. Smart. I use the stress to keep my sense alert, but I can’t let it cloud my judgement. I’m keeping us on the outskirts because if anything is getting delivered or leaving the town, this is the way they’ll have to pass.

The point is to see what they’re up to, not to see them. The fog is making it harder to see anything. If the rain doesn’t let up we’ll be forced to either retreat or move in. The ground beneath my paws beings to turn to mush. Still I keep my stance sturdy and strong.

The silence in the air shifts. It’s dead quiet and suddenly it’s as though the very clouds themselves are eyes. Someone or something is out here. Crack.

Just as thunder breaks from the sky, Alpha Morris lets out a howl that gets cut off too early. “Arthur! Duck!” Braxton shouts and I miss the claws of a bat by a millisecond.

We all fall into formation at once. The bat that flew over my head materializes to a vampire and he stands back laughing. I can’t make out who he is through the rain and fog, but I can see he’s not alone. What is that next to him?

The figure steps forward, though what I see doesn’t make anything clearer. Out of the cloudy sheath comes the body of a dear, but the head of a goat, with the wings of a bat. The gross disfiguration has us all distracted for a second and it’s a fatal mistake.

Braxton lets out a howl and we react too late. Another one of these grotesque beasts launches an attack. This one is shaped like an owl but with fangs of a snake that are driven right into Braxton’s neck.

Cody jumps on the beast, which I now recognize as familiars, I never thought I’d live to the day of seeing one. The beast thrashes his head back and slams his beak into Cody’s chest.

I grab it by its exposed neck and squeeze, then it’s wing span opens triple that of its size, spanning at least two feet on moth sides and brings his wings back together. I duck once more, knowing if I didn’t my skull would be crushed.

Someone bites the wing and I hear a crunch, bone breaking. I realize it’s Robert as he holds the thing in his mouth and shakes it violently. I don’t have much time to look as another vampire comes out of no where and is suddenly in my line of vision approaching at great speed.

I dodge out of the way and he’s quick to react, turning sharply and racing at me. This time I don’t run. I heel back and then lunge, jumping into the air, just over his head and bring my weight down to land on top on him. He uses his full force to throw me off and I roll a few feet.

I catch myself and by now, I’m fully transformed. I can feel the power pulsating through me and I bare my teeth. We charge again, someone somewhere yelps. We charge at one another and when we meet I have his shoulder between my teeth. The look of pain in his eyes sends a jolt of excitement through me.

He takes his hands and pry’s my mouth open, something my jaw snaps. When he’s released from my mouth I see a string of bloody salvia follow. I spit on the ground and blood splatters. He turns to a bat and his one wing hangs lower than the other. He flaps away, struggling as he makes his escape.

His familiar, the goat-headed one leaps after him. I turn to my pack and prepare for the next fight.

Robert’s head is low and growling at the owl-like familiar. I take the opening and charge. I catch the bird just before he realizes I’m coming and fly’s away. I clamp down his body, my jaw writhing with pain. Just then the vampire he attached himself too falls to his knees and cries out in pain.

It’s in that moment I realize if we kill one, both of them will die. I look to see if anyone else picked up on this, but both Braxton and Cody lay in bloody heaps. Only Robert and I remain.

We have to go check on Morris and Jonas. Without a word between us, I spit the owl out and we dart across the land until we reach where they’re posted. I stop when I see Jonas on the ground, his body contorted at twisted angles.

Morris nudges him and then falls to his belly and throws his head back in a heartbreaking howl.

We have to get out of here. We don’t have enough members to take them on if more come out. In fact, even with more wolves I’m beginning to think we’re up against something that no one has ever had to fight before.