\[Maverick’s POV\]
I watch in horror as the ground beneath Serenity opens up, and before I can move to help her, she is falling.
“SERENITY!” I roar, rushing forward and watching as she hits the ground below and curls in on herself to protect her body from the debris that is falling.
Stepping back, I prepare to jump but stop as I hear Serenity cough and then get up to move, heading straight for the front of the packhouse where I’m certain the enemy is waiting.
“Dammit!” I growl, moving forward and then jumping so I’m left falling to the ground below.
As I hit, I start to move, rushing forward and bursting through the door to find Serenity standing with Rosco, but I don’t have much time to feel relief as I take in all the blood that is covering Serenity’s body.
Shit. I hiss inwardly, looking around until I find a flag, which I grab and then move forward so I can wrap it around Serenity, who lets out a shocked gasp while Rosco watches on.
“At least someone has some sense of urgency.” He huffs, and I realize that he’s referring to me. “Make sure you clean her completely before allowing her to fight.”
Nodding, I continue with what I’m doing while my eyes trail forward to find the enemy just in the horizon, but to my surprise it isn’t wolves that we are dealing with. Instead, they are humans clad in black cloaks, and when they lift boulders from the ground and hurl them at New Moon’s packhouse, I realize that they are earth mages.
“GET DOWN!” Rosco orders as another slew of attacks rushes toward us. “DON’T GET HIT!”
Not wasting any time, I wrap my arms around Serenity and then move, sending us both crashing to the side as a boulder hits mere inches from where we lay.
“Shit,” Serenity huffs, digging her way out of the flag I have wrapped around her. “They’re fighting dirty.”
“What do you expect of mages?” I ask, getting up and feeling my wolf beginning to stir. “But since we know what they’re working with, we can begin moving.”
Letting out a howl, I start to shift, and once I’m in wolf form, I surge forward as a chorus of howls sounds from behind me. And as the ground beneath my feet starts to shake, I know that the others are joining.
‘Don’t do anything stupid.’ I hear Rosco’s voice say in my head. ‘Don’t get yourself killed by trying to play the hero.’
Not play the hero. How could he say such a thing when Serenity was running beside me, moving into danger headfirst like the rest of us?
There was no way that I was going to let her get hurt, and if that meant taking on anyone who dared even set their sights on her, so be it. I would take down every fucking one of these bastards to keep her safe.
‘That’s an order.’ Rosco continues, causing a wave of his power to slam into me, threatening to make me bow to his command. ‘Your death will hurt her more than help her.’
‘I know.’ I snap.
Of course, I knew that, and there was no fucking way I was willing to leave her to live this life alone.
Settling on this thought, I jump, slamming my paws into the mage closest to me before he can throw another stone.
Together, we tumble to the ground, both of us fighting for dominance, and to my surprise, this mere human is much stronger than expected, but I am stronger.
Drawing on all my power, I slam the mage against the ground and then drag my claw along his face as one of his buddies wraps his arms around my neck.
Letting out a snarl, I buck backwards, lifting the bastard holding me from the ground and then throwing him down so he releases me, giving me the chance to finish the mage beneath me and move onto him.
Like this, I continue to move, taking down one mage after another, but no matter how many I seem to kill, they just keep multiplying, and by the sound of fighting around me, it was clear that the same thing was happening to the others.
Jumping back, I take in the situation and realize that there are many more mages than what we initially saw, and that’s when I realize that they’re using cloning magic.
‘FIND THE REAL ONES!’ I call to those who can hear me. ‘THEY’RE CLONING THEMSELVES!’
At my words, my comrades move back and then begin to scan the area, and when I’m certain that they find the ones they’re looking for, they move.
Satisfied that this change should help us gain the upper hand, I extend my senses until I feel a familiar presence amongst them. However, the one I’m feeling shouldn’t be on that side; he should be ours.
Immediately, I begin to scan the area until my eyes come to rest on Forrest, who is still in his human form. He stands idly behind the wall of mages, and from the look of amusement on his face, I know that he is enjoying what he is watching.
What’s with that smug expression? I think inwardly, beginning to weave my way through the fighting. Don’t tell me… No fucking way.
Realizing that we had a traitor amongst us this whole time, I shift into my human form and surge forward, grabbing Forrest’s shirt and slamming his body against a tree.
“What the fuck have you done?” I growl as he smiles at me. “Were you the one that led them here?”
“And if I was?” He asks, completely unfazed. “What about it?”
What about it? That was a stupid fucking question.
“If anyone is to blame, it is all of you for not doing a better job of hiding your girl's secret.” He continues. “You must know that others would want to get their hands on that blood of hers. Anyone who did would be considered a god.”
“So, you wanted to play god?” I ask. “But do you really think that your master will allow you to do that if all of us are killed?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Forrest asks in amusement. “After all, we’re family.”
Eyes widening, I take in his words, trying to make sense of what it is that he’s telling me.
“I guess there’s no point in hiding it anymore.” Forrest chuckles. “Ezekial is my father, and my only mission was to help him get ahold of your woman. Once we’ve got our hands on her, I’ll make sure to make her bow to me and do anything we say.”
Like hell you will! I roar inwardly, slamming a fist against his jaw so that his lip begins to bleed. I’ll fucking kill you before you get the chance to do so!