Chapter 159

Chapter 159
Charlie: 

For the longest time, I dreamed of something like this. Chomping at the bit to get a little back at the misery these bastards had caused me. They had taken everything I had held dear. Stripping the woman I loved from me and causing me to abandon my home. I had been desperate for the longest time to feel this feeling, the adrenaline as I sank a knife into one of their backs. 

And yet, in this moment, all I could feel was frenzied anxiety as I moved through the melee. 

Of course, this would happen. Of course, just as I get my chance of revenge, I meet someone like her. It had been two years since my wife died, and I had drunkenly stumbled my way around the states for most of that time. I hadn’t expected to meet her. I hadn’t expected to start falling for her, but she was infectious, she was irresistible, she was everything. 

It's pretty much par for the course that I wait until I’m about to hurl myself into battle to ask her if she could see a future with me. Goddess be true, these damn pricks really did have it out for my love life. They chose now, of all moments, to invade. 

If I could kill them, I would, but instead, I was cutting through their cannon fodder at the moment. Just like the arseholes they were, none of them were here, no they had sent many to die in their stead. It didn’t matter to me, they were just as guilty in my eyes. 

I turned, dodging an arrow as I jammed a knife into a woman’s throat. I hadn’t even touched my swords yet. They’re terribly inexperienced, it was quite clear that they were sent here to die. 

I tossed a guy who was running at me into another man and moved on to grab a large man by the hair and slam his face into my knee. The large brute went down with a bloody nose and chipped smile. 

“Down!” Blue put my head down, and I felt blood splatter my back. 

“Lucky I’m here,” he grinned. 

“You too,” I sneered, grabbing my sword and slicing off the hand that was about to drive a knife into his back. 

Bullets zipped past us, and we hid for cover behind some trees. The bullets slamming against the tree, making the bark splinter off, we shielded our faces from the wood, waiting for the hailstorm to stop. 

A pause sounded, and we opened our eyes. 

“Do you think they’re out?” Blue asked me. 

The next second, another hailstorm of bullets came, but just as quickly it stopped, and an explosion hit the trees, the blast knocking us over. 

“What the hell?” Blue shot up, knife in hand, ready to defend, an arm out providing me cover. 

I rolled over, meeting his back as we looked around. 

Jeremy came from the other side of the tree, swinging the pin of a grenade around his finger. “They really should’ve paid more attention.” 

Blue lowered his knife, and we made our way back towards the fighting. I saw the tangled mess of people grappling with each other. Guns blaze by as they try to recover from the gas explosion. 

To Green's credit, his plan had worked, many of them were wounded or dead. Now we just had to take out the silver weapons that stopped our healing and restricted our access to our wolves. 

“Duck!” Jeremy barked, and we all hit the floor, a silver spear landing just beyond us 

“This is pretty,” Jeremy grabbed the spear, and he marched off into the mess. 

“You know when you said there’s damsel in distress mind helping her out I didn’t quite picture it leading here,” I told Blue. 

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he joked back before going off in search of a new target. 

I gathered myself, preparing to follow after him. They didn’t seem to want to give up, in fact, they seemed determined to stay despite their inadequacies. The gas tanker had put a hole in their numbers, and the warriors we were facing were falling apart. 

I launched forward, helping a woman who had been backed up against a tree, taking my knife and slicing her attacker at the back, then cutting his Achilles. 

I turned back, and two wolves came at me. I kicked one, slashed the other, dodged one, slashed the other. Taking turn trading blows and stabs with them until they both got too injured to carry on. 

On and on the fighting continued until the moon was high in the sky. I turned to see Green call on his wolf, and just as his eyes flashed their emerald shade, the wolves howled in unison. 

Retreat. 

I looked around at their scattered figures. “Retreat?” I kept my blades up. 

“What?” Blue was just as confused as I was, coming over still holding onto his own weapons. “Why retreat now the moon is high? This is when the fighting should get good,” 

“It happened when your brother began to shift,” I relayed. 

“They must be afraid of him…” Jeremy guessed. 

It didn’t feel right, though. I felt like something was off, as if we weren’t seeing everything. The wall had been barricaded, so we had to climb our way over or risk exposure by trekking to another gate. I landed in a huff on the other side, feeling the ache and twinge in my muscles. I had taken dozens of blows today, and it wasn’t until the fighting had stopped that I realized some of the splinters from the trees were in me. I pulled the woodchucks out of my side and my arm in the back of the truck. My body already mending itself back together. Though some were injured, it seemed that Blue, Green, and I were unscathed. Jeremy had been injured, but he’d already healed by now. 

More and more of this day did not make sense. 

If they intended to come at us with everything they had, why not take Green out? Why leave when he shifted? He would be at his most vulnerable during a shift, but they seemed frightened by the very thought of him turning. 

The truck jostled to a stop as we landed at the pack house. I could smell her before I saw her. She ran out, looking over the countless faces arriving before her eyes landed on mine. 

“Are you hurt? Let me see you-“ she grabbed my face, then lifted my arms checking me over. “-you're fine,” she exhaled. 

“I am now,” I grabbed her and held her to me. 

“Touching,” the dry voice of the doctor interrupted us. I was beginning to hate that woman. Everywhere I turned, there she was in my way. “Jess, I could use your assistance,” she called. 

I nodded, and she left my arms. I could still remember the kiss I left on her earlier. I wasn’t sure if I would see her again, and I wasn’t about to die without knowing what it felt like to have her lips on mine. Now that I did know I was consumed with the memory. She’d be working late into the evening, and I needed rest, I knew in my gut they’d return tomorrow. 

There’d be time to discuss what was happening between us, but in the middle of a siege might not be the greatest time. Instead, I went off to find her brother-in-law, determined to share my concerns.