She glanced up and saw Nicole. Her teeth gritted, and for a moment, she saw red.
Nicole stepped forward, towering above her. “I thought we were done with you? You’re even harder to kill than a cockroach! I guess I have to finish up what Alpha Theo couldn’t.”
Zera surged to her feet, ready for the attack. “You’re not who I want, at least not now, but I will go through you if I have to.” She said that, and the witch’s eyes flared red, and they ran through to attack each other.
Zera groaned out in pain when Nicole dug her claws into her shoulders, and her eyes glowed purple. She shoved Nicole off, and the force sent her flying and crashing to the ground.
“Purple. So it’s true, you’re a sage.” Nicole spoke as she got up and stormed towards her, but Daniel stepped up before Zera, and this slowed Nicole down.
“You don’t get to die by her hands; you die by mine,” he said, pulling his silver sword out of its sheath, having exhausted his arrows.
Nicole laughed and took a step back, and over a dozen werewolves ran to cover her.
Daniel and Zera moved to attack, and as he fought his way to Nicole, she fought her way to Tosin. Zera tore through and ripped apart those who came up against her, leaving no one alive.
Her fist collided with Tosin’s jaw as soon as she got to him, and not anticipating the attack, the impact sent him off his feet. He crashed onto the floor but sat up quickly and spat out blood. His eyes narrowed at Zera, surprised at the attack and probably wondering who she was.
“Get up!” she shouted at him.
He did as she told him: “I’d like to know who I am up against,” he said, and he spat out more blood from his mouth.
“You didn’t show the same kindness to Levi Adams, the hunter you killed like a coward a decade ago.” His eyes widened at the mention of the name, and she charged at him.
Her attacks were quick and fierce, and although fast, Tosin couldn’t escape them.
Tosin was on his knees with blood running down his mouth and face within a few minutes. Zera’s attacks were too fierce to counter, and she shredded him like a wounded animal.
She walked up to him and grabbed a fistful of his red hair. “You do not deserve a quick death, so think of this as mercy!” She pulled his head back and thrust her hand into his chest. She pulled out his heart, and his lifeless body dropped to the ground.
She tossed his heart on the ground, but she didn’t feel better. It changed nothing. Her father was still dead, and so was Tia. and vengeance didn’t bring them back. However, she consoled herself by saying that those who hurt them would never harm another again.
….
Nicole attacked Daniel, and he hastened to defend himself with his sword. She swung at him a few times with her claws to cut him through, but he docked and protected himself.
“You’ve gotten strong. I’m surprised you’re alive and impressed because I always thought you were as weak as they came.” She spat on the ground, “just like your mother.”
His teeth gritted, and he surged forward. Angry, he failed to calculate his steps, and Nicole took advantage, tearing the skin off his ribs with her claws. He fell to the ground, grunting in pain.
“Whatever made you think you could fight me?” she demanded, stepping forward and shaking her head.
“Say hello to your mother for me.” She drew her hand to slash him through, but Zera dashed over to her and stopped her hand so she could not do the havoc she intended.
Nicole turned around and found her, and confusion flashed in her eyes. In the same second, Zera flung her across the field, and she crashed onto the ground.
“Are you okay?” she asked Daniel, who nodded despite the blood running down his lips.
“She’s mine! I get to finish her,” he grunted in pain. He picked up his sword from where he dropped it and walked up towards her.
He tightened his grip around his sword and attacked, and Zera moved to fight off the other wolves that tried to stop him. His revenge was as much for her as it was for himself, and so was this war.
Daniel’s blade did damage to Nicole and cut through her shoulder, and she cried out and dropped to her knee. He kicked her onto her back and lifted his blade to thrust her through with it.
“Please don’t kill me,” Nicole begged with fear-filled eyes.
“You don’t deserve to live,” Daniel told her, thrusting his sword into her heart and snuffing the life out of her.
After Nicole’s death, Zera returned to Aaron’s side to finish what they had started.
Daniel lost balance and dropped to his feet despite the werewolf surging towards him to attack. Ivan and Lionel ran towards Daniel, and Ivan used his magic to throw a few off while Lionel shot at them.
Ivan got to where Daniel knelt and helped him up. “Can you stand?” he asked, his eyes searching Daniel’s weak ones.
“I’ll live,” he grunted, sounding rude. He leaned his weight on the sword and rose to his feet.
“The least you can do is to be nice. We came to your aid.” Ivan said, sounding a little displeased.
“I didn’t ask you for your help. I am a hunter. It’s what I’m trained to do, and I am prepared to die if that is the case.”
“Such a foolish way to live. Death isn’t the worst thing that can happen in life. I would know. I have felt it around for years.” Ivan said, blasting the werewolf about to attack them off. “Where does it hurt?” Ivan asked, his eyes already searching over Daniel’s body.
Daniel pointed to his left rib and placed his hand on the spot. The pain began to subside, and he felt as if he hadn’t felt so much pain before.
“How is it now?” he inquired curiously.
“Better,” Daniel answered, his voice less painful. “Thank you.”
He shook his head. “It isn’t a cure, just a temporary fix until we are done here. Carry your sword, Mr Spear. This isn’t over yet.”
“Are you going to send all these people to their deaths, or will you step up and end this?” Aaron yelled at Theo, who stood at the back watching the slaughter with an amused look on his face.
“If I were you, I would focus on the task at hand,” Theo answered.
Aaron ripped out the heart of the one who just attacked him and tossed it into the ground before racing to attack Theo.
Ivan sent a blasting spell to the werewolf about to attack him, and it sent him off, flying and crashing to the ground. When the werewolf rose, Daniel thrust his sword into his heart.
Lionel’s gun ran out of bullets, and he was taken down before he could reload. Sesi ran to save him, pulling and fighting them off.
She gave Lionel her hand; he took it, and she helped him up. “Are you hurt?” she asked, and when he shook his head, she pushed him behind. “Stay behind me.” But the more she fought, the harder they pushed.
Aaron thrust into the chest of the third wolf in his path and yanked out his heart, dropping and tossing it to the floor as if it were nothing.
“Can you take me to him?” Aaron asked Ivan, staring at Theo, who stood a few feet behind him with more than a dozen of his pack members serving as barricades.
Ivan nodded without even considering it and stretched both hands out after chanting a spell of separation. It was a difficult spell, and blood ran down his nose ten seconds into the chanting. He succeeded and took out all the werewolves before Theo and Aaron took advantage. Zera followed behind him.
Ivan, who used the last strength he possessed, dropped to the ground unconscious, having exceeded his capacity. Damor raced over to stand before the now unconscious Ivan and protect him from those coming to end him.
“I think it’s high time you and I put an end to this, don’t you think?”
Theo smirked and stormed forward, but before he could reach Aaron, an older man stepped forward and blew into his palm. The purple content thereon flew and covered Aaron’s face, burning his skin and sinking deep inside.
Wolfsbane.
Theo took advantage of the brief distraction and tackled Aaron onto the floor with a hard smash of his fist, getting on top of him. Theo’s claws shot out, long and sharp, and he thrust them towards his chest to rip out his heart, but Aaron stopped him and threw him off.
Aaron rose to his feet, grunting in anger. “Coward!” he hissed, and the old man who had blown the wolfsbane earlier stepped up from behind to blow another, but Zera, who saw him, dashed over to him.
He picked up Zera’s quick steps and turned around, blowing the contents in his hands at her, but was shocked to see nothing had happened. “I am not a werewolf,” she told him, snapping his neck in a second. He fell to the ground, dead.
“No!” Theo cried out in anguish as he saw the lifeless body of the old man lying on the ground.
Aaron gave him no moment to recover because he speeded up to him, catching him by his jacket and delivering punches over and over to him. Aaron slammed Theo onto the ground and was about to finish him when he got swamped by werewolves. He tore through them and spotted Theo retreating, but he couldn’t have that. He had to finish this here and now. Yet his pack needed him to fight off the Rebellion pack attacking.
“Go! I’ve got this.” Zera told him with a supportive nod.
He chased after Theo and his retreating crew of two alphas and six betas. He attacked the betas first, being faster and stronger. He picked them away from their crew one after the other without making a sound, and soon, only the two alphas were left with Theo.
“Going somewhere?” Aaron asked, stepping out of the shadow, his eyes blazing red.
Theo’s breath hitched in his throat, and he stepped back while the two alphas approached Aaron.
“This is between me and him. You do not have to die for that,” Aaron told them, but they were too gone to listen.
Putting them down was just like breathing. Aaron tore through the chest of the first Alpha and ripped out his heart, and to the other Alpha, he snapped his neck. Again, he was left alone with Theo.
“I told you before,” Aaron spoke as he stepped forward, his eyes still glowing. “Crossing territories without a formal invitation is forbidden!”
“And now you have shown me how wrong I was to have done that.” Theo said with a weary smile, “Perhaps you could be the better man and let it go,” he said, trying to reason for the first time since this war started.
“The time for understanding has passed,” Aaron answered, and he flew towards Theo with a furious snarl.
…
Zera blocked the claw thrust of the werewolf attacking her and was about to deliver a punch, but someone hauled him off her and tossed him onto the ground.
She spun around and found Aaron behind her with blazing red eyes. She paused, unable to look away. He barely looked stressed out, almost like he did nothing, but she knew he did. He would not be back if he didn’t finish what he went to do.
He glanced at her, and she almost saw a smile on his face before he looked away to those still brawling.
“Alpha Theo is dead!” he thundered, and the fighting seized immediately, and all eyes turned to him. “I ripped this out of his chest,” he announced, and he lifted the heart in his hand up so everyone could see before tossing it to the ground.
“This is over! Surrender or meet the same fate!” he warned, and the entire field became still. “This is your last chance.”
With his words, the rest of the Rebellion pack retreated, choosing safety over a lost war.
“Take him to the healing room.” He instructed, pointing to Ivan, who was still unconscious on the floor. “Both of them,” he said, pointing to Daniel, who was now on his knees.
Damor nodded, and while he carried Ivan away, Sesi and Lionel supported Daniel.
As the five left the field, Aaron turned his attention to Zera, his eyes back to its hazel.
She glanced around at the pile of bodies in the open field. “I’ll have nightmares about this night for a long time.”
His eyes dropped in remorse at her words, “I am sorry.”
She shook her head and said, “I am not. It had to be done.”
He lifted his hand to stroke her face tenderly. “I will be here to support you and help you get over it the best way I can.”
She knew he meant it.