Page 86 of Rising Luna
Lupe came here and brought a battle to our doorstep. She endangered the next generation of Shadowborns by coming here and trying to kill us all. This wouldn’t be something any pack would take lightly, but we were some of the only Shadowborns left.
Like she heard me, Lupe turned to face me. The same wicked grin like when she dropped the shadows was on her face.
“You think this was all for you? Oh... you sweet child.”
My face fell as I saw the Monarch’s pack charge at my pack. I screamed as a few of them jumped on the backs of the wolves I grew up with and tore into their flesh. My mates rushed in asthey tried to fight off the oncoming wave, and rage billowed out of me as I ran towards Lupe.
I remained in my astral form until the second before my fist connected with her face. Snarls, howls, and yelps filled my ears just before the crack of Lupe’s jaw rang. She knew she had these wolves in her back pocket. That’s why she smiled the way that she did. This was her plan all along. Her plan was to weaken my pack until we couldn’t fight back, and then release the wolves normally used for rescues. She smiled before engaging in my fight.
It turned into a fury of fists and I pushed myself to hit everywhere I could to put her to the damn ground. Every blow I landed didn’t seem to phase her. I could see her trying to reach into her pocket and I would kick her hands away. She could have a knife dipped in wolfsbane for all I knew strapped to her. I wasn’t taking any chances. This was going to end here one way or another. The only thing I wished I had was a weapon to plunge into her damn chest now.
You aren’t cutting off the head of the snake.Those words went through my mind and I understood that meant even if I killed Lupe today, the others wouldn’t return to normal. It annoyed me to no end that I couldn't fix those who joined her, but also knew they couldn’t live past today, anyway. This was a plague, and I had to stop the infection as quickly as I could before it spread through the masses.
Pain registered in my chest and I heard the howls from my pack. Another one of my pack mates had fallen. Pain and anger bubbled inside me, and this time it was someone lower in the pack, but it was still a pack member. my parents were fighting in this battle and I couldn’t allow for it to get where they fall too. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if they had died because I didn’t stop this in time.
A new wolf came into view and collided with my side, sending me to the ground. My focus shifted to them and I was glad to see they were still in human form. Getting to my feet before one of their boots connected with my head, I twisted around to face my new opponent. Another person was attacking Lupe, and I couldn’t tell who, but it opened me up to fight this person without fear of Lupe attacking me at the same time. Some fists and kicks went flying, but I blocked and evaded them all until I dropped to the ground and swiped their legs to make them fall to the ground. This female had been around my height and weight, but she didn’t have the fighting skills I did. I landed a few punches to make her dazed before grabbing her neck and twisting.
This would never be my favorite part about fighting. The moment I heard the snap and saw the light go out in her eyes, I wanted to vomit. Camilla was the first person I had killed and some part of me hoped I would never have to kill again after that. Then everything with Cole and his friends. I thought I would grow a little used to the death. I didn’t. This sucked.
Another wolf slammed into me. This one was in his wolf form and his jaws wrapped around my forearm. Before he could bite down, I called on the magic to turn me astral so his teeth wouldn’t sink in. I move my arm out of his mouth and then switch back to kick him off of me. It was getting too hard too. Fight this way, and I knew I had to switch to my wolf form. Once I did, I collided with him, then bit down on anything that I could get to. First, it was shoulder, and then it was his leg. I remembered something that Hunter had taught me. I kept trying to incapacitate him by biting into his limbs. Once he couldn’t move, I rolled him onto his back and bit down onto his neck, ripping out his throat.
Get Lupe by herself, Dylan! Run to a different place so we can focus on everything else.
That was a good plan. I took my attention to my enemy and charged at her. She was about to plunge a knife into my pack mate, then I heard the knife drop to the ground as I pushed onto her back. I snapped at her with my jaws, as she batted my muzzle away. She turned astral to get out from underneath me and then ran off. I chased after her and jumped on to her back, only to go through her as she called on her astral form again.
This would not be an easy fight. But I needed to do this. Another explosion of pain went through my chest as another one of my pack mates had fallen. Too many were losing their lives inside of this fight. And I had to put an end to it. I may not cut off the head of the snake by killing Lupe, but at least it would stop the fighting. She was a leader, and they would all stop once a leader was dead.
Lupe got out from under me and moved to her feet. We were in a different area than before, pulling us away from the fight. I checked the bonds, so I knew my mates were okay, and once I felt their energy was as strong as before, I lowered my head and growled at Lupe.
“Why are you fighting this so hard? Don’t you understand how this is all futile? Even the king wants this!”
It still shocked me to know the king wanted to be part of Lupe’s plans. He shouldn’t want this for his people because it would turn us all into killers. People would fear us, and the hunts that used to plague our kind would return. Humans would want us all dead and come for us. Maybe not for the other species, but definitely us werewolves. Maybe even the other species would join in just to contain us. Once we knew how to break through the mind and release the animal, it could spill over into the shifters of our world. I didn’t want to imagine a damn dragon not having the human side keeping it in line.
I took a step forward and continued my snarl. She needed to know I wouldn’t give up. Not now, not ever. This wasn’t the future of werewolves.
Another death in the bonds and I felt myself wanting to crumble. This was becoming too much. My parents still fought, but again, they outnumbered us. What the hell could I do here to make a difference other than killing Lupe? So far, she has fought enough to just drain me of energy. I doubted the Great Moon would give me another wave of power. Not even just to me, but my entire pack. So many of them were becoming too overwhelmed by their foes.
My mates were the same way.
Don’t give up, Dylan! You are the key to saving us all.Hunter yelled in my mind.
How? Lupe hasn’t slowed down at all, but I needed a damn boost from the Great Moon to fight her?
Because she hasn’t had to fight everyone like us! She has just had to fight you.Silas replied to my thoughts.
You got this, Dylan. Show her what you are fucking made of and end this bitch!Jackson added.
It was hard to feel like this would end up the way we want it when I could feel the pack falling left and right. The odds were against us, and it felt like Lupe had an infinite amount of energy. Even if I wanted to win, I would need to catch her off guard. She has just spent weeks learning my every move and combo. In our last fight, she taught me how to use my magic. Lupe was the boss battle of my life, and I had no idea how to even defeat her.
She had to have some kind of weakness. my first guess would be her mate, but Lupe had rejected Teowulf. She didn’t give two shits about her mate now. Even when he joined us in the fight, she didn’t pay him no mind. Her focus had been on me.
Howls and snarls filled my ears. The battle still ensued and here I was, staring down the bitch who caused it. With my beingin my wolf form, I couldn’t talk to her. That’s how I preferred it, anyway. I lunged at her and she moved. I tried again, and she disappeared and popped up behind me to kick me across the field. I rolled after I landed, but I had to shake off the kick that had gone to my ribs. For someone who wanted to keep me alive to drain my magic to fuse with the rest of the werewolves, Lupe wasn’t going easy on me.
“You petulant child. Don’t you understand how I will make the world better? Our animals are the reason we have the power that we do! There is so much untapped potential in their souls. Our human halves are stopping them from being full power!” Lupe glared down at me and I just stared up at her. Even in wolf form, I knew I had to look bored from the way she snarled at me. “You won’t ever understand my intent. I thought you were smarter than this, but I was wrong. You were supposed to be the one who unlocked us all from the cage we were put in by the Great Moon!”
She rushed at me, and I went astral so she couldn’t do a damn thing to me. The knife was suddenly in her hands again, and I evaded before it cut me. No way totell that thing could cut through me even in astral form, but I wasn’t taking that chance. My luck wasn’t the best right now, and I couldn’t risk being sick from wolfsbane or something from that blade. Lupe furiously swiped at me and it became hard to evade. She had come close to cutting me a few times, and I drew on my magic to send me a few feet away from where she stood.
Teleporting wasn’t something I was used to wielding, but I did it. It was a way to keep her moving and charging at me while I came up with a plan to get her on the ground and my teeth in her neck. She roared as she tried harder to gain the upper hand. It amused me to see that my teleportation was angering her. To see her annoyed and angry about her losing the edge that she had.
