by Alicia Banks
“Dominque. Come out. There is a problem,” Taylor replied.
Dominque and Isabella exchanged a worrying glance and Isabella ran to open the door. Taylor stood there, looking extremely worried.
“Dominque. There are humans. In the forest. An army, with guns and weapons,” he said.
“Hold on. Humans? How?” Dominque asked.
“The forest was starting to fill up with their stench. At first I thought it was the pup, so I ignored it. But it kept getting stronger, and I told Lucius to just do a run and make sure it’s all good,” Taylor said. “It’s not good. Humans are here, with a proper army. They will be here in less than an hour or so.”
Isabella saw Dominque’s eyes light up with determination. “Get the pack. Tell them what is happening. Get them all ready to fight. Send someone to the armory, and get as much armor as we can,” he said, taking charge.
Taylor nodded. “Any other orders?”
“Yea. Send Lucius. Also, tell Rose to take the little children and the extremely old, and then evacuate. Tell her to take the pup with her. Go somewhere and hide. Everyone who can fight, stays,” Dominque instructed. Taylor nodded, running out.
Dominque took out a piece of paper and started to write a note. Isabella didn’t interrupt him, letting him concentrate. He finished writing and turned to Isabella. “Do you have any wax?” he asked.
Isabella nodded and handed him some. He melted it and then stamped the note with his ring. Lucius was here by now and Dominque turned to him.
“How many?” he asked.
“Over a thousand. They come prepared with silver bullets and weapons,” Lucius replied.
“Get to the armory. Get as much armor as you can. I am sending a note to the other packs, to ask them for help. We need to hold on, until we get reinforcements. I appoint you general. Go and assemble everyone,” he ordered and Lucius nodded, before leaving.
“Isabella, come here. Look at this map. You see this place? Here is a letter, stamped by me, asking the packs over there for the reinforcements. It’s a three-hour journey, if you run non-stop. Get there, give them my note,” Dominque said.
“Three hours? Just to reach it? It will be six hours before the reinforcements can get here. Can you hold them for that long?” Isabella asked, feeling herself melt with worry.
“We will. I promise you. But this is important. We can hold them, provided that help reaches us,” Dominque said.
Isabella didn’t want to leave, but she knew she had to do this, no matter that. She nodded and took the letter.
“Promise me, that when I get back, you will still be here. Alive,” Isabella said.
“Aye. Have I let you down yet?” Dominque said smiling. Isabella shook her head and gave him a long and passionate kiss before leaving.
Time was running out and Isabella knew she had to do everything she could to keep her pack and Dominque safe.
Chapter 17
Dominque
Elder Lawson finished suiting Dominque in his armor, a rather genius invention. Dominque had started work on the design almost five years ago, in case there was ever a situation like this. The entire council had taken on the project with fervor and now the results stood before them. The armor was light, with multiple thin plates overlapping to provide extreme flexibility, allowing the wolf body to twist and turn almost naturally.
It also provided protection against the silver bullets by absorbing most of the force of the bullets. Of course, it did have its faults. For one, someone had to put the armor on the wolf after they shifted. For another, giving flexibility to the armor meant compromising its strength. The material could only take a few bullets before it would stop offering protection.
Nevertheless, it was quite a genius invention and Dominque was confident that they could hold them off. After the elder finished suiting him up, he went to help the other wolves, and Dominque walked out. The evacuation was complete, the children and the elderly had left with Rose. Only those who could fight stayed behind, like Elder Lawson, who was still a very strong fighter.
The women also dressed in armor, ready to defend their pack. Dominque continued to study the area, trying to formulate a plan. Taylor finished suiting up and walked over to Dominque.
“Almost everyone is ready. The humans are almost here as well. I can smell them,” he said.
Dominque nodded and once almost everyone was assembled, he started to pace. “My soldiers. My wolves. My fighters!” He roared.
The wolves howled in response and Dominque stood facing them. “My warriors! The time has come we show these humans that we will not bow down! We have followed the treaty with dignity and respect, but if they dare break it, then we will teach them a lesson they will never forget!” He roared, and the wolves howled again.
“Something like this happened twenty years ago. The great battle, which our elders fought valiantly. Many of us lost our lives that day! Now, we are stronger. We are better. We know that they are coming, and we have prepared well. This time, they will run back with their tails between their legs! We will show them what it means to be a wolf!” Dominque shouted, and the wolves howled and growled in response.
Then silence fell, as the wolves stood in their formations, ready and waiting for their enemy. Taylor walked forward and stood next to Dominque as his right hand. Lucius stood to the left of Dominque, his general.
“I have sent for reinforcements. It will take them six hours to get here. We just have to hold them off for that long,” Dominque whispered, and Taylor and Lucius nodded. They all stood there, and soon enough the sounds of humans walking started to vibrate through the air.
Dominque felt his body fill with adrenaline. He could almost ignore the pain of his previous wounds. He felt the vibrations on the ground as the army drew closer. The minutes seemed to stretch into hours as they waited, filled with anticipation. The army started to come into view. Lucius had been right, there were over a thousand, easily.
They wore their own armor and carried guns and weapons. He knew they had silver bullets and silver coated weapons. The army was led by a man, dressed in a rather fancy armor.
“I am Captain Luther! The captain of the guard,” he announced. “On my right, is our Mayor Bradford, whose baby you have stolen from his crib. Return it at once!”
Dominque frowned. What in the hell was happening? “The pup is yours? We sent you letters. You refused,” Dominque replied.
“The wolf lies! If you will not return the child, we will find him ourselves! ATTACK!” Luther shouted, and the army started to run towards them.
“ATTACK, MY WOLVES!” Dominque roared, and the wolves ran with superhuman speed to meet the army.
Dominque saw a man running straight towards him, holding a spear coated with silver, and he lunged towards him. The man raised his spear, but Dominque was faster. He was on to the man in a matter of seconds, sinking his teeth in the man’s throat. He felt blood coat his fangs as he ripped the man’s throat open and threw him away.
Instantly, he was surrounded by about 4 humans. He dodged one of them, his powerful legs allowing him to move fast. He twisted, slashing one man’s chest open and then quickly turned and lunged onto another. He sunk his teeth into his arm and tore it apart, when he felt another man approaching from behind him. He jumped again, dodging the man and then lunged at him, sinking his powerful claws on his neck.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp shooting pain in his side and turned to see that a human had managed to pierce him with one of his silver weapons in a gap between his armor.
Dominque growled in pain and slashed furiously at the man, who let out a blood curdling scream as Dominque tore through his leg. The man stumbled and fell, and Dominque delivered the last blow. The humans seemed to keep on coming, one after the other, endlessly. A whole group surrounded him at one time, making it difficult for him to fight. They found gaps in his armor and injured him before Dominque managed to take them down. Dominque turned around and saw the battlefield. When he got a small break in the middle, his w
arriors were fighting still, even though they were bleeding and injured.
The wolves’ superhuman speed and armor kept them safe from the bullets till now. Suddenly a shot rang out. Dominque whipped around to see a bullet heading straight for him. He knew he wouldn’t have time to react and was almost frozen when a wolf came in front of him. The bullet hit the wolf’s skull and he fell onto the ground, near Dominque’s feet.
It was Lucius. He died saving Dominque. Anger burned through his body, Dominque lunged straight for the shooter’s throat. His head clouded with rage. He was going to kill them all.
Chapter 18
Isabella
Isabella ran as fast as she could. She knew she had to get reinforcements as soon as possible. She bounded through the mountain; she knew she was almost to the place. She just hoped that Dominque was alright. Her heart craved to be there, standing next to him, protecting him, fighting with him.
She ran faster, skirting through the trees, when a she heard a soft whisper. “Isabella,” the voice whispered. Isabella stumbled at the surprise and tried to look around, but she didn’t see anyone.
The whisper came again. “Isabella.” This time Isabella saw a woman, draped in a long cloak, holding a staff standing there. She stopped, frowning at the image.
“I am the Seer, Isabella. You must hurry, there is no time,” the woman said.
“I… What?” Isabella asked. She had always believed that the Seer didn’t exist.
The Seer raised her staff and there was a bright flash, and then Isabella started to see images. A woman sitting next to an empty crib, crying. A man standing next to her, softly crying. Then a vicious face of another man.
“I… I don’t understand,” Isabella whispered.
“Return the child back to the humans! They come for their child! Hurry, Isabella. Hurry! Return back to the battlefield!” The Seer’s ethereal voice echoed as understanding dawned on Isabella. She immediately started running back towards the pack. Her legs were starting to tire from running so fast, but she knew she had to get there. No matter what.
She reached the cave where Rose had taken the children and the elderly. She ran in, and Rose looked at her surprised.
“Isabella? What happened? Is it Taylor?” she asked, worried.
“No. The Pup. Give it to me. Quick,” Isabella said, and a confused Rose handed it to her. Isabella immediately started to run, making her way towards the battlefield. She was slowly getting closer and closer; she could hear the sounds of the battle.
Suddenly, a shot rang out, and a sharp shooting pain ran through Isabella’s foot. She collapsed and the pup fell out of the basket, starting to cry. She looked up and saw the vicious looking man she had been shown by the Seer. He walked over and picked up the pup, laughing manically.
“Let him go.” Isabella growled.
“I will. Hand me that necklace you wear. I will let him go,” the man said.
Isabella knew she couldn’t fight him. It wouldn’t be long before the silver started poisoning her blood.
“I said let him go!” She snarled, but the man just laughed.
“I will count to ten. Give me the necklace, or I kill you and the pup,” he said.
Isabella growled, and then shifted back to a human. She took off her necklace and threw it to him. He laughed manically and then putting the pup on the floor, ran away.
Isabella limped forward, picking the pup up in her arms. She had already been limited time, but now she had even less. The silver would poison her blood, so despite the excruciating pain, Isabella made her way towards the battlefield.
She reached there to find the forest floor covered in bodies and blood. Both humans and wolves lay dead or injured. Yet, the battle still continued. Isabella forced her body to move and she started to climb one of the very tall trees, carrying the pup with her.
When she reached the top, she looked down. She knew she had to act fast, her body was already weakening. She mustered all her energy and howled loudly, attracting everyone’s attention. For a minute, silence reigned.
Isabella held up the pup and shouted, “I have the child!” The humans erupted, shouting in anger, and they turned to attack the wolves with renewed vigor.
Then the mayor shouted, “STOP! I ORDER YOU TO STOP!” The humans stopped, looking at their leader.
The mayor looked up at Isabella. “Please. That is my son. Give him back. We only came here to get him. Please, I beg you. Don’t hurt him,” he said.
Isabella climbed down, clutching the baby in her arms. She reached the ground and walked over to the mayor. “Here. We never met him harm. We found him in an old well, cold and starving. We took him in,” she said, handing the baby over to him.
“Aye. We sent you letters, telling you we found your pup.” Isabella heard Dominque say, and she almost collapsed with relief. He was alive! Heavily bleeding, but alive.
“Letters? We received no letters. We sent you hawks, waited for your response…” the mayor said.
“You are lying, you human!” Dominque growled. “You refuse our attempts to keep peace. We stuck to the treaty, we tried to return the child to you! All these people dead. All this carnage and tragedy. It’s all your fault.”
“Yes. We have had enough!” Taylor shouted and the wolves howled.
“Wait. Dominque, just wait. This is all a huge misunderstanding!” Isabella said.
“So much death… for a misunderstanding?” Dominque said, snarling.
“No. For a planned misunderstanding,” Isabella said.
Just then a manic laugh resounded, and the vicious looking man walked over. “The girl catches on fast. You are a foolish, foolish man, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for being such an amazing puppet,” the man said, laughing.
“Luther? Captain Luther?” the mayor said, gasping. “Why…?”
“For this,” he said, with a cruel smile, and held up the necklace. It was glowing the moon light. He slashed his palm with a knife and dropped a few drops on it. He then held it up to the sky and the necklace began to shine. His body began to glow with power, and he laughed and laughed. Isabella knew it was too late. Her body was now too weak to even move, and she felt herself black out.
Chapter 19
Dominque
Dominque saw Isabella fall and immediately jumped forward to grab her. Taylor took this opportunity to jump at Luther, who raised his hand and a beam burst out of it, pushing Taylor away. Taylor fell down, and Dominque found himself staring in shock, his best friend lying on floor, not moving, and his soul mate collapsed in his arms.
“Luther? Why? I don’t understand?” The mayor was stammering as Luther stood there laughing.
“You stupid man. How long have you held this necklace and failed to recognize the power it holds? You gave it away to the wolves in return for their location when you held this power in your hands all along! When I found out about it, I knew I had to get my hands on it,” Luther said, laughing manically.
“You...? Did all this?” the mayor said, frozen in place.
“I needed to get to the wolves to find the necklace, but I knew if I came here with less than an army, I would be slaughtered. I took the baby. I threw it in the well! It was so funny, watching you both stumble and blunder, sending each other hawks. All because your stupid treaty stated you aren’t allowed to approach each other without declaring open war. This plan of mine would have never worked otherwise. I intercepted your letters to each other. I convinced you to attack them in search of your baby. Now, I finally have the necklace,” Luther said, busting into a fit of laughter again.
Dominque growled, and Luther turned to look at him. “To think, all this could have been avoided if you had just learned to co-exist with each other.”
Dominque gently put Isabella down and stood up. He started walking towards Luther, who looked at him amused. “You still want to fight?” he asked.
A beam of light shot from Luther’s hands, but Dominque was expecting it, and he dodged it. Gaining speed, he ran straight tow
ards him. Luther shot another beam, which Dominque dodged again. Luther’s reflexes were too slow for Dominque’s speed, and Dominque was also onto him, when Luther gave another blast.
This time it hit Dominque in the chest, and he fell back, feeling severe pain spread through his body. He felt too weak to even move, when his eyes fell on Isabella. Purely through will power, he got up and started walking toward Luther again.
Luther gave a short laugh and sent another beam towards Dominque, who managed to dodge it, but the next one hit him again. He fell backwards, but forced his body to move again. He couldn’t give up.
“What? Why don’t you stay down?” Luther shouted.
“Because my Isabella wouldn’t. She would survive on pure will power, but she would never give up,” Dominque said, snarling.
“Then, like her, you die as well!” Luther shouted, and sent another beam blasting towards Dominque. It never hit Dominque though, because at that moment the mayor stepped in front, holding his shield. He resisted Luther’s attack, pushing back to the best of his capabilities.
Dominque heard a howl and turned to see the wolves rushing straight towards Luther, who started blasting them. Then there was a shout and the humans started to rush him as well.
“What is this!” Luther shouted, enraged, trying to hit everyone, but he was outnumbered. The mayor also gave a war cry and rushed towards Luther. Dominque saw wolves and humans falling alike. The wolves could still withstand some of Luther’s power and got up again to battle him. The humans though, were too injured to even move.
Dominque forced his body up; he was the leader of his pack. He would fight with them to the very end. He ran towards Luther again, howling. The wolves joined him, howling with him. They ran towards him, Luther blasting beams left and right, but the wolves were quick on their feet. They dodged them. Dominque managed to reach him this time and slashed his stomach. Luther let out a cry of pain before throwing Dominque away with another beam.
