Mated To An Enemy

The enemy came in strong and fast. Hybrids, bears, and ferals all attacking at various points along the defensive line. They threw themselves at the forces of Winter with reckless abandon.

Across the line, battles raged in small groups.

The Summer soldiers sent to guard the refugees had spread themselves across the line. Shifting into their wolves, they could give orders through their howls across the distance between themselves.

In this way, they could primarily secure the outer edges of the line and focus the enemy toward the center. Here the majority of the defensive forces were led by Axel.

With their more aggressive tactics, the Frostbite wolves shot forward from the rest, explicitly targeting the feral wolves. Axel had given them this assignment knowing that the feral would be the least problematic of their enemies. If Frostbite could thin the numbers, it allowed the rest of the defensive to focus on the larger targets.

Corrine had lined her Valkyrie at all potential entry points at the Safe Zone, sending two of her strongest warriors to stand their ground at the midpoint between Axel’s forces and the Safe Zone.

The few beasts that made it past the Summer guard were met head-on by the sword and spear of these women.

Corrine felt confident they could and would hold this ground, but she feared for all the men and women who held the defensive line.

Alice and Bell led the refugees inside the Safe Zone into the hospital and the dining hall. It would be a tight fit to get everyone inside, but they were the largest and most defensible places within the walls.

Alice worked with those that volunteered to run patrols, sending them out to check the walls and the mountains. She reminded them that while the main defensive force was occupied by overwhelming numbers, there was a good chance that enemies would be able to move past them.

The patrols understood and left for their assigned routes hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

Peter and Myka joined the patrols, planning to leave them when they reached the far homes of refugees. They would go from home to home to ensure all the refugees were accounted for and headed to safety.

***

The Fallen, as Axel had taken to calling them while giving out his orders, seemed to focus their attacks on him. Their elongated arms and legs made them hard to strike and even harder to avoid. But their hunched posture and the mid-transformation of their backs gave a broader target. Moreover, they prevented a quick reaction to an attack from behind.

The real problem was that they were brilliant. They seemed to communicate through their screeching howls and the constant barking and snarling.

Axel managed to take down his first attacker with ease. The fallen had thrown itself at him allowing him to simply run it through with his sword. But Axel realized too late that the first attack was a sacrificial lamb, hiding the attacks of the other two.

One of them managed to scratch at his side, their thick claws digging into his armor and almost exposing his flesh. Then, both monsters turned and attacked him at once. Axel could barely hold his defensive position against them as they alternated between attacking him from multiple angles and brutal, quick attacks.

He thrust his sword into the chest of the first, but to his surprise, the beast grabbed hold of the weapon, refusing to let Axel pull it out even as it was dying.

Axel struggled to take back his weapon, but he let it go and dove backward, feeling the shift around him as a thick claw came dangerously close to his face.

He stumbled to keep his balance. The fallen that had almost got him growled and stepped toward Axel. Suddenly the loud screech of the fallen that held Axel’s sword drew both of their attention. The monster screamed and fell to its knees. Riding it down to the ground with daggers pressed firmly into its back was a man that Axel had not expected to see.

“Richard?” Axel called out in surprise.

The former Beta looked up with an angry smile.

“Hello, my Alpha,” he said in a gruff voice. “I came to lay a stone for my daughter... but these bastards are in my way.”

***

As the fighting raged, one of the fallen had slinked away from notice with something in its hands. It made its way through the forest, the snow, and the stone mountain path that led to a natural archway in the trees.

Stepping through the archway, the fallen walked into the natural grove. At the center was a stone platform. From the scattered and withered memories, it knew that this was where the moon shone brightest.

It lifted its head, tilting in confused contemplation as the sound of running water drew its attention. Again, the broken memories were stirred, and there was hesitation in its movements.

It took several steps forward to look at the stream of water, the mushrooms, and white belled flowers that grew around it.

It seemed to remember holding one of those flowers in its hands. But as it looked now, the hands it saw were not the same. It was not the same.

Instead of flowers, there were two grey blocks with wires.

A rumbling growl grew in its malformed chest, and the drive to destroy took hold again.

Once its job was done, the fallen raised its snout to the sky and let out a loud screeching howl. The same screeching cry echoed at least five more times in the valley, where the fighting raged.

The fallen lowered its head, preparing to leave the sacred place. But one more glance brought a memory of warmth, affection, and joy. Then, with a soft whimper, the fallen lay down on the ground, a tear slipping over its leathery skin as it decided to stay until the end.

Axel lifted his head as the howls rang out in a chorus across the field. His brows knitted together in concern and confusion.

Corrine listened, her heart racing with a distinct feeling of dread she didn’t understand.

Inside the Safe Zone, Alice and Bell looked at each other, each recognizing the panic in each other’s eyes, but they said nothing. Continuing to guide the refugees to their places.

Just outside the border of Winter, the howl was heard.

He grinned, squeezing the trigger in his hand.

Simultaneously, four things happened.

Axel felt a sharp pressure in his chest that forced him to his knees with a heavy groan.

Corrine felt the air pull from her lungs.

Through Ashleigh’s voice, Lily screamed in agony.

And at the border of Winter, Roman’s fiery eyes glowed with delight as he took a step over the borderline.

“Go,” he whispered.

And from around him, an army of hybrids, bears, fallen, and feral wolves surged forward through the gates of Winter.