Werewolf Forest

Werewolf Forest::Chapter 31

RECAP:

The forest was silent. The little creatures had run away, as if they had been warned of the oncoming massacre.  Even the wind seemed to blow slower and colder. The only sound was our breathing and fearful heartbeats. Connors eyes never left the field, waiting and waiting for the long overdue reunion.

A single deep brown wolf broke through the tree line.

Danny.

He sniffed the air, catching our scent. His eyes snapped to our hiding place in the bushes and he seemed to smile, dark and sinister. He sat back on his haunches and raised his nose to the sun. His howl was deep and ominous. It pounded in my ears like war drums. Slowly, more and more wolves emerged from the trees. As his howl grew in volume, the edge of the clearing filled with a sea of ragged fur. There were hundreds of them. We were easily outnumbered three to one. I could feel the dread in the air as the flow of wolves continued. Andrew looked down at me.

‘It’ll be ok,’ he thought. The lie parents tell to their children on their deathbeds did little to comfort me. I didn’t reply, simply looked over the sea of brown and grey death. It hovered like a vulture waiting for an animal to die beneath it. There was no way we could win. There were too many of them. Then it finally dawned on me.

I was going to die.

We were all going to die.

Connors words rang in my head.

‘If I am to die today…

I’m taking those bastards down with me.’

Chapter 31

Gage and Jason flanked Danny in their synchronized dance as he stalked to the center of the field. We watched in silence as they shifted to their human forms, still as menacing as before. The air was silent, not a single word spoken, or breath taken. Connor slowly emerged from the bushes, showing himself to Danny. Their eyes met, Connors filled with fear and anger, Danny’s with an unfeeling empty arrogance. He smirked at Connor as he walked, not a trace of fear about him. We slowly followed behind him, as did the companies covering our flanks. Once out of the trees, the company stopped, following unspoken orders from Connor.

‘Everyone keep your cool, don’t let them bait you. We have to stall the battle as long as we can. It will take time for the others to get into position. Stay with me and follow my lead.’ Connor shifted as we walked, and we followed suit. We stopped in the middle of the field, but five feet from Danny. Danny and Connor never lost eye contact, staring each other down. Standing next to each other, they looked as similar as twins, yet as different as day and night. They both towered to the same height, their hair and eyes were the same color. But Danny looked as if he was in shadow, as if he existed only in an alternate, darker world. Danny’s eyes were empty of all but bloodlust, and Connor had too many to identify.

“Little brother,” said Danny. “It has been far too long.” He smiled, sizing Connor up.

“Far too long,” agreed Connor.

“Now, little brother, we both know how this will end. Why not give up now? You could fight, and die. Or you could surrender, upon which only most of you will die.” He eyed our troops back on the tree line.

“No Danny, this ends here. You versus me. Like it should have been a long time ago.” Connor took a step forward, sending a ripple of strained growls across both packs.

“Now, now, little brother, no need to get testy. Let me see if I can get you to…reconsider my offer,” He waved his hand in the air. Men from his pack broke through the crowd of claws and fur. Each held the shoulders of a person with a bag over their head and their arms bound behind their backs. They brought their prisoners before us and pushed them to their knees. A line of Danny’s men stood between the prisoners and us. One by one, the men pulled the bags off their heads.  Elli looked up at us from the ground, her starburst eyes wide in fear. All the other missing pack members were lined up beside her. The man holding Elli grabbed her by her hair and pulled it back, exposing her throat. He pulled a knife from his belt and flipped it open. “Surrender and I will spare them, though I wish I could say the same for you, little brother.”