13

36. War

RAMI

***

"We've got company."

A line of twenty hybrids stood in our path in the middle of the hallway to exit the dungeon. Idris and I are leading the group, while Ulysses, Lysander and Eleanor are second in line, followed by Sakura, Viola, Rigel, and Dean. Eva came behind them with Rhea, Nico, Caleb, and Devin. There are only twenty white furred wolves in front of us, and there are over fifty of us, majority being hunters and vampires from Ulysses' clan. Then, there's Idris' clan, including myself, and there's Eva, and of course, the unfortunate soul, Enoch, who I had almost forgotten was here too. Idris had given Enoch the gun with the hybrid-killing bullets, the gun given to Nina by one of General Roman's soldiers. "Ever used a gun before?" Idris asked earlier while handing the weapon. Enoch replied with, "Yeah, a water gun." And the vampire prince goes, "Perfect." Aside from the gun, overall we only carry two stakes, one wood and one silver. We clearly lack weapons, but the hunters need them more than vampires. We don't know where they could get weapons, but for now, we're all going to have to fight without them.

It shouldn't be too bad. The hybrids are still a little off from the plants that I gave them. "Aim for their necks. A weak spot." Lysander informed, fingernails sharpening. "They aren't going to die without the stakes, but for now, twisting their necks will have to do."

I shot the werewolf a small grin. "I hope you know the angry puppies heard you. Now, they're going to do everything to make sure their weak spot is protected." I can see one of the hybrids in the back taking steps back to hide himself. Despite almost all the hybrids looking identical in their wolf form, I know that their alpha is not present. Uriel isn't here. I've seen his wolf form and it is slightly bigger than the others, but not the same size as Lysander. "Also, make sure they don't bite you. Their bites are poisonous to vampires." I had to learn that lesson the hard way. I had provoked a hybrid who was guarding the dungeon and he ended up biting me. If Drew hadn't arrived, I wouldn't be standing here.

"They can certainly try." Ulysses bared his teeth at the pack slowly creeping towards us, growling in a way to intimidate us. Though I'm sure it will take a lot more than growls to get this group to back off. "I've been wanting to rip these mutts' heads off ever since they shoved me in that cell." Behind him, his clan and a few hunters cheered with agreement, all eager to fight the group.

All it took was for one hybrid to cross an invisible line that divides the two sides, and for Idris to take the throw the first punch, for the war to begin.

***

I jumped up and grabbed a pipe from the ceiling of the hallway to swing forward. I landed with my feet flat on the ground, and legs on both sides of one hybrid who had managed to trap one of the hunters, Mark, underneath him. I firmly clasped my hands on the white wolf's neck, twisting it until the creature stopped moving. Just then, a wooden stake came flying straight towards my face. Mark yanked my shirt, forcing me to duck right before the stake could hit me.

The stake was planted straight to a hybrid's body, who was just centimeters away from biting my head off. With wide eyes, I spun my head to see who had recklessly saved my life. "You're welcome." Ulysses smirked at me before finding another hybrid to tackle.

The wooden stake was extracted from the hybrid behind me by Viola, who used it to behead another that was attacking her brother. At my side, a white wolf cries as a massive, black wolf sank his nails at his body while sinking his teeth by the hybrid's neck, though not enough to draw out blood. A few feet ahead, Caleb pins down the lower body of another hybrid, while Devin keeps the wolf's head still. Sakura then thrusts a silver stake right at its stomach, creating another small pool of blood in the hallway.