A Horse-Shifters Tale (Under Going Minor Editing Of Chapters)

Chapter Nine

Hali's POV
I was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of howling. It sounded like multiple wolves, all nearby.
My half-asleep self took a moment to remember that we were surrounded by werewolves on a daily basis and therefore, shouldn't be surprised.
The only problem was this- the howling was followed by shouting.
The shouting came from the direction of the pack house, and I could see multiple lights around the main property (including the barn) turning on.
A few of the horses began to panic, not from the lights, but the fact that an unfamiliar smell was getting closer. It screamed unfamiliar and predator.
That's when it hit me.
This was either a pack of rogues or a rival pack.
Honestly, I shouldn't have been surprised by this fact. I should have been surprised it hadn't happened sooner in fact!
I had known that the original peace from The Takeover years ago was slowly falling apart.
Werewolves attacking werewolves, vampires attacking vampires, overall chaos ensuing.
I was jolted from my thoughts when the barn door was slammed open, most likely by a werewolf in panic.
Only, I didn't recognize this one and neither did the others. They shrieked and whinnied their hearts out at the, supposed, rogue. Some rearing and banging on their stalls.
Alas, when trapped, there truly isn't much one can do against one who is not.
The rogue grinned at the panic he has caused and strutted down the barn like he owned the place.
The sounds of fighting continued outside, so I knew at least that wasn't true.
As the rogue strutted through, he unlatched the stalls of the horses. The horses immediately dashed for the open door, causing even more panic as some of the werewolves attempted to regain them before they ran off.
The rogue stopped at my stall last, considering it was at the end of the barn. No other horses remained, having all fled from the barn the second their stalls were open.
He looked at me, that same sick grin he had walked in with still on his face.
I snorted and glared, but did not panic. I knew how to control my instincts, considering I had a mostly human mind.
"Ooh aren't you special?" He cooed, sounding not at all impressed or sincere.
He unlatched the door and jumped aside, assuming I would dash out. If I had eyebrows, I would've raised one.
I just stood where I was and looked at him.
The rogue finally lost his grin and looked at me confused as to why I wasn't running.
You'd think that the fact that I wasn't panicked when he walked over would clue him in, I thought to myself, amused.
The rogue snarled and growled, trying to spook me. When I did nothing, he walked into the stall and started to go around to my rear.
He raised a hand, as if to smack my rear. I bucked, my back hooves hitting him in the face and sending him crashing into the back wall.
He groaned and slid to the ground, unconscious, for now.
I inwardly smirked and trotted from the stall, proud of myself.
As I left the barn, I was greeted with utter chaos. Many werewolves in their wolf form and many choosing to remain human and wield weapons such as shotguns and a couple pistols.
I realized that in the chaos, I could slip away and undoubtedly make it back home. I, unfortunately, had grown attached to the pack and couldn't stand to watch many of their members fall.
The rogues outnumbered Chase's pack, but Chase's pack obviously had them outmatched.
I galloped to the first rogue I saw and reared in his face, causing him to shout as my hooves struck him.
I didn't trample him, even though I could've, just caused him to be startled and run away.
Wolves weren't exactly focused on a black horse with hooves, when they could be focusing on multi colored wolves with sharp teeth.
This made my job much easier.
When the rogues least expected it, I ran at them, ramming them or stopping on some part of their bodies. Whether they were in wolf form or human form, it mostly worked.
There were some, where I only angered them and had to use extra encouragement by sending them flying with my powerful hind legs.
As the night wore on, more wolves fled than were killed. Once the last few saw there was nobody else, they ran with their tails tucked between their legs.
They'd be back, undoubtedly, with more fighters once they recruited some.
I spotted Chase and Ash across the way, closer to the pack house than I had been. They'd most likely been defending the children, pregnant and nursing mothers, and elderly.
Chase had blood dripping down from his head and Ash had more blood in his mouth than cuts on his body.
They looked angry and tired, but also relieved.
I walked towards them and Ash looked up in surprise.
"Look at that Chase, your horse stayed," he exclaimed, nudging Chase to alert him to my presence.
"That's what it looks like. She was raised in the mountains, she's probably used to panic," he explained to Ash.
"The only problem is that we only have a few horses left, all the others fled," Ash said, sounding irritated.
"Honestly, what's the point of releasing the horses anyways?! All it does is irritate and anger us. I've got to go all the way to the auction and find more good quality horses and..." Ash began to rant.
I tuned him out and nodded to Chase before walking back towards the barn. I mean, why not? They'd take me back anyways, why not let them focus more on finding the horses that had run and calming them down.
The ground had spots of blood on it, and the occasional dead rogue. I saw no dead pack members, thank goodness, only injured ones.
I sidestepped to avoid the dead and the blood, but my hooves were still painted red by the time I arrived back into the barn. I left bloodied hoofprints as I walked back to the stall.
I didn't enter it, as I didn't feel like getting blood in the place I'd be sleeping before I remembered the unconscious rogue.
I peeked in the stall.
Yup, I thought. Still there.
I groaned in annoyance and walked into the stall, grabbing the collar of the rogue.
I dragged him out of the stall and out of the barn.
I spotted that Chase hadn't left the spot I last saw him, but Ash had finished his rant.
I dragged the rogue over to them, with only the occasional groan in unconscious protest.
I dropped him in front of Ash and Chase, snorted, and went back to the barn to wait for someone to clean off the blood and sweat.
Ash and Chase merely stared after me with wide eyes and confusion.