Chapter 13

"Vampires have attacked the Eastern border. " Panic surged in the pack.

"Mark, get the warriors ready. " Gabriel commanded. Everyone got alert.

We also gathered our warriors, ready to handle the situation.

"Kimberly, stay close to me." Aiden said. I nodded.

"Tell some of the warriors to stay behind if they attack from some other direction too." Aiden said, and Gabriel agreed with the plan.

We marched towards the Eastern border, ready to deal with whatever hell was about to break on us.

Guards at the borders were injured badly. Blood was scattered all over.

A figure stepped from between the trees. Pale, lean, dressed in a tattered black coat. His eyes glowed faint red in the moonlight.

"You wolves and your little forest games… So cute." The vampire said.

Another vampire dropped silently from the trees behind him. Then another. Their smiles were sharp, hungry.

Gabriel said, "You picked the wrong clearing."

"No, you wolves are getting in our way." He smirked.

"Stop talking and fight if you have guts." I growled.

"Everyone, shift. " Aiden screamed.

Bones cracked, fur erupted, muscles tore and reknit. The air exploded with snarls and growls as the wolves shed their skins and became beasts of fang and furs.

The first vampire moved fast, a blur of pale limbs and shadow. He dove at Aiden, fangs outstretched, but the silver wolf twisted mid-air and slammed into him. The two rolled across the dirt in a whirlwind of snarls and claws.

"I’ll take the ugly one!" Nathan said.

"Which one’s that?! They’re all ugly!" I chuckled.

I ducked as a vampire swung a branch like a club, then leaped, claws sinking deep into his chest. He screamed, but his flesh barely tore.

"They’re armored tonight!" I greeted teeth.

"Aim for the spine or heart. Don’t waste time on soft hits!" Aiden said.

I circled one of the vampires from behind while Gabriel tangled with another. I sprang without warning, slamming into his back and sinking my teeth into his shoulder.

"Bitch!" The vampire roared.

He tried to grab me, and both Aiden and Gabriel approached for help. Gabriel tackled him from the side, dragging him into the trees.

"Call her that again." Gabriel growled.

The vampire didn’t get the chance.

Gabriel's claws tore into his throat as I clamped my jaws down on his spine. With a sickening crack, the vampire stopped moving.

One down.

But another one appeared instantly, fangs bloodied, eyes glowing like coals.

"I liked that one. Now I’ll kill you slower." The other vampire said.

He sprinted toward me

BAM!

Nathan crashed into him from the side in human form, daggers flashing in both hands. He stabbed one into the vampire’s thigh and then slashed upward toward the ribs.

"Try again, leech." Nathan roared.

The vampire shrieked and slammed him against a tree with brutal strength.

"Okay. That hurt." Nathan said spitting the blood.

"Move!" Mark charged.

He swung his silver-bladed dagger through the vampire’s neck. It sliced halfway through before the vampire backhanded him into the dirt. But his blade stayed buried in his neck, sizzling with wolfsbane-laced steel.

"Wolfsbane, it doesn't work on us." Vampire smirked.

I attacked him with a wooden stake, piercing right through his heart.

A vampire dropped on Gabriel from the branches above, biting into his shoulder. He howled and slammed backward into a tree, trying to shake him off.

"Get off him!" I snarled. As much as I want him to suffer, I can't stand here watching him getting hurt.

I leaped, jaws wide, and clamped onto the vampire’s arm. Gabriel twisted, claws slashing across the vampire’s face. Blood sprayed. The vampire shrieked and let go, just as Mark threw a dagger straight through his eye.

We most of the vampires. And now,the last one.

He taller, older, face covered in scars, He stepped out from the mist. He was calm. Too calm.

"Impressive. Most pups don’t last this long." He chuckled.

"We’re not pups." I said.

"You are to me." He replied.

He blurred forward, faster than the others. Nathan tried to intercept him, blades ready, but the vampire caught him mid-air and hurled him into a rock.

Nathan growled in pain.

Gabriel roared, shifting back to human form mid-lunge and slamming into the vampire with his full weight. They tumbled, fists, claws, and fangs flailing. But the vampire was old. Too strong.

He pinned Gabriel, fangs descending toward his throat.

"GABRIEL," I shouted.

Mark ran towards them. But I reached there first in my human form with my weapon. A silver dagger clutched in both hands, aimed right at the vampire’s heart.

I plunged it in.

The vampire froze.

Then gasped. "Silver and ash."

"Told you we don’t play fair." I said.

He screamed once, violently and then disintegrated, collapsing into ash and steam.

Silence returned to the forest. The clearing was littered with blood, fur, daggers, and the smoldering smell of vampire death.

"It's over, guys." Aiden said. All of us made it alive.

"Thank you for your support, Aiden." Gabriel said.

"It's completely alright. Let's go and get rest before making the strategy ahead." Aiden replied.

I looked at Gabriel, and we had a brief eye contact.

"Thank you for saving me." He said.

"I was just returning the favor. " I replied. Before he could take this conversation further, I stood close to Aiden, and Gabriel’s face turned into a scrawl.

All of us headed back to the pack house. Gabriel keeps trying to talk to me, but I'm not ready to face him, not after what he did last time. I have to focus on my life ahead with Aiden as I decided. Gabriel is just trying to manipulate me. He is no better than Mark.

Both are liars and betrayers.

I even eat my dinner in my room, I don't want to be under the same roof as him. I don’t want Aiden to get a wrong idea about us.

I heard a knock on the door. I opened and Aiden is standing there.