Chapter 104: The Battle


    I steady my hands on myp and screw my eyes shut forcing myself to calm my racing heart and


    breathe as slowly as I can, nerves eating me inside out and I am trying not to show it.


    Sat in the dark interior of one of our trucks, in the rear, listening and waiting patiently as the sun goes


    down. Colton and the twins are out running the perimeter of where we wait to get as close to the


    mountain as possible.


    We have a convoy of a dozen trucks all nestled together in a deep dark forest on the far eastern side of


    the valley below the mountain. A ce that took us half the day to get to because of our long detour to


    go all the way around in a wide berth to a part that Juan can’t see from his position. We needed to be


    close before sunset and yet we needed to be hidden incase Juan got any ideas about starting a battle


    before the real threat arrived.


    We know from some of our pack that the mountain too had been released from the fog spell at the


    same time as we were and their confusion and exhaustion has hindered them enough to make it easier


    for us to get within mere miles of the manor. I am guessing Juan and his people have no memory of the


    week of their lives they lost, because everyone here was affected and no one had the memories left


    behind like we did in our protected shell. As far as they know, they woke up after a second of seeing


    the fog and it was gone. Some know more has happened due to linking to family in our pack but none


    of those people would dare report to Juan. He would know then that they were contacting us and be


    seen as traitors. I guess in a way, it’s an advantage for us as that most of them are dazed and


    confused and have no clue about the danger heading their way.


    The only upside to Varro’s army are that halflings can only walk in the dark. Leyanne told us the pure


    bloods don’t need darkness or to hide from sunlight. They can walk around in as day among us if


    they desire, but only don’t because they cannot conceal their teeth or blood red eyes. Varro’s army are


    all halflings, so we don’t even have to worry about the possibility.


    We had time to be ready and sit here waiting for the inevitable, watching the mountain for signs as the


    light fades and tension rises around us. We’ve seen nothing so far and I jump when the door is yanked


    open suddenly and Domi hops inside with a mischievous grin.


    “Sorreeee….. I was in stealth mode.” He winks and Remo and Colton appear behind him, leaving the


    rear doors open and exposing the next truck to view, bringing some needed illumination from the fading


    sky. We have been silently inside here; me, Sierra, Radar and the Luna’s guard with Meadow up front


    in the driver seat, just waiting. No one speaking because we are lost in our heads and focusing on


    what’s toe. The witch is out front, standing meters away and staring at the vast mountain looming


    up in the sky to our left and has been for hours, gazing into space with a huge ck raven sat on her


    shoulder. She makes an impressive visual with her long-hooded cloak and boho style swaying skirts


    that move around her ankle sin the breeze.


    “It’s like everything has stopped. I don’t know what the hell is going on but the valley, the manor, the


    guards. No one is moving, no one is doing anything. The viges are almost dead and yet we could


    feel the pack. We could hear them, but it’s so quiet and peaceful I guess they have no idea whatsoever


    that Vampires are evening.” Domi slides beside me and props his feet up on a bag sat in the


    central area of the van.


    “Didn’t anyone warn them after the links returned?” Sierra blurts out, casting a side eye towards me


    and then Colton and he shakes his head.


    “We forbade the pack from passing on the message in case it got to dad and he did something that


    might hinder us. He will know when they arrive and by then, we should be ready to protect those we


    need to protect.”


    N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    “We did managed to figure out that the pack is split in two,” Remi is the one to voice the intel this time


    and Domi stretches and flops down on one of the metal benches we are upying and sighs loudly.


    “Vige that Juan built in the valley looks like a prison camp now. It seems everyone who stood against


    him is confined to a fenced off barrack of sorts.”


    “Juan and his loyal are holed up in the manor and have a perimeter fence around most of the valley,


    making it more like an army base than the home we knew. It’s not hard to scale but they have


    loudspeakers all around, like maybe they have been using the weapon to counteract vampires in the


    same way we have.” Domi finishes his brothers’ sentence and Colton looks lost in thought, gazing at


    me without focus as he visualizes what they saw.


    “It’s not the home we knew. It’s ……… he’s lost his mind and our people are more like prisoners, than


    pack. It was hard to see it and stay away.” Colton’s pain erupts in my own heart as I feed from his


    emotions and he locks eyes on me properly, a sheen to their surface as his raw pain shines through.


    “We always knew he was capable of so much more than we had seen. I guess without having to keep


    up an act, he finally showed his true self.” Sierra bites out harsh words, her voice rasping as she makes


    it clear that she detests that man with a vengeance. She may still be bonded to him, but her mind and


    soul have a venom that overshadows any love she may be forced to carry. Even bonded to a mate and


    made to care, we can still harbor resentment and something close to real hatred when a rtionship


    breaks down. Maybe it’s because of the love that the anger and hurt can be so much more potent


    when we no longer want our chosen mate.


    I catch radar shifting slightly and pick up on his tense stature and the way he keeps his eyes on the


    floor even when sat right by Sierra’s side. He has been her shadow since she came down from her


    room this morning and stuck by my side. Radar as attentive as always but yet still cannot look his


    Rema in the eye.


    “We think we know which direction they’lle. We rounded as far as we could to scope out without


    being seen and we think they will head in from the west point. There’s a shaded forest that leads in far


    from the outer roads. A trail wide enough and long enough to conceal them at first. Everywhere else is


    too open unless they take this route the way we did.” Colton continues briefing us.


    “An if they do?” my heart pounces into my throat and I lock my eyes on my mate, fear rising up in my


    stomach that we may encounter them head on and intercept before they hit the valley at all. It may be


    better that way for those in the valley, but we are hoping on added numbers from the vigers if we get


    there first.


    “Then we have you. And the witch. And the hope we end this without a fight.” Colton winks at me,


    showing a confidence I know he isn’t really feeling, and it does nothing to console me.


    “That is not going to happen, Master Santo.” Leyanne’s voice wafts our way as she climbs in the back


    of the truck and all eyes are diverted to her. The twins immediately go all gooey eyed and turn to her


    adoringly but are met with a deadpan nk gaze as she wafts past them to nestle firmly in the center.


    Leyanne seems intolerant of any kind of lust aimed her way from males.


    “Meaning?” Colton interjects.


    “They are close and whether theye this route or the other, they won’t leave here without a fight.


    They won’t leave without Juan and his menid in a pool of their own blood. Varro isn’t such a pussy


    cat that the life of his daughter remaining will sway him from decades of anger.”


    The tension rises around me once more and the shift of bodies moving around me highlights we all feel


    the same.


    “Do you know which way they approach?” Radar stands to shield us almost instinctively upon hearing


    our enemy moves close and Leyanne smiles somewhat absurdly for the strained atmosphere.


    “Not yet, but my friends are keeping watch. As the crow flies…. Once they change route to advance,


    then we’ll know.” She shrugs, with a little smug twitch to the corner of her mouth.


    “If they are moving then so should we. Get to the vigers and face down my father before they get


    here. We need to alert the people and those that can still fight should be with us. We’ve waited long


    enough. If they are close, then we don’t have much to wait.” Cesar is in bossy mode and like the rest of


    us, wants an end to this night before it has even begun.


    My heart somersaults because I already knew the n before he said the word, yet it still makes me


    afraid. Like a huge, monumental ball of darkness is swinging over our heads on a thin thread that is


    about to snap at any moment. No matter which way we dive and run, that ball wille crashing down


    on us because we can’t dodge it.


    “Let’s move. There’s no point in waiting any longer.” Meadow cuts through the tense noise and brings


    us all to reality. “There’s only so much nning we can do.” Her tone tense, her words weighing us


    down with the truth within. NO matter how much we n this out, it’s never going to be the same as


    getting through it.


    Colton nods his head to signal agreement and we all get up without anymore hesitation. My stomach in


    knots and light fading fast outside, we cannot dy any longer. The wind is in our favor as it’s blowing


    away from the valley, but at the same time it means we won’t smell the vampires approaching either.


    Our senses maybe overall heightenedpared to humans but smell is still our strongest.


    We file out of the truck quickly and quietly in an orderly fashion and wait while other vehicles empty


    before we y follow the leader and stealthily move into the forest nearby to spread into our


    designated teams. Colton moving behind me closely as we progress and his warmth cloaks me in the


    chilled night air. My guards and Sierra surrounding me, and it hits me with a deep dread that this feels


    as familiar as our mini war against the mountain. The sense of safe that Colton is with me is dampened


    down as my own anxiety swirls up inside my chest.


    You know the n. Stay close, don’t stray from me. No matter what happens stay within the Luna’s


    guard and by mom’s and my side. Don’t take any risks. We will get through this.


    He links me, for my ears only, that soothing and protective way of his, and I nod back at him, turning in


    time to see him shedding clothes and tossing them aside to turn. That magnificent beauty as his ck


    self appears and seems to take over thendscape with his sheer size. In a sh all the wolves follow


    suit and leave piles of clothes here in the shadows, dumped and discarded, while human flesh turns to


    fur and the air bes eerily quiet. Even the creatures in this forest sense the change of form and go


    into scared hiding. Wolves reign supreme here and they know when to flee.


    I swallow hard and push on behind my newly formed wall of furry protectors, Sierra moving to nk me


    on one side and I impulsively look around for Carmen. Blinking to adjust and nervous at theck of her.


    She was in another truck, but I don’t see her wolf figure yet and I want her here with me. I scan the


    space, pausing for a second before I am nudged in my spine gently by a warm touch.


    She’sing. Stay focused. Colton inside my head and knowing exactly why I hesitate. I take a deep


    breath, trusting he has this all mapped out and move on into the dense wood. In here the light is filtered


    out dramatically and it almost feels like dusk already, so it takes a moment to get sued to the


    gloominess. It somehow feels like a Hollywood setting for an up-anding spectacr misty battle in


    the shade of a mountain, in the depths of a magical forest. I shudder with that thought and push it away


    fast.


    I’m Scared. I link him back with impulsive nerves, my inner voice weak, and wavering, and again he


    nudges me with his nose. That sincere ‘I’m here, it’s okay’ that brings me some sense of calm, yet not


    fully. I try to keep my eyes forward in a bid to adjust my night vision and flinch when that familiar femme


    leaps out right in front of me and scares me half to death. I inhale so sharply I have to stifle a choke.


    Did you think I wasn’ting? Carmen paces back and forth in front of me in an almost seductive


    manner, glee at her ability to give me a scare, then rubs her skull against my left hand to show


    affection. Her mere presence somehow warms me to my core and despite being afraid, I feel more at


    peace seeing her with us. All four of us close now. Meadow, Sierra, and Carmen, together in one ce


    to see this out to the end. My circle of femmes.


    “Maybe for a moment” I smile, hushing my tone to a whisper to suit the emptiness around us and I’m


    quickly moved forward by my impatient mate with a nudge. He’s riled up and ready to fight, his


    anticipation beginning to seep through to my own emotions and fill me with a buzzing kind of energy. I


    sigh with detion and ept that this is happening, no matter how much I try to spread my hands and


    slow time around me.


    We descend into the trees at a steady pace, heartbeat pumping inside my head and I know without a


    doubt, this night is going to be long.