Twist Of Fate

Chapter 18 Eve

"Eve! Grants pack is under attack!" Max yells out to me.
Fucking, fuckity, fuck! I take a deep breath and center myself.

"Everyone, ready up! Get the ones back at the camps. Grab your weapons, call your loved ones and we meet back here in five!"
The training field is emptied in seconds. I race to the war room and quickly snatch the map off the table and my weapons out of the vault. I strap on the thigh sheath, already full of knives, and take a curved sword in each hand, before I race back to the training field. Max is still on his phone talking to whoever made the call. His eyes look alarmed.
"Update!" I bark.

"Estimate is over two thousand vampires, wolves, and witches. It's another massacre in progress."
The training field refills quickly and my mind races.

"Fae! Those of you who can make portals, front, and center." The lines ripple as they move to the front. "Firstly we will portal our army into the woods on the east side of the pack's boundary." I point to the map.
"Once we are in and the bulk of our army is engaged, you first ten on my right, portal to the bunker here on the map and move those that made it there to our pack. The rest of you spread out, find survivors, and bring the injured and the dead back here. Max - have medical waiting. Everyone else I'm taking half of you with me, engage the enemy immediately, take no prisoners. Stay in your squads and watch each other's asses. Everyone comes home! Alive, or I'll kick your undead asses. Do I make myself clear!" The warriors roar back in agreement. "The other half will remain on site in case it's a distraction to attack here. Be on your guard until I return. Max is in charge"
I point to the middle of the field and sweep to my left, before pointing to myself. They move forward, ready to begin, while those on the right head off to hunt our own woods. My mates come towards me and I nod to the Fae to open the portals. I raise one of my swords.
"Kill them all! No mercy!" I roar and throw myself through the portal closest, my men on my heels.

We dash through the trees, silent, as we listen to the screams getting louder the further we run.
We break through the tree line and swarm over the battle in progress. My mates follow my every step in a wheel formation. We lop heads and rip out hearts, rotating our circle as we move.

"Encircle!" I yell. My men encircle me while Reece steps in with me, cupping his hand and boosting me up.
I look around and see on the knoll the vampire king on his horse, with Garret's brother, some other dragons, that bastard Marcus and another man I presume to be the Lead dark witch. Garret's brother Hamish nods to me in greeting and begins to transform.
"Garret, take the dragons and make sure you lead your brother away, they will crush us if they fight here!" Garret's head snaps to where I point and he lets loose a deep guttural growl.

"Command them!" He growls at me. "Tell the enemy to take a knee, because I will not leave your side."
Huh! Yip that works too.

"Enemy wolves and dragons, I order you to halt and take a knee!" I roar.
They drop like dominos. The King drops in mid-shift. Stuck in a grotesque in-between form.
We turn our attention back to the vampires and witches still in play, our own witches shielding us from the dark spells. This is our massacre now, not theirs. It's easier to take the vamps down than it was the last time we fought them. We have stronger supes on our side this round. We outnumber them three to one.
The enemy changes gears and swarms towards me suddenly, the dark witches direct all their spells our way. Fucking assholes. I didn't see that coming.
"Portal out now!" I roar.

Ly's eyes dart to mine with alarm but bless him, he does open a portal and shoves my mates in. Acassus and Mikyda help him. My warriors are doing the same. Dashing through the portals opened by the Faes in their team.
I transform as soon as my mates are safe. My dragon roars in fury and I stomp and sweep my tail around. Portals close behind my teams as they rush to safety.
I let loose my lightning, letting it roll through the enemies slashing the stunned bodies to pieces. My massive feet pulverize those dying beneath me. I turn my head towards the vampire king, only to see his horse disappearing into a portal the dark witch is holding open while trying to grab the dragon king.

Since when can witch's portal!
I spit a lightning bolt at them, but the warlock has already scurried through, abandoning the ex-king and his cronies. I growl frustrated.
The surviving vampires have scattered and a few get caught by a familiar hellhound lurking in the woods. I don't know if I want to cheer at the sight or be pissed that he's still here. At least he was far enough away from my murderous beast. Only the dragons and wolves kneeling on the edges of my murderous circle remain. I shrink back to my human form.

"Are any of you here against your will?" I call out, empowering my words. A few wolves call out that they are. "You may stand. Does anyone know the king's plans, next moves, anything of importance?" Hamish makes a strange noise in his deformed state.

"I do." Marcus also calls out from behind a kneeling dragon.

"Marcus, Hamish, and those who are standing stay where you are, you are exempt from my next order. The rest of you, if you are my enemy in truth and intend to do me and mine harm... take your own lives by whatever means necessary."
I turn away as they slit their own throats, bash their heads in, fall on swords, or plunge fists into their chests. I don't want to watch the carnage. What I have done is not something I'm proud of, or that has made me feel empowered. This is a necessary evil, using the tools at my disposal to lower the enemy's numbers and lessen the threat to us.

I walk into the Alpha's office, Acassus falling in beside me, nuzzling my neck with his snout, and see blood on the floor. I skirt around it and pick up the phone dialing Max's number. He answers straight away.

"Clean up on aisle four," I say into the phone and hang up, heading back outside.
Garret's one of the first through the incoming portals. Ohhh, he's also super pissed! I can literally feel the rage rolling off him in waves. I contemplate making a run for it. He sees my flight instinct kick in.

"Don't you dare!" His voice is gravelly. He has me pinned against the building wall by my throat in an instant. It's just pressure though, it doesn't hurt. My dragon would never hurt me. "What part of 'I will not leave your side' did you not understand?" His voice is just a whisper, as he runs his nose over my cheek scenting me, his body trembles as he tries to hold back his temper.

"I didn't want to squish anyone when I went dragon. One of those knee-jerk decision moments." I try to reason.

"You make it impossible for me to protect you, constantly putting yourself in harm's way, choosing to push me away, making decisions for me." His voice rises with each word.

"I am sorry, it was just instinct when they rushed us, I didn't mean to make you angry. The oracle said two would fall, I didn't want it to be my mates." I gulp. He fists my hair, yanking my head back to peer into my eyes.

"You're a fucking idiot angel. I'm not angry, I'm fucking terrified." My eyes widen and he releases his grip stepping away. "The oracle said two of you will fall. Not two of them, YOU. That means you're potentially on the hit list too. I can't lose you, Eve, I can't. It would fucking destroy me." He kneels in front of me and wraps his arms around my thighs and leans his head against my abdomen. "I wouldn't survive it."

I seem to have missed that bullet point in the prophecy and I'm feeling a little bad right now that I've upset my dragon with the decision to keep them safe. Only a little though, because the reality is I would have made the same choices.
I would do anything to know they are safe. I wouldn't survive losing them either.