Armageddon

Chapter 11: Born of Blood and Fire

The Hinterlands echoed with the howls from the Aynu pack as the crescent moon hung over the endless green sea of trees. Winter was coming soon, and they must be ready. The snow-white She-Wolf, Kiba, and her mate, the black wolf Alpha Male, Maru, organized several hunting groups to help stockpile supplies; the Aynu felt a great evil was coming, and they knew that the day the sun turned black would be the world's requiem.

The wolves weaved in and out through the lush green sward as they focused on the hunt. Kiba's blazing yellow eyes glowed in the darkness, and she disappeared ahead of her group while her warriors dove through the guardian trees, following in a circular line and wrapping the group around a large, fleeing elk. However, the prey was never able to outrun Kiba's hunters. Just as the pack trapped their next meal, Kiba emerged from the darkness and thrust herself upon the monolithic ungulate, and one by one, her wolves launched themselves into the pile. The elk tired and gave up, and the She-Wolf aimed straight for the throat with claws sharp as a sword.

They enjoyed the spoils of their kill as a family, and when they finished, they hauled their remaining prize back to the Ankoku Pass. The hunting party threw the giant elk into their food cave, but Kiba noticed that only her team had returned; it was nearly dawn, and Maru and his group were missing. After ordering some of her wolves to take shifts in guarding their territory, she sniffed around until catching her mate's faint scent.

She rushed back to the trees, tail wagging like a puppy. Yet, she paused when Maru emerged, blood dripping down his black fur. Part of his ear was bitten and torn off; he limped and held up his right front leg. Kiba growled and barked as she circled him and licked some of his wounds. My love, what happened? she asked him through their shared mental link as the Alpha Male stumbled through the brush of leaves.

Maru's different-colored eyes shimmered—his right ice-blue and left chocolate-brown—and he held up his broken wrist for Kiba to see when he changed back into a human; his wolf mask blotted with blood, the crimson stains reflecting dawn's rays. "We were ambushed."

Snarling through clamped fangs, Kiba morphed into her human form, her messy white hair matching her gleaming wolf mask painted with red claw marks, her thoughts caught in a frenzied mess. "What did this to you? I will kill them."

Before Maru could answer, a loud shriek thundered over their heads, and the two alphas cowered. A shadow loomed overhead, and to their dismay, they saw the same creature they had encountered before when Selena and her friends received Artio's blessing; the undead dragon flew above the canopy with a saddled rider. The remaining Aynu who stayed behind from the hunts paused and watched the shadow dragon in absolute silence and horror.

Following this creature was a thick, darkening mist that consumed the Hinterlands, and the ground began to quake. Kiba took to Maru's side to protect him when a stampeding horde of deer rushed through their site. As much as the wolf pack usually welcomed the abundance of prey, the Aynu understood the warning signs and ran away with the herd. "They're coming." Maru coughed up a little blood, struggling to keep up with Kiba.

"Who's coming?"

"The undead ones that killed my unit."

The Nidhoggr continued flying ahead of the wolf pack, unleashing its thundering shrill, and, as if heeding its call, scores of the undead flooded through the Hinterlands, arising from the fog and marching towards Alfheim.

When Kiba saw the wave upon wave of rotting corpses, she changed into a wolf and barked her orders for her pack to follow her and Maru. Likewise, the Aynu transformed and followed the She-Wolf and the limping Maru out of the infested forest. For now, the undead soldiers paid no attention and kept following the Nidhoggr until some broke from the herd and tracked the wolves down. Kiba turned to a couple of her warriors who ran with her. Help me.