Battle of the Roses [Book 2]

Chapter 45

Enjoy :)

Chapter Quote:
"I can't watch him die."
~Calla Tor, Nightshade
________________________________________

Chapter 45

Spencer

I woke up to a crash. Immediately I checked on Elsa but she was sleeping with her back faced to me. I closed my eyes again, intending to go back to sleep until there was another crash. What were the Searchers doing? I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Elsa partially rolled over and murmured, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, heard some crashes outside. I'm going to check it-" I never finished my sentence. My door was thrown open. A Searcher came stumbling in, clutching his chest.

"H-Hunters," the guy wheezed out. "Run!"

With that, he collapsed to the floor. Elsa jumped out of bed, kneeling next to him. She placed two fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse.

"He's dead," she breathed. "He's dead."

I threw on a shirt while saying, "We need to find our packs."

The two of us dashed outside. Although there wasn't anything going on in the hallway, I could smell smoke coming from somewhere else.

"What's going on?" Dom's groggy voice asked. "What's that smell?"

"Get dressed, we're under attack. A Searcher just came into our room and told us. He's dead. We need to find our packs," Elsa said. Dom hurried into his room, throwing on a shirt. He came back out five seconds later.

"Here," Dom said, handing me and Elsa a gun.

"How many guns do you keep in your room?" I asked.

"Enough that I could hold my own against multiple attackers if I had to. Call it paranoia after I left the Hunters. Come on, get behind me."

"Why?" Elsa queried.

"Because they're after you. If I go around the corner first, I'll be the first to get shot and that'll give you warning to get the hell out of there."

"You let yourself get hurt, I'll shoot you myself," Elsa growled.

Dom actually grinned. "Okay, Anna, calm down."

"I need to get to her. They'll kill her if she's trapped down there. Callie too."

"We'll make that our first pit stop. Let's go."

The three of us crept along the hallway. Dom led us forward, I guarded the back. Elsa kept watch on both ends. Suddenly Dom's gun fired. I whirled around. Two Hunters lay dead on the ground.

"Nice shot," I complimented.

"Dom, this gun is useless to me. I'm better off as a wolf. Here, double-arm yourself," Elsa said, handing him her weapon. She shifted into a wolf. I did the same. I was better off as a wolf than with a gun. As we made our way farther down the hall, someone let out a yelp. Without warning, Elsa bolted down the hallway. Dom shouted after Elsa as we chased her down. A Hunter leapt out in front of her but Elsa met him with jaws wide open, clamping down on his neck. The kill didn't faze her as she continued running down the hall. Now the smoke was getting thicker. Being lower to the ground, I was relatively fine, but it was making Dom cough.

Suddenly we were in the midst of a raging battle. Wolves were snarling and snapping at Hunters with knives and guns. Searchers were wielding a variety of weapons that ranged from guns to bows and arrows to Chinese Ring Daggers. One guy was even using a whip. The fire was coming from the Pyralis wing.