Quinn is the last surviving member of the Mercenary Dogs pack, and she's just become the Luna of the pack that destroyed her family. Her new mate is unworthy of her and there's something not quite right about her new pack. There's a secret they're a...
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The sky overhead was an iron grey, darker clouds roiling angrily across the grey. Only a small sliver of pink and red on the horizon indicated the sun setting. Thunder grumbled angrily in the distance and the air was charged with electricity promising lightning.
Quinn stepped into the meadow where both packs warriors had gathered, the last of the civilian wolves running past her and into the safety of the pack house. tensions were high amongst both packs. Cenric's pack, used to battle, seemed almost excited for it. Quinn's rogues were different. Uneasy and worried. She moved to stand in front of them and held up her hand, gaining their attention.
"I won't lie to you, this will probably get bloody. We have the numbers, but they have desperation and nothing to lose. You all remember how it was." There were many nods from those in her pack, while Cenric's wolves listened with interest. "Do not underestimate Drayven and his plans. He's twisted and he's very smart. He'll have a plan. Do not get isolated if you can avoid it. And keep the pack house protected from the enemy. If it's a scent you don't know, attack it. May the Goddess be with us." They all murmured the same sentiment and she turned to look at Cenric to find him staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
"What?" She wondered.
"You continue to impress, my mate." He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. "My fierce warrior." A rare smile graced his features and she couldn't help but smile back up at him.
"My, how sickeningly sweet." Drayven's voice. He'd spoken quietly but they could all hear him. The tension in the air doubled. He was alone, just coming out of the forest line, but Quinn's senses told her that there was no way he'd come by himself. The other wolves were hidden somehow. Was he using magick again as he'd done to entrap Cenric? She wouldn't put such low tricks past him.
"Drayven, at last, you show your cowardly face," Cenric stated.
"It wasn't so cowardly when I had you chained down and at my mercy, you psychotic broken ancient piece of shit." Drayven spat. Cenric let loose a vicious growl that made many of the wolves around them tremble at the power in it. He nearly bolted forward but Quinn stopped him with a hand to the arm. Something was wrong. Unnatural. Where were the other Rogues?
She sniffed but she couldn't smell them. Still, something told her that she was in immediate danger, that the enemy was much closer than Drayven now stood. From their holders along her back, she took out her throwing knives.
She threw them one by one in different directions, testing a crazy suspicion. It was the fifth knife that found a target and told her how dire their situation truly was. The silvery blade stuck in mid-air and a pained yelp filled the silence.
"The enemy is invisible." She stated to Cenric, simultaneously mind-linking her whole pack to tell them as much. Her eyes narrowed. "Using magick on my land Drayven? Magick the Moon Goddess didn't give you? You really should have known better."
Drayven grinned maniacally.
"Can't blame a male for trying! Kill them all!" He roared. It was utter chaos. Invisible enemies attacked her bewildered packs, even Cenric was fighting off an invisible enemy. This wouldn't do. There was no way to tell how much of the enemy remained. She couldn't even smell the intruders. It was only her intuition that had clued her in. She stood poised and ready, but nothing came her way, except Drayven, who was running towards her.
She took out another throwing knife and slashed it down her palm, letting her blood spill onto the ground.
"Great Goddess! Hear your daughter! Foul foreign magick protects our enemy who attempts to defile this land and this pack you have entrusted to my care. I beg for your assistance to reveal all which is hidden!" With that, she whirled and threw it straight and true where it thudded into a surprised Drayven's chest. The wound wasn't a fatal one, but it did spill his blood, and when he pulled the knife out, his blood dripped to the ground.
For a moment there was silence, then a blast of silvery light filled the clearing and surrounding forest. Once the flash was gone, the enemy wolves were everywhere, their scents suddenly overwhelming.
Now that the enemy could be seen and smelled, both packs rallied and began to attack back with force, driving the enemy wolves back toward the forest. She mind linked her pack.
-Run around them and stop them from escaping into the forest. No mercy. No prisoners.- Her pack responded immediately. She looked to Cenric to explain to him what she was thinking but he seemed to be on the same page for he picked up her tactics quickly after watching her pack swarm into a circle preventing the retreat of the rogues and Drayven, who had moved too far towards Quinn to be able to find refuge beneath the trees.
Quinn dove into the fight, but none of the wolves would touch her and she was confused until she realized that Drayven must have ordered them not to. They had no problem attacking her mate and pack members though. This had to end.
Quinn made her way through the carnage towards Drayven who was approaching her. When they met she went for his throat not wasting any time. He avoided her claws and tried to restrain her arms, but she slipped out of his hold and push him down. When he fell, something rolled away from him.
"No!" He yelled, scrambling frantically for it. Quinn moved fast, stomping on his wrist and using her other boot to kick his face, jerking his head back with a sickening cracking noise. His body went limp and she knew she had broken something important, something that paralyzed him. She knew he would heal but it would take a while for an injury like the one he had just sustained. She walked over to the item he'd been so desperate and picked it up.
It was a ring with a red stone. Just like the one he'd used to subdue Cenric. A sick feeling flooded through her and she nearly vomited. Had he meant to use this damn thing on her? Enraged, she took out her blade and made for his throat, but she was jerked back. She nearly turned on the person who had dared stop her but then she realized it was Cenric.
"Come, my Mate. Before he dies, don't you think we should find out if he had any backup plans in case he lost? Which, by the way, he has. Look around you." Quinn did as he asked and saw that they had indeed been victorious. The attackers all lay dead or dying in the meadow between the pack house and forest. There had not been many. Drayven had relied entirely too much on the magick he'd obtained.
"You're right. It's best to get all the information." She glowered down at Drayven's immobile form. "And he will talk."
