Chapter 53: Battlefield

AXEL

~The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemy's.~

~Shit.~

~Shit.~

~Shit.~

The fog rolled in around our feet, I looked over at Dad wide-eyed, but he was calm and ready.

“Remi! Get all the women and children to the basement! You and Ron keep them safe. Grab a couple of warriors to help you,” he barked at one of his warriors, who nodded and immediately jumped into action.

“~Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrroooooooooo~…!”

That was the rogues. Their howls were bone-chilling. I looked around in what felt like panic.

Shaking with fear, I tried to find a member of my family to calm myself, but everyone was running around, leading the women and children away and getting into formation, awaiting their orders.

I looked back up on the hill, and there she was: Storm. Her eyes glowing midnight blue, purple rays flowing around her hands, she lifted herself into the air and floated down to us.

~She makes me calm.~

I smiled, feeling waves of relief washing over me.

“Since when can she fly?” Milly mumbled, standing by my shoulder.

I shook my head. “Who knows.”

“Guess we don’t really know much about her, do we?” she muttered.

I was just glad she was there. She landed gently and strode over with confidence far beyond her years… How did she do it?

“I can buy you guys some time to prepare, but I won’t be able to hold a forcefield that long.”

She was talking to Dad. He was looking around, wheels turning in his head, thinking. The wolves howled again, but this time it sounded closer.

Dad clenched his jaw tightly, his eyes beginning to glow red. He was summoning the Berserker. We’d heard stories but had never seen it.

“Do it.” The power flowing from Dad’s voice made even my hairs stand up.

Storm nodded, her hands working furiously to summon enough magic. She let it grow between her hands before clapping and releasing it.

The ground shook as the force field burst up into the air, moving quickly to meet itself in the middle, creating a dome.

This one shone brighter than her last one, clearly requiring more power to keep it up.

I stood in between Mom and Dad, Reign on the other side of Mom. Diego and Liv stood alongside us with Milly, Alex, and Matt.

The royal family and the alpha stood in front to protect the others, the pack’s best warriors behind us, and so on down the line.

Three hundred wolves ready to fight who knew how many rogues and a madman just to protect their home.

“Dad? Dad, I’m scared,” I whispered, hoping no one else had heard me.

He glanced my way. “So am I, son. So am I. But this is our home” He looked me in the eye. “And we will fight to the death if we need to to protect it.”

I clenched my jaw, nodding.

Mom grabbed my hand. “Whatever happens, sweetie, don’t let the feeling of death overwhelm you. Remember, death is what you make of it.”

We stared out into the distance, waiting, Storm panting heavily, trying to hold the force field up. The trees rustled as the wolves piled out into the clearing, drooling at the mouth, ready for a fight.

Rogue wolves are a different kind of wild, not tied to any one pack, no loyalties, no one to control them. They can do what they want whenever they want. That’s what makes them dangerous.

Behind the wolves, a man appeared. He certainly looked mad. He needed no introduction. This must be Keir. He sniffed the air, his white eyes gleaming.

“Oooh, Stormy! Stooooorm! Come out and play!”

A growl rumbled low in my chest. Dad placed a hand on my arm.

“Easy,” he warned, taking a step forward. “We do not wish to fight you, but we will. You are trespassing, and you are not welcome here!” he called out.

But Keir just laughed an eerie hollow laugh. The rogues growled viciously and began pacing, clearly bored with waiting.

“I can’t hold it much longer,” Storm whispered, sweat dripping down her brow.

Dad glanced in her direction before turning to Diego. They exchanged an unspoken conversation before turning to the pack.

Our mind-link buzzed, preparing everyone for what was about to happen. Defensive stances at the ready, Diego and Dad faced the front again. “Drop it”

With a flash of light big enough to blast the rogues back toward the trees about five feet, the force field dropped, and with it, so did Storm. I ran over to catch her.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’ll be okay. I recover quickly,” she insisted.

“Well, I really hope you do, because it looks like the madman is cooking something.”

Reign pointed over at Keir. He was levitating in the air, his eyes a dark black.

“Kill them all!” he boomed.

The rogues leapt to their feet, taking off at a sprint toward us.

The royal line charged forward with everyone shifting mid-air, bar Grams, who shot beams of magic from her hands.

Before long, there were over four hundred wolves snarling and snapping at each other.

“We should get you somewhere safe.” I helped Storm to her feet, my heart racing, my eyes wide at the scene unfolding before me.

Mom’s white wolf standing out among all the others. Pops and Diego’s big black wolves towering over all the others, the power in their swing enough to claw a wolf in half.

Dad’s Berserker wolf ripping through the rogues like they were nothing. The warriors sticking close to the pack house to stop any breakaways from getting in.

Death was everywhere. I could feel it like an illness, creeping in slowly at first, before it became overwhelming. My chest felt tight. I couldn’t breathe.

I watched helplessly as a rogue wolf made a beeline straight for Reign while she was occupied with another, her blonde fur covered in blood.

I opened my mouth to shout out, but no sound came out. I was frozen. I was useless, helpless.

The rogue howled out in pain as Storm wrapped it in magic. He rose into the air, shaking wildly before going limp. His neck snapped. He fell to the ground with a lifeless thud.

I looked at her wide-eyed.

“Axel, you gotta pull it together. Your family needs you.” Before I could even respond, she ran off, getting lost in the crowd of wolves. She was heading straight for Keir.

~Okay, Axel, she’s right. Pull yourself together~

~Think.~

~Shift into your wolf.~

~No, use your magic.~

~Oh hell! Do something!~

Taking a deep breath, I strode toward the battle. I knew exactly what I would do. I would prove them wrong and take him down myself.

I stopped in my tracks. Storm had almost died last time she took him on, and she was a full-blooded witch. She had barely escaped with her life!

A sharp pain shot up my side as I was thrown into the air. A rogue wolf had gone straight for me. Man, they really wanted to wipe out the bloodline, didn’t they?

I stood up, breathing heavily as the rogue swung around, ready for another strike, making a run at me.

I waved my hands, levitating her into the air ahead of me. I twisted my hand, snapping her neck. She dropped down with a thud, just laying there lifeless.

I gulped as I felt her soul move into death and fade away.

A pain-filled howl rang out across the clearing, followed by bones cracking.

“Noooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

I spun around quickly, running toward it. That was Mom’s voice. She huddled on the ground, her eyes looking up, tears streaming down her face. I skidded to a halt beside her.

“No,” I whispered.

Everyone had stopped. Everything had frozen. We couldn’t look anywhere else. Keir’s cackle snapped us out of our daydream. Mom glowed, she was shaking so much.

“You give me back my husband, or I will kill you,” she growled, her body preparing to shift again.

“Keir! Let them go! It’s me you want!” Storm walked ahead of us, her hands up in surrender.

But Keir just laughed. “Foolish child. Why would I want you? No, I want power, and with itsy bitsy alpha out of the way, I will have it.”

Before anyone could do anything, Keir scrunched his hands into fists, raising Dad into the air. He began to shake violently, but he was unconscious.

Grams shot magic at him, but it reflected off Keir, hitting her, knocking her out. She flew backward, landing harshly.

Pops growled, making a run for Keir, but he flicked a finger, sending Pops flying away.

He snapped his fingers, sending Diego the other way.

~He’s removing his biggest threats.~

~The strongest wolves.~

Fire burst from Storm’s hands, engulfing him, but he just laughed it off, flicking it back at her.

Dad shook violently in the air. Keir smirked dangerously. “You know, I learned to do this wonderful trick. Do you want to see? It’s quite effective.” Before we could answer, he pulled his hands apart.

Mom screamed as Keir separated Dad from his wolf. A bright white light glowed above Dad briefly before disappearing. I fell to the ground, crippled by the pain. Mom screamed out as she felt it too.

Dad’s body dropped to the ground, his sandy wolf landing beside him. I was blinded by the pain, Mom’s screams ringing in my ears.

“Now, why don’t we make this interesting?” Keir smirked.

I saw red. My wolf burst through my skin. I lunged at him. He held his hand up and stopped me.

“Keir, no!” Storm shouted. My eyes were wild. I wriggled in his hold, floating off the ground.

“I’ll just keep little princey, shall I? Hmmm, yes, I think I will.”

Everything went black.