The Battle With the Rogues

RORY

I’m afraid to open my eyes.

“It’s okay,” Lucius says. “You’re safe.”

My eyelids slowly part, just in time to see him bounding off to rejoin the fight.

I’m left standing there, watching it all unfold.

The fight is on in an instant, blood and fur flying, the screams from human throats blending with the howls of wolves. Bodies clash and tangle around me with an awful sound, the heavy sound of people hurting each other.

Some are shifted, some aren’t, but everyone is fighting viciously. My pack, because they have to. The rogues…

Something is wrong with them. Their eyes are blank, empty in a way that is horribly familiar. The way they fight is mechanical, almost mindless, but brutal.

I look around, trying to keep an eye on each of my pack mates, to be ready to heal them if they need me. I have to keep them safe.

Ace has a rogue backed against a tree and doesn’t seem to be badly hurt, thank goodness. Lucius has his jaws around someone’s leg. He’s bloody, but standing strong.

I try to find Everett. I know I would feel it if he were hurt, but I worry anyway, I want to see him with my own eyes. As I turn, a rogue appears in front of me.

We’re practically nose-to-nose and I can’t help but scream. I try to scramble back, but he grabs my arm. It hurts, but it also keeps me from falling.

As I get a little distance, I recognize him. He’s the rogue who helped me when I was left for dead. “Andy!” I yelp. “What are you doing here? Let me go!”

It’s as though he doesn’t hear me. He isn’t even looking at me, eyes fixed somewhere behind my head as he snarls. He’s not himself, he’s like the others, not in control.

I look into his eyes, trying to get him to see me, trying to break through whatever has him in its grip. As I do, something seems to flicker in his pupils, something moving…

Nemesis’s cruel face stares back at me from within his eyes, laughing in triumph. I scream again and wrench my arm out of his grip, barely noticing the pain.

I try to run, but my feet tangle together and send me tumbling into the mud. I scramble on all fours instead. I don’t want to hurt him, but I can’t let him hurt me either.

My escape must awaken the wolf in him. I hear his growling grow louder, deeper, and I know that he’s shifted. I turn to face him, not sure what else to do, knowing I can’t escape him since he’s shifted.

He’s on me in seconds, heavy paws on either side of my head. His breath is hot on my face. I throw up my arms and grab his neck, desperately keeping his jaws away from me.

His fur is rough and thick under my fingers. Even in wolf shape, his eyes are blank and staring, devoid of emotion or thought. He strains toward me, desperate for my blood.

In a contest of strength, I won’t win for long, but he’s not fighting smart. I hear Nemesis shout, “Rip out her throat! Let her blood water the grass!”

I scream again, as loudly as I can, praying that someone will hear and come. Sharp fangs inch closer and closer to my neck as my arms burn and tremble.

A howling cry approaches us, and something impacts Andy, throwing him off of me, sending the two wolves into a tumble. Before my eyes, they shift back to human form, still grappling.

Andy strikes Ace across the face, turning his head. Ace retaliates by digging his teeth into Andy’s shoulder. I put my hands over my mouth, watching wide-eyed as they attack each other—all over me.

Training wins out. Ace uses his legs to throw Andy off of him and gains the upper hand. Ace grabs his head and shoves it into the ground, swinging around to sit on him and pin him down.

Ace gets his arm around Andy’s throat, holding him tightly until he goes limp. He looks to me, sees the horror on my face. “He’s not dead. We’ll take him in for questioning.”

Another rogue leaps at us before I can answer. Ace takes the tackle, keeping him away from me, and they tumble back to the ground. This is awful, everyone fighting, and there’s nothing I can do.

I’m transfixed; can’t make myself move. Someone touches my shoulder, and I jump, but it’s just Lucius. His forehead is bleeding, and he’s got a nasty bruise on his jaw. “We’ve got to go.”

I just stare at him. He scoops me into his arms and runs. “Sorry, Luna,” he says. “I’ve got to keep you safe.” He dodges his way around the other combatants, making for the edge of the melee.

Something strange happens as we rush past the others. Rogues stop their own fighting to try and swipe at Lucius, to get at me. He has to duck and weave, and there are a lot of close calls.

He’s fast, and for a moment, I think we’ll make it. Then, a female rogue appears on our left. I cry out, but with me, he’s not nimble enough to dodge, and she collides with his legs.

I go flying and hit the ground hard, losing my breath. I sit up as soon as I can, looking desperately for Lucius. I feel sick. People are always getting hurt for me.

The rogue stands over him, not looking at him, but stomping on his chest with all her strength all the same. I cry out, but she doesn’t listen, doesn’t even pause.

When Lucius stops moving, she turns toward me, pinning me with her empty stare. I hope he isn’t dead. There’s no way for me to check.

She advances. I hurry to try to stand, knowing that she’ll be on me before I can get my feet under me, but I have to try. I’m determined not to face Nemesis on my knees.

EVERETT

I feel Aurora’s fear as soon as the battle starts, but I’m too busy with the rogues to be able to do much. If I can end this quickly, then I’ll be able to make sure she’s all right.

I feel her terror, feel her pain. It isn’t bad enough to be another death, but it still drives me crazy. I have to find her, have to get to her.

My next strike takes my opponent by surprise, much stronger than the last few. He leaves himself open, and I manage to get his elbow in a joint lock. I brace my feet, pulling him toward me.

I send him over my shoulder and hear his head hit a tree with a solid thud. He won’t be a problem any longer, but I kick him in the ribs just to be sure.

That taken care of, I look around, straining my ears and my nose, desperate to find Aurora. Her panic is still sharp in my chest. If anything has happened to her, I won’t forgive myself.

I never should have gotten separated from her in the first place. The rogues lead me away from her, taking advantage of the heat of battle.

There she is, near the edges of the fighting. A she-wolf is moving toward her with claws out and fangs bared. I sprint toward them, pushing my body for every ounce of speed I can get.

I arrive just in time, tackling the she-wolf away as she’s raising her claws to strike. She shrieks, squirming and clawing like a feral barn cat. I can’t keep her pinned and she slips out of my grip.

I drag her back by her shirt. She kicks at my knees. I can’t shift, she’ll get away. We’re just trading blows, messy and ferocious, more like children scrapping than a proper fight.

“Don’t kill her!” Aurora cries. “It’s not her fault.” The eerie blankness of these rogues, the strangeness of this fight, isn’t lost on me. I don’t want to kill her, but she isn’t making it easy.

She’s single-minded, going for Aurora at every opportunity even though I’m the far bigger threat. I keep throwing her, trying to keep myself between them, but she just bounces up and comes back.

I grab her around the waist, spinning her away from Aurora. She snaps at me, teeth finding my arm, but I hold fast. She claws at my chest and I grab her hand.

I bend her hand back, feel her wrist break, but she doesn’t stop, makes no noise of pain. Her expression doesn’t even change. Something is very, very wrong.

Her elbow connects firmly with my diaphragm. My vision whites out and I struggle not to throw up. She’s gone in an instant and I lose precious seconds regaining my ability to breathe.

When I can see them again, she’s on Aurora. My little mate does her best, but this she-wolf is feral. She can’t possibly get away. I run. Two yards has never felt like more distance.

She bears Aurora to the ground, sitting astride her hips and pinning her arms above her head. Her jaws are open and I know they’re going to clamp around my mate’s throat. With a roar, I throw myself at her.

I grab her by the hair, get her head between my hands, and with a wrench, I pull her off of Aurora and snap her neck. The sound echoes in my ears and reverberates up my arms.

I drop the body to the ground, feeling a mix of relief and disgust. I had to kill her, had to keep Aurora safe, but I never relish taking a life. I know Aurora will be upset.

Something is rising from the she-wolf’s chest, a black mist. It hangs there for a moment, thick and ominous and Aurora gasps. All the blood drains from her face.

I can’t see anything in the mist, but Aurora clearly can, staring at it with anguish on her face. I can’t smell anything either, and as I watch, it fades away.

I help her stand, stroking her hair out of her face, and looking her over for wounds. “What is it? What did you see?” She doesn’t answer me. She’s trembling. “Are you all right?”

She looks at me, green eyes wide and shining with tears. “Nemesis. I saw her in the mist. It’s her, she’s controlling them.”

The sounds of battle stop, an eerie silence descending over us. The rogues turn their heads as one like they’d sensed the death of their fellow.

As if obeying a secret signal they all turn tail and flee, disappearing into the mist. The rest of the pack joins us, looking grimly at the dead rogue. No one is hurt too badly, I notice with pride.

Lucius is holding his ribs, but he’s upright. “What happened, Alpha? Why did these rogues attack us?” Everyone is looking at me, waiting for my answer.

This isn’t the sort of thing I was expecting to deal with when I became Alpha. I can’t fight gods, not with my strength alone. But I will not let my pack down. I stand tall and show them no weakness.

“This attack was planned,” I say. “Once again, Nemesis sends her forces after us. These weren’t normal rogues, they were under her control.”

“What happened to her?” Ace asks, nodding at the she-wolf. “I thought we were taking prisoners.”

I scowl. I’m very tired of all of this Goddess business. “She attacked Aurora. And she was possessed, all of these rogues were. But we know how to fix it. Simply kill the ones who hold them.”

There are cries of shock and horror as the pack absorbs this news. We don’t know for sure if the sickness precedes possession, but everyone knows it might.

Ace looks stricken, staring at the she-wolf. I wonder if he’s picturing Freya.

Aurora shakes her head, biting her lip. She’s got a faraway look in her eyes, thinking, probably wishing to be in the library. “There has to be another way. The kids… Freya…”

That’s very like her, worrying about others. But I look at Lucius and Ace and I can see in their faces that they’re thinking the same thing I am—Aurora was sick, too. If she’s possessed, what will I do?