Rogue Eight

Bringing Down The Enemy

Chapter Three:  Bringing Down The Enemy

Madeline

“What the hell?” Kristoff screamed out, looking down at his hand as his fury reflected in the hardened rugged features across his face before realization hit, “They have a witch!  Caleb, we have to go!  It’s too dangerous!” he bellowed. 

Scrambling to his feet, Kristoff began running towards the forest as I thrust myself forward in pursuit of him.  Tink was chasing the one who I assumed was Caleb who immediately took off at Kristoff’s command.  Vivian’s unfortunate target attempted the same retreat only to find himself lying on the ground seconds later as she delivered a final deadly blow, severing his carotid artery as her paw sliced into his now vulnerable human neck.  As the force-shifted Blood Horizon hit the ground, Viv bolted into the forest to help Tink.

I was caught off guard when Kristoff stopped beside a tree where he entered the clearing.   My momentum had yet to catch up with his actions, causing me to miss my opportunity to take him down and land several feet away.  As I whirled around, I saw him darting towards Gavin with a leather pouch in his hand.  Before I could get to him again, he quickly reached in and pulled out a syringe, jabbing it into Gavin’s side.  A deep growl escaped through snarled lips as I instinctively landed to hover above Gavin in a futile attempt to protect him just as Kristoff managed to roll away and get to his feet to escape. 

“Viv!” I yelled out, “Kristoff is headed into the forest.  Don’t let him get away!  Raven, I need you to help me with Gavin!  Kristoff injected him with something!”

I looked down to find Gavin had shifted back to his human form and was gravely injured, leading me and my wolf to whine in despair.  His chest was barely moving as all he was left with now was shallow breath.  I shifted back just as Raven arrived and tossed a shirt and shorts at my feet, dropping her large bag of medicines and potions on the ground.    

“Get dressed.”  Her voice was filled with exhausted urgency as Raven began assessing Gavin’s numerous injuries.  “You should have linked me, M.  I’m stronger than you like to think and I’m learning more about my abilities and vulnerabilities every day.  You've been keeping me at bay for months. You can’t keep leaving me out like this.  I am not fragile…and neither is Lorelei for that matter.”

Pulling my shorts up, I softly argued, “First things first, tell me you are okay.  Secondly, I will not let Little One be placed in danger.  Period.  And last but most certainly not least, I will also not let anything happen to you and you are well aware why!  If the wrong people found out about you…”  My voice trailed off as I reeled at the thought.

“Firstly, I’m fine. Seems I have found a new tactic today.  Act before M can speak,” Raven bluntly returned, fiercely working on Gavin’s wounds as she pulled several vials from her bag, “Secondly, like it or not, your sister Lorelei is now 17 and well on her way to becoming a grown woman.  And last but most certainly not least, FYI, I am only a year younger than you.  I am a grown woman and very well aware of what the wrong people would want with me and why.  I also know that I have given you cause to worry about my health lately, but enough is enough!  We work TOGETHER, remember?”

“Since when do you call Little One, Lorelei?” I cautiously inquired, trying to deflect the conversation.  As Gavin was more important currently, we would discuss the health issues and “act before M can speak”  tactic at a later time. 

Raven apparently agreed with the deflection of our argument—at least for the moment—as she rambled out in deep concentration, “These injuries are severe and from the looks of it, he was injected with wolfsbane at the very least because they are not healing as quick as they should be.  But something else seems off.  Tell Viv and Tink, I need that syringe.”

“He can’t die, Raven,” I stoically pleaded before hastily linking with Viv and Tink.

“Who is he exactly?” Raven interrogated further as she methodically applied various potions to Gavin’s sheared ribcage, “The only Gavin I am aware of is the—” There was an immediate cease of words, but a continuous intensity in her hands working on the injuries below her.  “I don’t want to know, do I?” she finally asked in a surprisingly calm tone.

Air hitched in my chest as I forced myself to exhale the truth out, “Gavin is the Beta of the Crescent Moon pack…and apparently, an orphan raised by the Alpha’s family.”

“Which means his Alpha also considers him to be his brother,” Raven reasoned, “Quite the mess we have on our hands.  And just so you know, I already think you did the right thing…orphan or not.  It wouldn't have been right to leave him here to die at our expense.”

Before I could agree with her about our mess, Tink and Vivian burst back into the clearing.  Raven looked up momentarily before continuing her laborious task, sighing out, “I get the feeling they don’t have good news.”  I followed her gaze to find both of them looking spent and incredibly frustrated.  My stomach sank as Raven's same feeling filtered through my body.

Vivian was the first to pipe up, “Sorry, M.  I’m afraid they both got away.”

“We can explain later,” Tink pressingly chimed in, leaning her head back to toss the leather pouch she was holding between her teeth towards Raven, “Got you a little present!  You should have seen Kristoff’s expression when I took it before he disappeared into thin air!  And yes, before you ask, I said disappeared into thin air.  Beta first, explanations later.”

“Agreed,” Raven resolutely concurred, her focus now on the syringe she immediately pulled from the pouch, “Nice work, Tink.  There are clothes for you and Viv by the tree to your right.”

“Nice work yourself, Raven,” Tink praised her, “Seems someone has been working on her moves!  I’ll take force-shifting over shields any day!”

Raven let the comment go as she pulled out the plunger on the syringe and carefully sniffed for its exact contents.  Judging by her expression, it did not give her the information she sought.  Holding the syringe in one hand, she reached into her bag to pull out a small green vial, carefully placing two drops into the syringe before setting her potion down with the large array of bottles that currently scattered the ground in her quest to save Gavin.

“That one looks to be new to your arsenal as well, Raven,” Tink called out, causing me to jump slightly not realizing she had come up behind me.  As she pulled her shoulder length blonde curls into a bun on top of her head, she playfully asked, “What has our witchy-woman created now?”

“You know I hate it when you call me that,” Raven slowly spoke in a dull tone, her caramel eyes fixated on the syringe currently held up at eye level as she continued, “If all goes well, I will know momentarily if wolfsbane is the only thing flowing through our Beta’s system.”  Just then, a thick puff of black vapor billowed from the top of the syringe. 

“Looks like that went up in smoke,” Tink disappointedly sighed, “Now what?”

“Patience, my dear Tink,” Raven calmly coaxed, “That is merely part of the process.”

It was then that I noticed Vivian was nowhere to be found.  Leaning back slightly, I peered behind Tink and scanned the clearing, finally spotting her standing alone with her back to us.  Her eyes were focused deep into the forest. Her dark auburn hair was still disheveled from her shift and her tall curvy frame looked exhausted.  I couldn’t help but fill with worry…it was unlike Vivian to not be by my side, especially in a crisis.  As with Raven, I had come to depend on her advice, guidance, and support over the years. 

“I’m going to check on Viv,” I solemnly stated as I walked towards the edge of the trees where she stood, "Call out if you need anything, Raven." Standing as still as a statue, Vivian was in deep in thought as I slowly walked up behind her.  I reached out and gently touched her shoulder.  “Viv?  You okay?.”

Vivian continued her frozen stance as she breathed out, “No, I’m not okay.  None of us are okay right now, M.  Especially him.”

“I know you wanted to retreat, Viv.”  My apologetic statement came out as a hoarse whisper.

Her curt reply caught me off guard, “Staying here and fighting Kristoff and his men was the right thing to do.  Saving Gavin is the right thing to do.  You are the problem here, M.  The risks you have taken for the last several years with all of our lives is the problem!”

I reeled slightly at her words, my hand dropping back to my side just as Tink popped into our minds to defend me, not wanting to distract Raven from her work, “Viv!  Cut it out!  M’s the only reason we’ve all made it this far!  As we've gotten older, we have always voted together on how to proceed and the vote to become the Rogue 8 was unanimous, as the yes votes have been over the years to continue!  And the vote to join other packs including the Crescent Moons was a unanimous no!  I'm with M, we are better off as our own pack!”

Vivian whipped around, her pale cheeks flushed in anger with tears brimming her tired green eyes as she spat out loud, “That’s because both of you as big—” her eyes were on Tink before moving to glare at me, “and brave as you are on the outside—deep down inside you are afraid!  You are so scared that joining another pack will—”

I fervently interrupted her, “They would change us, Viv!  They would expect us to conform to their beliefs and their rules of how they feel she-wolves should behave!  And more than likely cast us out if we couldn’t.  And I can’t!  I won’t!”

“Neither will I!” Tink shouted out from behind me.

"That's not what scares you both the most," Vivian fired back, "and we all know it!"

"Ladies," Raven soothingly attempted to mediate, intently tending to Gavin's wounds while impatiently glancing back at the syringe now propped up against his leg for answers, "I think it is time for all of you to step back and take a breath for a moment.  As stressful as I know this situation is, it does none of us any good to fall apart at the seams and say things in exhaustion and frustration that can't be taken back." 

All of us went quiet for a few moments, our heads dropping towards the ground before Viv took in a deep breath and exhaled out heavily as her softened gaze looked back up at me, “Raven's right, I'm sorry, M."  Turning back, she added, "Sorry, Tink."

"No worries," Tink assured her, shrugging, "I'm sorry too, Vivvy.  Tension's kinda high with trying to save the Beta."

"I'm sorry too," I murmured, "We are all stressed and the thought of joining another pack and changing who we are sent me over an edge."  

Vivian reached out and pulled me into a hug, whispering gently in my ear, "M, I love you.  You are my sister in every way that matters.  I just wish you would recognize what is really sending you over that edge.”

“NO!” Raven screamed out, jarring all our attention to her, and rendering us speechless for a moment.  Panic filled her entire being, her eyes wide, unable to divert them from the syringe as she yelled, “We have to get him back to my lab, NOW!”

“No,” I argued, “He can’t—”

She quickly looked over at me, “It's arsenic, M!  We have no choice.  I can’t save him here!”  An apologetic expression crossed her thin oval face.  “Act before M can speak.  I’m sorry.”

Before I could react, Raven stood and outstretched her arms, extending a soft pink light over her and Gavin’s lifeless body. The long blue dress she was wearing whirled up in the air as she applied more power.  In an instant, they were gone.