Alphas United: The Battle Before the War

Chapter 12

Zac’s Point of View

There was a calmness that surrounded us on this crisp autumn evening as we quietly made our way through the forest, drawing closer to Hogan and his pack. The sun has almost set, and there was just the tiniest bit of light slipping through the trees. In just minutes, the night will surround us. I take another step, leading my large group of men closer, and suddenly I see a figure in front of me. Then another, and as I look around, I see figures everywhere. What the f**k? And just like that, the calmness that filled the night is gone. The sounds of bones cracking, clothes ripping, and paws pounding the ground fill the air, mine included.

-Malcolm, they knew. They were waiting for us. Advance now.- I mind link him.

My gamma Malcolm is with Jack, and I’ve got Kyle, Jack's gamma so we can communicate with each other. 

I don’t know how many warriors they have, but it seems like more and more start pouring in. A large wolf pounces towards me, and I move as quickly as I can out of the way, and suddenly another wolf is pouncing towards us. They’re everywhere. I try and use my hip to check one off to the side, giving me a second to defend myself from the other wolves around me. I lunge in and out, blocking where I can, and attacking when I can. Within 30 seconds I have Paul mind-linking me that they’re here. I don’t see them, because I can’t see anything aside from the chaos that surrounds me.

 Yelps, growls and howls fill the night. Not only is the calmness of the night a distant memory, but this is also the most intense battle I’ve personally been apart of. These wolves are strong, fast and they seem to be everywhere. A flash of light catches my peripheral vision, and as soon as I evade the set of teeth coming for me again, I turn to see a ball of fire smash into the ground. The light from the fire lit the area enough to see that the ball of fire landed on wolves rushing towards us. The sound of their screams, howls and yelps follow. That must be the handiwork of Alicia and her coven.

I hear a loud angry roar, and I catch sight of a wolf so large I thought it was Jack at first glance. The fire is still burning and casting a soft light, and I can see he has red fur. He’s not Jack, but he’s probably the same size. This must be Hogan. I see him plowing through mine and Jack’s guys and I turn on my heels towards him. I need to stop him or do everything I can to stop him.

 f**k, was that Brian, Lauren’s step Dad? He was just thrown hard, smashing into a tree. Moon Goddess, please let him be okay. f**k!

My urge to protect mine and Jack’s guys from Hogan had me distracted in my pursuit to get to him, and I suddenly feel claws digging into my shoulder, and then I feel the weight of a wolf on my back. I fall to the ground, causing us both to roll. We both struggle to catch the other in a vulnerable position. When one of my claws catches his eye, he retreats, head lowered and I finish him off. I’m not sure what kind of damage he did to my back, but the adrenaline is pumping through me, and I can’t feel a thing at the moment. 

As soon as I’m about to make my way towards Hogan again, I find myself surrounded by four wolves. Four large wolves. f**k. I think we were supposed to have a few hundred more warriors than them. Maybe we were mistaken about how many warriors they had, maybe that short time when we were so vastly outnumbered, they evened the playing field. Maybe they killed or injured enough of our warriors that we don't actually outnumber them? Or maybe it’s just f*****g crazy towards the front of the line. 

Just as the first of the four wolves moves in on me, he suddenly falls to the ground yelping and howling. What the f**k? Then another one falls to the ground in pain, and I realize what's going on. The other two look at each other before they both lunge toward me. One of the two falls to the ground, and I move in on the one remaining wolf that was ready to attack me. 

I quickly end him and make quick work of the three writhing in pain on the ground. There’s a witch close by that helped me, and although I’m grateful, there’s no time to stop and say thank you. I jump on the back of a wolf attacking one of Jack’s female warriors. Another fireball moves overhead, and this time I don’t even look to see what the damage is. I see Brian on the ground, and I move towards him. He’s got a broken leg, and he looks rough, but his wounds aren’t fatal. I can’t carry him out of here, not now. It doesn’t feel like we’re so drastically outnumbered at the moment, which I’m grateful for, but the fight is far too active for me to be able to stop fighting and drag him out of here, no matter how much I wish I could. He’s my kid's grandfather. My mother-in-law’s second chance at happiness. He’s family, but everyone here is family in some capacity, and I can't leave them. 

-Behind you- He mind links me, and I whip around, catching the she-wolf warrior off guard, and deliver a quick and fatal blow. I turn to look at Brian, and I see a wolf moving to pounce on him. A dome-like force field lights up around him, and the wolf falls backward once he makes contact with it.. I turn to see Jessop with a hand extending. I look around and see blue domes covering about a dozen wolves injured. 

The wolf that tried to finish Brian off notices what I have, and snarls at Jessop, before moving towards him. I’m telling you, those f*****g robes are a dead giveaway. What’s the point of them? Zero stealth.

 I intercept the wolf and kill him to protect Jessop. More and more wolves seem to notice Jessop and what he's doing. After ripping the throats out of seven wolves, I mind link 6 of my guys close by to guard and protect Jessop. I need him kept safe, and I also need to stop Hogan. When Jessop is protected, I move in the direction I saw Hogan earlier, even though I don’t see him anymore. 

When I notice Jos is fighting next to her mate, Bradie, and they both seem to be in trouble. I lunge for the wolf cowering over her, and send him flying. I quickly attacked before he was able to get up and I snapped his neck. As soon as Jos jumps up, we both attack the 2 wolves that were teaming up on Bradie. Bradie is injured and so is Jos, although it looks like Jos is worse off with her ribs ripped up pretty good. 

While Bradie seems to have some less serious cuts on his chest. I can see that Bradie is a wreck right now, seeing his mate like this, and I don't blame him. I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I saw Lauren like that. Bradie whimpers and tries to lick and clean her wounds, but she's not having it.

She surprises me when she snarls at him and jumps towards a wolf attacking one of ours. That’s Jos. She’s tough as nails, and she’s not ready to sit it out. I wish she would, but when I scan my surroundings, I understand why she’s not ready to stop. The fight is very much still in full motion.

“ZAC? WHERE THE f**k ARE YOU?” I hear a deep voice boom. I see in the distance a large man, naked and calling my name. I want to get to him before he takes his wrath out on anyone else, so I howl, alerting him to where I am. The crowd seems to quiet a little between us. Lots of eyes are on us, and the crowd mostly separates as I move towards him.