Attack (The Aurora Marelup Saga Book 4)

The day of reckoning is finally upon us. I stand beside ten of my kin, ready to wage war in the name of my mate and my fallen queen, Anca. The Polar Bears are getting restless, waiting for their part in this master plan. Alaric and the dragons line the forest surrounding the castle. Nothing will get in or out without our knowledge.

Under my command, the Dire Wolves have searched the perimeter, stopping at the edge of where the next group takes over. It’s midday and so far, all we have seen is the occasional Lycan raiding party break free of the walls to test our strength and numbers.

The dragons are under strict orders not to shift till nightfall and not to engage with anything other than swords till told otherwise. Ellis looks uneasy as he leans against the tree, not far from me. Damn, marshmallow is scared because there’s no snow to hide his beast.

“Dimitri.” I turn to face Alaric and walk towards him.

“Da? What’s on your mind?” I keep searching the woods and looking back towards the castle.

“Aurora took a team with her into the tunnels. Klaus, Jayce, and Arnulf are with her as well as two other Lycans and Dires,” Alaric says, the relief evident in his voice.

I nod my head slowly and crack a smile briefly. “Good. I feel better she’s not in there alone. Why is Arnulf with them?”

Alaric looks around then leans in close to me. “He’s going to bless the graves if they can find them. That’s their primary objective. Vladimir is in one of the remaining towers with the Elder Dame, from what we can tell. We are saving them for last. Besides, I’m sure Aurora would love to unleash the full fury of her pain and anger on him.” Alaric has that wicked look in his eyes. It is the same kind of look that Aurora and Nicodeamus get just before something gets destroyed.

I look thoughtfully up at the two remaining towers. “Vladimir always favored the north tower; it has the best view of Widows Lake, where he loved to go hunting. I believe there’s a cabin there, if I’m not mistaken.”

I ponder what I just revealed and reach out through the bond to Dominik. “Dom, to the north, there’s a cabin near the lake. Vladimir used to like to hunt there. Send your most stealthy scouts to go check it out.”  Dom agrees, then I go back to focusing on the forest around us.

Most of my clan is in their bear form, ready to take down the southern wall so the Polar Bears can lead the enemy straight to the dragons to get roasted. I keep looking at the sky, watching the sun move slowly. Soon it will dip down low enough for the Strigoi to emerge, and the real fun will begin.

It’s just about dusk, and the alarm is raised by the eagle shifters flying overhead. It’s about to get real interesting quick. On the other side of the wall, the location screeches of the Strigoi start. Their calls fill the night air and send a slight chill up my spine. The first of the Strigoi have risen. If my suspicions are correct, there’s a mass grave in the courtyard and a second one somewhere deep within the castle. Hopefully, Aurora and the guys are safe and ready for the evil they are about to face.

I shift and rally my clan and roar the order to bring down the wall. We charge, hitting the broken section with our shoulders, the full weight of our eleven bears hitting at once. Stones begin to fall around us and we back up quickly. We take turns in pairs, rearing up and pushing at the stones with our paws. Slowly, we make progress and the wall begins to tumble down. On the other side of the barrier, we hear howls and screeches from the stones hitting Lycans and Strigoi. I send my clan mates back and hit the wall one last time, making most stones fall in toward the courtyard. I haul ass back to where Alaric has shifted and is waiting for them to chase me.

The screeches and howls are getting louder; they’re closing in on my position fast. Ahead of me, I see Alaric behind a small grove of white ash trees. Quickly, I slide between the trees and under Alaric’s dragon. The Strigoi and Lycans break through the tree line and come to an abrupt halt. The click of Alaric’s ignitor is deafening in the sudden silence. The roar of fire fills the air as he unleashes the full magnitude of his breath weapon.

In the distance, the clicks of other dragons’ ignitors can be heard. The roar of flames and the screams of the Lycans and Strigoi fills the air. So many voices are being silenced. Hopefully, we have thinned the numbers enough to make it easier on Aurora and her team inside.

About a hundred yards behind us, the Black Dragons have set an acid perimeter. The plan is if there’s a way in or out of the castle we haven’t discovered, the acid will kill the reinforcements.

During the dragons’ recharge time, I reassemble my team to head back to the wall. I look back at the wall in time to see more Strigoi pouring out of the breach. I tilt my head back, roaring, raising the alarm. The answering roars fill the woods before we charge the breach. I stand on my hind legs and swipe my talon-like claws at the Strigoi. I guess my claws got an upgrade from my mate. Game on, leeches!

At least a dozen or more Lycans climb out of the breach and begin attacking my troops in sync with the Strigoi. Natural enemies fighting on the same side? It must be the work of the Elder Dame.

I am so busy pondering what is happening at the breach point that I don’t notice the Lycans sneaking up on me. Thank the Gods for Alaric! He shifts back to his human form and grabs his sword, decapitating a Lycan.

‘I’ve got your back, D!’ Alaric shouts as he fights another two Lycans.

We cut through the assailants like a hot knife through butter. With every swing of the sword, a body falls. Black blood and ash are everywhere—Lycan bodies and crimson cover the forest floor around us. Alaric takes a moment and gets dressed between attacks. After all, it would suck if his dick got clawed off in battle.

The next wave comes and hits hard. The Wyvern has joined the fray. Alaric gets that cocky smirk of his, and then his eyes glow. The roars of the War Dragons fill the air as at least a dozen takes to the air setting the sky on fire.

I don’t know what’s more frightening to me, the roar of the flames overhead or the bodies of the charred Wyverns falling from the sky. Alaric smiles, looking at the battle overhead, then turns his gaze on the Strigoi coming at us. I feel a shift in him, and he pulls an Aurora and pulls ice spikes up from the ground from under their feet. Un-fucking-believable. Just what our family needs, two of them able to impale at a thought.

“Hell yeah!” Alaric screams before shifting his arms to his gauntlets and sending ice spikes up and through the Strigoi. It doesn’t kill them; it only slows them down. Alaric impales them, and I dash forward and cut their heads off with my talons. It seems to be a very good working relationship.

I hear Alaric yell my name, and I look up in time to see a Wyvern falling right at me. I roll and try to get out of its way. Unfortunately for me, its tail catches my hind leg, cutting my thick hide with its spike. I roar and slip off the rest of the way. Alaric runs over when things settle down, and he takes a look at the gash in my hide.

“That’s gonna leave a mark,” Alaric says with a slight chuckle. I watch him shake his head, then study the wound more carefully. “If you shift, it may heal it most of the way. Though, I’m afraid it will leave a scar no matter what we do to heal it.”

Alaric backs away from me while there’s still a lull in the battle, and I shift back to my human form. Damn, even shifted back my leg looks like shit. At least it’s not bleeding anymore. Alaric crouches down at my side, getting eye level with the side of my leg to get a good look at the wounded area.

“It’s not bad, D. It looked a lot worse when you were your bear. I’d say give it a few minutes, then shift back.” Alaric’s fingers gently palpated the angry red skin, checking it for further damage. Alaric double checks the length of the wound twice, and at the very end he finds a solid mass. One finger shifts to a talon, and he cuts my skin open without warning. I grit my teeth and growl through it as he pokes and prods the hole he made. Several moments later, he removes a splinter of the Wyvern’s tail spike.

Alaric offers me the splinter once he removes it and all of its fragments. It doesn’t matter how fast we heal as shifters, leaving anything in a wound can lead to a massive infection. The screeches fill the air again as another volley of Strigoi comes pouring out of the break in the wall. I drop the splinter and shift back to my bear’s form and prepare for battle. The Strigoi spread out, going in all different directions this time. Something changes in their behaviors; the puppeteer is pulling strings a bit differently this time. I just hope everyone else is safe and ready for this next assault.