SWNOVELS Attack: Chapter 25
I decide to overtake Aurora and Arnulf on the stairs and lead our group to the real first floor. We creep up the stairs one-by-one, taking our time, making sure to maintain our current level of stealth. We reach the first floor, and I cautiously poke my head out and look around to ensure that there is nobody in the hallway we’re entering from.
I do several hand signals to those behind me to alert them that I hear someone relatively close to our current position. I see out of the corner of my eye, Arnulf slowly stripping out of his clothing, folding it up, and carefully handing it off to Aurora. He seamlessly shifts into his bird. His Golden Eagle stretches its wings briefly, then takes flight out of the open door in front of me.
We wait patiently, hiding in the darkness of the hallway in which we’re standing. The top landing is a little crowded with all of us standing here. Still, we should be all together waiting then to hastily charge out into the hallway into the unknown. After what seems like forever, Arnulf comes back to us, landing and shifting back to his human form. Aurora assists him, and he gets dressed quickly before he begins to speak to us. “It appears that there is a much stronger Lycan presence on this floor. At least two dozen, if not more. Aurora, do you think you can make them submit? Klaus?” Arnulf’s eyes dart between mine and Aurora’s.
“If we combine our Alpha powers together, without a doubt we can drive them to their knees and make them submit to us and our will. The real question is, though, will they be loyal enough to be trusted to live, or is it more humane just to kill them now and end their suffering at Vladimir’s hands?” I rest my hands on my hips, looking back and forth between my sweet mate and our even more delicious Omega. I know in my heart of hearts, Jayce does not like us killing without provocation. But I also know that Aurora will kill without question to keep what’s hers safe and do it for the greater good. My eyes drift over to Arnulf, who is the newest of our group, to see exactly where his heart and intentions lie.
Aurora simply nods then looks between Jayce and Arnulf. “Out of all of my mates, the two of you are the most in touch with your emotions and feelings. I would love to be able to save everyone.” Aurora sighs then begins again.
“Realistically, though, it may not be the best decision to make at this time. On the one hand, I see the possibility of expanding the bloodlines available to the Lycans in Klaus’s clan.” Aurora holds up her left hand.
“On the other hand, I see possible dissension in the ranks and potential uprisings in the future.” She raises her right hand and makes a see-saw motion.
“The possibility of traitors in our midst just like it was with the American Lycan pack. Extinction should never be an answer, but in times of war, we must do what is best for the greater good,” Aurora says with great finality. Her word is law, and her law dictates the masses’ safety over the preservation of a few. For a moment, I see a sadness creep across her visage, and just as fast as it’s seen, it flickers away into that stone-cold-killer gaze.
I move forward and grasp Aurora’s hand and turn toward those on the landing with us. I look into the eyes of everyone gathered in our small group. We have a secret weapon—my beautiful and deadly mate. I can feel her beast bristling under the surface of her skin as I run my free hand up and down her arm; it’s ready to be turned loose. But in the same breath, we don’t want any warning that her Great White Beast is here, at least not yet. I draw in a deep breath, straighten my back, push back my shoulders and puff up my chest. “Jayce and I will shift; everyone else will remain in your human form with swords at the ready. I will attempt to use my Alpha powers first to make them submit. If they do not subjugate themselves before me, recognizing me as Alpha, then we slaughter them. If they do submit, we will take them to the lower level, and Aurora will seal them into the room that the Strigoi had once been in.” I leave no room for argument when I finish my statement.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Aurora smiling at me. I give her a playful smirk then look back to the others, making sure that they realize I mean business. The days of my playful, carefree nature are currently gone. It’s about time I pull my big boy pants up and assume the mantle of Alpha like my father wanted me to—like he knew I could do. I make eye contact with my group, each person in turn. I’m seeking acknowledgment from them, and without hesitation I receive it. With that tough decision now out of the way, Jayce and I begin to quietly strip our clothing off, prepared to shift and go into battle.
I can’t help but laugh to myself as I watch Aurora’s greedy eyes peruse the planes of my muscular-toned body. She looks like a kid in a candy shop, her eyes jumping between mine and Jayce’s frames. Even surrounded by all this death and bloodshed, she still has time to appreciate the male form. I clear my throat to draw her eyes up to my face. She blushes for a mere instant, then rolls her eyes at me, then turns and stares at Jayce. My angel has no shame. A soft chuckle escapes my lips just before my body starts to contort and break to reshape into the form of my Lycan.
I turn and look to my left, and Jayce is in the process of shifting to his Dire Wolf form. The man is beautifully toned and slightly bulky but just right in all the best spots. I shouldn’t be thinking about him sexually at a time like this—we’re about to launch an attack—but my adrenaline and testosterone are quite high at the moment. He gives me a playful smirk with a wink of the eye before he drops to all fours and that pitch-black wolf of his stares back up at me.
In typical Aurora fashion, she rolls her eyes at the two of us. It’s as if she can’t believe that we were ogling each other. After all, she’s the one who gave us permission to be intimate outside of her bedroom, and besides, she started the ogling first. Jayce motions with his head towards the doorway as if provoking me to go first. Well, you don’t have to ask me twice to go on the attack. We charge out side-by-side, taking the unsuspecting Lycans out quickly. Alpha power be damned; they had silver weapons ready with the full intention of using them. Aurora casually strolls out into the hallway and surveys the scene before her. She just leans against the wall, watching us rip our enemies apart. It’s not like her to hang back, but then again, the larger half of the battle still rests on her shoulders when we find Vladimir.
Arnulf and the two last Dire Wolves that are with us come walking out into the hallway, drawing their swords and dispatching those that are still moving. The first room is a quick cleanup, thankfully. Part of me almost feels bad for them. A lot of them were young, untrained, and had next to no fighting skills. The other half of me knows that in the long run, this was safest for our family to do. After the dissension in the ranks with the American Lycans and all the problems they had caused us, we definitely learned our lesson. The worst part of all the betrayal was discovering we had an assassin living amongst my people. We can’t take that chance again; we can’t take the chance that we won’t be so lucky the next time and that everybody survives the attack.
I motion with my clawed hand towards the back of the room, where there’s a single door that appears to be closed. Aurora gives me a slow nod and sends Jayce and his two packmates to investigate the door. A low growl rumbles deep in Jayce’s chest; his hackles stand on end as his muscles bunch, and he lowers his body to the ground—he’s ready to launch. His packmates split up and draw their swords, one on either side of the door. We start stalking closer, and then I notice Jayce is counting off when to open the door. His tail taps the ground—one, two, three—and the door is suddenly thrown open; he lunges inside quickly into the darkness. His packmates follow closely on his heels, providing backup for him. I rush over, only to find the entire room has already been decimated. Jayce and his packmates have killed off another ten hidden attackers.
Today has been a day of many firsts. The biggest one that I take note of is that Aurora is not leading the charge this time. She’s hanging back, watching every single move that everyone is making in her presence. Not to say that Aurora hasn’t raised her sword several times to deflect the blows of those who tried to sneak up behind us, but abnormally, Aurora’s not in the thick of it. I can count the number of times today that her eyes flickered and glowed as she reached out through the bond to the rest of our bond mates, checking up on everyone. In the background, I know she’s issuing orders and strategically planning every move that everyone is making outside of the castle walls. I know the exact moment that our dragons start to battle with the Wyvern that are flying overhead. I watch the scales flicker, rising and falling on the flesh of her forearms. The urge to shift and fight is strong; the pull must be incredibly difficult for her to ignore. The internal battle that she must be dealing with having to restrain her beast until the time is absolutely necessary just speaks of her strength. I look over, and I watch my two bond mates that are here with me, each moving independently, both fighting with all that they’ve got. Our resident eagle is the lightest built out of all of us; he also carries the biggest chip on his shoulder—feeling he’s inadequate.
We move room to room, clearing out any and all that we find. The death toll on the first floor alone is in the twenties for the other side. I’m not saying that we’re coming out of this unscathed but we are doing much better than they are. All the extra training that Nicodeamus and Alaric made us go through is paying off hugely. Vladimir’s men were not expecting us to remain in our human forms and to be using swords. I know that they trained for hand-to-hand and beast-on-beast battles. We’re kicking it old school and bringing the pain with the metal of our blades. Not to say that Jayce and I didn’t have a fun time letting our animals loose to tear through the small rabble that was waiting for us in the foyer.
The first floor is cleared quickly, and there are two sets of stairs leading up to the second floor. We divide our team into two sets of three. Aurora and I take one of the Dire Wolves with us. Jayce, Arnulf, and the other Dire Wolf go up the other flight of stairs. I watch Aurora’s eyes flicker, knowing that she is speaking with Jayce directly, trying to figure out exactly where they are in relation to the landing for the second floor.
“It’s time to go. They’re ready. Let’s move.” Aurora is very concise in her statement giving the order to move without hesitation.
We enter onto the second floor and look both ways, trying to locate where exactly our other team is. I sense that they’re not too far away through the bond, but they are far enough away that we do not see them presently. I watch the way that Aurora flexes her hand at her side. I know that if her hands were shifted to that of her gauntlet, her talons would be tapping against each other in agitation. She’s not able to wait and show patience even when it’s necessary. It’s like being a caged tiger, putting its meal just outside of its reach outside of the bars. The end is in sight, yet still far enough away that she can’t touch it and taste the sweet flavors of victory.
I can’t imagine what it’s been like for her for the last almost two-hundred and thirty years of training and preparing for this day to finally come. I know that Dimitri has trained her well. She wouldn’t be as lethal as she is if it weren’t for him and his training. That man has been so many things to her: friend, guardian, trainer, disciplinarian, and now mate. He has seen Aurora at her best and at her absolute worst. I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind right now, with her being so far out of reach. All of our protective instincts are heightened when it comes to her. Still, he’s had over two-hundred years of protective instincts ingrained into the very fiber of his being. He doesn’t know anything other than protecting her at all costs and loving her unconditionally. I watch my warrior queen, my beautiful angel, stand there as she plots which way for us to go.
The decision is swiftly made, and Aurora starts heading down the hallway towards the direction in which our other team should be. It’s a wise move to regroup and reform before we go on the offensive and clear out the second floor. Even though that bastard of a first mate of hers is dead, she still has full access to his unique ability of battle strategy. It’s nice to know that that deceitful fucker was actually useful for something. We find the exact spot where Jayce and the other team should be, but it looks like somebody, at some point, closed the passageway off.
Aurora looks over to me then motions for us to back up. Her eyes glow for a moment, and I know she’s telling Jayce to get his team down the stairs and out of her way. Aurora turns her eyes to me, slightly raises an eyebrow, and smirks before I hear the igniter clicking in her throat. She backs up slightly then opens her mouth; her new breath weapon is unleashed upon the stones. It looks like a combination of purple lightning mixed with a tinge of frost. As the breath weapon hits the rocks, they start to disintegrate before our eyes, crumbling to dust before us. As fast as it started, it’s over just as quickly, and we finally get a good view of what is on the other side. Aurora completely destroyed the stones and what was left of the door that was behind it. Everything that her breath weapon touched is still crumbling and falling to the ground in a heap of dust and ash. I stand there, utterly amazed at the new power that my mate wields.
Aurora calls down the stairwell, beckoning Jayce and his team to come up, telling them that it’s safe now. The look of shock and awe on my bond mate’s faces is more than enough to confirm that, like me, they had no clue she was able to do this. Aurora studies the structural stability of what’s left of the wall in front of us and motions for us to move quickly away from it, not trusting how far the stone will disintegrate.
We start down the hallway now to our left and round the corner, coming face-to-face with four more Lycans. All of us stand there looking at each other; no one moving, no one even attempting to attack. Based on our earlier orders, nothing is to be left alive—there will be no exceptions. Aurora smirks again, looking at those standing before her. She shakes her head slowly then raises her right hand. The temperature drops quickly; ice crystals form in Aurora’s hair before it races out from her, quickly trapping the four Lycan males in ice.
“I’m not completely heartless. These males are young and could quite possibly be saved. They’ll hibernate for now; we’ll deal with them later.” This act of mercy that we have just witnessed is rare, especially with all things considered. Aurora moves swiftly down the hallway to the next room that’s on her left. She pauses at the door and then motions for the Dire Wolves to come up to sniff at it. Silently, Aurora draws her sword and gives us a nod that she’s ready to go in. Aurora suddenly kicks the door open and flails her sword as she charges into the room. We follow swiftly behind her, but by the time we enter, the room looks like a winter wonderland as most of it is encased in various degrees of ice. Several young Lycan males are frozen in ice up to their jaws, immobilizing them. I get to observe my mate put the young males into deep hibernation. She takes excellent care preserving their lives for now, until we can determine if they should be spared or not later. Four older males lie dead by Aurora’s sword and the bites from the Dire Wolves at her side.
I survey the scene quickly; this appears to be one of the primary studies in the castle. Through the bond, I alert Alaric to the discovery that we have just made. Ancient tomes line the western wall from floor to ceiling. Their age is apparent by the thick leather casing in which the pages are bound. Undecipherable glyphs line the spines of the tomes. From what Alaric can relay to me quickly, these tomes are probably thousands of years old and can bear witness to the magic of ages. Answers to how and why the different blood magics work on the different species may be found within these walls.
Arnulf digs deeply into his bag and pulls out two flasks and a large chunk of meat. Aurora comes to his side, takes a container and the flesh. She begins to gorge herself on what she’s been presented with. I happen to find out that the flasks are filled with blood and vodka to help prevent coagulation. She hasn’t used the full magnitude of her power yet, but the biggest fight is yet to come. It is wise that she sits here and refuels while she can. She waves off the second flask and tells him to hold it till later. For now, she’s content, and the room is secure.
She motions for us to leave the room, and once we’re all out, she closes the door and incases it in ice, making sure that nobody else can gain entrance. Satisfied with her work, she puts her sword away and begins down the hallway again, heading towards the next room that we need to clear. We repeat the process several more times on this floor until we have the entire second floor under our control. We double back to the staircase that we used to get to this floor, and she seals both entrances with ice.
On the northern side of the second floor is the staircase, which leads to the third and final floor in this part of the castle. A silent conversation is held between Aurora and Jayce before he and his two pack mates head up the stairs before us. We hear a growling begin above us, signaling that Jayce and his pack mates have found more attackers.
Cautiously, we approach the landing, and to my surprise, Jayce and his pack mates have it all under control. Only two attackers met them at the landing, and they were dispatched quickly. Aurora approaches Jayce slowly and runs her fingers through his thick fur. Her right hand gently caresses his left ear as she moves past him and into the hallway.
We watch Aurora’s eyes flicker as she moves down the hall. She’s always looking over her shoulder, checking where all of her people are at all times. “The dragons have taken control of the courtyard. We just need to clear the castle then take over the towers. Arnulf, you take the lead on the third floor; we’ve got your back.” Arnulf nods then heads into the hallway and draws his sword.
“Let’s finish up here so we can go the hell home.” Arnulf smirks then catches up with Aurora and moves slightly ahead of her.
Just like that, Arnulf takes the lead, and we follow behind them. It’s coming to the end of our journey, and now we work on clearing the final floor.