Extinguishing Wildfire

Jordan

There was nothing left to do but fight. The last three days had been spent practicing and going over every possible strategy. They had us take things easy so we wouldn't tire ourselves out before the actual fight, but we all still did as much as we could. We had the numbers, we had to drive, and we had the heart. Now all that was left was to find out if it would be enough.

We drove as far north as we could before ditching our vehicles and making our way through the forest of what used to be Golden Glen. The burnt remains of the forest were jarring to see, but they spurred us on, serving as a reminder of why we were fighting.

Wildfire was known for attacking at dawn, and we wanted to do the same, so we made our way through the forest at night, quietly setting up our camp so that we could rest before the attack. We arrived just after midnight and it was nearing daybreak. We were ordered to make our way to the border, and I saw as Gema said her goodbyes to Nora and Hadley. Hadley had proven to be a real asset, making the maps Alpha Larkin gave us come to life with her descriptions of the packhouse and surrounding areas. She also volunteered to collect our wounded as she had been in several battles before and knew how to defend herself on the field.

As the sun started slowly creeping in, we got ourselves into position. It was the morning of Friday the 13th, and the irony of the date was not lost on us. We wanted to make this as unlucky for Marek as possible, a date we would surely all remember. The Wildfire guards had easily let us in without any issues and Alpha Kedrick had asked them to stand down and stay at our camp, which they readily agreed to do.

Cristian was to my right and Emma was to my left. Gema was on the other side of Cristian followed by Noah and Ethan. I looked at my brothers, and we nodded at each other knowing this was it. I could feel my heart pounding loudly in my chest, and Neo was just under the surface ready to take over at a moment’s notice.

The first rays of light started peaking over the horizon. The cats shifted and surged forward, and it wasn’t long before we heard a shout, “Sound the alarm, we’re under attack.”

The foxes shifted as the alarm rang out, and they rushed out in a blur of white and red fur. I watched as Alpha Kenzo made the first attack. He had helped with the training this week, and I had been amazed by his skill in human form as he was trained in several different fighting styles. He was as graceful a fighter as I expected he would be, but he was just as swift in his animal form.

As soon as the foxes headed out, we saw another wave of Wildfire warriors come out from the barracks. I looked over at Alpha Kedrick, waiting for the sign for us to move.

I counted down, one beat…two…three…four…” Wolves, charge!”

We headed out in different directions as planned, and I watched as chaos ensued. The field was a mixture of foxes, cats, wolves, and humans. The bears were holding back for another few minutes, but would soon join the fight.

It was unlike anything I had ever seen, and a part of me wanted to stay and watch, but instead, I let Neo take over and sniff out our mate. Cristian and Emma ran behind me, following me and making sure anyone who got in our way was taken out.

We headed inside the pack house and saw the terrified looks of a handful of omegas as they rushed to their safe rooms. They were even more surprised when we ignored them. “We’re not here to hurt you, just let us pass.” The three of us headed up the stairs. I had memorized each turn on the map we were given, and I continued heading upstairs to the top floor with Neo’s help.

’Here! Behind this door. Mate! Mate! She’s here!’ I sensed Aaliyah’s familiar mint scent, and Neo went crazy trying to knock down the door. We had to get to her.

I heard Cristian growl beside me, and I could tell Ax was on the verge of shifting by how his eyes turned silver. I stopped pummeling the door to check on him, “Cristian!?” He seemed to be in a trance and didn’t answer. I looked over to Emma for help who slapped Cristian out of nowhere. That seemed to snap him back to himself, “The fuck was that for?” He yelled as he rubbed his cheek.

Emma just shrugged smugly, “It got you back, didn’t it?”

“Guys, not now, we need to get this door open. You can figure out the slap thing later.”

I was about to ram my shoulder into the door again when it suddenly opened. “Aaliyah!” She rushed over to me and jumped into my arms. My entire body relaxed into her, and I had never been happier to be hugging someone than right now.

“What are you doing? Were you trying to knock the door down?”

“Yeah, I needed to get you out.”

“You could have just rang the doorbell.” She hitched her thumb over her shoulder pointing at the door.

I looked over her shoulder to where she pointed, “I see that now…but, you know what, let’s just go now. No time for chit-chat.”

She giggled at me and turned toward the door, “Rory, we need to go.” A tall blond rushed out of the room, and Cristian froze again, only this time the blonde froze, too.

“Mate,” They both said at the same time, staring at each other with wide eyes as if they didn’t know what to do next.

“Alright then,” I nodded in surprise, “Congratulations you two…very happy for you, but we have to move.” Emma grabbed Rory’s hand which snapped them out of their stare off. I grabbed Aaliyah’s hand, and the five of us ran as fast as we could out of the packhouse.

The scene outside was unlike anything I had ever seen before. What started as chaos was now a full-blown massacre. A pair of wolves headed our way, but Cristian held them off. “Run, I’ll keep them back.” Emma and I rushed the girls to the camp, and Nora ran to us as soon as she saw us arrive.

“I’ll take them from here, you guys get back to the fight.”

“I have to get back to help Cristian, but I’ll be back for you.” I gave Aaliyah a quick kiss before running off, and I shifted as soon as I saw another wolf coming for Cristian. Luckily, Emma was right behind me and shifted as well. She lunged for the wolf’s leg, snapping at him with her jaw. He ended up on the floor, and she managed to keep him down, giving me a chance to help Cristian push back on the two wolves still attacking him.

I lunged onto the back of one wolf, which gave Cristian enough time to shift into Ax. He sank his teeth into the shoulder of the other wolf, bringing him to the ground, but before we could even take a breather, another wolf was upon us. We continued with this back-and-forth between us and the other wolves. I knew I would be completely exhausted after this, but for now, the adrenaline was enough to keep me going. My mate was safe, and all that was left was to get through this battle.

Noah

As soon as Alpha gave the command to advance, I pushed Gema one step ahead of me, and Ethan and I flanked her as we ran toward the packhouse. There were enough warriors around us that no one bothered us until we were nearly inside the packhouse. Luckily, Ethan quickly got rid of them, which allowed us entry.

We entered through the back of the packhouse and were surprised to not encounter anyone along the way. “They must all be in a safe house already.” Ethan walked backward behind us, ensuring we had eyes on all sides. We knew the entrance was at the back of the house, so we headed to the hallway, looking for a door with a keypad entry.

“Here, I think this is the door. Try the code, hurry.” Larkin knew the door would be locked and had given us a code to use, I just hoped it opened for us. I had memorized the number 61219910. I quickly typed in each digit and breathed a sigh of relief when the door opened. We rushed inside, not caring who could possibly be waiting for us on the inside, but to our surprise, there was no one there.

“We should hurry, they must all be outside.” Ethan walked ahead of us, searching each turn for anyone else but again finding no one.

Larkin told us there was a control room where we could enter another code to free the prisoners. Gema wasn’t joking when she said she wanted to free everyone who was down here, so I fiddled with the computer and found where to enter the code that would unlock the doors. None of this would have been possible without the help of Larkin, so as crazy as it sounds, I thanked Moon Goddess for placing Gema in this pack to befriend all of the right people. I finally found what we needed and typed in the second code I memorized. The lock unengaged almost immediately, and we walked over to where they kept the prisoners.

“Mami!” It wasn’t a large facility, I’m sure because Marek preferred to kill everyone rather than take prisoners. Either way, the small size made it easy to locate our parents. Gema rushed over to her mother as soon as she saw her. I looked over to the cell beside her and saw my own mother through the glass divider. She looked tired and thinner than I had ever seen her before. I didn’t see my dad, so I wondered where they were keeping our fathers. Gema pushed through the unlocked doors, which were really more glass than anything, and pulled her mother into a hug.

“Noah, what are you doing here?” I pushed open the other door and walked over to my mom.

“Ma, come on, we’re here to get you out. You have to hurry, where’s Papa?” She wordlessly pointed to a corner cell, but before I could look over, she grabbed my upper arm.

“It’s really you. Ay, Mijo…and, is that a mark? Are you marked!? You found your mate!?” Leave it to my mother to want to discuss my mate when we’re in a life-or-death situation.

“Mama, we have to go. You can ask me all you want about my mate once we get you to safety.” We headed to the corner room, and I noticed there was a hospital bed in this room. My eyes didn’t want to believe what I was seeing, but my father was strapped to the bed, unconscious. “What’s wrong with him?”

My mother choked back a sob, “They’ve been injecting him with wolfsbane from the time we arrived until now. He's been unconscious for a while now."

I wiped at my face, unsure of what to do. I’d have to carry him to the medical camp, but I breathed a sigh of relief when Ethan came into the cell and offered to help carry my father. We got started with taking off all of the wires, and I hoped none of these would truly affect his health as there was no way I was leaving him here.

Gema rushed into the cell with both of her parents behind her. My mother turned to see who was there and squealed like a madwoman. “Gema! Your mate is Gema! I knew it! Elena, do you see, look at their marks. I’m so happy for you two.” She rushed over to hug Gema, not caring that we were in a hurry.

“Ma, vamos. (let's go) It’s very exciting that we’re mates, but we need to get out of here before someone finds us.”

Ethan easily picked up my father and placed him over his shoulder, “Let’s head out.”

“We found just two more people down here, but they ran as soon as we let them out.”

“Alright, we have nothing more to do here then, lead the way, Gema.” While three of our parents were awake, they were still weak, so we had to help keep them steady as we went along. It took us longer to get up the stairs and outside again. We were right in the middle of the battle, so there was no way we would get back to the camp without having to fight. Most of the shifters were in animal form already, and it was a cacophony of growls, barks, squeals, and roars.

“Ethan, lead them to the camp, Gema and I will hold them off.” He gave us a single nod as he ran, and I was glad when our parents ran right after him, somehow finding the energy to do so.

I turned to see a naked, blood-covered man running towards us. He looked furious and was screaming. “You’re supposed to be dead. How are you alive!?” He had a crazed look in his eyes, and I covered Gema, shifting mid-air to keep the man away from her. The man kicked me, but I managed to move back before he did much damage. I quickly swiped at him before he could step back again. I caught the side of his face with my claws, leaving a long trail of blood across his right eye and cheek. The man shifted before I could lunge at him again, and I readied myself for him to come at me, but a loud horn sounded out above the noise, and the fighting ceased as one word rang out among the crowd. “Challenge!” “There’s been a challenge.” Challenge!” Challenge!” “Challenge!”