Chapter 68
Fang's POV
We stormed the Manor. Something was not right. It was eerily silent and strangely devoid of vampires. That day when I went to meet Ezekiel Victor Van Der Windt the Manor had been dotted with vampires at every turn. Now the hallways were empty. Deserted. Evacuated? What was going on? Dread threatened to consume me. What is this were as trap?
I heard a scream, a girl's voice. Katrina? No. The tone of the voice reminded me of someone else. It almost sounded like Friday's voice. That girl! The one who had flipped me off! The Friday lookalike. I ran towards the sound of the voice. The squad followed my lead. I smelled blood, a lot of it. I could hear screams. I needed to be in wolf form for this! I shifted instinctively, bursting out of my armour as I expanded, growing, my bones breaking and lengthening until I became my colossal dark brown wolf. I was instantly connected with someone, another wolf, a she-wolf. Her mind linked with mine effortlessly as if we were from the same pack, more than that, as if we were from the same family.
Raelynn's POV
Without warning, Fiord the flame-haired the warrior had plunged a blessed dagger into my predestined's side, and his blood soaked his shirt. NO! I began to shake so violently that Lane let me go and Ezekiel backed away from me. What was happening to me? I looked down at my hands, they were growing. My fingernails grew sharp pointed ends. I gasped but it came out as a whimper. I cried but it emanated from me as a howl. My bones were breaking, lengthening and reshaping themselves. I found myself on my palms and knees.
Ezra's eyes were on me. I had to get to him! He was surrounded by his father's henchmen. I hadn't even realised Fiord had been about to throw a knife at me until Ezra grasped him by the neck and twisted his head around, snapping his neck and severing his head in the process. His headless body hit the floor.
Ezekiel was cowering. He looked flabbergasted. He scrambled backwards. He kept to the far corner of the room near the exit. The dozen or so coven members he had with him divided themselves. Six of them surrounded me and six surrounded Ezra. Ezra was weakening. I could feel it through our bond. I needed to get him out of here and quickly. I had never fought before, not even in my usual form as a girl far less in this unfamiliar body as a she-wolf.
A vampire warrior lunged at me trying to wrap his arms around my thick furry neck. Ezra moved towards us but was held back by one of the others. He was busy with the six surrounding him. Even wounded, he held his own. I snapped at my a.ssailant instinctively. It was a small bite. A few puncture wounds that matched my front teeth. The vampire recoiled withdrawing his arms. He then looked at at the shallow puncture wounds and laughed. The others smirked.
"This she-wolf is mostly bark and no bite, huh," said the warrior with the small wounds.
"Someone should have taught you how to fight, eh, Lady Raelynn," mocked another.
The bitten warrior frowned suddenly. His face contorted. The others stood back from him. I heard a strangled scream. Ezra had killed one of his six attackers. The bitten warrior let out a blood-curdling scream that startled everyone and drew all eyes to him. Ezra seized this opportunity to snap the neck of another warrior.
"It's burning!!!!" The bitten warrior screeched, ripping his upper armour off to reveal the spread of an excoriated area. The wound was causing a hot angry redness to spread across the skin from the small puncture sites to rest of the body almost as though...
"Her bite is poisonous!" Hissed the other warrior who had mocked me.
The wolfsbane. Also called devil's helmet and queen of poisons. Lethal to werewolves but still poisonous to others.
I quickly launched myself at the other warrior who had mocked me. I snapped at his chin and neck leaving puncture wounds. I was hesitant to tear at anyone's flesh. Being lupine was so foreign to me and the taste of their bl00d disgusted me. The second warrior screamed and was frothing at the mouth by the time I had moved to another warrior. The other four actually retreated, running in the opposite direction as their two comrades lay writhing from the poison, their cries filling the air. Ezra had killed another two of his a.ssailants. Thus, four of the six who had surrounded Ezra now lay dead. The remaining two followed the four who were running from me. Ezra moved to run after them.
"No!" I yelled, surprised to hear my human voice, magnified by the wolf. I could still speak as myself in wolf form if I needed too!
"We should kill all of them! They'll tell others you're different. I don't want them hunting you!" Cried Ezra.
"People will find out anyway," I said soothingly, nudging him with my nose.
He fell forwards onto my back and scrambled on top of it. He wasn't heavy to me in this form. He clung to me. We needed to get out of here. I could feel his blood dripping onto my fur. I heard another series of screams and shrieks. I smelled more bl00d. I smelled something else. A wolf! I was instantly not afraid of the other wolf. He seemed so familiar. My animal instinct pushed me to go to him. I dashed forwards. The six retreating vampires were being taken down by a massive dark brown wolf. He tore into them effortlessly. He was ruthless and his bites were not timid like mine. He tore chunks of flesh and ripped out throats, raining blood all over the floor and his fur. A small whimper of fright escaped me.
"It's ok, Raelynn," murmured Ezra in my furry ear. "That's Fang. That's your brot her," he said before he lost consciousness.
Friday's POV
I felt a constricting feeling around my heart. It was Maze's day. After he and Thaddeus had plucked me from that beastly brunch with Maximo, they had decided to remain at the pack house to coordinate any backup the squad storming the vampire Manor might need. Thaddeus was mind-linking with Fang and his other warriors when I felt the squeezing pain in my c.hest. Only one thing I'd ever felt compared to this pain. It was similar to the intense pain I had felt when Maze had rejected me and I had fallen to the floor. I felt giddy and consumed with worry and anxiety. It was unbearable.
I slid out from the chair where I sat between my Alphas. I would have hit the floor if both Thaddeus and Maze had not grasped me and pulled me up, placing me back in the chair. Their worried eyes were upon me. They kept their hands on me in case I slumped over again.
"Friday! Little Luna! What's wrong?!" Asked Thaddeus, concern evident in his face.
"Baby, talk to us!" Demanded Maze, cupping my face.
My heart was racing. I was panting and trembling but this was different than what I'd experienced earlier when I had shifted. I had not even told my alphas I could sort of shift yet. I closed my eyes as beads of perspiration formed at my temples. One of my alphas was holding me in his lap, cradling my head to his c.hest. The other alpha was sponging my head with a cold washcloth. They had alerted a few others. I heard Theo's voice. He had Titus the baby with him from the sound of the cooing.
I heard Ida's voice as she placed a hand to my forehead. "She's burning up. She's got roasting fever!"
"Summon the pack doctors!" Ordered Thaddeus.
I heard the shuffling of feet. A few people were running down a hallway, the sound of their footsteps fading and then a rush of sound came back to the room as the pack doctors descended on the scene. I felt a sting on my arm. An intravenous catheter was being placed. I heard a doctor asking a nurse to do my vitals. Thaddeus gently placed me to lie down a soft bed. I could smell Thaddeus on my right and Maze on my left, reminding me of the first day I had fainted. They had hated each other then! That was the last thing I remembered before I lost consciousness.
Theo's POV
Everyone was so focused on Luna Friday fainting that the squad storming the vampire Manor was momentarily forgotten. Thaddeus' head snapped up from where he was gazing down at Friday.
"Theo! Take over the remote monitoring of the squad storing the Manor for me! Check on Fang and the boys! Send backup if needed! I'll need an update on Fang, Katrina, and please locate Ezra and Raelynn. Something's not right. Ezra still hasn't gotten back to me!" Thaddeus said, clapping me on the back.
"Westwood!" Boomed Thaddeus, addressing our friend and Gamma. "Help Theo!"
Westwood nodded and smiled at me. As we exited the room, I heard the doctor say, "Seems like a simple case of Lupine Fever."
"Isn't that what young wolves get when they first shift? That's impossible! Our little Luna has never shifted!" Said Maze.
"Maybe she has," rumbled Thaddeus.
"When?" Asked Maze.
"Her dress was frayed earlier," mused Thaddeus.
Friday had shifted?
I rounded the corner and ran right into Felicity and Malachi. Felicity had dissolved into tears and Malachi was trying to calm her down.
"Theo, one of my babies is sick and the other one is missing!" Cried Felicity.
"Fang's not missing, Baby!" Cooed Malachi, holding her as he led her down the hallway towards Friday's room.
"He's not missing, Luna Felicity! I'm locating him now!" I called down the hallway. I was under strict orders not to reveal to Fang's mother or his pregnant mate where he was.
"Where is Fang?!" Demanded Astrid coming out of nowhere with her arms akimbo and making Westwood and me jump.
"Astrid, he's nearby...give me ten...no fifteen minutes!" I said. "I'll be right with you!"
The Berryndale pack house had a surveillance room. There was a team of wolves keeping communication with the squad. I walked into the room and many nodded out of respect. A few stood but I waved my hands for them to sit.
"An update, the Alpha wants Beta Fang of Marigold, the Lady Katrina, Lord Ezra and his predestined Raelynn located!" I commanded.
"I've already dispatched an ambulance and a security team for the ambulance, Beta Theo," said one of the high ranking pack wolves on the surveillance team.
"An ambulance?" I said, alarm bells going off in my head.
Westwood was reading through the written reports on the screen. There was always someone taking a record of things. I looked at the playback of the feed of one of the body camera's on a squad member. It showed a huge dark brown wolf ripping at vampires' throats. Fang. There was another wolf! I was told the squad members had not shifted. They had backed up Fang in human form with ammunition. Who was this? I instantly recognised it was a she-wolf. I furrowed my brow. She was carrying a vampire to safety, his blood dripping on her fur. I narrowed my eyes.
"The ambulance has been ordered for Lord Ezra," reported Theo.
"Update on Katrina?" I asked.
"We're still trying to locate her," said Westwood. "We're trying to locate Raelynn as well!"
"No," I said smiling. "No, no, we've found Raelynn!" I said, looking at the light brown she-wolf. "She's found herself too."