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"Can't you just use your mind tricks on them?" Caleb asked.
"Not without getting close to them to cast my spell. Plus, there's too many of them and in all different directions, it’d be hard to focus on each one."
"Guys, let’s just stop them before they get in," Javier ordered in his alpha tone.
Raph and Caleb bowed their heads in submission, then the three of them jogged out of the water and out the entrance. I looked to Kao and gestured towards the opening. "Kao, you go with them."
"No way, I'm not leaving you here," Kao refused, stepping up in front of me to shield me with his body.
I knew he was concerned for my safety, but now was not the time to be selfish. We now had more to worry about than just me. We had Roxanne and the Moon Dial to think about. "I'll be fine with Roxanne, now go!"
Kao looked like he wanted to argue, like he wanted to keep his feet firmly planted where they were, but with twenty against four, Javier and his pack needed all the assistance they could get. Reluctantly, Kao growled then jogged out of the clearing. That left Roxanne and me by ourselves.
"How did they follow us without being detected?" I asked.
"That's what I'd like to know too. I can't read their minds, which is rare for me," Roxanne said. "Guard the Moon Dial, I'll cover you, should the need arrive."
Nodding, I stood in front of the large stone pillar, not knowing what I could do if these intruders get passed the guys and Roxanne. I prayed to Mother Moon for help, wondering if being near her own creation would give us a better chance for my prayer to be answered.
I didn't have to wait too long for the fight to start. A flurry of wolves charged the guys at once. Thankfully the guys had already disrobed and shifted before the ambush. I couldn't tell who was who in the heap of furs and claws. When I thought one wolf would've entered the clearing, another wolf—it looked like Raph—tackled him before he could make it. Even with Javier's group and Kao fending them off as best as they could, there were too many of them to hold back. Which lead to five rogue wolves stepping into the clearing, their teeth bared with a snarl.
My heart leapt with fear, but Roxanne remained passive as she narrowed her gaze at the intruders. "Roxanne," I said in warning.
She said nothing at first, merely flexing the fingers of her right hand as thin tendrils of translucent amethyst wrapped around her hand. She was preparing a spell, I gathered. I'd never seen a witch in action before, though I never imagined it would be to save our asses.
"Terra," she muttered, slamming her glowing hand to the ground. Immediately, the ground shook and cracked beneath her. The fissures traveled forward, and before the wolves could jump out the way, the ground underneath them erupted in an explosion of dust and debris.
I gaped at the display of Roxanne's magic. I didn't have time to admire her work for too long because the wolves pulled themselves together. Two on the left took off for me. I got myself ready to fend them off, but Roxanne beat me to it. She directed her hand toward them and shouted, "Aqua!"
The water behind us whirled and shot up like a geyser before dropping down above the two. The wolves scattered before the water consumed them. One of them didn't lose momentum and lunged for me. Side stepping out of the way, I forced the shift, my clothes ripping to shreds, then tackled the wolf. We rolled around in the wet grass, trying to get our teeth into the other's nape first. I may not be as strong as Javier, Del, or even Joaquin, but I trained enough to be able to put up a fight. When my opponent thought he had me pinned under him, I lifted my hind legs to his underbelly and tossed him over my head. I rolled back to my paws just as his friend struck me from the side. He tried going for my neck, but I managed to get his in my teeth. The wolf frantically scratched wherever he could while I bit down hard and yanked on his soft flesh. The thick metallic taste of blood exploded in my mouth, but I kept pulling and tearing until the wolf moved no longer.
This was the first time I ever killed another wolf. I killed a hunter after Javier and Del came to save me the night I was kidnapped, but never once had I killed one of my kind before. I fought the despair from creeping in my mind. Now wasn't the time to lose myself in my thoughts. I noticed the other wolf coming for me too late. He got me on me back, knocking me to the ground. I struggled to break his hold, but whoever this guy was, he was heavy on top of me.
Before he could bite down on my neck, I heard Roxanne shouting, "Ignis!" and suddenly felt intense heat along my back. The fireball Roxanne launched struck the wolf and spread across his fur. He made the attempt to reach for the water, but he collapsed to the ground, dead and still on fire.
"Are you okay?" Roxanne shouted from somewhere off to my right.
I slowly pulled myself back on all fours, my body sore and banged up, my fur coated in crimson, but I was alive. The other three wolves Roxanne faced were dead at her feet, but the fighting outside was still going on. Four more wolves managed to break through, ready to fight. I rushed to stand beside Roxanne, growling and crouching low to the ground, ready to pounce if they made a move. Roxanne had her magic hands up, ready to cast another spell.
A howl rang through the forest, and something about it sent shivers running up my spine. Even Roxanne gasped and visibly shook at the feel of it. What the hell was that? There was a commotion going on across the clearing. Wolf yelps and a ferocious roar unlike anything I ever heard melded together. Multiple thuds, then whatever it was broke through the clearing. I wasn't sure if my eyes were wide in my wolf form, but mentally, I was wide-eyed. Standing right at the entrance—yes, standing, as in it was standing on his two hind legs—was a wolf. None like any I'd ever seen. This wolf was more human-like, tall, broad shoulders, opposable thumbs, but with claws that looked like it could slice through flesh the way a knife cuts through butter. His face was still that of a wolf, his fur still coating his body, and there was a crescent moon shape at the center of his forehead. One that glowed turquoise.
Holy shit, this was a werewolf and he had the Wolf Moon's gift.
Was it Kao? Or did Kai and Joaquin make it back on time?
No. I could sense Kao further back, and my bond to Kai and Joaquin was still radio silent. This meant it was someone else. Someone who also had the Wolf Moon's gift.
How is that possible? Even my wolf seemed puzzled to understand what we were seeing.
The werewolf in question had his glowing turquoise eyes on me then to Roxanne before finally landing on the four intruders. The growl under his throat rose in volume a couple of notches, then let out a full, guttural roar. The four wolves, whether brave or suicidal, dove for the giant monster at once. They jumped all over his body until he dropped to the ground. I was about to charge forward and help, but Roxanne stretched out her arm in front of me.
"Wait," Roxanne said. "Let's see what he's got first."
I looked up at her, wondering if all her magic over the mind had somehow made her lose hers. Was she not seeing what I was seeing? The large werewolf was getting dogpiled and ganged up on. Another roar had me looking back at the fight in time to see the werewolf lifting one of the regular wolf shifters like it weighed nothing, then threw him to the side until he collided with a tree. Even from where I stood, I heard something snap. The wolf laid limp on the ground, not moving. The Werewolf rolled around, knocking two others off him, then holding the last one with both hands. He opened his massive jaw and dove for his neck, ripping off a whole section and spitting it out. Throwing the corpse away, he charged for one of the remaining two. He knocked the wolf on his back, then tore his stomach open with his claws. The last wolf made a last effort to ignore the bigger werewolf and go for us.
Roxanne was ready for it. She stretched out a hand, not reciting a spell, but something happened anyway. The wolf froze as his head shook, eyes glowing the same violet shade as Roxanne's magic. When her hand closed into a fist, the magic dimmed and the wolf plummeted to the ground, dead. I shifted back and stood up, staring at the lifeless body, then at Roxanne. "What did you do?" I asked.
"Mind magic," was all she said.
