Pruitt
ran down the field as players from both teams spread out behind him, a play already in action. Fortunately for him, Luke tossed him the football at just the right time. Taking off toward Moonhaven’s end zone, he dodged a tackle attack from the opposing team.
Haven and Magnus approached him from either side, serious looks on their faces.
?Haven, everything okay?? asked.
?For now,? Haven replied quickly. ? But if you want the rest of your team to survive the next play, we need to have those wolfsbane arrows ready.?
nodded at Haven, dodging as the blonde werewolf attempted to tackle him. Before the quarterback could score a touchdown, Magnus dove on top of him.
“What an upset!” Freddy Fredericks’ voice rumbled through the complex. “Mondamin makes it to the eighty-yard line before he is taken down by Moonhaven sophomore Magnus Every! The Wolf Pack is pleased!”
sighed, pulling his helmet off as every opposing team member on the field howled up at the full moon. Their cries ranged from terribly inauthentic to bone-chillingly convincing.
Moments later, he heard the familiar accent of his vampire boyfriend in his head. ? Here’s hoping Quinn pulls it off.?
The teams prepared for a kickoff, huddling with the receiving team to make a touchdown. “You guys all ready?” he asked before pulling his helmet back over his head.
“We got you!” shouted Abel.
“It’s all you, baby,” replied Luke.
Boasting a Moonhaven University sports polo and an assistant coach name tag, a handsome Native American man called out from the sidelines. “Make it happen, Alo!” recognized this as the man Haven had described as his fraternity house father, Strix.
“Here’s our chance, boys,” the one named Alo said as he took his position on the field.
“Now or never, Wolf Pack!” shouted another Moonhaven player.
Although his boyfriends watched from the stands, could easily pick up on their telepathy. First came Griff’s unsteady voice. ?Is this when said it’s ? —?
Uriah interrupted. ?Yes.?
?Are you ready?? asked Griff.
Uriah telepathically groaned. ?What do you think, pipsqueak??
“As we approach half-time, this is Mystic Hollow’s best shot at setting themselves up for success for the rest of this intense match,” announced the emcee over the stadium loudspeaker. “So far, it’s been a close one. Sounds a little crazy to say this, but it’s almost as though Moonhaven’s Wolf Pack has been drawing extra defensive strength from the moon, am I right?”
At the sound of the referee’s whistle, the ball flew across the field and landed in Abel’s arms. “Got it!”
’s eyes darted from the play to the sidelines, where he saw Luna approach Strix.
“Abel, here!” Luke shouted.
Abel looked confused as Luke shoved into him. “What are you doing, man?” he asked as he prepared to pass the ball to .
“Just playing both sides of the field,” Luke replied, sinking his teeth into Abel’s arm.
“Fuck!” Abel threw the ball, allowing Luke to catch it.
“What’s going on!?” shouted as Luke spun around and started running the other way with the ball.
“Now, now, now!” Alo called out.
’s eyes grew wide as the Moonhaven players around him ripped out of their uniforms, transforming into werewolves in a matter of seconds. He looked on in horror as they tackled his teammates, biting at their arms and legs.
“ What in the hell is going on!? ” Abel shouted before a werewolf knocked him to the ground.
“Keep it up, defense!” Strix cheered from the sidelines.
The speaker system echoed across the stadium. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m finding it hard to believe what I’m seeing out there, but it’s—um, there appear to be some wild dogs that have taken to the field to attack the players.”
looked back to the student section as Uriah called out. “Quinn! Now!” He watched as his vampire boyfriend dove over the student section railing and onto a makeshift stage placed between the stands and the field’s sidelines.
The quarterback hesitated. ?Riah??
?Don’t worry, Pru. Look up top, but get ready to dodge some arrows.?
squinted as he scanned the complex and spotted the professor at the top of the audio-visual booth over the Mystic Hollow fan section. With the flick of his wrist, Quinn sent a bow and bag of arrows flying through the air. followed the action with his eyes as Uriah snatched up the weaponry and sent out a flurry of arrows that sprayed the field.
Four nearby werewolves fell to the ground in pain, their cries echoing across the stadium and blending in with the screams of the audience.
A familiar Australian accent rang out in the quarterback’s head. ?! We’re t-t-too late.?
turned to see Haven run up to him and stop dead in his tracks, a look of horror on his face as the lifeless body of a Mystic Hollow Devil fell to the ground before him.
“No, no, no,” the distraught blonde werewolf pleaded, bending down in an attempt to heal the blood-covered player.
“Magnus!” shouted as three snarling werewolves surrounded him.
“Gotcha!” Magnus called out from close by before ripping off his jersey and letting out a supersonic howl. Every bleacher in the stadium creaked and groaned. The werewolves closest to immediately turned back into confused, naked, and temporarily stunned humans.
Now on the field, Uriah felled two more werewolves with his arrows as sent another flying with a punch to the face.
“You okay?” asked as the two stood back-to-back and examined the state of the field.
“Not a single bite on me, though I wouldn’t mind it if Haven tried,” replied Uriah, his eyes on a group of Moonhaven players running from the sidelines to the field. The charging men went from having two legs to four in a matter of seconds.
pulled off his helmet and struggled to take off his suit when two werewolves pounced on him.
Uriah fired two more arrows, hitting both his targets. The werewolves on top of quietly whimpered and rolled off of him, the wolfsbane strong enough to temporarily incapacitate them. A third werewolf, however, approached with fangs bared. “Riah, watch out!” called out.
“Any moment now, vampire wings,” Uriah mused as the creature came stomping at him. He jumped up into the air, but wasn’t able to take flight. Magnus appeared in wolf form at the last second to sink his teeth into the werewolf preparing to pounce on the vampire.
Uriah rushed to ’s side, his incisors bared and ready to bite into his lover’s newest set of attackers.
“ No! ” shouted, knocking one werewolf out cold with a perfectly aimed punch as the second jumped on top of him. “The wolfsbane should keep them down. Try not to kill them. Not if there’s another way.”
With a disgruntled look, Uriah sent a firm kick into the second wolf’s behind. This was enough for to get free, rolling over and pulling a wolfsbane arrow out of an unconscious werewolf only feet from him. When the kicked wolf swung back around, plunged the arrow into its back. The creature collapsed on him.
Luna’s voice was suddenly close. “Now, I know those teeth mean nothing to you, Mr. Mondamin, but our vampire counterparts tend to react much more dramatically when bitten.” pushed the stunned werewolf off of him, looking up in time to see her approach Uriah from the sidelines.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the latest university president to meet their end at a home football game. I’ll bite you first,” Uriah hissed at the doctor. “You wanna know what happens when a vampire bites a werewolf?”
“No, not really,” replied Luna as she continued toward them.
stepped forward, puffing out his chest. “You wanna know what happens when someone crosses The Triad?”
“The who? Oh, right. That’s what you and your short, little boyfriend call yourselves.” The female werewolf finally slowed to a stop, her lips curving into a devious smile. “Fortunately, you’re not the only one with a witch.”
?Uriah! !? The vampire and werewolf reacted immediately to a telepathic message from Griff, turning to see him studying the sky above them with his binoculars. ?It’s Darcy! She has him. Get out of there.?
looked up, nudging the vampire as he took in the visual of a naked Darcy floating high above them, the whites of his eyes overtaking his pupils as he chanted. “Remain constrained, remain constrained, remain constrained…”
Uriah struggled as he attempted to flail his arms in the air. ?Get Quinn, little witch. I can’t—I can’t move.?
“Nothing like a good restraint spell,” Luna cackled. “It’s the only way to trust a vampire.”
Uriah bared his fangs. “You never want to trust me, lady.”
“Mr. Mondamin,” began Luna, taking Uriah’s closest limp arm in her hands and pressing her lips into the soft part of his wrist. “I pray we can come to an agreement.”
“What’s that, you traitorous wolf bitch?” howled, anger evident in his blood-covered face.
“Hm… Well, I am terribly hungry, and I was considering taking a bite of this handsome vampire before us,” teased Luna. “He’s not what I’d normally go for, but something tells me he tastes real good. Tell me, does he?”
remained silent, hope in sight as Magnus’s wolf form charged at Luna from behind. The Queen of Wolves spun around just in time to spoil the plan. “Away!” Darcy shouted from above, flailing his left arm in the air like he was swatting a fly. The magic energy behind his movement sent Magnus crashing into the nearby water boy. The weakened werewolf quickly reverted to his human form.
“Don’t try it, Dr. Dark Moon.” Luna turned to see an unexpected presence on the field. “You know, I’ve been sucking up to uptight executive folks like you since I got into this career path.”
Luna tilted her head and pursed her lips. “And where has it gotten you, Professor Quinn?”
“Nowhere good,” the professor replied, lifting his hands as all the wolfsbane arrows on the field were magically ripped from their victims. With the redirection of his wrists, the arrows were all sent hurtling at Luna. “Wasn’t it you who said you love a great tragedy? Here’s one for you.”
“Darcy, protect your queen at all costs!” Luna commanded. The possessed witch above them knocked away a handful of arrows with his telekinesis. Following Luna’s orders, he flew into the path of the remaining wolfsbane tips.
Luna howled as several arrows pierced her skin, but another ten plunged into Darcy’s back as he blocked her body.
“Darcy, no!” winced as Griff’s pained voice echoed from the stands. He looked up just as Griff floated into the air and hurtled toward the battle.
“Heal me, Haven!” Luna cried out, falling to the ground as Haven approached the center of the field. “ I demand it. ”
“Demand all you want,” Haven scowled, moving around her flailing body as he put his hands on Darcy. made eye contact with him. ?Mondamin, I can feel her inside of me again. She’s—man, she’s so powerful.?
“You got this, Hemming!” shouted, his attention turning from Haven back to the professor. “Quinn, he’s gotta heal Darcy. Can you help?”
“This is gonna hurt,” Quinn said with a nod before telekinetically pulling every arrow from Darcy’s body.
Blood dripping from his nose, Haven concentrated on activating his healing ability despite the intensity of the moment. “ Come on, come on, come on ,” he whispered as he pressed into Darcy’s wounds.
“Griff, stay back!” yelled as he ran up to the weakened Luna, working with Uriah to restrain her. The two took an arm each and pulled her to her feet.
Luna’s voice echoed through the stadium. “Help me, all of you !”
At least half of the werewolves on the field rose to the call, stampeding toward Luna as soon as they got to their feet.
“Stay away!” Griff called, now floating some twenty feet above the field. He flung his arms as though to flick the werewolves away. The movement brought with it a great rush of wind that sent half of the charging lycans flying back in the other direction.
“That’s it, Darcy,” Haven coaxed as the blood on the injured witch’s shirt slowly began to disappear. “You’re gonna be okay.”
looked on as, with the simple aim of his finger, Quinn started transforming the attacking werewolves back into their human forms. His eyes followed Griff as he landed next to Haven. His heart ached as he heard his lover’s concerned voice. “ Darcy? ” Griff called out.
“Griff?” Darcy managed, opening his eyes briefly before his eyelids dropped shut and fluttered. “I let you down again.”
Griff looked to Haven, who shook his head solemnly. “I-I don’t know. I’m not sure if my abilities can stop this much poison inside of him.”
Tears flowing down his cheeks, Griff reached for Darcy’s hands. “Darcy, you didn’t let me down,” he wept. “You’re one of us. One of the good guys. One of the Mystic Mischief, remember?”
“Griff, wh-where’s the dagger?” Haven asked softly, placing a hand on the grieving witch’s shoulder. “Griff?”
heard Haven’s concerned voice echo through his mind. ?Mondamin??
“Griffin!” called out. “I know you’re hurting, baby, and I’m so sorry. But where’s the dagger?”
Wiping tears from his face, Griff finally responded. “It’s safe.”
“Oh, god,” Uriah grumbled as he adjusted his hold on their bloodied prisoner of war.
looked his vampire lover in the eyes. ?You good, Riah??
“Promised I’d keep the lad safe is all,” he replied, gesturing toward Darcy.
“No one’s safe, fools,” Luna interjected, flailing in his grip. Uriah hissed, shoving an arrow jutting from the woman’s leg deeper into her skin.
thoughts flowed through Uriah. ?Look, I got her. She’s weak. Go help Quinn finish off their little four-legged army so we can end this.? Sensing the vampire’s hesitation, he spoke aloud. “Riah, please.”
“Oh, bullocks,” the vampire groaned before super-speeding off into the distance.