Chapter 9 #2
My wolves were waiting at the perimeter, warily waiting for my command on how to move forward.
Atreyu and Noctis moved to either side of the front door, cutting off the exit in the process.
I strode to the middle and sat down on my haunches, looking over the enemy.
There were several weak points in their formation if they were meaning to protect the tall and skinny man at the center.
They all seemed to be looking to him for direction. He was their leader.
I put my focus on him.
He did his best to not cower before me, but I could see the signs anyway.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he gritted his teeth.
He tried to lift his chin bravely as he rolled his shoulders back, trying to make himself appear bigger than he actually was.
His eyes were still glinted bright red, a mark of a young vampire, which meant that he had little experience in actually utilizing his abilities especially against a wolf like me.
His fingers were shaking, and he hid them behind his back, but it was too late. I’d already seen his fear.
We hadn’t even attacked yet and we already had the upper hand.
“I am Elijah, the alpha of the Rising Sun pack,” I began, and he rushed to clear his throat.
“I am Timothy, the kingpin of the New Ravnos clan,” he sputtered.
All around him, the faces of his followers twisted with angry pride.
The existence of their clan had never been officially recognized by the Council and after I was through with them, they likely never would.
They’d been hiding out here in secret, likely hiding from the boss of the Ravnos clan, a feisty woman who went by the name Josephina.
From what I knew of her, she wasn’t the type of leader that would let their cruelty stand.
I wouldn’t allow it to continue either.
From the moment I’d entered this unholy place, I could smell the suffering. There hadn’t been time, but I knew that human men and women alike were barely hanging onto life behind most of the closed doors we’d passed. I’d hated having to leave them, but I hadn’t had much of a choice.
We had to deal with the enemy before we could help them.
“You are breaking Council law here, Timothy. My pack intends to make you answer for it,” I growled. His shoulders cowed at the sound. Good.
“We are living by our own decree. We do not bow before the Council,” he vowed, and I had to chuckle.
The Council wasn’t something you could just choose whether or not to exist under.
They ruled over every single vampire clan and wolf shifter pack in the world, and they had done so for centuries.
It was their role to govern and keep our identities secret from humankind.
They would do whatever they thought necessary to protect that, including wiping out an entire clan or pack if need be.
I was quite certain the dissolution of this particular group of vampires would be their utmost priority if they knew what was happening here. I didn’t particularly care for diplomacy though. I was a man of action. I’d deal with the problem before it got any worse.
“I don’t care. You will bow before me,” I snarled, and he took a step back nervously.
“My people will not cower before you, mutt,” he exclaimed.
In the time I’d been speaking with the clan leader, my pack had situated themselves strategically throughout the room so that they could take out the vampires with weapons against our kind first. Through our pack link, I’d already delivered my instructions for how I wanted them to process. I would take care of the leader myself.
It was time for him to die.
I didn’t tell him death was coming. I didn’t give him any warning at all before I leapt forward.
In a rush, he tried to un-holster his gun from his belt.
I don’t know if he was inexperienced or just dumb, but his gun got stuck in the process and he didn’t even get it out of the holster before I was on top of him.
When my claws dug into his chest, he squealed like a pig, and I had to stop myself from openly snorting with amusement.
My teeth captured his wrist, rendering it immobile before I splintered the bones inside it with a vicious bite. His screams echoed the loudest, but I ended him quickly and without remorse. I separated his head from his body in a practiced maneuver and I welcomed the silence that came with it.
My pack deftly avoided the silver knives, along with the bundles of wolfsbane. Several vampires got off a gunshot here and there, but the majority of them went wild and were so poorly aimed that they ended up blowing holes in the plaster walls instead of in the flesh of my wolves.
The battle was swift and bloody. We outnumbered them by a wide margin, so it was simply a matter of time before we came out the victor. Several vampires tried to escape out a window or off into the rest of the house, but they were quickly dealt with.
By the time it was over, there wasn’t a single vampire left standing. When I was certain all of them were good and dead, I barked another order.
“Find every human in this place and free them. Those who are stable, see to it that they are cared for. Clear out this room and set it up as a makeshift hospital. Whatever we can do to mitigate the damage they wrought, I want done,” I commanded.
My wolves howled in agreement.
“Atreyu, come with me. You and I are going to search the town to see if there are any vampires we missed,” I added, and the black wolf leapt to follow.
His yellow eyes swept the room. He loved the fight, and it would mean a lot to him that I would afford him the opportunity to come with me.
I knew he’d hate to miss even a single one.
I bounded through the front door, and he sprinted along with me.
Because of our innate ability to scent a vampire from afar, especially out here in the expanse of the mountains, we only had to sniff the perimeter of several of the surrounding buildings.
We’d have to deal with the remaining outposts in short order, but that would come after we made sure that the humans that they’d hurt were safe.
The sun was beginning to set, so if there were any more vampires to contend with, this would be the time they would start to become active. They would be stronger and freer to move around outside when it wasn’t daylight.
Before the sun rose again, I would make sure there wasn’t a single one left.