Chapter 47
CHAPTER 47
T he group arrived outside a pack house with people rushing towards it. They saw a man running over to them.
“I’m Alpha Stanley. Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“I’m Shiloh Sweeny.” He quickly introduced the group. “Do you know how far out the Hayes pack are ?”
“About ten minutes,” the Alpha replied. “I’m not a large pack, I have about seven wolves who can fight. The rest are going to be hiding in my house with one of my wolves protecting them.”
“Are there humans close by?” Frederick asked.
“About three miles that way.” He pointed off to the left. “There’s nothing in the other direction except my pack’s houses and forests. The main road is via the human houses. I have some of my wolves hiding just inside the woods by the main road, the others are scattered about.”
“We’ll find them and back them up,” Shiloh said. “Battle, Robin, can you stay near the pack house and protect those inside if needed?”
They nodded.
“Everyone else, scatter and protect the pack. Remember the king’s warning and be safe. Alpha Stanley, I’m with you,” Shiloh said.
With that, the defence team broke up, running in different directions.
“I’m gonna shift just in case,” Battle informed Robin.
“Me, too. I’ll keep watch from the roof,” he replied, quickly stripping and shifting into his golden eagle.
Battle collected Robin’s clothes and put them safely by the side of the pack house.
Battle was about to start stripping when something inside of him told him he didn’t have to. Listening to the voice, he shifted into his wolf. Battle looked around. His eyes were sharper than the last time he had been in wolf form, and he realised his hearing was much better. He could hear everything. He shook his head; that would take some getting used to.
The rumble of car engines and tyres got louder until it stopped. Then he heard the howls.
Blake and the others watched the defence team leave.
“I’m going back to Olympus, call me if you need me,” Zeus said, his face caught in an unfamiliar worried expression.
“I’ll come with you,” Hades added and they both vanished.
Blake looked at his mate. “Maybe you should go and check on them.”
Baylan nodded. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”
“I’ll come with you,” Alex said, dropping a kiss on Tudor’s head and releasing him.
“And me,” Ares added. And just that quickly, the brothers vanished.
Blake looked at the two generals, Kyle and Marius. “We need to get these teams sorted and training.”
“We’ve started putting some together, but I will get right on that, sire,” General Delinga said.
Blake nodded. “Thank you. Hopefully, when the others return, they will have helpful information to aid our planning.”
“They will have,” General Gasgoyne reassured him. “If you’ll excuse us, we’ll go and get started.”
Blake nodded. “Thank you.”
The two generals walked off, both pulling their phones out.
“I’m off back to the pack house. I’ve lots to do,” Jason remarked.
“Me, too,” Peyton put in.
With that, the group broke up, each off to work. Dask herded the children inside for lessons and Oz took Puff off for dragon lessons.
Ares, Baylan, and Alex appeared in Zeus’ office, to see both Zeus and Hades standing in front of the magic mirror.
“You know they can both take care of themselves, right?” Alex said by way of a greeting.
“We know, but Barnabus can mimic powers,” Hades reminded them.
“He can. But the soldiers that went to help Alpha Stanley know this and will act accordingly,” Baylan said. “You have to trust in your mates’ abilities.”
“I trust Battle, but we’re still so new. I’m allowed to be concerned,” Zeus said, stroking his beard.
“You did tell him he’s a demigod now and can’t die, didn’t you?” Ares asked.
Zeus shook his head. “I thought I’d have more time.” He watched as Battle shifted into his wolf. “His wolf is stunning.”
“Maybe we should go and help,” Hades wondered.
“You can’t, it’s the whole non-interference thing. You can twist it however you want, but it would still be a god interfering,” Ares reminded him. “You warned me about that when I mated my Jason.”
Zeus’ shoulders slumped.
“Maybe don’t watch,” Alex suggested softly. Then smiled. “You can arrange a party for your mate, and you, Hades, can start planning your mating party for Frederick.”
The two gods brightened.
“We can do that. We also need a mating party for Demi and Brook. Hera is already organising a baby shower for them.”
“I can’t remember the last time we had so much to celebrate,” Ares remarked.
Zeus glanced back at the mirror and saw Battle fighting two wolves. His mate was amazing, swift and agile, and both wolves were dealt with quickly. Zeus nodded to himself. When he did tell Battle he was now a demigod, he should probably explain that all of his senses were heightened and he was now much quicker than before, and his wolf fiercer.
Battle was amazed at how quickly he subdued both wolves. Sure, he was a good fighter, but neither wolf had caused him any problems. He dug his claws in the dirt as his ears flicked, attuned to any new threat. He wondered if, apart from enhanced senses, he now had quicker reflexes.
The roar of a dragon disturbed his thoughts and Battle debated for a moment if he should leave his position and help. But no, the alpha’s vulnerable were inside the building and he would protect them with his life.
More wolves headed his way and he met them head-on, joined in the fight by Robin. He chuckled to himself, what kind of parents named their eagle son Robin? Distracted by that thought, a light brown wolf jumped onto his back and tried to bring him down.
Battle reared up onto his two back legs and flopped backwards, landing on the wolf, all two hundred fifty pounds of him, who let out a yelp of pain. Battle rolled off him and stood over the wolf and howled loud and deep. The wolf rolled to his side, slowly got up and slinked away.
Battle stalked the other wolf, who took one look at Battle and ran off.
Frederick was having fun. None of the wolves he fought could match his skill. It was like all his senses had sharpened and his skill increased. He wondered if Battle had noticed any change. He also wondered if Battle knew he was basically immortal now.
Frederick heard a noise behind him and turned, seeing an older, meaner version of Blake standing behind him.
“So, the rumours are true, the kings are sending out teams to help packs fight me off,” Barnabus laughed. “Shame it won’t make any difference. It just means I’ll slowly kill all those sent against me. I can start with you.” And with that he shot a fire ball straight at Frederick.
Frederick jumped out the way as Barnabus sent more. One caught Frederick on his haunches and he yelped in pain, but it didn’t slow him down.
“What the hell! You should be dead by now,” Barnabus exclaimed.
“In an ideal world, so should you,” Shiloh said from behind him.
Barnabus spun round and Shiloh punched the demon in the face. Barnabus stumbled back, a hand going to his bloody nose. “So, it’s like that, is it?”
Frederick crept up behind Barnabus. He saw Shiloh shift into his large silverback gorilla and stilled for a moment. He had never seen a silverback gorilla shifter before and Shiloh was massive.
He heard Barnabus laugh. “This should be fun.”
Frederick jumped onto Barnabus’s back and tried to bite into his neck, but Barnabus brought his hand round, grabbed Frederick’s neck and threw him off of his back and into a tree.
Frederick stood and gave his head a shake. How had the demon managed that?
Shiloh and Barnabus were now fighting. Shiloh threw a punch and his gorilla fist met Barnabus’s fist and they both went flying backwards.
They both got quickly to their feet with Barnabus throwing out more fireballs, which Shiloh managed to leap clear from. Shiloh jumped up into a tree above Barnabus and pounced down, punching out at Barnabus as he landed. Barnabus caught his fist and threw Shiloh into a tree.
“You can’t stop me, you can’t kill me, you can’t hurt me. I’m unstoppable!” Barnabus boasted.
While Barnabus was distracted, Frederick jumped him, slashing his claws down Barnabus’s back.
The demon screamed in pain and spun round, backhanding the wolf across his face.
Frederick stumbled and shook his head. He watched as Shiloh got close and in a nifty move, punched Barnabus in the face.
The demon fell to the ground near Frederick. Frederick jumped onto Barnabus and used his claws to slash at the demon, slicing into his chest.
Barnabus cried out in pain and threw Frederick off him again. He yelled in anguish and vanished.
Shiloh let out a series of animalistic huffs before walking over to Frederick.
Frederick shifted and was surprised to see he was still clothed; he thought they would have been in shreds by now. “Let’s see how the others are getting on. Hopefully, when we tell his crew that Barnabus vanished and left them here, they’ll give up.” He felt his hip where the fireball hit. It was a bit sore but was already healing.
Shiloh and Frederick walked back towards the pack house. The only wolves they came across were theirs or Alpha Stanley’s.
Battle saw them and shifted back to his human form, fully clothed. “The Hayes wolves suddenly vanished.”
“That’s because Barnabus vanished,” Frederick told him.
“Dammit,” Battle said.
“We managed to hurt him, Shiloh and I,” Frederick said.
“Well, that’s something. We need to call everyone back and check for injuries,” Battle replied.
Just then, a group of wolves trotted into the clearing along with the other defence team members. There were a few cuts and scrapes but nothing serious.
Everyone shifted back.
“Thank you for your help,” Alpha Stanley said. “I don’t understand how everyone vanished though.”
“The Hayes pack are working with a demon,” Frederick explained.
“What is this world coming to?” he said, shaking his head.
A clothed Robin walked over to join them. “No wolves got near your house.”
Alpha Stanley nodded. “Thank you. Would you tell King Blake that if ever he needs my help to just ask and it will be given?”
“We’ll tell him, thank you. Can we do anything before we leave?” Shiloh asked.
A dragon guard clicked his fingers and Shiloh was soon clothed, as was Julian.
“No, thank you. Can we help you get home?”
“We have that covered, Alpha,” one of the dragon guards said.
“Be safe,” the Alpha said.
Shiloh nodded to one of the dragon guards and quickly, they vanished and arrived back at the pack grounds.