The Call of the Beasts

Victoria was protected from all sides by the warriors.

They formed a tight ring around her, their bodies positioned to shield her from any attack. Their swords were drawn, their eyes scanning the chaos around them.

They would protect her with their lives.

Yet, strangely enough, aside from a few arrows, nothing else had happened where she stood.

No enemies approached her.

No wolves lunged from beneath the snow.

No blades came for her throat.

Nothing.

Victoria narrowed her eyes as she studied the battlefield.

Perhaps they were afraid.

Perhaps the enemies had finally realized that they could not defeat the Enclave.

Perhaps the Nightshade Pack had finally understood the futility of their resistance.

The thought brought the faintest smile to her lips.

They had fought well.

She would give them that.

But fighting well did not mean winning.

The Enclave still had numbers.

They still had resources.

And, more importantly, they still had her.

Victoria turned her attention toward the chaos ahead.

Just then, a warrior came running toward her.

His body was stained with blood.

His movements were labored, his steps uneven as he struggled through the snow. He was injured—badly injured—but he had pushed himself to reach her.

The warriors protecting Victoria immediately raised their weapons.

The man didn’t slow.

“Luna!” he called, his voice hoarse and desperate. “Luna, I have news!”

Victoria’s eyes narrowed.

“What is it?”

The warrior finally reached her.

He bent forward, struggling to catch his breath.

“Alpha Joshua is dead.”

Victoria’s expression didn’t change.

She hadn’t expected that.

But she had never particularly liked Joshua either.

His death was inconvenient.

Nothing more.

Before she could respond, another warrior came rushing toward her.

“Luna!” he shouted. “Alpha Marcus is dead!”

Victoria’s gaze shifted toward him.

Another warrior arrived almost immediately.

“Alpha Victor is dead!”

“Alpha Albert is dead!”

The names came quickly.

One after another.

Each was an Alpha of a minor pack.

Warriors who had answered the Enclave’s call.

Warriors who had come to fight for Victoria’s cause.

Now they were dead.

Victoria’s jaw tightened.

Then another warrior arrived.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t shouting.

His face was pale.

His body trembled.

He looked as though he had seen something he wished he could forget.

“Luna,” he said quietly.

Victoria stared at him.

“What?”

His throat bobbed.

“Alpha Cindy is dead.”

For the first time, Victoria’s expression changed.

Her eyes widened.

“What did you say?”

“Alpha Cindy is dead.”

Victoria stared at him.

This…

This was not in her calculations.

Not yet at least.

She had spoken to Cindy not long ago.

She had planned to meet with her.

They were supposed to begin the ritual that would turn the tide of the war.

And now she was dead.

“Are you certain?” Victoria demanded.

The warrior nodded.

“I saw her body myself, Luna. She is gone.”

Victoria’s mind raced.

Cindy had been useful.

More importantly, Cindy had been necessary.

The ritual could still be performed without her though.

Just then, an arrow flew through the storm.

It struck the warrior who had delivered the news directly in the throat.

His eyes widened.

He reached toward the shaft.

Blood spilled between his fingers.

Then he collapsed.

Another arrow came.

Another warrior fell.

Then another.

Within seconds, the warriors who had reported the deaths were lying motionless in the snow.

Victoria stared at them.

But the warriors surrounding her remained untouched.

Not one arrow had struck them.

Victoria turned toward one of the warriors beside her and grabbed his arm.

“Go back to my carriage.”

The warrior looked startled.

“Report to the person inside. Tell her what has happened.”

He nodded immediately.

“Yes, Luna.”

He turned and disappeared into the storm.

Victoria looked back toward the battlefield.

Her hands clenched.

The screams seemed louder now.

The wind seemed colder.

Victoria lifted her head.

“Goddess!”

Her voice cut through the storm.

Several nearby warriors looked toward her.

Victoria raised both hands.

“Hear me!”

The wind howled around her.

“Send reinforcements to help us win against this devilish pack that seeks to take everything from us!”

Her voice grew louder.

“Call upon the beasts that reside in these forests! Every one of them!”

The snow swirled violently around her as she spoke.

“Awaken them! Support us! Destroy this pack!”

Her cry echoed through the storm.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then, a roar sounded in the distance.

Victoria froze.

Another followed.

Then another.

Hisses.

Growls.

Shrieks.

Roars.

The sounds came from every direction.

The forest seemed to awaken around them.

The warriors surrounding Victoria exchanged nervous glances but her lips curved into a smile.

The beasts had heard her call.

—

Neoma climbed up one of the Trihydras, her claws digging into its scales as she scaled its massive body.

Her movements were fluid, almost effortless, as she reached the top of the beast’s neck.

Then she shifted halfway.

Sophia took over, her shortswords already in her hands.

She drove one deep into the beast’s body.

The blade pierced through its scales and into the flesh beneath.

The Trihydra hissed.

Its three heads thrashed wildly as it tried to throw her off.

Sophia held on.

Laia was there.

She drove one of her shortswords through the beast from below.

The blade struck true.

The Trihydra’s movements became even more frantic.

Sophia removed her swords.

Then she stabbed again.

Deeper this time.

Blood spattered across her face but she didn’t stop.

She gritted her teeth as she slid down the beast’s back, her blades carving deep gashes into its hide.

The Trihydra hissed loudly as she did.

The sound echoed through the storm.

The other Trihydra moved toward them.

Its three heads extended, each mouth opening as it prepared to strike.

Brynhild smiled and then in one swift movement, she took down a head.

The Trihydra recoiled violently.

Helios’s wolf lunged toward another head.

His jaws clamped around it.

He pulled.

The beast thrashed but the wolf was unrelenting as it dragged the head from the body.

Brynhild struck again.

Her sword pierced the final head and the beast collapsed.

But the first Trihydra was still fighting.

Laia drove both shortswords into its body. She pulled the blades free and struck again.

Blood splashed across her arms as she did so but it did not deter her.

Brynhild used her sword to take a head down.

The blade sliced cleanly through the beast’s neck.

Helios took the second head down.

Laia and Sophia took the last one together.

The Trihydra fell.

But they did not rest.

They immediately began heading back to where the others were.