Defied
"I don't know if this is a more efficient than trying to track them down," Isaac commented as Fiona stared at the map.
"We couldn't track them down when they wanted us to find them," Ethan reminded the other werewolf.
"I think it might be best to let her focus," Brett stated. The others nodded as Brett leaned on the wall next to Lori. Jackson turned to Ethan before the two grabbed each other's hands and watched Fiona.
The banshee closed her eyes and let her finger trace around the map hanging on the wall. "We don't even know if they're planning anything," she sighed as she turned to the others.
"They're always planning something," Jackson replied.
"And we know that they're planning to kill the rest of us," Isaac added. The others turned and glared at him as Fiona turned back to the map.
"What if we're going about this wrong?" Lori asked. "Maybe we should start thinking of what they would try to do."
"It's pretty hard to predict what these two psychos have in mind," Isaac replied.
"Maybe not," Jackson said when he noticed Ethan's eyes narrow.
"Right, we can just ask the former psycho," Isaac commented.
"If they are so good at hiding their scent—," Ethan started.
"Then what if they're also really good at tracking it," Brett finished.
Fiona turned away from the map on the wall and started to scratch out the valley and its surroundings on the table. She stepped back and stared at the drawing for a moment before looking up to the others. "They're here," she whispered.
The pack watched as the water stilled, August pulled out his blade and noticed it had lost its red glow. "Can't hurt to leave it in there," Steve told him and the hunter nodded.
"There isn't time," Charlie told them when he heard Fiona's voice.
August yanked the plug out of the drain by the chain as the others moved to retrieve their blades and join the others.
"Come on, come on, come on," Jay muttered as he watched the mixture swirl down the tub.
"Put these on," Satomi stated, slapping the werecheetah with a pair of leather gloves. "And make sure you keep the blades away from you." Jay nodded as he pulled the gloves on and prepared to grab his daggers.
Steve flung open the front door and spotted the two ancient werewolves waiting outside. "Took you long enough," Romulus stated as the group poured out of the house.
"It's okay, Lycaon needed a lot of time to recover too," Remus chuckled.
"Not that we gave it to him."
"You'll regret giving us the time," August told them.
"The look on Lycaon's face when we killed him—" Remus continued, ignoring the hunter.
"It reminded me of how your beta looked," Romulus said, smiling at Steve.
"He wasn't a beta," Steve growled, his eyes shining red. "No one in this pack is lesser than me. We share our power."
"You share your weakness," Romulus spat.
Jay growled next to Steve as he and Satomi joined the others. The werecheetah and Steve ran towards the two with August and Charlie following behind. The two wolves smirked as they raised their claws to strike. Fiona's scream caught Romulus's hand, unbalancing him, while a fireball struck Remus's hand.
The two recovered and attempted to move away from the blades. Jay ran past, unable to reach Remus and August barely caught the werewolf's arm. Steve caught Romulus on the thigh, but he ducked away from Charlie's attack before it could connect.
"What the Hell is this?" Remus asked, wiping the blood from his arm, only for it to be replaced by a fresh blood.
"Doesn't matter," Romulus growled as he and Remus started to shift. "We're going to kill them all."
Steve glanced to August as the wounds healed with their shift. "Not as effective as we thought," August thought to the alpha.
"Maybe not, but it should still be enough," Steve told him. The two ancient werewolves growled at the group as they started to surround them. "Find the opening, protect each other," Steve thought to the others before running at Romulus.
Leonard and Kaia ran towards Romulus as well. Romulus reached for Leonard but was stopped as Kaia's blade sliced his palm. He hissed as he grabbed Steve's sword and threw the three of them back, black blood dripping from his hands onto the ground.
August, Charlie, and Jay ran back towards Remus. Jay ran past the other two and drove both daggers into Remus's abdomen before running past. Remus snarled as he pulled the daggers out of his stomach. Blood leaked from the wounds and he tossed the daggers at August and Charlie. Charlie rammed into August, knocking them both to the ground as the dagger passed just over Charlie's shoulder. The two tossed their swords aside before they landed, August grunting as Charlie fell on top of him. They looked up and saw spots form on Jay's skin as he snarled and turned back to Remus, his amber eyes glowing bright. The werecheetah ripped away the leather gloves and ran towards the werewolf.
"I think we lost Jay," Charlie thought to the others.
"Let him go," August thought as the werecheetah slashed through the werewolf before circling around. "He's faster right now."
Ethan and Jackson ran towards Remus as he approached Charlie and August, ignoring the werecheetah's assault. Isaac and Deucalion followed behind them. Romulus roared and ran to intercept them. Jackson and Isaac separated to slow Romulus while the others carried on. The werewolf grabbed Jackson's tail and slammed him into Isaac, knocking the werewolf to the ground with a crack. Jackson cried out in pain as Romulus attempted to pull the tail off of him.
The werewolf stopped when a shuriken stuck his shoulder. He growled as he turned to find Brett and Lori running towards him. He threw Jackson at them and the three crumpled to the ground. Remus struck Ethan when he hesitated as Jackson hit the ground.
"Your sentiments make you weak," Remus stated when Deucalion stopped as Ethan flew past him. The alpha readied his blade as Remus approached.
"We love it," Romulus growled as he turned towards Steve as he and Kaia helped Leonard to his feet. August and Charlie scrambled to retrieve their blades as Romulus removed Satomi's shuriken from his shoulder. He flung it back to the alpha and she knocked it aside as she pulled out her others.
Jay rammed his claws into Romulus's back causing the werewolf to stumble from the impact. He gasped slightly as Jay's claws twist inside him. "His sentiment has made him stronger," Leonard corrected the werewolf, causing Romulus to smirk.
The ancient werewolf spun around, grabbing Jay's arms as the werecheetah's feet left the ground. The wounds instantly healed once the claws had been freed from his back. Bones snapped as Romulus tightened his grip and Jay's spots began to fade. "It didn't work the first time," Romulus told the werecheetah as he lifted him further off the ground.
Jay started to squirm as he tried to escape the werewolf's grip. Romulus chuckled as he brought his other hand towards Jay. His laughter stopped when his hand stopped short of Jay. Romulus looked down and saw Leonard's emerald eyes glaring back at him. Romulus threw Jay to the ground as he turned to catch Kaia's katana. The werewolf snapped the blade in half and threw it towards Steve as he rushed forward.
The alpha rolled to avoid the blade fragment and watched as Romulus knocked the other two together before tossing them aside. Romulus turned towards the alpha as Steve watched Charlie and August run at Remus. The ancient werewolf jumped into the air and blood splatted on the grass as he kicked the two to the ground. "Now that everyone else is out of the way," Romulus stated, drawing Steve's attention back to him.
"We can let the big dogs fight," Remus added as he turned to Deucalion.
"Help him," Steve shouted, gesturing to Deucalion as Satomi moved towards him. "I'll take care of Romulus," he added with a growl, his red eyes glowing brighter.
"Killing your beta was almost as fun as killing you will be," Romulus snarled.
"His name was Thane," Steve growled. "He wasn't a beta. He was our friend," Steve shouted before running at Romulus.
The ancient werewolf chuckled as he batted the alpha aside. "I don't care about your names," Romulus replied, turning to Steve as he pushed himself off the ground. "Once we're done I'm going to kill all your friends."
Steve snarled and ran back at Romulus before being slammed back to the ground. "Stay calm. Remember how to fight," August's voice sounded in his head. Steve looked around to the others and noticed their limbs had been twisted in different directions. Their faces grimaced as they looked up to the alpha.
The alpha's eyes stopped on Charlie and August. "We're fine," Charlie told him, his arm bent backward.
"Remember how to fight. And kill him," the hunter stated, his legs bent to the side.
"Looking at how defenseless your friends are?"
"Protegimus illos qui nequent proteger se," Steve muttered to himself.
"Oh really?" Romulus chuckled.
Steve turned back to Romulus and raised his sword. "You want to kill them?" he growled. "You have to go through me."
"I plan to," Romulus snarled before rushing at the alpha.
Steve rolled out of the way of the attack and rose, swinging his sword at Romulus. The alpha caught Romulus on his arm before he backed away. "Focus healing on Steve," August told everyone as he watched Satomi and Deucalion attack Remus. "Alphas have the best chance."
"We can do better than that," Leonard added, looking towards Kaia. The kitsune nodded as black tendril started to crawl up the pack's arms.
"Kill him," Steve heard Jay growl from the ground.
Romulus's eyes narrowed as Steve's sword started to glow red. "Could Lycaon do this?" Steve growled.
"His pack wasn't as abnormal as yours," Romulus replied. Steve smirked as he swung the glowing blade at the other werewolf. Romulus jumped out of the way and Steve continued his assault. The blade slid across Romulus's chest after a few attempts. The wound was cauterized instantly, but grey fluid leaked from the burn.
Romulus roared before rushing at the alpha. Steve leapt into the air above the werewolf, but was stopped just above Romulus's head. His back slammed into the ground as his blade bounced out of his hand. Romulus smiled as he pulled the Steve by his ankle. His smile faded when he heard a cry of pain from across the clearing.
The two looked over and saw Remus gasp as Deucalion's sword rested in his chest. Satomi ran next to the other alpha and drove her shuriken into the ancient werewolf's eyes. Remus flung out his arms, sending the two alphas to the ground before he burst into dust.
Romulus snarled as he turned back to Steve, mounting the alpha. "All for me now," he growled, pinning Steve's arms to the ground.
August heard Charlie's leg snap as he lay next to the hunter. "You can't take it all yourself," August warned him as the hunter's legs started to move back into place.
"It doesn't matter. Go," Charlie replied as Romulus struck Steve's face, sending blood flying across the grass. August grunted as he lifted himself, using his blade to push himself off the ground.
"You're pathetic," Romulus shouted at the bloodied Steve. "Now you'll die just like Lycaon." Romulus lifted his hand into the air but froze as August drove his blade into the ancient werewolf's side.
"No, you're pathetic," August panted as his leg gave out. "Dying to a human." Romulus glared at the hunter before exploding into dust. August tossed the blade to the side as he collapsed next to the alpha.
"The others have left," August stated as he walked into the room. Steve was staring out the bedroom window.
"I saw," Steve replied turning to the hunter.
"We saved Jackson, Ethan, and Isaac."
"Yeah. Probably a lot of others too," Steve muttered.
"Doesn't make up for who we lost though," Charlie added as he and Fiona walked into the room.
Steve shook his head as Fiona sat next to him. "No more," she whispered looking at the others in the room. "No one dies anymore."
"Fiona—" August started.
"If I get a feeling that someone is going to die, we don't fight. We stay safe. No one else dies," she stated, cutting off August. "Promise me," she added turning to Steve.
The alpha looked at her for a moment. "If we know someone is in danger. We won't go."
Fiona nodded before getting off the bed. Charlie pulled her into his arms as they walked out the door. Charlie turned to the alpha and mouthed thank you to him before they left the room. August closed the door behind them and sat next to Steve, but the alpha turned back to the window.
"You still have the scar?" August asked.
"I still need the reminder," Steve muttered shaking his head. "I just made a promise I can't keep."
"We all make our own decisions."
"Yeah, that's what got us kicked out of the Republic and what cost us Thane," Steve replied as he walked to the window. August remained silent. "Maybe we need a change."
"What do you mean?"
"Get back in the Republic, find some order to our lives."
Jay sat on his bed and stared across the room at the empty bed. He jumped slightly when Leonard and Kaia walked into the room.
"We need to do things differently," Jay stated.
"We will," Kaia replied.
"No more," Jay whispered.
"No one else dies," Leonard stated as he sat next to the werecheetah. "I promise."