Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer, my OCs belong to me
This chapter is dedicated to Alphabloodwolf, WriterNMomma, maggiepie123, M-Bianca94, Asherah Isa, Anonymous Guest, Taylor eaglebear, Fadewind and Noble
This is the first of two chapters I'm posting today
Magda
We were up early the morning we were meant to leave. Zeke looked sick, as he got dressed. I was worried about him. He really shouldn't be going back into anything stressful yet, never mind a war zone.
We can desert. I thought toward him as I put my hand to his cheek.
Your girls need you and you won't go without me. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to them because you weren't there to lead them. Zeke thought back and forced a smile to his face.
That hurt me, that he was trying to soldier through this when he really didn't want to and I pulled him into a hug.
"I'll get through anything as long as I got you to come back to." He whispered and brushed his cheek against mine.
"I love you." I said and kissed him for a long while.
Finally I broke away when there was a knock on my door.
"Boss? You two want breakfast before we head out to the Ranch House?" Kaden called through the door.
"We should eat something." I said to Zeke.
He nodded his head and I took his hand.
"Please eat." I said, looking into his eyes.
"I will." He said and managed a weak smile.
I kissed his left cheek then led him out into the main room. We sat at the table with my girls and we ate a big breakfast. We had no idea what was happening, like when we'd get to eat, so we didn't want to risk it.
Before we left for the Ranch House we all took one final bathroom break just to be sure, again we didn't know when we'd be able to go again. We only brought ourselves. There'd been a note that said we didn't need anything else.
We got to the Ranch House and was told to follow the arrows that were stuck to the wall. We followed them out to the staff parking lot. I could have led us here. Zeke definitely could have led us here, but now wasn't the time to argue. Holly and Uncle Ardal greeted us and led us to a decommissioned greyhound bus.
"All of you are on this bus." Holly said as she gestured for us to get on.
We were the first on the bus, which meant that we had our pick of the seats. We sat near the middle of the bus on either side of the aisle. I let Zeke get in by the window and I sat next to him. Kaden and Amber sat opposite us. Marissa and Cadence were in front of Kaden and Amber while Felicity and Laurel sat in front of me and Zeke.
Auntie Liza and Uncle Mal were the next to arrive. They took the seat behind me.
"Good morning Magda, how are you?" She asked.
"I'm great Auntie Liza. How about you two?" I replied as I turned to look over the back of my seat.
"We're as good as can be expected." Liza replied.
"We'll be fine. We all will." Mal said with a firm nod. "How are you holding up Zeke?"
"What? Oh, I'm good." Zeke stammered as he turned a little to see them.
Mal leaned closer so he could whisper, "Are you sure?"
Zeke nodded.
"It's not too late for me to give my professional opinion." Mal offered but Zeke shook his head.
"I can't stay behind now. I have to make sure Mags is safe." He said firmly as he put his hand on my shoulder.
"And I'm sure you will do a fine job indeed." Liza said with a reassuring smile.
"I'm sure you will." Mal agreed and sat back with a smile, but there was a worried look in his eyes.
You think he's gonna crack? I asked Mal.
I don't know. This could go either way. It might help him get over what happened to him, or it might reinforce the trauma and set him further back than square one. It depends on what happens when we get there. Mal replied.
Then I hope it's the first one. I thought as I turned back around and I entwined my fingers with Zeke's.
Zeke looked at me and I smiled and he smiled back. I kissed his lips, only a peck, but I had to show him a little affection.
A handful of dhampir came on next and took seats as far away from our group as possible. That didn't really matter. It meant that all our family could sit together. Then Mom and Dad came on and they sat across the aisle from Liza and Mal. Dad reached out his hand to his twin sister and they held them there for a moment before they sat back in their seats.
"Mags, Zeke, you're nice and early." Dad said.
"We were the first on." I said.
"And how's the rest of you this morning?"
My girls stopped in their personal conversations and let Dad know they were ok then went back to the babble. Before anymore could be said Loki and Leda got on the bus. I could see the struggle on Loki's face. I didn't need read his mind to know what he was struggling over. He was happy that he was on the same bus as me and my girls; it meant he wasn't the only wolf. Again, Dad and Mom being here was more people he knew. Of course it meant he couldn't do anything with Leda through the whole journey because Mom and Dad were there, not to mention Auntie Liza and Uncle Mal.
"Morning everyone." He said as he knelt on the seat in front of Laurel and Felicity, he got back up so Leda could get on the inside, then knelt back on the seat. "We all ready for this?"
"Yeah." We all chorused.
"Great." He said with a big grin before he turned around and dropped down to sit next to Leda.
Slowly the bus filled up and as the amount of free seats dwindled Liza wan growing agitated. It was so intense that it was breaking through my shield. It was only as two dhampir got on and took the last seats that were left, the ones in front of Cadence and Marissa that I suddenly knew why.
"Where's Seren and Rupert?" Liza said urgently.
Just then Jane came onto the bus.
"Good morning everyone. The bus will commence in a minuet, and when it does it will not stop for anything other than the scheduled breaks. I will see you at the Mexican border. Goodbye."
While Jane had been saying that she was thinking, Tony, Magda, Loki, can either of you hear me? If so, let Liza know that there's no need to worry about Seren. She and Rupert left last night with Carlisle and Esme in order to set up the field hospital.
Jane left the bus and a vamp got on that I vaguely recognised as one of Rea's many underlings. He was wearing a tour bus driver's uniform, but I guess it made it look like a real tour. Liza got to her feet ready to run after Jane, but Dad grabbed her hand. Liza sunk slowly back into her seat and she looked pissed, but there wasn't much she could do now. Seren was already gone, but at least she was safe with Carlisle and Esme. Besides, the bus rumbled into life and we were on our way.
As the driver backed out of the spot, I noticed that Zeke was breathing in short shallow breaths. I turned to him and put my hand to his cheek. I didn't care if my parents were right there; my imprint needed reassuring right now.
We're ok. I thought toward him and kissed him.
I'll be ok once we get there. It's like a roller coaster. The worst part is always the first hill, when the truck is climbing up toward that first drop. When you're thinking about how bad it could be. Once you drop over you're moving so fast around the rest of the track you can't even think about it, only enjoy the ride. Zeke said, sounding calmer in his mind than he looked.
We don't have to think about it. We can do something to take your mind off things. I offered.
I don't think that would be appropriate in front of all these people, especially your parents. He joked and we both laughed out loud.
That's not what I was thinking. I said as I grinned at him. But I can pull us up onto the dreamscape.
No. Zeke thought as he shook his head and brushed my hair back behind my ear. I don't want you to drain yourself too much. How about we talk out loud too. I don't want you to have a power drain when you need it the most. "We could make up a story like we used to."
"Ok." I said. "Where do you wanna start?"
"I don't know." He said and glanced out the window. "Let's start with a cow in a field."
I looked out the window and saw that lone cow in the field.
"The lonely cow?" I suggested.
Zeke shrugged.
It ended up being a rambling story where the cow had to do a lot of stuff before she was reunited with her herd, but at least it ate up a couple of hours. It was getting near lunchtime and it didn't look like we were stopping soon, I was glad that we had a big breakfast.
Then we held a group conversation, musing over what we'd do once this was all over. One thing was sure; we'd all had enough of working for Jane.
It was a long journey and we only made one stop. Half an hour for us all to toilet and have something to eat. The little Burger King built into the services made quite a bit of money in that half hour even if they were busy with it.
We spent the rest of the evening in quiet. I let Zeke hug me, and I hummed a little song as I kept an eye on his mind, but he seemed content. That was a good thing and I settled against him to snooze a little, as it grew dark.
It was around eleven when the bus pulled in behind a travelling funfair. I realised that I recognised some of the rides, they were from the Ranch, but I couldn't remember them moving anything. I guess this was the cover for why there was suddenly a lot of busses and campervans showed up in this one place.
The bus came to a stop and the driver told us to follow him. He waited to make sure everyone got off. I took hold of Zeke's hand as my girls fell in around us while everyone else shuffled off the bus. The driver motioned for us to follow him and he led us away from the lights of the fair and out into the darkness.
He led us at a jog that was a bit slow for me, but it meant my wolf girls and the dhampir could keep up with him. We came to a thatch of bushes and the vamp leapt over them and disappeared. Everyone followed him and when I sailed over the bush, still with my hand in Zeke's, I saw why. There was a deep ditch on the other side. We landed and followed the pointing vampire, a different one to the driver.
We ran in that direction, my girls staying close behind me so that we stayed as a pack. There were other vampires along the way, leading us through a network of channels until we were directed through a hole in the side of the banking. It was a bit of a squeeze, and there was water and rats inside, but it was a reinforced tunnel that was tall enough for us to stand up. We ran along this tunnel and it went on for a few miles. It actually felt good to get out in the night air on the other side.
We were in another network of channels and there were vamps to guide our way on this side too. When we emerged from the channels we were in a field that looked overgrown, but there was a load of vehicles clustered in the distance. The last vamp told us to run on to there. We obeyed.
Jane was standing in the circle of vehicles, which close up looked like delivery trucks.
"Right, wolves over here." She said when she saw me.
I moved to the spot and Zeke with me since I hadn't let his hand go through the entire run. My girls moved with us.
"Not you Zeke, you need to go with the dhampir." Jane said pointing to a group clustered by another truck.
"We're going to the same place." I said.
"Yes. But you are in different battalions. Wolves are cavalry, dhampir are rear-guard infantry."
"But we can sort that out there?" I suggested.
"No. Briefing will take place during the journey. Now please, we haven't got time for this." Jane said firmly.
I turned to Zeke.
"I'll be ok." He assured me with a smile and then he kissed me, long and passionately, I actually felt a little giddy when he let me go. "See you tomorrow?"
"I better see you tomorrow." I said firmly before I gave him one last kiss.
He touched my cheek lightly before he turned from me. He pulled his hood further over his head and stalked off with his hands stuffed in his pockets to the spot Jane had pointed out where there was already a handful of dhampir gathered.
"Ok girls, you'll be travelling in the back of this truck. There's bedrolls and sleeping bags in the back and food too. Make sure you sleep and eat on the journey. Daisy will be travelling with you to brief you on what you will be doing tomorrow. If you need the bathroom before you set out, there's some handy bushes over there." Jane said, pointing with her thumb. "But make it quick. Your truck will set out first."
Jane left us to deal with other people.
"Well girls?" I asked.
"Well I'm not holding it until we reach the battle." Cadence said as she strode over to the bushes.
I looked at the other five and they shrugged before we headed over to the bushes too. There was a row of low seats with holes in them over a pit. It was better than going directly on the floor, but it was weird sitting next to my girls while we all made sure the waste tanks were empty.
When we got back to the truck Daisy was waiting for us.
"Hop on board, we're ready to go." She said as she opened the back.
Inside there were seven bedrolls and seven sleeping bags. I led the way in, as alpha it was my job, but I couldn't help but wonder why there were only seven, wasn't Loki and Dad travelling with us? They were wolves too.
All my girls piled on before Daisy climbed into the back and closed the door behind her.
"What about Dad and Loki?" I asked as she strode up to the front end of the trailer.
"Are they part of your pack?" Daisy asked as she banged on the front wall of the trailer and the engine rumbled to life.
"They could be."
"But they're not. They have different assignments to you." Daisy said, standing perfectly stable as the truck began to jerk over the uneven terrain.
"Ok." I said, wondering why the hell Zeke couldn't travel with us.
"Well, I'll leave you girls get sleep and I'll call on you in the morning. Give your briefing then." Daisy said and without waiting for our reply she leapt up for the hatch above her head and climbed through it before closing it with a thud.
I turned to my girls who were all still looking up at the hatch.
"I guess we sleep." I said as I chose my sleeping bag and climbed inside. "We'll need it for tomorrow."
I climbed inside and snuggled down on the sleep mat. I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep.
I must have been sleeping for a long while because the next time I was aware Daisy was landing back in the trailer.
"Morning ladies, it's time for a debriefing. I'll give you half an hour to come around and have something to eat, but then we need to get down to business." She announced.
I sat up and stretched out.
"Where's the breakfast?" I asked.
"You'll find it in the boxes behind each of you." Daisy replied.
I turned to find a plastic box with a lid. I opened it and found that it was full of the type of food that lasted a long while as well as a few bottles of water. I pulled out some cereal bars and ate them between sips of water.
"If you need to toilet there's a camping potty bucket thingy over there. We can string up a blanket or something if you want privacy." Daisy said, pointing toward the doors.
"Won't it smell by the time we get where we're going?" Cadence asked.
That could be a problem. It was already boiling in the back of the truck, which really wasn't surprising considering we were in Mexico. If it got any hotter then that bucket would end up smelling.
"There's chemicals to mask the smell and also a lid. It's the best we can do, unless you all want to hold it until we reach our destination?" Daisy said.
"No. It'll do." I said. "So what about this briefing?"
"Finish up your breakfast and we'll talk." Daisy said with a nod.
We finished our breakfast quickly then Daisy told us to gather around while she rolled out a map and acetate sheets on the floor. Then she set about telling us what we had to do during the battle, placing several different acetate sheets over the top of the map and drawing our movements onto them.
We had it drilled into our heads what we were gonna do by the time we reached the battlefield two hours later.
The truck was parked about a mile away in a little lime grove that seemed overgrown and abandoned. We followed Daisy, who covered up her sparkle with a deep hoody and gloves, along with the driver who turned out to be Takk. That surprised me, I didn't think that Neanderthal could get out of the Iron Age long enough to learn something so modern as how to drive. He had to settle for a hooded cape because he was so big and muscley that I doubt they made many clothes that fit him.
It was good to be out in the fresh air, even if the sun was beating down on us. None of us said anything though, we just run on until we reached the top of a hill that looked down on a wide field. We could see the others lining up ready, and Zeke was down there too. I don't know how, maybe it was an imprint thing, but I zeroed right in on him. I felt a little relief to see that the rank of dhampir he was in was safely behind the front lines that were made up entirely of vampires.
I spotted Dad and Loki too, because they were in their wolf forms. Mom was standing next to Dad on the near side of the field while the sun glowed off Leda's red hair as she stood next to Loki on the far end of the field. I couldn't really make out Auntie Liza and Uncle Mal among all lines, or any others that I recognised. From here I could also see that the medical tent had been set up down in a little ditch where it was shielded from the field by a rise.
I watched as Rupert in wolf form leapt out of the ditch and Seren was sitting on his back. She had a field medic pack slung across her body.
"Let's back away from the top of the hill now." Daisy said. "Takk will keep a lookout for when we need to enter, but until then we should keep out of sight."
We moved down a bit while Takk lay down on his stomach at the top of the hill.
"You should all wolf up now. The battle is about to begin." Daisy said.
I nodded and looked at my girls.
"You all ready?" I asked.
"Well it's a little late if we're not." Cadence quipped.
We stripped off, tucking our clothes under a nearby bush, then phased. It was not pleasant being a very furry wolf under the Mexican sun, we probably should have shaved our heads before we came, but it was a little late for that type of planning now.
I could probably get away with the bald, but none of you could. Cadence said as the pack mind came on line.
Well, I would stay indoors a few weeks until it grew back. I said with a shrug.
And have Zeke be all grossed out by rubbing his hands against stubble. Cadence teased.
What about Rea? Would she like you bald? I counted, then shook my head. It doesn't matter. We need to get into position. Starting position then remember our groups when we hit them.
The others all agreed and they moved into place. Kaden at beta, Cadence at gamma. Amber was directly behind me ready to move into Cadence's place as soon as Marissa, Felicity and Laurel moved in to run with her.
We stood waiting when the sounds of fighting drifted up at us. My girls were itching to go, but we had to wait for the right time. Takk turned and nodded at us, Daisy motioned for us to go.
I took a deep breath and set off running, my girls keeping close to me. We were almost at top speed when we reached the crest of the hill and the ascent added to our charge so we were a furry blur by the time we reached the battle field and ran smack bang into the League ranks. We took them by surprise and the first few we ripped through didn't even have time to fight back. This didn't last long, but as the vamps started to fight back something happened.
I can't describe it exactly, but we were taken over by, well I can only describe it as the wolf spirit. It bound us together closer than ever before so that we weren't many creatures working as one, but one creature with many bodies. I was the head, wordlessly directing my various body parts to do their work while I snapped and clawed at the enemy myself. We cut deeply into the League masses and would have gone on all day, but a horn was sounded.
The horn broke through the spell of the wolf and as a pack we came to a stop panting heavily as we looked around at the polystyrene limbs around us. Our vamps were already picking up the pieces and dumping them onto the pyres. It looked like the battle was over.
I don't know why, maybe because my senses were heightened more than usual, but I didn't trust this. It seemed like a premature victory. I spotted the group of dhampir down on the southeast end of the field and they were obviously regrouping, congratulating each other that they came out alive. I even saw Zeke, his hood down and he was actually smiling.
I started running for him as I felt the worms of agitation in my gut. That's when I caught it, the gaggle of minds heading right in from the southeast side. I forced myself to run faster than I ever had before, my girls couldn't keep up with me, but I had to get to Zeke before it was too late.
Incoming. New arrivals coming in! I yelled into the mind of everyone on the field.
A truckload of new vamps surged onto the field, but they ignored the dhampir, heading straight for the bigger threat of the vampires. Luckily my warning was enough that our side wasn't taken by surprise. I still had to get to Zeke and the other dhampir because there were more League vamps coming and they might decide to make hostages of the fleshy, breakable dhampir.
I was almost there and Zeke was running to me, we would fight together. I felt a surge of victory at the thought of my imprint and I fighting side-by-side, as it should be. We were about ten feet apart when Zeke suddenly gasped and sunk down to his knees, clutching at his head.
That's when I saw him.
Ritchie!
He slapped his hand on Zeke's forehead and Zeke began to convulse. With a roar and a boost of energy that I didn't know if it came from imprint instinct or mate's rage I closed the distance and leapt into the air, I slashed out at Ritchie, knocking him backwards.
He stumbled away from Zeke, but I followed with the full weight of my wolf body and slammed him onto the ground. I lost it then. The thought of how he'd tortured my Zeke and crushed his mind was too much to bear. I sunk my claws into his chest and closed my jaws around his head, shaking my head back and fore. Ritchie was screaming and trying to fight against me, I even felt the flail of his mind, but my shield was too strong and I was much more telepathic than he was. I slashed my claws against his chest, feeling them sink through flesh and snap bone. I growled and bit and clawed until I heard a roar of rage and something slammed into my side.
I rolled quickly and came up growling and dribbling blood as I came face to face with the leech bitch. I snarled and circled her as we both looked for an opening. She struck first, but I whirled out of her reach and managed to get my jaw around her left arm. I flung my head around and managed to rip off her arm. She snarled in pain, and got ready to attack again, but I didn't give her the chance, I sliced through her other shoulder and then through her head.
I would have torn her more, but I could sense someone else coming in for an attack. I'd just taken down their general and I was target number one. I let the pure wolf take me again, attacking and biting and clawing at all the vamps who came near me, keeping them away until others could come in and help, but I was lost in the wolf and I sensed someone coming up behind me. I turned quickly, my paws ready to strike out with my claws. It was at the last moment I realised it was Zeke.
I managed to pull back enough not to take his head clean off, but my claws raked down the left side of his face. He let out a yell of pain as he stumbled back, his hand flying to cover the left side of his face, but it wasn't enough and the blood seeped from between his fingers.
I backed away, horrified by what I had done. I'd just done exactly what the leech bitch had done to him. I gasped, unable to get my breath. I felt sick and the world was closing in around me. I wanted to go comfort Zeke, but I was the one who hurt him.
"Zeke!" Someone called as he sunk to his knees.
A dhampir girl came up beside him and touched his hand which was still held to his face, he wouldn't move it, but she could smell the blood as much as me. Zeke had been looking at me but I was too much of a coward to meet his eyes or to read his mind. I didn't want to read all the hate that he now held for me. Just because he was my imprint didn't mean he couldn't hate me.
The dhampir girl followed his eyes and she looked at me. I saw her face shift from confusion, through suspicion and finally settling on accusation. I felt the ice hit my stomach and I wanted to throw up, but I couldn't do that.
I felt my heart pick up and my survival instinct kicked in.
Flight or fight?
I didn't want to fight.
I turned around and started running as fast as I could away from Zeke. The further away from him I was, the less likely I was to hurt him again.
How could I do that?
How could I hurt him?
I ran and ran until I was away from the battlefield, until I was completely alone. I collapsed into my human form a crying wreck.
Thank you for reading
Reviews are welcome
Gemma x
