CHAPTER ELEVEN

Moving to the east side of the building, Djak and Dominic were almost as silent as a Vampire.

That's it, boys, I thought. Soft steps. Soft steps. Soft—

Snap!

Crap.

The Lycan whose back the boys were coming up on turned at the sound. He shouted, “They've escaped!” as I silently cursed Djak for not looking where he was stepping. Evil twigs.

Dominic rushed the Lycan as I heard the front guards shouting for the inside guards to keep their posts.

"Looks like it's a two on three, boys," I said. "Good luck."

Djak looked back at me with disbelief. Enough so that he didn't notice the strike coming at him. I watched from the darker shadows of the east wall as one of the traitors hit Djak closed-fisted across the face. Djak was knocked to the side and the same one that hit him was right there to serve a kick to Djak's ribs. He was on all fours, coughing and gasping for breath as Dominic took defense, dodging as many blows as he could from the other one. Then I noticed the numbers in that. I rolled my eyes and dropped to a crouch as a fist swung towards me from my right, hitting the stone wall and leaving a small crater in its surface. Pathetic, I thought. Sean would have left a large chunk of stone crumbling to the floor. And I wouldn't have missed a target in the first place.

I kicked up and sunk my right heel into his gut. As he doubled over for a brief second, I twisted my body to the left and kicked my left foot across his head. He flew off and knocked into the Lycan hovering above the injured Djak. Dominic was still struggling with his opponent.

Seeing how the guards were depleting and the only ones guarding the remaining prisoners were just two, it would be easy for Sean to take them out.

You got two guarding you, I told him. You're free to go.

There were some sounds of muffled skirmishing that was barely noticeable with the fight in front of me. Not two seconds later, Sean and the rest rounded the corner of the front of the containment block.

"Confined?" I asked, referring to the two inside guards.

"No, dead," he responded. "I don't tolerate traitors in my Clan."

Good idea. With a Clan constructed where the leader can be replaced as easily as a pirate captain, mutiny was not an option. Show your strength and reason to lead, or step aside...or be killed. Sadly, though, it was the whole Clan—save a few—that turned against him. When this was all over, it'll only be Djak, Dominic, Alyeksandr, Sasha, Brutus, and Mikhiel left under Sean's command. Not much of a Clan if you ask me; which brought me to my next thought.

"What happened to your females?" I asked Sean.

He stopped in his tracks and got a questioning look, brows furred hard. He looked to his Clan, then back to me. "Those sluts," he said. Then he shrugged it off and continued to my side.

Definitely not much of a Clan.

"So what are your views so far?" Alyeksandr asked me as we scanned our immediate area for any movement.

"We're on T'Neic Na Clan territory," I said. "Krystal is playing both sides. Striving up a war between the Vampires and Lycans. She wants to use the bloodshed of the war as a sacrifice to gain power as your forefather had done in creating the Lycan race. If there are survivors, she wants both sides wiped out so that the Ab`ik Clan can thrive, with herself and Davie as their leaders. I believe the original plan would have been that in order to gain good terms with T'Neic Na Clan, she would have bargained us as prisoners. A show of truce."

"Evil bitch," one of the men muttered.

"We were to simply be prisoners of war, in the two Clans' point of view," I continued. "But it's much more to her now. Sean had to be disposed of. No way was she going to allow the former leader of the Clan she's stealing to live. Or anyone who was loyal to him. Fear of the loyalists either influencing those who betrayed Sean or attempting assassinations on Davie's life."

"This is some crazy shit," Sasha said on a long breath, running his palm over his face.

"We need to hurry." I looked around, watching the sky and smelling the air; some of the Lycan traits seemed to be remaining within me, though I was sure they wouldn't last long. "Nathaniel and Dylan are getting Hunters together as we speak to help us contain this war. Krystal is probably starting it right now."

And true to my word, the first sign of war broke out. Very distant cries of battle echoed in the night. The roars of Lycans and the hisses of Vampires carried faintly to our position, nearly being missed, but not by much thanks to our heightened sense of hearing.

Taking initiative, Sean immediately began to give orders to his remaining crew. I gave what input I could about Mike and his group's knowledge of the landscape. Mike was pretty much centered on most of the known Vampire territories of this area. His Hunting group was unnerved by this but Mike found it as a welcomed location. Easier to get to the attacks, as he put it.

Mixing what I knew Mike knew and with what Sean and his men knew, we pretty much mentally mapped out the area. Sean wanted each of his guys to position himself in certain areas, giving them strict orders to act on his command when the time comes. But before we could do anything, we needed to locate Krystal first.

We flew through the forest as fast as our legs could take us, heading towards the regional origins of the battle cries. As soon as we came within sight distance, we slowed our pace to soft, inhumanly silent steps. Few yards back, we had separated into our respective directions so everyone could take the positions Sean had ordered for each player in this war game.

It was merely ten minutes into the battle from when we first picked up the shouting to now. But even just one minute can be an eternity in war. Already, blood caked and boiled across the cold, damp surface of the field, mist rising from the heat of the bloodshed. Lycans and Vampires were literally at each other's throats, scratching, clawing, kicking each other. I saw little of the Lycans from the Ab`ik Clan. And what I did see, they were on both sides and neither, killing anyone they could get their claws on.

I hid within the thick branches of the high treetops, my glowing silver eyes taking in the site. My anger flared deep within me. These morons were killing each other off for no real damn reason. They both thought the other was killing their own when, in fact, it was the bitch that both counted on to help them be the victor. They didn't even realize that the Lycans not of T'Neic Na Clan were slaughtering both T'Neic and Volkov warriors. They were so blinded by the situations from their pasts that they failed to notice anything at present. They were weakening their forces, sending their own flesh and blood off to war against flesh and blood, no matter how distantly related they were.

The hairs on the back of my neck raised along with my anger. My skin prickled for a fight. My fangs lowered with the sent of spilt blood. My claws sharpened and dug into the bark of the tree I was perched on where I tried edging forward to jump.

Not yet, I heard Sean whisper to me, my mind opened to him and his men as a direct link. It was like building a room for just the group of us so we could speak freely to each other. It took more energy from me but I could manage. After all, as soon as we entered the battle, I could gorge myself upon any who moved to strike me.

I hesitated in my proceedings, grudgingly shifting back towards the vertical base of my hiding. My upper lip curled back, my fangs throbbing eagerly with the chance to sink into the idiots running around killing their kin. As the wind blew stronger, it brought the scent of something much wanted and needed. Nathaniel was not far away. And he had company standing in line with him. Large company. Humans and Vampires. Hunters and friends.

Your position, Nathaniel? I asked him through thought, opening the group link to him.

Coming from the West, he responded. We're just coming into sight distance from the field.

I'm to the East. Sean has his men positioned. I sent him mental images of the men and their locations. Set your men accordingly. We have to find Krystal first. Then we need to contain this shit and keep the deaths to a minimum.

Kill any of the traitors if you have to, Sean cut in. Just don't touch those who stayed by my side. And I want Krystal and Davie for myself.

Not if I get to the bitch first, I informed him dryly.

I could practically feel him smiling.

Who do you have in your arsenal? I asked Nathaniel.

Dylan's out. I got Rocky and his crew, William, Sephen, Alex, and, unfortunately, Ivan.

So he brought some of the guys from the Boarding School mission. His band mates, if I remember correctly. Mike hasn't really given me much time to hang out with them, and neither had my father.

I then opened the link to the new arrivals.

Hold fast, Ivan, I told him. I could sense he was desperate to get in there and keep his family from killing each other. I knew how he felt but, as Sean said, this wasn't the time.

I sent the image and mental scent of Krystal to the Vampire band. I had them send out for her location. Knowing her, so full of pride—not to mention herself—she'd be somewhere nearby. Being a double agent, both Clans would know her and so she couldn't fight in the battle, in fear of one or both sides noticing her betrayal. Not like she would want to. She would keep herself safe so she could stay with her brother. But she would want to watch the proceedings, making sure her oh-so well thought out plan was going accordingly. She would be somewhere hidden but in viewing distance. We can't jump in to the battle just yet. If she sees us, she'll flee. We need to locate and contain (or preferably kill) her before we can intervene.

William was the one to locate her.

A cliff in the distance, he informed us. Two-point-six miles South-South East from your exact location.

William sent the image of our positions and moved towards Krystal's location. The forest was thick around the open meadow where the battle was taking place. She couldn't see us. And she wouldn't notice us with her full attention on the massacre she'd invoked.

Sean was five trees to the left of me. A good distance beyond him was Krystal's location. I looked in her direction, along with Sean, then he turned to me and we locked eyes.

First one there gets the kill, he said with a smirk.

You're on, wolfy.

And we were off.

I didn't have much energy to be throwing around. And if I wanted to last in a fight against that bitch then I couldn't waste it on trans-positioning myself. I had to run the whole way there. Hard to believe it takes less energy to run over two and a half miles in 6.23 minutes than it does to travel the distance in a split second. We were lucky we didn't have to cross over the battlefield or waste time going around it. The quicker we got to her, the quicker the men could intervene in the battle and slow the slaughtering to a halt. Any means necessary.

As Sean and I ran, our speed was easily matched, but our agility showed our difference. Sean's movements were solid where as mine flowed as we weaved between the thick brush. I would dodge an obstacle with swift movements. Sean would barrel right through them.

We're coming up on it, I said to Sean as my more sophisticated sight found the cliff.

Circle around back, he instructed. Let's not give her cause for alarm...just yet.

Agreed. I wanted to scare the shit out of that bitch. It's all about the element of surprise.

Taking the lead, I rounded to the left of the cliff where it was jagged and thus easier to climb. Keeping our speed, we rushed up the side of the cliff and toward the opening where Krystal was standing, binoculars to her eyes and a smirk on her face as she watched the slaughtering. There was a small fire behind her, incense burned, metal and ceramic bowls and urns filled with Lucifer knows what surrounded the pit of flames. And smoke that was too black to be simple campfire output billowed in waves. The ceremony was prepared, all that was needed were the blood and souls of the slaughtered Clans.

We were hastening in from her right and just as we rounded to the opening, she caught scent of us, jerking her head to the side, then turned to run into the cave. But I knocked the bitch against the cave wall before she could take a second step.

Krystal fell to her side, the binoculars skidding away. "Shit!" she shouted in surprise.

Sean was at her side in an instant, gripping her throat and lifting her two feet off the ground. Krystal was clawing at his hand, kicking out but not connecting with anything that would hinder him or impair him for life...luckily. I rather like that very big part of his anatomy.

"How the Hell did you get out of there?" Krystal seethed through her clenched teeth as she tried to struggle for breath to pass her constricted airway. The position also made her unable to shift. If she did, she was only be choking to death in wolf form. Not really an improvement.

"You're in no possession to ask anything from me, Krystal," Sean said in a cold voice. "You turned my Clan against me for your brother, for power. I don't take kindly to that sort of behavior. Especially from family."

"You don't deserve to lead," Krystal snapped, receiving a tighter hold over her throat. She gasped for a moment until Sean loosened his grip again. "You don't even have an heir!"

"And what of Davie? How can he be better? He's just as much of a child as Djak!" Sean stated harshly.

"Krystal?" Speak of the devil. Davie came walking up from the deepest shadows of the cave, curiosity on his face turning to horror as he took in the sight before him.

Sean and I were speechless. Not for the fact that Davie was standing there with only a pair of shorts, but because of the bundle of joy wrapped up in his arms.

Sean and I happened to put two and two together.

"Eew!" I shouted out. I completely forgot about my irritation on the fact that Sean got to Krystal before me and turned my attention to the ickiness of this. "You have got to be kidding me!"

Davie's grip of the cub tightened in a protective manner. His eyes were wide and he seemed to be caught between the decisions to help his sister (and apparent lover) or fleeing with their child.

"Davie has an heir. He's better suited to be the leader," Krystal said. "I gave him that element."

"'Heir?' What the fuck are we? Royalty? It's a matter of strength. Not fertility." Sean looked clearly disgusted.

"He will be Clan leader!" Krystal stated.

"Chick, you just issued the death sentence to your little brother and the kid," I informed her.

Her eyes grew wide when her ego finally gave room to partial intelligence.

Yep, we were definitely going to kill them all.

END IT! Sean shouted in the tel-com room to all the hidden forces. In an instant, as Sean and I raced back to the battlefield, the cries of war increased tenfold. When we got to the open ground, Hunters adorning silver pushed back the Lycan Clan as our Vampires used any means they could to push back the Vampire Clan. Both the Volkov and T'Neic Na Clans were confused, but the heat of the battle still ran through their bodies, licking rage beneath their skin. They fought back as much as they could until Sean and I emerged. When recognition dawned on the Volkov Clan, they dropped to a knee, bowing in respect to their Princess. T'Neic Na Clan tried taking the opportunity but all the Hunters and our Vampires restrained them with silver barriers of chain.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sean's voice boomed across the blood-soaked arena.

"Who are you to command us, outcast?" one of T'Neic demanded.

"I am the one who killed the traitor of all our Clans," Sean stated calmly.

"And why should we take the word of a mongrel?" a Volkov Vampire asked as he stood threateningly to Sean.

I hissed at him, causing him to draw back and drop to his knee once more.

"Princess, why do you take the side of the enemy?" another asked.

"Because she is keeping her people from dieing senselessly," Ivan stated as he came to my side.

His Clan's eyes grew wider with astonishment as their heads went lower. Two leaders in their presence was awed and respected with the utmost care.

At least they'll listen to us and understand what happened.

Mission 2: Complete

Epilogue

Moving from the battlefield to the nearest territory—being T'Neic—was difficult. The warriors still felt the urge to kill and we had to keep them contained until a meeting was set up with Keimon T'Neic and Nicolas Volkov. Sean and I acted as mediators as we force-fed them the truth.

Sean and I snuck out while the two Clan leaders discussed territorial issues and peace agreements. We headed over to his Clan's mansion, which suddenly felt a lot bigger with the lack of Clan in it.

Not that we noticed while we were distracted in his bedroom.

"That was just a little weird for me," I told him. We were talking about Krystal's whole 'heir to the Clan' thing.

I mean, I'd do my cousin...just not my brother. Ick!

"I never knew she was pregnant," Sean said. "I always wondered why she took off for that couple month vacation. At first I just thought she was getting a little chubby around the midsection and just wanted to work out in peace or something."

I looked to him dryly. "How very charming of you."

Sean shrugged. He grabbed be and pulled me to him. "What can I say? I'm a charming guy."

I scoffed at that.

His hand slid down my belly until it cupped a very aching bit of flesh. “Clearly you think so, too.”

I growled at him, and his eyes flashed with a new surge of lust as he pulled himself over me and held me down.

“I was kidding, I was kidding!” I shouted.

Then he kissed me. And we both forgot about the kidding and got very grown up.

The End

Don't worry, luvs. Huntress III will be coming soon.

~skitz