Henry launched himself forward, a blur of muscle and fur, but the third vampire was faster. Mid-air, the creature caught him like he weighed nothing and slammed him into the dirt. Pain ripped through Henry's body, the vampire scar glowing red as his breath came in bursts.
Jasper voice cut into Bella head through the mind channel. Bella.
I'm fine, she sent back quickly.
How do we stop her? Jasper's gaze locked on the female vampire. Her aura shimmered a sharp, icy blue.
She's fast because she has time to think. We keep giving it to her. We need to hit her before she can plan, Bella replied, her mind-voice tense.
A few feet away, Ansel stood with two writhing black energy balls crackling in his palms. "What's so special about wolves," he said with a smirk, "when they're so weak?"
Tyler and Sophia stood in their wolf forms, sides heaving.
We need to strike now, Tyler growled into the mind link.
Then use the One Mind, Sophia shot back.
I can't, I don't know why, Tyler replied, frustration in his tone.
"Get up, weaklings!" the vampire barked, hurling a massive black sphere toward them. They dodged, but another bigger followed almost instantly. They evaded again, but didn't see the trailing blast until it was too late. Tyler and Bella were thrown in opposite directions, crashing through undergrowth and vanishing into the trees.
A flicker of memory crossed Ansel's face. I'm cold, Matilda's voice came from a corner of his mind, her small frame wrapped in a filthy, torn blanket.
Me too, Winter whispered.
"You'll be fine, we all will," Ansel told them, his own body trembling with the chill. Dink was shivering beside them, and Ansel pulled a scrap of polythene bag over him, laying him down on the bare floor. Above, the sky was heavy with black clouds. Rain was coming. They needed to move.
Back in the fight, Jasper grunted as Bella locked with the female vampire, fangs and blasts tearing the air in a tight circle around them. Without thinking, Jasper sprinted in, slamming her hard into a boulder. Bella shook herself, shards of rock scattering at her paws.
The third vampire summoned another portal slick, dark, and humming with energy. James and Henry dodged, their movements almost in sync. James leapt high, but the vampire read him too easily, yanking him into a portal and spitting him out against a tree deep in the forest. Before Henry could react, a swift kick sent him staggering back, rage lighting his eyes.
The vampire grinned and raised his hand, curling his fingers in a slow, taunting call. "Come on," he said.
Sophia tore across the clearing, Tyler close on her heels. The vampire leapt high, hurling two black energy balls down at them. Sophia ducked under the first, then, moving like a hummingbird, slammed into him with all her weight. He hit the ground hard.
Tyler was on him in an instant, fangs flashing. He drove the vampire back, snapping his head to the side and sending him crashing into a tree.
Blood ran down the vampire's lips and forehead, but he only laughed. "You think you've won? I could snap you in seconds… right here, right now!" he shouted his voice echoing the same words from that night.
The memory burned in Ansel's head. That night in the broken, abandoned wooden shack… footsteps, then a man no, a vampire walking in. Long hair glowing in the moonlight, eyes almost too beautiful to look at. Blood stained his lips.
"Poor things," the vampire had said.
The children huddled close to Ansel, trembling.
"Please leave us alone," Ansel had begged, voice shaking. "We have no one."
The vampire tilted his head, considering. "I'm not really thirsty. I just ate. But I could spare you. Grant you immortality. Would you like it?"
The children nodded, wide eyed.
"Good. It'll hurt, but it's worth it. Trust me."
I only wanted what was best for them, Ansel thought now. They were the only ones I considered as family that I had left. If there was a way for them to survive, I would had given my best shot, even if I didn't survive I wanted what was best for them, he rememered them laughing together as humans…
The memory faded. Tyler charged him. Ansel's glare was sharp, and in a blur he darted forward, hair whipping behind him. Two huge black energy spheres formed in his hands.
Be careful, Tyler, Sophia warned through the mind link.
Tyler dodged the first, then the second, leaping at Ansel but the vampire caught his leg mid-air and slammed him to the ground.
Sophia lunged, sinking her fangs into his right leg. He roared and smashed a massive energy ball into her, sending her skidding across the dirt.
Sophia! Tyler's mind-voice cracked.
Henry lay limp in the grass while James fought with savage speed. His blows landed, but the vampire barely flinched before opening a portal and hurling James into an old oak with a sickening thud.
Bella's attention snapped to Jasper and the female vampire. They clashed in a tight angle until she unleashed a blast too strong for Jasper to block. He hit the ground hard. Bella dodged the next few strikes, but she couldn't keep pace. One hit a brutal, one-handed blast caught her square, exploding her backward. The female vampire staggered too, panting, her torn arm bleeding.
Ansel stepped toward Sophia's motionless wolf body. He knelt, brushing his fingers along her fur. "Beautiful… I like purple," he murmured, raising his leg to crush her.
Something silver streaked from the trees, smashing into him. The new wolf snarled a low, dangerous sound.
Who the hell is that? Tyler thought.
Ansel got up, eyes narrowed. "Another wolf? Fine. You'll join the rest." He launched two energy balls, but the silver wolf dodged with blinding speed, then crashed into him, teeth tearing into his leg. Bone cracked.
"Impossible… how are you this fast?" Ansel spat.
The silver wolf lunged again, and the sound of ripping and snapping bones filled the air.
Across the clearing, a gray wolf charged the female vampire. She fired blast after blast, but the wolf slipped through them and clamped down hard, dragging her to the ground.
The third vampire moved to join the fight, but a violet-furred wolf darted in, claws raking across his eyes. He staggered, blinded. A slash followed, and he collapsed in a pool of blood.
Who is that? Henry thought.
Tyler shifted back, staring at the silver wolf. "I've seen those eyes before… Could it be… Redwill?"
The silver wolf bolted into the forest, shifting back into human form as he vanished into the trees.
Tyler knelt by Sophia, who was weak and bleeding, her body already reverting to human.
"Sophia "
"Leave her," Redwill's voice cut in.
Sophia coughed. Redwill lifted her gently, her head resting against his arm.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
Tyler reached out, but Redwill slapped his hand away.
"I just want to help," Tyler said, jaw tight.
"You couldn't help yourself, or your pack," Redwill said coldly. "How can you help her?"