Chapter 28: The Hale House - Part 2
Time slows.
Claws extend toward my neck. Four razor points aimed at the carotid.
My Haki shows the future. Blood spray. Arterial gush. Death in seconds.
I twist. Not fast enough.
Claws rake across my chest instead.
Four deep gashes. Ribs exposed. White bone visible through red.
Pain explodes. Overwhelming. Blinding.
I fall.
Gasping. Choking on air that won't come.
Peter looms above me. "Let's test that healing."
Raises his claws for the killing blow.
Scott tackles him from the side.
Full werewolf. Yellow eyes blazing. All hesitation gone.
They crash into the burned house frame. Timber cracks.
My regeneration kicks in.
Phase 2. Full power.
Wounds closing. Flesh knitting. Bones repairing.
Visible. Real-time.
Kate watches from across the clearing. "Remarkable."
Chris appears behind her. Rifle raised but not aimed. "We're leaving."
"We need to capture that one."
"He's a KID."
"He's not a kid. He's a weapon."
"We're LEAVING."
Kate ignores him. Tracks my regeneration with fascinated eyes.
I struggle to stand. The healing drains everything. Energy reserves emptying.
But I'm functional.
Good enough.
Derek and Scott fight Peter in perfect coordination.
Derek uses experience. Predicts Peter's movements based on years of training together.
Scott uses raw power. Tackles. Grapples. Doesn't give Peter space to use his superior speed.
It's working.
Peter's bleeding from multiple wounds. Slower. Favoring his left side.
But he's smiling.
"You're learning, nephew. Good."
Simultaneously, Kate's hunters engage the perimeter.
Allison fires from the north. Arrows whistle through air.
Non-lethal shots. Aimed at legs. Arms. Disabling, not killing.
Protecting us.
Stiles and Lydia deploy flashbangs. Deafening. Disorienting.
Hunters scatter.
Jackson swings the mountain ash bat. A hunter gets too close to Lydia.
One swing. Connects with the man's jaw.
Hunter drops.
Jackson stares at the bat. "Holy shit."
"Language!" Stiles shouts.
"We're in a BATTLE."
"Still!"
Chris provides covering fire. "Accidental" shots that force Kate's hunters away from the pack.
He's helping. Actually helping.
My Haki tracks everything. Fifteen combatants. Peter and Derek circling. Kate maneuvering for a shot. Chris sabotaging his own team.
"Hunter flanking left!" I call out.
Scott breaks from Peter. Intercepts. Disarms the hunter without killing.
"Bolt incoming, Stiles!"
Stiles drops. Crossbow bolt passes over his head.
"Thanks!"
I project Nen barriers. Critical moments only.
Block a bolt aimed at Lydia. Three seconds. Shatters.
Deflect Peter's charge toward Jackson. Five seconds. Cracks.
Each use drains me more.
Ten barriers left. Maybe.
Then zero.
Kate pulls something from her jacket.
Glass bottle. Rag stuffed in the neck. Lighter.
Molotov cocktail.
"NO!" Derek screams.
Too late.
Kate throws.
The bottle arcs through air. Crashes into the house frame.
Fire blooms.
Spreading fast. Hungry. Consuming the ruins that survived the first fire.
Peter's roar is inhuman. Primal. Trauma and rage combined.
Derek freezes.
Staring at the flames. Pupils dilated. Breathing shallow.
PTSD.
"Derek!" Scott shakes him. "MOVE!"
Derek doesn't respond.
Peter lunges. Takes advantage of Derek's paralysis.
Claws aimed at Derek's throat.
I'm too far. Nen depleted. Can't project.
Scott blocks. Takes the strike meant for Derek.
Three gashes across his chest. Shallower than mine but bleeding heavily.
Derek snaps out of it. Grabs Scott. Pulls him away from Peter.
They retreat from the fire.
"She's going to collapse the structure!" I shout. "Everyone OUT!"
The frame groans. Burning timber bends. Snaps.
Crashes down.
The mountain ash perimeter breaks. Falling debris scatters the glowing line.
Peter, Derek, and Scott escape through the gap.
Kate's hunters retreat. Two are injured. One isn't moving.
My Nen is gone. Completely depleted.
I collapse to my knees. Chest wounds healed but fresh scars remain. Pink and raised.
Ribs ache. Everything aches.
Stiles pulls me behind cover. "You okay?"
"Define okay."
"Alive."
"Then yes."
The fire rages. Hale house burning for the second time.
Peter stands in the clearing. Human form. Naked. Burns visible on his skin where the fire touched him.
Kate faces him across the flames. Reloading her crossbow.
"You tried to burn me twice," Peter says. "It didn't work the first time. It won't work now."
"Third time's the charm."
My Haki screams.
One word. One certainty.
DEATH.
Someone's dying tonight.
I don't know who.
But I feel it coming.
Inevitable as the dawn.
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