"I'm the fastest wolf around," he says, his eyes shining. "You said I just have to knock her out, right? If I can get there, this whole crazy earthquake thing will stop, and you can get to her."
"Liam, don't. I'll do it! I'm fast too, and I'm a witch! If I get hurt or trapped, I can get myself out of there, but you–"
“Mara, enough!”
I turn around, and Selena fights the shaking to come closer.
“We know the risks. Liam won't go in alone, wolves attack as a pack. If several of us go, at least one of us will make it. We pick our fastest wolves, and as soon as one of us makes it, you can do your part.”
"No, no," I shake my head, "this is my fight, this–"
“Mara, enough! I know what you're feeling, but you have to stop that. I know the curse is your fight, but it's targeting all of Silver City!”she shouts back.“You're not alone, you're one of us. You're a wolf, and we are your pack. We attack as a pack, whether you like it or not. You're not the Luna, so don't discuss. Everyone works together.”
I slowly nod. I understand her words, her reasoning, but my heart isn't happy with that. Not just Liam, but the idea of so many of us running to Ravena, toward death and danger, is terrifying. I'm not afraid of getting injured, even killed, but if something happens to someone else because of me...
“Think of Kelsi,” adds Nora, as if she'd read my thoughts.“The faster this is over, the more chances she has. Come on, Mara, get ready. You're running with us.”
I take a deep breath and nod.
Right, we're one pack, and they all know what's at stake. I can't protect everyone, but I can do my very best to end this fight as soon as possible. They are all fighters, better ones than me. All I need to do is to focus on the fight, not on them. This is more important, for now. I turn to Liam, determined. He gives me a proud smile and quickly kisses my forehead.
"Get ready, tiger," he whispers. "This might be the run of our lives..."
I nod, and he gets up with me. We're now used to the ground shaking, enough so we can somehow stand up and face the mess in front of us. I look around and see several other wolves get in position. Ben looks ready to go, growling already, his fangs turned toward Ravena.
Selena looks ready to go too, but her husband and Nora stay back. Damian Black is the one to come forward a few steps away from her after a quick lick from the white wolf next to him... I feel my throat tighten again, seeing wolves I don't even recognize about to run with us toward danger. Lysandra, who had fallen down like all of us, rolls over and gets back up on all fours in the form of a dark brown wolf.
"Mara, you stay behind me," says Liam
"But–"
"No buts, babe."
Before I can retort anything, Liam turns into his black wolf and growls softly. Oh, Moon Goddess... I better not lose that furry black butt of his.
"Alright," I sigh, with a quick kiss on his muzzle. "Don't worry about me, I'm not leaving you for one second."
“Everyone get ready!” shouts Selena in our head. “The goal is to get to the witch and knock her out! You get there as fast as you can! If you can't make it, keep running until you get out of there, and watch out for those gaps!”
Those large openings on the ground are what worries me the most. I haven't looked at one from up close, but I can guess I'm not going to like whatever's down there. There's a strong smell of fresh, labored soil in the air, and something more bitter, like soot... That might be me, though. For a split second, I consider shape-shifting into my wolf form, but I'm pretty sure I can keep up as is. Moreover, I'll be more efficient with my powers if I can move my hands.
"Ayesha, stay here with them!"
"You're a crazy witch," she grumbles. "Crazy but brave, I'll give you that..."
From the way she stares at the path in front of us, she wouldn't have risked going there anyway. I can understand her. This wasn't her fight in the first place... I'm just glad she somehow managed to stay, keep up, and help us. I wish I had time to check where Naptera's at, but I don't. That's one too many witches for me to watch, and there's only one I can afford to focus on right now.
“Boyan, Lysandra, Tonya, you take the left side. Isaac, Ben, Johnny, on the right. Everyone else, follow your Alpha or Beta! Go!”
We start running, fast as the wind, despite the violent quakes breaking all around.
It's even worse once we actually get close to the East Point Ground plaza. It's in the shape of a convex sphere, but Ravena's attack has completely changed the area. I see stones turned upside down, torn out of the ground, and thrown away. I actually see one literally spit out by the soil a few steps away from us as we sprint our way in. If we get hit by one of those... it's going to hurt, bad. Damn it...
We run as fast as we can. Because we're focused on speed rather than staying upright, our feet barely touch the ground before we jump again, and we're not as bothered by the uneven ground moving under us. It's more about finding the next place to land on, and making sure we don't trip over one of those endless crevices. I try to focus all I can on Liam, but I'm scared for literally every wolf who followed us. They are all behind; as Liam said, he's definitely the fastest. I can barely stay with him, and I feel my fire behind me, reacting to my need for speed and propelling me like a comet. The only ones fast enough to keep up with us are Damian and Selena. The black wolf seems to shorten the distance at each jump with his monstrous size and dark aura. He's like a dark shadow, landing where he wants with no regards for the state of the ground underneath him. A couple of times, I fear he's about to disappear in one of the gaps, but he immediately pulls himself up and keeps running as if it was nothing.
Meanwhile, Selena's just as impressive. She's like a white bolt, light as a feather and fast as the wind. I'm amazed at her graceful run, and how she lands swiftly everywhere as if she weighed nothing. Moreover, I can feel her golden aura extending all around us as if she was lending her strength to everyone. I bet she's mind-linking them all, coordinating this attack and ensuring we don't lose anyone...
Right. I need to focus and do my best too.
