Chapter 9: The First Battle

TOR POV

After leaving Selene in the shadows of a nearby cave with Arlo as a guard, the six of us snuck stealthily through the trees. I could smell the scent of smoke and blood as we moved in closer to the burner's encampment. Mentally, I sent a command to the other five.

'Kian, Nasir, and Sage, I want you to flank them from behind. Cassius and Grayson, stick with me. No one makes a move until I say.'

The three of them darted off to get into position while I led Cassius and Grayson through the thicket. We approached the group of men, keeping ourselves hidden behind the trees.

I watched the group, trying to pinpoint their commander, but no one seemed to stand out as the leader. We waited and watched silently from our positions in the trees listening to them as they laughed and joked with one another. Some sharpened weapons while others sat around the fire sawing off bits of meat from some type of game that roasted on a spit.

Like Arlo had said, there were roughly twenty soldiers dressed in battle gear. And they went about their day having no idea that they were being stalked by six wolf shifters. I tuned into what a group of them were laughing about as they sat around the fire.

"Do you remember that job in Burmgham?" one of them said elbowing the man sitting next to him. "That one witch that near pissed herself when I found her climbing out the window?"

The other let out a boisterous laugh. "Didn't she end up falling out the window on her *ss?" he said cruelly.

Their words sent my blood to a boil. That was all the convincing I needed to hear to justify our next move. I sent out the psychic command in one word.

'Move.'

All hell broke loose as the six of us shifted and rushed the encampment. The burners were caught completely off guard as Grayson was the first to make a kill. He leaped onto the back of one of the hunters and swiftly relieved him of his life in one bite to the back of the neck.

Shouts and screams echoed through the trees as our fierce attacks took out the burners one by one. Many scurried off for weapons and those who already had them tried their best to counter our attacks. But nothing could stop the swift determination of our power.

One of the larger men started to run towards me while swinging a large battle axe. He bellowed a war cry as he dropped the axe over my head. At the last second, I dodged the brutal attack, and the axe sunk deeply into the earth.

He tried with all his strength to free his weapon. While he was distracted, I came behind and dropped the full weight of my body down upon him.

He screamed in pain as my claws sliced into him. A hunter ran up behind me with his sword raised, but Cassius took him out before he had a chance to swing. Cassius ended his life with one crunch on the man's throat.

At this point, the remaining hunters started to flee the battlefield. Kian and Nasir went to chase them down.

'Let them go,' I commanded through the mental link. I looked down at the trembling man beneath me. His eyes were squeezed shut and I could hear him mumbling prayers to some god or other. I was the first to shift out of my wolf form. My foot was still planted firmly on the man's back.

My comrades shifted into their human forms as well before gathering around me and the sniveling man at my feet.

"We are going to have a little talk," I growled. Reaching down, I grabbed the large man by the back of his cloak and hauled him to his feet. I then thrust him against a nearby tree so that we were eye to eye.

"Who is your leader? Who is the one responsible for all of these burnings?" My eyes flared in fury as I snarled the question into his face. The man, shaking like a leaf tried to answer, but nothing came out besides quivering whimpers. Furious at his cowardice I pulled back on his collar and shoved him harder into the tree.

"Answer me!" I roared.

"L-Lord Damion…" was his stuttering reply. I released the disgusting human and he dropped to the ground in a boneless heap.

"Where can I find this Damion?" I demanded.

***

After interrogating the survivor of the burners and getting the information I needed, I let him scamper off into the woods. I wanted him to take the news of the decimation of their encampment back to his leader.

I wanted this… Damion to know that I was on his heels. And I wanted him to know I was bringing the fires of h*ll with me.

The six of us made our way back to the cave where we had left Arlo and Selene. At first, Arlo seemed slightly put out that we had left him behind to watch over Selene, but his attitude shifted drastically when I told him the importance of keeping Selene safe.

Arlo seemed to have taken his role very seriously because when we approached, he was standing outside of the cave watching over the area like a hawk.

"Selene, they are back! You can come out now," Arlo hollered into the cave. Not a few moments later Selene made her way out of the shadows. When my eyes landed on her sweet face, the tension on my shoulders relaxed dramatically.

She hurried to the six of us, her eyes filled with concern.

"Are you all ok?" she asked earnestly. Grayson, Kian, Nasir, and Sage shuffled their feet, unsure how to respond to Selene's worry. They were not used to being coddled in such a way after a battle. I smiled down at her.

"We are fine," I said reaching up and brushing a strand of hair from her eyes.

"Don't worry Miss Selene. It will take a lot more than a few weakling humans to take us down," Cassius said with a kind smile. Selene let out a sigh of relief.

"I am so glad," she said softly.

"That actually brings up a good point," Grayson said running his hand along his jaw. "Those men went down with hardly a fight. How is it that these burners are taking out entire packs of shifters?" he finished looking in my direction.

Grayson was right. Even with triple the number of men we encountered today, they wouldn't stand a chance against an entire pack of our kind. So what are we missing?

Against the bashful protests of the warriors, Selene insisted on tending to their wounds.

"They are just scratches," Cassius insisted as she sat him down and lifted his hand into her lap. Selene hushed him like a mother would their child as she gently cleaned the wound. The other four were about to sneak off when I stopped them with a mental command.

'Indulge her."

Begrudgingly they lined up to have their scrapes mended. The seven of us watched in awe as Selene revealed more of her magic abilities to us. After Selene cleaned the large gash across Cassius' arm, she hovered her hand over the wound and whispered a few words.

A warm glow emitted from her hand and right before our eyes, the cut began to mend. Cassius flexed and rotated his arm. He gave Selene a look of admiration.

"It feels good as new. Thank you, Miss Selene," Cassius said.

It wasn't long until the remaining wounds of the others were healed. Arlo watched the entire time with a pout.

"Aw, man. I want to be healed by magic," he muttered. Sage gave him a playful shove.

"You are such a baby," Sage said then dodged a swing from Arlo.

The two started yet another wrestling match and the others sidled off leaving Selene and me alone. She looked at me with her captivating eyes.

"Your turn, Alpha," she said. My inner wolf growled in pleasure at her words.

I made my way over to where she was sitting and sat down in front of her. The only major wound I had endured during the battle was a single scratch across my cheek. She lifted her warm hand and placed it over the cut.

"Lux remedium," she whispered softly.

A warm tingle replaced the burn on my cheek. Her eyes never left mine as I felt the healing magic penetrate my skin, soothing it. We stayed there for long moments after the tingling magic had faded away looking into each other's eyes.

Selene seemed to come to her senses first as she went to pull her hand away from my face, but I caught it and pressed it into my cheek. Slowly, I leaned closer to her. Her intake of breath did not go unnoticed as her eyelids lowered softly. I reached up and slid my hand around the nape of her neck.

I was just about to claim her lips with my own when I heard Cassius yell.

"Alpha! We've got company!"