Chapter 281: Wendigo Attack I
Amazingly, Elder Otto wasn’t any much slower than Kyle despite the headstart the latter had. We reached soon enough, and even before Elder Otto came to a stop, I could smell the pungent odor of rotting corpses quickly spreading through the air.
Instinctively, I wrinkled my nose. In front of me, Darach straight-up gagged. He whirled around to look at me, confirming that I had smelled the same thing that he did.
"What is that stench?" he said, his voice nasally with how he pinched his nose shut.
"Wendigos," I said, cupping a hand over my nose and mouth while the other was on Elder Otto’s back to steady myself. "And by this smell, it might not be just one."
"We need to let Milo know," Darach cried out.
Both of us gasped as Elder Otto took a huge leap, sending us jumping off his back before landing harshly when his paws hit the ground again. Up in the distance, I could already see Kyle, his tawny brown fur engaged in battle with what seemed like an overgrown deer.
"You’d better," I said, sucking in a cold breath of air when Elder Otto suddenly came to a stop. He bent down a little so that Darach and I could hop off, and we did so quickly.
The second my feet touched the grass again, I could feel the tremors in the earth beneath our feet. Kyle and the deer-like monster were engaged in battle. I had never seen such a horrific creature before despite the tales that werewolf mothers often spread to their children. In person, these freaks of nature were even more nightmarish than I could ever imagine.
From what I knew, adult werewolves should be able to easily handle a fully grown wendigo, much more so if the werewolf had training in battle.
As I predicted, Kyle didn’t seem like he was in too much trouble. Behind him was a woman holding a young girl close as he stood protectively in front of them, preventing the wendigo from advancing any further. As the wendigo swiped its abnormally long claws, Kyle dodged, finding the opportune moment to jump forward. His jaws bit down hard on the wendigo’s arms, and high-pitched screeches of pain quickly tore through the air.
"Flora!" Darach sprinted forward while Elder Otto and I quickly followed behind. The Elder had chosen to stay in his wolf form, most likely out of convenience in case Kyle needed help.
"Alpha Darach?" the woman, Flora, called out shakily. Her entire body was trembling as she pressed the young girl close to her chest. Streaks of dried blood ran from her nostrils but it didn’t seem like it was bleeding still, most likely already healed.
"What happened?" Darach pressed. "Where are the guards? Aren’t they supposed to be on patrol right now?"
"I don’t know, Alpha," Flora replied, flustered. "I was playing in the fields with Aster and Atlas when this... this... monster just attacked us!"
"That must’ve been the scream we heard," I noted. "Wait... you mentioned someone else. Atlas?"
"Yes," Flora said with a nod, turning to face me. Worry filled her eyes. "My son, Atlas. He’s eight. He... The wendigos..."
"Wendigos?" Darach echoed, confused by the plural. "There’s more?"
A loud thud sounded behind us, and with one last shriek, the wendigo that Kyle had been battling collapsed to the ground. With its fall, a puff of dirt and dust scattered into the air. Kyle stepped back, eyeing it cautiously until he was sure that the monster had already died before he turned back to face us.
He let out a huff, blowing the cloud of smoke around him away from his face. I could only heave out a sigh of relief before Flora’s wails caught my attention again. Her next words sent a chill down my spine.
"There are about four to five," she revealed in between sobs. "Atlas... he―"
I felt all the hairs on my body stand as a sudden frigid chill filled the air. It felt as though winter had come early, and despite the sun that was blazing hot above our heads, none of the sunlight’s heat seemed to be able to come down to the ground where we were. Instead, even my hands felt as though it had gone numb from the cold, and I instinctively turned to Kyle only for my heart to stop in horror.
"Kyle!" I screamed, pointing. "Behind you!"
He whirled his head back just in time to catch three other wendigos appearing, their eyes glowing a bright scarlet amidst the fog of dirt and mist. My blood seemed to freeze in my veins as Flora whimpered from beside me; a small sob escaped Aster’s lips as the five-year-old’s lips.
"Bring Aster further into the pack grounds and alert the pack link," Darach ordered.
His expression hardened up and for a brief second, I caught a glimpse of Damon in his eyes. No, not Damon― it was the aura of an alpha that I hadn’t seen in Darach ever since he had taken up the position, not until now.
"Contact your mate. He should be stationed nearby and will be able to come sooner," Darach said. "Go. Quickly. Get to safety."
"But―"
"We’ll get Atlas," I promised, helping Flora to her feet before she could argue any further. "But we need to get Aster to safety first."
Flora made no other sound. She pursed her lips and quickly got to her feet with my help, Aster in her arms. With one hand, she touched her temple and began to sprint further into the pack where the rows of houses were, most likely contacting the other members through the link as Darach had instructed.
The sound of battle had already filled the air. Kyle had already started the fight, keeping the wendigos from advancing any further, but with three against just one of him, it was no longer an advantage. Even I could tell that he was beginning to struggle at holding them, unable to spread himself any thinner.
Elder Otto needed no instructions― he darted forward and charged at a wendigo, expertly using his claws to slice across one of the wendigo’s boney chest. It screeched in pain, swinging its long arms in retaliation, to which Elder Otto evaded.
"Stay back," Darach instructed, adjusting the gloved weapon he had been gifted as he stepped forward. It caught the scarce sunlight that managed to streak into the sudden fog, reflecting menacingly.
"I can help!" I tried to say, reaching back for my own weapon, but was stopped by Darach immediately.
"I mean it, Harper," Darach said, turning back to look at me over his shoulder. There was something in his gaze that made me root to the ground. "Stay out of the way and stay safe. I don’t want to owe the Valentines any more than I already do."
