Something clicked in my mind, and I spun, barely catching the rogue slicing a sword towards my back. I had just enough time to swing a leg, catching the man in the stomach and sending him spinning into the group of rogues. I heard one scream as the sword sliced through his leg and he went down. Blood arced up as he fell back, catching my face. “You stupid bitch.” The first rogue snarled behind me, and I jumped, watching the man dive for where I was just a second ago. I landed on his back with a crunch, my wolf-man form bigger and heavier than normal. I slashed down as I hit the ground, severing his neck at the base. His body went limp as I jumped away, turning to the next attack.
Attack after attack, men and women- it didn’t matter, they just kept coming. There was no rest, no way to take a breath. I was surrounded by blood, gore, screaming and death. So much death. I tried to see how many rogues were left, but two attacked at once.
I ducked as one swung at my head, but I was tired. The second one tackled me to the ground, and I grunted as I hit the dirt. The one that tackled me crawled up and perched on top. She was young, surprisingly so. Her red hair was pulled back in a tight braid, but I recognized her face. The hair was different, but the cruel, knowing smirk on her face was familiar.
“Thora.” I growled as she punched my side.
Her eyes widened at the mention of her name. “Who are you?” She growled as she struck me again. “And how do you know my name?”
I felt Nix recede. She was exhausted, and she couldn’t hold on to her wolf-man form.It takes too much energy.
You aren’t supposed to shift when we are in danger.I called back, a little perturbed.
She chuckled softly.Thora isn’t strong enough to hurt you.
Megan trotted over to Nix.Foolish female. It only takes one fluke.
Thora snarled as my shifting finished. “It’s you.” She swung her fist at my face, but I caught her hand.
I smiled up at her. “What are you doing here?”
She screamed in my face. “It’s your fucking fault I’m here. You turned me away when I had done nothing wrong. I wanted to be your friend, so I turned my back on Nina and the council that backed her.”
I frowned. “So you decided to join the rogues and attack us…because I didn’t want to be your friend? Come on Thora. Stop making excuses for yourself.”
She tilted her head and giggled. Her eyes flashed to her wolf. “Nina told her uncle about how I turned, so he targeted my pack, my family. Our Alpha sold us to Garith. And Garith needed females to keep the men happy. My sisters, my mother, all dead at their hands. I only survived because I bit my attacker’s tongue. You are the reason my entire family is dead, Amy. And I’m going to fucking kill you.”
She screamed as she swung at me. “I hate you.” I caught her hands and bucked her off of my hips. The male stood over top of us, tried to kick out, but I rolled. I heard a snarl and a slashing claw coming for my face before I spun to the left. Thora’s claws drove into the dirt. “You think you are so good, so powerful. But in the end, you condemned innocent people to death.”
I rolled onto my hands and knees and pushed up. “You can lie to yourself all you want, but I’m not stupid.” Her face fell as she pulled her hand from the ground.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” She shrieked as she stood.
“You never wanted to be my friend.” I shook my head as she circled me with the male. “You sat with me and fed me bullshit lies about Nina. I knew you were her puppet from the first day. I said nothing because I wanted to see what you were trying to do.”
She seemed to stumble at my words. “You knew?”
I laughed as I shifted my claws. “Of course I knew. I saw you and Nina talking multiple times.” The male darted in, but I struck first. My claws swept up as he kicked, connecting to the soft flesh of his inner thigh. He yelped as he spun away, blood pooling under him. I might have nicked the femoral artery with that swipe. “You two thought you were secretive, but I knew by the end of the day.”
“You’re lying.” She swiped at me but I dodged back.
“I’m not. I saw you the same day behind the bleachers by the field. Ring a bell?” I watched her face cycle through emotions faster than she could even feel them. “Yeah, I saw you.” I shook my head. “I just let you think I didn’t know. But I never turned you away. I just stopped answering you. So anything that happened to your family, to you, wasn’t on me.”
“It’s still your fault.” She swung again, less controlled than her last.
“No.” I dodged her increasingly frantic attacks. “You did it to yourself. You followed Nina’s orders and came to my table.” I swung once, catching her cheek drawing blood. “Nina was the one who went to the council.” I swung again, causing her to stumble. The male darted in, but I kicked back and caught him between the legs. He dropped as Thora swung wildly, and I kicked out. She slid a few feet away. “And Nina was the one that convinced the council to get rid of you and your family. Probably because you were loose ends, and she was still trying to cover herself.”
Thora pushed to her feet and charged me. “She would never do that to us. We were best friends. We were raised together.” She started swiping at my face.
I kept backing away, dodging each attack. “And yet your family ended up with the rogues, and Nina was safe and sound. I don’t have the ability to convince the council to do anything, but guess who does.” I kicked out again, but I caught her arm, so she didn’t fly off. “Your friend tossed your entire family away like trash, just to keep herself safe.” I punched her in the face. “You have no one but yourself to blame.”
“Shut up.”
“You know I liked you, Thora.” I hit her again. “I would have been your friend, and I would have done my best to save your family. But you worked with Nina. And you condemned yourfamily to their graves. You don’t get to blame me.” I kicked her one more time, and let her fly across the field.
I turned to the male that had finally got up and swiped at my back. I blocked his arm with my own. Then, I flipped my arm around to grab his wrist before he could pull away. He swung his other arm, and I did the same. We circled as he tried to get the upper hand. He leaned in to snap his fangs at my throat, but I just pulled back and head-butted his nose.
“Fuck.” He bellowed as his blood coated my face, my eyes. We were still struggling with each other when I heard a scream.
