Leader of the Pack Ch. 24

***

Aislinn stood to shift and go with Cullen, but Malik's voice stopped them. He sounded strangely strong over all the howling and commotion. "She'll be of more help here," he said simply.

Cullen growled. He didn't really want her anywhere near the dires or what was about to happen. He looked to Malik as if he had just been given and excellent excuse. Stay, he ordered.

"Don't you dare pull that bullshit on me," she growled right back. "You're my mate not my father."

Cullen growled. He looked to the woods and he could see Cadifor and Makeda charging into the woods with others. His place was in the front of the charge. He had already missed that.

Malik put his hand on Aislinn's arm. "If you help us fewer men will die," he said as he looked into her eyes.

Aislinn turned indecisively to Cullen and then back to Malik and she nodded. The instant he thought he could trust her to not follow, Cullen bolted for the woods. Aislinn was amazed at how fast he moved. As he entered the tree line she had a terrible fear in the pit of her stomach and a tear started in her eye for no reason that she knew of. She was terrified.

"So," she turned to Malik, "what can I do to help?"

"You'll know when it's time."

Aislinn's eyes opened wide in anger. "You did not just say that. I let him run into that alone and you're going to go all druid on me?"

Malik couldn't hide the grin on his face when she said that. He swallowed to stop himself from laughing at her. It was an odd feeling to having in the middle of the situation they were in. "He's far from alone in that fight. I can't tell you what to do because I don't know what to do. You are a strange one Aislinn. You've learned to give in to the fates enough that you can bring messages back from premonitions. That isn't an easy feat. But you haven't learned to extend the faith beyond those situations. Usually a druid learns to trust the fates in all ways before he has enough strength to surrender his will in a situation as uncontrollable as a premonition. You really are quite intriguing."

Aislinn was speechless. "This isn't the time or place for lessons. If you don't know what I can do to help then why did you stop me from leaving with Cullen. I can definitely help him."

"I just felt that you'd be of more help here," he said. "That's all."

"Fine," she growled, wondering if she'd be able to catch up to Cullen if she followed. "What are you going to do?"

"Protect the circle," he said.

"They're not here yet."

"They will be."

***

Cullen could hear screaming and could smell blood before he made it to the perimeter of the actual fight. When he came through the trees and caught sight of the actual battle rage seared though him. A thing that could only be described as a monster in Cullen's mind was surrounded by eight or more lycans. The dire wolf was head and shoulders taller than the largest of the lycans surrounding him and twice as wide. The lycans threw themselves at him. They clawed at his back and face and took chunks of flesh with them when he threw them off. He didn't seem to have a neck beneath all the muscle. That made it difficult for the lycans to take his throat out.

As the shock wore off Cullen charged in with the rest to take his turn. The lycans instinctively attacked as a team. Cullen growled in rage as one of his men was thrown bodily into a tree. Even in the chaos a sickening crack could be heard and the man didn't stand back up. Cullen charged again as the beast turned to claw at another lycan. Cullen managed to knock the dire to the ground and instantly the other lycans swarmed it. The amount of damage that had to be done in order to kill the dire lycan was sickening. They all stood over the monster on the ground breathing hard and waiting to see that it didn't stand back up. Somewhere in the woods Cullen could hear gunshots. That meant that the lycans who had been in the cabin were involved if someone had managed to involve real weapons. Cullen turned toward the nearest sound of fighting and darted through the trees to the next target.

One at a time, he told himself in frustration.

***

Mack caught up to Keith as they headed north through the woods. When they came across the gigantic wolf-beast Keith couldn't help himself. Which one of the human Hollywood makeup artists came up with this one? He followed his comment with the closest thing to a snicker that his hybrid form could manage through a muzzle.

Mack growled his annoyance at Kieth's attempt to be humorous. Not funny, he growled back. Together the two of them joined the group that was already attacking the monstrous lycan. There were already several bloody bodies on the ground around the thing's feet. Keith vaulted over one of the bodies and straight at the dire's head. Mack was with him but his lunge was aimed at the thing's chest. Keith hit it first and Mack's weight added to the tackle knocked it backward into a tree. Keith's claws raked at its head and Mack's jaws crunched down on its arm.

The dire roared in pain as Keith managed to take out an eye. The others were going after its legs and stomach. The dire flailed for anything and managed to get its claw's on Mack. Keith was thrown to the ground and the half blinded dire lycan lifted Mack in its grip then bit down on Mack's shoulder. Blood gushed from the wound and Mack screamed in pain.

Keith tried to stand but found his leg wouldn't hold him. Forcing himself up he tired to go to Mack's aid as the dire lycan ripped at Mack's stomach with one viscous claw. The other lycans managed to get its arms and the dire dropped Mack's bleeding form to the ground. Keith grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him back from the frenzy just as the other lycans brought the dire to the ground.

Mack was coughing up blood. He closed his eyes as Keith begged him to hang on for just a little longer. We only need to get back to the cabin. Mack!

***

Cullen busted into a small clearing in the woods. There was one monster fighting off six or more lycans while some Tairneach he recognized were herding some people around the fight. Cullen started to head for the strange group when Maon appeared in front of him. He hadn't changed yet.

Cullen knew Jenna's favorite lackey well. Maon, Cullen said. Jenna must be somewhere nearby. She never let's your leash out too far.

Maon growled but continued to smile. He nodded toward the fight with the dire lycan that was taking place nearby. "You gonna let your men die so you can banter with me Arnauk?"

Cullen's head snapped around. The dire had two men pinned under its gigantic paws and the others couldn't get in close enough to do anything about it. Without another glance at Maon he charged the dire lycan and barreled hard enough into its side for one of the men to crawl free. But he wasn't getting back up to join the fight.

Cullen tore into the dire lycan's side with his teeth. The beast roared angrily and swiped at Cullen with a blow hard enough to crack a rib or two and tear a gash in his side. Cullen ignored the pain and charged back into the fray. One of the lycans who had been thrown from the fight panicked and ran off into the woods. Cullen watched the man flee regretting the loss of number but understanding the feeling as he watched the monster's jaws tear into the lycan he was holding down. The man screamed in pain as his arm was ripped from his body and thrown into the bushes leaving a trail of blood behind. Cullen roared in rage jumped onto the creature's back and with all his strength grabbed hold of the dire's head and threw himself bodily to the ground, using his weight and strength to try and break its neck. There was a brief instant when Cullen felt the world flash as the beast swiped at his head and only barely missed his eyes, leaving a gash along his forehead and cheek. Then came the cracking bones and the beast crumbled to the ground. Cullen knelt bleeding and breathing heavily as the others ripped into the limp body to finish him off. The massacre continued long after the body stopped twitching.

***

Jenna walked into the clearing entirely pleased with herself. The Arnauk and their guests were all in the process of dealing with her new army. There were two people standing in the circle. It was as if someone had given her a present. Maon could deal with the druid and she planned to kill Aislinn personally. The idea sent chills through her body.

Maon led the druids and their guards into the stone circle just behind Jenna. He took the pack off of his back and set it down. He was pleased that things seemed to be working. This was how the plan was supposed to go so far.

Aislinn looked over at Malik. "Do you know what I'm supposed to do yet," she growled as they watched Jenna's troops walk into the clearing. Aislinn knew Maon was at least a beta. She had never seen him fight but she knew that Jenna was rarely without him. She also figured that the others had to be decent rank as well, just in case there had been a fight to deal with when they got this far. It certainly appeared as though the circle had been their intent. Why else bring druids along?

Malik didn't answer her. He just seemed to be waiting for something. Aislinn was getting pissed. She figured she'd never make a very good druid. She didn't like waiting enough.

Jenna tilted her pretty blonde head and smiled at Aislinn. "Maon," she cooed. "Kill the little man."

Maon dropped his clothes to the ground, shifted, and attacked Malik. Jenna stood there watching Aislinn with a wicked grin on her face. Aislinn shifted into her hybrid form as Malik backed away from Maon and was stopped by a stone. His eyes were wide with fear as he stared at the oncoming Maon. Malik found that he couldn't think straight. He had thought he was so prepared for this. He started to speak in gaelic but hesitated as some of the words seemed to blend in his mind.

Aislinn hit Maon in the side. He hadn't been expecting her to actually attack him. It didn't take long for him to discover that she wan't as incompetent as Terrick had made her sound. Her claws bit into his flesh and Maon growled angrily at her. Jenna motioned the other guards to grab Malik while Aislinn was busy with Maon and she made the druids begin setting up the circle for the transformation.

Malik was grabbed and one of the lycans stuffed some waded cloth in his mouth to keep him from saying anything that could impede their progress. Malik looked around for the other druids. But they had gone walking the woods looking for wounded to help. He couldn't remember ever feeling this helpless. He watched as Aislinn fought with Maon. She was doing well. Maon was bleeding and growling at her wickedly. He limped on one leg as blood pour from a gash she had given him. She had taken a few hits but she didn't look nearly as bad as he did.

"Enough," Jenna shouted. "Kill the druid if she doesn't submit."

Aislinn turned to see what Jenna was doing and Maon hit her hard in the side. She was knocked into a nearby stone and her head cracked against it with a sickening thud. Aislinn felt a wave a nausea as the stone circle spun around her and then the world went black.

Jenna smiled and walked over to Aislinn's limp form. She looked over the cat with jealousy. Cullen had given her a gold anklet for their mating. It had been nice, but nothing like the jewelry that adorned Aislinn's now limp form. Jenna had a strong urge to scar her pretty little face.

"Mistress," someone called and Jenna turned to see what they wanted. "We're ready for you."

Jenna accepted the fact that she could have company any moment and this could suddenly get harder. "Get her body out of the circle. I'll deal with her after this is done."

One of the Tairneach came over and dragged her roughly out of the circle. Maon joined Jenna on the slab in the middle of the stone circle. Jenna stripped out of her clothes and Maon shifted back down to his human form. The druids started drawing symbols across their chests in blue woad. They spoke softly as they drew each symbol and all around them energy began to surge.

***

Drake felt Sarah fading. She lie on the ground nearby, blood poured from her nose and one ear. Her leg was bent up at an odd angle and she didn't look like she was breathing. Drake roared his anger and charged the dire lycan. He didn't know if he wanted to die or kill it. One way or the other this fight wasn't over.

The monster had accumulated quite the body count. There were dead and dying lycans all around the clearing. Drake and a two other Arnauk were the only ones left fighting the beast. As Drake jumped at the dire it grabbed him out of the air. Pulling Drake to its jaws the dire bit down on his throat and Drake cried out. The other lycans tried futilely to free their friend. But the dire seemed to be undefeatable.

Out of nowhere the lycans heard someone speaking gaelic. The voice wasn't making any sense. The words didn't seem to go together correctly. Suddenly the tree next to them began to move and vines slithered like snakes out of the woods and around the monster's legs. The two Arnauk tripped back away from the nightmarish scene. The tree seemed to come to life as the vines lifted the dire up and into the branches. Drake was dropped to the ground as the dire tried to free itself from the vines. It was making short work of the plants until the tree shoved a number of branches through the dire, impaling it. Then the tree went still, blood dripping from the branches.

Three druids walked out of the wood from behind the tree. They looked tired and pale. One of them vomited at the sight of the body in the tree branches. The other two began walking amongst the bodies on the ground.

***

Celia had to be held back. There were a number of omegas who were trying desperately to keep her inside the cabin. She could feel Mack fading out of her mind. He had been there for so long that she didn't realize what was happening at first. There had been pain and confusion. A lot of pain and confusion. She tried to talk to him but he was too far away. There bond wasn't complete and had never really been strong enough for any communication out of visual range. But she tried anyway. Her panic was working up some of the others. Celia wasn't the only one feeling the loss of someone, but she was the only one who was going crazy over it.

"Celia," Rissa said calmly. "What do you think you'll be able to do if we let you out of here?" She was standing in front of the door and there were a couple other omegas at the nearby windows.

Celia paced. There were tears in her eyes. "I don't know," she cried and fell to her knees on the floor. "I don't know Rissa. But something."

Rissa came over to Celia, sat on the floor next to her, and wrapped her arms around her. "It won't help if you get yourself or the babies hurt," she said softly. They just sat there for a while. Celia cried and Rissa rocked her back and forth in her arms.

***

Cullen felt it the minute Aislinn had to shift. He knew that she was in the middle of a fight. Fear surged through him and he prayed that it wasn't with one of the dires. I shouldn't have left her alone, he cursed himself. Cullen was stopped in his head long flight toward her by another dire attacking a small group of lycans.

Cullen recognized the group as one of the packs from out of Cadifor's territory. They were losing ground fast. The dire already had several of them down and was working on disemboweling one he was holding up by the neck. Cullen had to force himself to go to their aide. His wolf was howling at him to go to Aislinn. But he couldn't just pass the men up. Aislinn didn't seem to be in trouble. But these men obviously were.

Cullen roared his attack. He charged at the dire and hit him in the back of the knees with all of his weight. The monster's legs collapsed and he fell back onto Cullen but dropped the lycan he was mauling. Someone pulled the lycan out of the way as the dire scrambled to get back to his feet. Cullen bit down hard on the creature's hamstring and yanked his head away pulling muscle away from bone. The dire howled in pain and the rest of the lycans surrounding them descended on the wounded beast.

The seconds felt like hours as Cullen helped them kill the dire. Suddenly he felt pain in the back of his mind and then Aislinn's voice went silent. She was still there and still strong but she wasn't conscious. When he felt his sense of her fog over he took off toward the stone circle where he had left her, cursing himself for being distracted by anything.

***

Jenna felt power surging through her. With each line that the druids drew on her body it seemed that she tingled a bit more. There was a strange euphoria to it. She decided that this must have been what Rafe felt all the time.

Maon was nearly unconscious from blood loss. He knelt in the middle of the circle. The woad burned from where it touched the bloody gashes in his flesh that Aislinn had created. If this works I'm gonna flay that bitch, he thought. He couldn't stand the idea that such a little thing from another pack had so thoroughly beat him in front of Jenna. Maybe Jenna was right to be so jealous of her.

The druids spoke quietly. They're words ominous. Jacob handed her a jar containing a yellowish foul smelling mixture and she gagged as she drank it down. Maon was handed another jar of the same stuff.

Malik eyed Jacob and the man shook his head. Terror was on his face as he continued to speak the powerful words softly. Jenna suddenly felt an orgasmic surge of pain and her body began to rearrange itself. She fell to her knees and laughed manically, believing she had already won. Maon was not enjoying the sensations so much as Jenna. He was light headed and he started to fear that he may pass out. He was pissed and knew that Jenna would think he was weak.

Cullen burst through into the clearing. He didn't know what to do first. He saw Malik and considered freeing him. There was Jenna and Maon, but Cullen was wary about entering the circle. When he saw Aislinn on the ground his mind was made up for him. The Tairneach who had dragged her from the circle stood over her menacingly. Cullen took him down without thinking about it. The fool shouldn't have stood in his way. Cullen knelt next to Aislinn and picked her up gently.

He stroked her hair out of her face. Aislinn, baby, please, he begged. It was a strange sight to see the large lycan being so gentle with her. Aislinn's eyes fluttered. Cullen's heart skipped as she looked up at her. He almost cried. She was alright. He pulled her to his chest and held her tightly. You scared me, he growled at her. Aislinn couldn't help but smile even though her head was splitting. She nuzzled her face into his chest. She didn't realize the fight wasn't over yet.

A wicked howl like nothing Cullen had ever heard drew his attention back to the circle. The change was complete. Jacob retreated toward Malik, hoping that there was enough other things going on that he wouldn't be noticed.

Cullen reluctantly released Aislinn and stood up, stepping between her and the howling dires that had just been created. Cullen glared in disgust at what Jenna had done to herself. She was defiantly formidable enough to keep her seat as alpha now.

Aislinn stood up, staring wide eyed at the two lycans who were menacing them. Maon was still a bit light headed but the change had healed a great deal of the damage that Aislinn had created.

Are you frightened of me now, Jenna asked.

No, Cullen growled. I wonder what Brennus would think of you now?