Chapter 179: Episode 178: Mum will be back soon

“Ron Ron, is mama gonna be back soon?” Mochi asks.

Her tiny voice shook in the dark bedroom. She sounded very small against the loud, terrifying noises echoing from outside. She pulled her knees up tight to her chest. She hid her fuzzy grey ears under her small arms, squeezing her bright blue eyes shut. She did not like the roars. She just wanted her mother to come back and hold her tight.

Theron sat up straight on the thick grey fur rug. The little snake boy reached out into the pitch-black space. He found his sister in the dark. He patted her with his small hands, trying his best to offer comfort.

“Yes, Momo, Mum will be back very soon. Don’t worry, I will protect you,” Theron whispered bravely.

He puffed out his tiny chest. He grabbed a heavy, thick book off the wooden nightstand. He held the heavy book up in front of him like a wooden shield. Beside them, little Seika kept crying on the soft rug. Theron leaned over and rubbed the baby panther’s back, gently shushing her to keep her quiet. He took his job very seriously. He was the man of the room right now, and he refused to let the monsters get inside.

Outside the heavy oak door, the battle rages.

The men are tearing through the rogues. They stood in the ruined dirt courtyard, fighting a brutal, bloody war under the cold moonlight. Knox swung his massive iron axes with terrifying speed. The Southern King chopped through bone and thick fur, throwing the dead beasts aside like broken toys. He held the centre of the yard, refusing to let a single monster get near the wooden porch.

But there are too many.

The diseased animals spilt out from the dark pine trees like a rotting, endless river. They poured over the broken wooden fence. They scrambled over the cracked stone statues, falling over each other in their desperate frenzy. For every beast Knox put down in the dirt, three more jumped forward to take its place. They snapped their foaming jaws, starving for fresh meat.

Near the ruined flower beds, Onyx fought like a demon.

The moody white wolf let his wild, feral instincts take absolute control. He shifted halfway, his hands turning into massive, deadly claws. He ripped through the thick gray fur and rotting muscle of the enemy. His silver eyes burned with a manic, violent light. He did not care about the sharp pain in his bruised ribs. He did not care about the deep scratches covering his arms. He just wanted to protect the warm house behind him.

Axel fought right beside him.

The twins did not yell at each other. They did not bicker. The stupid, messy argument from yesterday vanished the second the real threat arrived. They stood back-to-back, their twin synergy returning in the face of death.

Axel ducked under a snapping, foaming jaw. He sliced his jagged blade across a rogue’s throat. Onyx lunged right over Axel’s shoulder, sinking his heavy claws into another beast’s neck. They moved in perfect, deadly unison. Axel protected Onyx’s blind spots without even looking. Onyx guarded Axel’s injured leg, ripping down any beast that got too close. They shared a single mind. They moved like a wild, swirling storm of sharp claws and heavy blades. They remembered exactly how to be brothers.

But even their fierce, flawless teamwork was not enough to stem the massive tide.

Drax grabbed a hyena by the throat and threw it hard against the stone wall. The Dragon King wiped dark blood from his sharp jaw. He looked at the endless sea of grey fur spilling from the dark trees. He realised they were just fighting a loud distraction. The hyenas would not stop coming. The swarm would just wear them down until they were too tired to lift their arms.

Drax had to fly over to find where they were spawning from and handle them there.

He did not waste time yelling out a long plan to the others. He just let his ancient, burning magic explode.

Thick black smoke poured from his bare skin. A massive wave of heat blasted across the dirt courtyard, forcing Knox and the twins to step back. In a single heartbeat, the giant black dragon stood in the ruined yard. He opened his massive, leathery wings, creating a huge gust of wind that knocked several hyenas flat on their backs.

Drax pushed off the ground. He took to the night sky. He flew right over the tall pine trees, searching the dark woods for the rogue camp. The wind howled past his dark scales. His sharp dragon eyes pierced the gloom, spotting a massive, writhing pile of grey fur hidden in a deep ravine.

A huge portal made of twisted black magic pulsed in the centre of the ravine, spitting out more feral beasts by the second. A few seconds later, a bright, blinding flash of golden fire lit up the distant sky. The ground shook as the dragon unleashed pure hell on the swarm’s source, burning the black magic away.

Inside the house, Rue crept down the pitch-black hallway.

Her bare toes curled against the freezing stone floor. She kept her right hand pressed flat against the smooth, cold wall, using it to guide her in the dark. Her left hand gripped the soft green wool of her dress. She was shaking so badly her teeth actually chattered.

The noise outside sounded like the absolute end of the world.

Heavy bodies slammed against the thick stone walls of the fortress. The wooden beams above her head groaned under the terrible pressure. Dust fell from the ceiling, sprinkling down into her silver hair. Every single time a wolf snarled or a beast screeched, her fragile rabbit heart skipped a terrified beat.

She felt so small. She was just a soft girl hiding in a war zone. She did not have sharp claws or thick leather armour. She just had a fierce, desperate need to feed her crying baby.

She reached the end of the long hallway.

The living room opened up in front of her. The warm fire in the hearth was dead, leaving nothing but cold, grey ashes behind. The overturned wooden chairs and scattered toddler toys looked like strange, creepy monsters hiding in the dark shadows.

Rue swallowed the hard, painful lump of fear resting in her dry throat.

She just needed to cross the open room, grab the warm milk from the kitchen counter, and run back. That was it. A simple, fast trip.

She forced her heavy, shaking legs to move forward.

She stepped onto the woven rug. She walked as softly as she could, placing each bare foot down with careful, agonising precision. She did not want to make a single sound. The hyenas outside had excellent hearing. She did not want them to know a soft, unarmed girl was walking around inside the dark house.

She passed the heavy oak dining table. She passed the cold stone fireplace, shivering as a cold draft swept through the empty hall. She remembered how warm the house felt just a few hours ago when the men were sleeping on the rugs. Now, the sanctuary felt like a cold, empty tomb.

She finally reached the open archway of the kitchen.

Pale, silvery moonlight spilt through the small glass window right above the wooden counter. It cast a faint glow over the clay bowls and iron knives left out from their dinner earlier.

Rue spotted the small clay bottle of milk. It sat right near the edge of the wooden counter.

A massive wave of pure relief washed over her chest. Her tense shoulders dropped. She let out a long, shaky breath. She found it. She just had to grab it and go. She was going to make it back to the safe room before anything bad happened.

She took three quick steps forward.

She reached her small hand out. Her fingertips brushed the cool, smooth clay of the milk bottle.

A heavy, wet thud hit the outside of the kitchen wall.

Rue froze. Her hand stopped right next to the bottle. Her pink eyes went wide.

The sound did not come from the front yard. It came from right outside the small kitchen window. She heard the harsh, ragged sound of wet, desperate breathing. She heard sharp, heavy claws scraping against the thick stone blocks, searching for a solid grip on the wall.

A massive, dark shape blocked out the pale moonlight.

Rue could not breathe. Her lungs forgot how to work. She stared at the small window in pure, helpless terror.

A rogue hyena broke through the kitchen window, glass shattering everywhere.

The beast smashed through the heavy frame with a deafening crash. Sharp, jagged pieces of broken glass rained down on the wooden counter and the stone floor. The shiny shards caught the faint moonlight, sparkling like tiny, deadly diamonds in the dark kitchen.

The giant hyena tumbled through the small opening. It hit the wooden counter hard, knocking the clay milk bottle to the floor. The bottle smashed into a dozen pieces, spilling the warm milk all over the dirty stones.

The heavy beast slid off the counter, landing right in front of Rue.

It was huge. It was covered in rotting, missing patches of grey fur. Thick black drool dripped from its long, yellow fangs. Its eyes were wild, starving, and full of raw madness. It smelled like dirty swamp water, rotting leaves, and old death.

The stench hit Rue’s nose, making her stomach churn violently. The beast’s heavy paws cracked the remaining clay shards on the floor, grinding them into fine dust.

The feral beast shook the broken glass from its coarse fur. It slowly lifted its ugly, scarred head.

It locked its crazy, starving eyes right onto her pale face. It let out a low, rattling growl that vibrated straight through her fragile bones.

Rue stared at the giant monster standing in her kitchen. She looked at its sharp teeth. She looked at the ruined milk bottle spilled on the floor. She thought about her babies waiting in the dark bedroom down the hall.

She did not scream. She did not cry.

Rue just let out a sharp, frustrated breath.

“Shit.”