Kara Davies

It's Athena who strikes next after Darius broke loose. Kara sees the fire in her eyes and for the first time, she detects the physical connection between mates. Everything about Athena screams her primary instinct is to protect her mate and nobody is going to stop her. And yet, the first thing she does is freeing Denise from the firm grip a werewolf from the opposite side has on her. At the same moment, Kara feels the pressure on her throat leave as well. When she turns around, she sees Hinote standing over an unconscious body. Their surprise attack has obviously startled the other werewolves, and within seconds, their group can reassemble.

"Hinote, get her out of here," Darius yells instinctively, and weirdly, he obeys. Before Kara can figure out who 'her' is, she feels herself being grabbed and a second later, dizziness blocks her vision. When she opens her eyes again, she's somewhere else. "Careful, and hold tight," Hinote whispers. It's then she realizes where she is. She hasn't left the scene. The vampire brought her to the top of a tree, right above the place where everyone is fighting. "Stay." Hinote leaves. Where on earth could I go from here? I'm stuck in a fucking tree! Kara thinks, but confusion and fear win from her annoyance. From eight or nine meters from the ground, she witnesses her friends, her girlfriend, fight with inhuman speed and force.

"Hinote, Demir, stay with Denise," Darius orders them before focusing his attention on the others, "Shani and Leon, watch each other." They simply nod, immediately following his command. "And Athena," he pauses, gazing into his mate's eyes. She stares back, daring him to finish his sentence. "Be careful," he whispers, causing Athena to smile before she takes off. He follows her quickly and jumps towards the werewolves, shifting mid-air into his giant wolf. Even though she has been traveling with this group, she has seen nobody shift these past few days. And seeing Darius, her human-looking friend turning into a wolf the size of a bear, she knows she would never have been prepared for that. Behind him, Demir, Leon, and Shani shift too.

Darius is enraged, Kara can sense it, feel it, so intense, it seems like she's experiencing it herself. With raw beauty, he attacks the werewolves surrounding them, making them fall onto the ground one by one. Even while fighting for his life, Kara sees his gigantic head turn towards Athena. She's perfectly balanced, but lethal nonetheless. Gracefully, she floors everyone who comes even remotely close to her, not giving anyone a chance to touch her. She barely even uses her speed for probably the very reason she doesn't need it.

And then Shani; she's so fast, Kara almost can't see her; she's much faster than all the other werewolves... Her petite frame gives her the advantage of looking weak while being perfectly deadly. The werewolves attacking don't seem to get that message. Even though her fighting skills aren't perfect, her speed makes her hard to catch and almost impossible to hurt.

Almost directly under her, Demir and Denise are fighting their fight. While he takes care of every asshole approaching them, Denise shoots every werewolf that catches her eye.

Kara sees an unfamiliar wolf sneak up on Darius. LOOK OUT! She wants to scream, but her voice wasn't working. And yet, he must have gotten the message because he turns around at lightning speed and snaps his attacker's neck. Kara sees the entire scene, but she feels no remorse towards the wolf, whose lifeless body is now falling on the ground. Not after they attacked their friends, not after they almost killed her girlfriend.

Watching them, all of them, Kara realized their enemies didn't stand a chance. What were those bastards thinking? Probably how easy it would be to kill a bunch of misfits. Boy, were they wrong? Boy, were we wrong! Who would have thought they worked together so well?

Darius, the born leader.

Athena, the flawless fighter.

Demir, the fearless warrior.

Shani, the ferocious feline.

Leon, the strong survivor.

Hinote, the deadly daredevil.

And Denise, her beautiful girlfriend, the hellish hunter.

And who am I? Kara, the useless human?

-----

"Holy shit, we were on fire!" Demir yells, still stocked with adrenaline. His cheeks are lit up and in his eyes is the fire still visible. The rest is a little quieter while they process what just happened. Kara is definitely still in shock; she can't believe what she just witnessed. She's not sure if she'll ever believe it. Hinote is still supporting her, and even though she's not wounded, she's grateful because she's certain she would have collapsed if he hadn't held her.

"I just can't believe we're alive," Shani sighs. "There were so many of them." Leon is glued to her side. They both look thrilled about it; overjoyed; delighted... and Kara is very sure it is only partly because she just floored half a dozen werewolves while receiving only a couple of scratches herself. Even though Leon looks like those were a few scratches too much. From what she understands from the bond between mates, if one of them gets hurt, the other becomes quite a pain in the arse towards the enemy. Understanding this concept is one thing, but Kara saw the evidence only minutes ago. Leon became even more lethal after he heard Shani scream; Kara's surprised he only knocked out several bodies instead of removing their heads. Good god, is this my life now?

She switches her attention from the happy couple to Athena, who's standing in front of the werewolves who survived their own attack. While the rest of their group was taking a moment to catch their breath and express their excitement, she tasked herself to find answers in the minds of their attackers after placing an enchantment that would protect them from getting noticed again. After a couple of minutes, she returns to the group. "They didn't know much, but I've retrieved some useful information. Now, I suggest we alter their memories. Let the alpha think they killed us so they won't bother us again."

Everybody nods in agreement. This might be the first time we all agree on something. Kara feels the power flowing around the group like electricity. They were all so strong, so forceful. And what did I do? I hid in a tree. Well, at least she wasn't a burden to anyone.

Kara keeps her mouth closed, wondering when somebody will address the giant elephant in the room. What happened today? Two hours ago, they were bickering about the fact somebody left their shoes too close to someone else's sleeping place, and now they were operating like a well-oiled machine. What the hell changed?

Darius isn't part of the fervent conversation. His face is frozen in a frowned expression. The only thing showing he's still present is his finger stroking Athena's hand. They all heard what the werewolf had said to him. The sister he thought was dead, killed by the monstrous alpha who murdered their father in front of them, was alive. What is happening inside his mind right now? Kara can't imagine.

"So, now we've established we are quite the power group. What should we do next?" Demir asks with a boyish smile on his face. It's silent for a moment; everybody looks around, waiting for another to say something. Darius steps forward and clears his throat. O, boy. "I want to save my sister." His voice is softer than usual, and yet everybody heard him perfectly. Is he saying what I think he's saying?

"Darius, saving ourselves from an attack or attacking an entire pack are two completely different things," Denise says. Her eyebrows frown, and the disbelief in her eyes and voice shows what she's thinking. But Darius doesn't stop; his eyes are lit up with a sudden hope Kara can only imagine is emerging from deep within him. "I know, of course, I know that, but we will not have to face an entire pack. We just have to kill him."

Could it really be that easy? Kara thinks, but she knows it's not. From what she gathered these last few days, it's that killing an alpha is one of the hardest things to do in this world. No poison or magic spell is powerful enough, only a stab through the heart, a clean cut through the throat, or the splitting of the head and the body will do. And only a few people are capable to come that close.

"What do you guys think?" Darius asks the group impatiently. His eyes are filled with anticipation and perhaps a little desperation. Demir nods eagerly, and so do Leon and Hinote. Hmm, men. Shani watches Leon first and then switches her eyes to Darius. "I'm in." To Kara's surprise, Denise also nods. How did she change her mind so quickly? "We're going to need a solid plan; I can help with that. Kara, you're okay with that?"

All eyes are on her all of a sudden; she does not know what to do with it. Does it even matter what she has to say? It's not like she would be able to help. Besides, how could she say no to that amount of determination? She might not find it, but perhaps she could be useful. Kara nods and now all eyes fall on the hybrid, who hasn't given her mate an answer yet. "Athena?" Darius asks, making her look up. Her eyes are filled with uncertainty and doubt. Where did that come from? "Darius, you know I'd follow you anywhere, but there is something else I have to think about before deciding." She sighs.

Everybody keeps quiet, convinced she'll talk again. Kara met the witch-slash-vampire only a week ago, and since then, a lot has happened. She has seen Athena furious, scared, lethal, and amiable, but never, not for a second, has she been nervous to speak. She suddenly looks young, insecure, as if she hasn't figured out what she wanted to stay.

"The reason I have to find the Pack in the North is that I'm carrying something ...not because of some papers. It's about a spell and not just any spell. It's the most powerful spell in the world, given to the witches by the Moon Goddess. This spell can alter the world in ways we cannot possibly imagine and in the wrong hands, this spell can end civilization as we know it, or make an entire species submit to another. When I deliver it to the pack, it will become a hidden sanctuary that will keep everyone in it safe from everything that might happen here. When the witches asked me, I knew it was important, but..." She looks up, gazing at each member of their group, pausing when she meets Darius's eyes. "But that doesn't mean I should turn my back on everyone else. I want to help you, Darius."

"Athena, I can't ask you to jeopardize your mission for mine. Not when the world is literally depending on it," Darius says, but Athena cuts him off quickly. "You're not... asking. I am offering. There is a reason they chose me for this mission, it's quite difficult to kill me," Athena grins. "They warned me many witches, vampires, and werewolves will come looking for me. I am already a target. So, what is another dangerous task if it will help hundreds of innocent people?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, let's do this!"

Darius wraps his arms around his mate and whispers something in her ear, causing Athena to laugh. Kara thought he only meant the words for his mate, but she sees Shani and Demir laugh as well. Once again, the sad truth is crystal clear for her, she's not like them. Today, it was a win she wasn't the burden she could have been, but what if tomorrow she's the reason they lose the fight? She looks up when a hand touches hers, it's Denise. "You're okay?" Kara nods but holds Denise's hand tightly, projecting all her attention to it to avoid the tears from coming down. Why is she almost crying? What is wrong with her? She should not be the one breaking down right now.

Denise is now directly looking at her; the worry is spreading across her face. Her girlfriend always seems to know exactly what's going on inside her head. "Not now," Kara mouths at her. Denise nods and places her hand on Kara's cheek, guiding her head towards her shoulder, offering it to lean on, which Kara gratefully accepts. The kiss Denise places on her forehead makes her close her eyes and take in the warmness and the scent Denise offers. It's all she needs right now. Tomorrow, she'll have a lot to think about, but tonight, she enjoys the touch of her girl and the positive team spirit of the group.