Arnel smiled as the Guardsmen hesitated. Wolves usually don’t come anywhere near the city and they had no idea what the howl represented. However they still had an enemy in front of them and Arnel watched grimly as the Guardsmen with bows took aim at him.

“Put down your sword now!”

Arnel looked at the Guardsman who shouted and for the first time realized that he recognized the man; he was called Reynold. He was a senior Guardsman like Arnel was when he served the city. Arnel was shocked that he didn’t recognized him till now. He understood that in the heat of battle, things get blurred but they had known each other for years. As follow senior Guardsmen, they were part of a group that used to drink together. Arnel looked at the Guardsmen laying on the ground and finally noticed their faces. He knew several of them by name. He knew them and yet just moments ago, he had been willing to kill all of them without hesitation. Something was wrong about that.

Arnel knew in his heart that was true. He had never considered himself a weak person but killing former friends and comrades like they were nothing was leagues beyond him. He was not soft, but he was no cold-blooded murderer either. Something was seriously wrong.

“This is your last warning. Put down your sword now!”

Arnel’s head hurts but he knew it was too late. He knew it the moment he heard the howl. He wanted to shout out. He wanted to warn the Guardsmen. He wanted them to run but no warning came from him. His mouth just would not move. Arnel found himself just standing there defending the gate. It was then that he finally accepted it.

He had changed! When the Creator changed him into a mutant, it did not just change his body and gave him powers; it also change his mentality. Something was done to him that made it impossible for him to betray the Creator. Arnel wasn’t a fool. He knew in his mind this was the right thing to do. If he was the Creator, he would probably had done the same but in his heart Arnel felt anger. Not at the Creator, if that was even possible now, but at himself. At the fact it took him so long to realize that his mind had been enspelled.

“Kill him!”

Reynold had lost patience and Arnel knew this was the end. He would never get to the men with bows in time so he did the only thing he could; he raised his sword up in salute. He was ready to die.

Then the Guardsmen stopped. The bows lowered and Arnel could see the eyes of all them widen in horror. Without looking back, he knew what was coming up behind him.

“Blow it!” Reynold screamed. “Blow the horn! Formed up!”

Having someone taking command broke the Guardsmen out of their stupor. The Guardsmen formed a line while one of the Guardsmen raised a war-horn and blew a long note. The long note that was to be blown only in time of an impending battle. Moments later, Arnel heard another note from another part of the city and then it was too late.

The Kin rushed past him and crashed into the Guardsmen. Brave gallant Reynold tried to hold the Guardsmen together but it was like trying to hold back a giant tidal wave. The overwhelming power of the first wave of the Kin crushed the line of Guardsmen like they were nothing. The citizens screamed as they tried to run from the monsters but they never had a chance. The Kin were naturally faster than humans and with the humans all bunched up at the gate, they were easy pickings.

Arnel saw the humans getting killed and as their death cries filled the air, Arnel lowered his sword. Despite his misgivings, he was still ready to die for the Creator but if given a choice, he would rather not be involved in wholesale slaughter. He had done his part.

His part was not yet over.

“Where is it? Where’s the Unique?” A clawed hand grabbed his shoulder and Arnel saw that it was the Speaker. Of course it was. She was the only Werewolf who could speak while in her Werewolf form. “Did you see where it fell?”

Arnel could only shake his head weakly. He didn’t see the dragon fall but someone else did.

“Over there.” An injured Jeffery came up beside him and he pointed into the city. “The dragon was near the Blades Council building when it fell.”

That made sense. If anyone in Yachium could take down a flying dragon, it would be the Councils. Around them, humans were still dying but a group of Kin had surrounded the Speaker. If Arnel guessed correctly, the Alpha must have ordered them to guard the Speaker.

“Follow me.”

To his own surprise, Arnel was the one who spoke and before he knew what he was doing, he was already on the move. Behind him came the Speaker and her group of bodyguards. Arnel began leading the Speaker and her group through the streets of Yachium and they were soon in front of the first wave of Kin.

Arnel wasn’t sure how happy the Alpha would be when he found out Arnel was the one who led his mate beyond the safety of the Kin but Arnel didn’t mind the danger. At least now, he didn’t have to listen to the cries of the human.

“Why haven’t we met any opposition?”

Arnel realized that the Speaker was right. The streets were surprising free of conflict and he believed he knew the reason.

“The humans are pulling back. They know they had lost the gate and probably the Southern District as well. The Duke would pull back to a more defensive position.”

“You know where?”

“The Inner City. That would be my guess. It’s defensible and it’s where the Duke and his family lives. It’s the best place for him to make a stand.”

The Speaker immediately turned to one of the Kin and ordered him to relay the information to the Alpha. Then she urged Arnel to hurry. “Faster! We need to get to the dragon. We don’t have the numbers to face the city in a straight up battle. We need to overwhelm them before the humans are ready. The dragon would be invaluable.”

Arnel kept silent. It might already be too late for that but retreating was hardly an option now so he could only move faster. Before long, they heard a loud strange sound. None of them knew what it was but that was a good thing. The dragon was something none of them had seen before today and hearing something new was good. They rushed towards the sound and came out to a large open area that must have served as a gathering area. The group came to a dead stop.

The sight in front of them was incredible. Numerous dead humans lay on the ground and Arnel guessed the number of the dead to number over thirty. And they were all killed by just one creature. A creature that was currently eating one of the dead humans and from the look of some of the bodies, he wasn’t it’s first.

The dragon continued eating before finally noticing the Kin. It looked at the group with an open mouth and for a moment Arnel was worried the dragon was going to attack them. The dragon didn’t attack and instead shook it’s head awkwardly. If Arnel didn’t know better he would have thought that the dragon was embarrassed. The dragon finally stop shaking it’s head and spoke.

“What? I was hungry!”

Oh…it is embarrassed.