27

Haken hadn't liked it, but between your suggestion and Jolon's insistence that it was the only way to win, the brute had conceded that a standoff would most likely end in failure. "Taking the less honorable path," he had said, "would be frowned upon by the Great Spirit. But without us, he would have few left to worship him. I think we may be forgiven this act of cowardice." You'd never taken much stock in Haken's religion, but enough of the pack at least pays lip service to the spirits of your ancestors that you're relieved to get him on board.

As a group, you push back the humans with renewed effort, forcing them onto the defensive so they will be ill prepared to attack your backs as you flee.

As you suspected (or more accurately, as you hoped), the soldiers are initially confused by your sudden turn, many staring in disbelief at your backs as you lope away in all directions through the swirling smoke before they remember to fire, their shots largely going wide as they gather their wits. The toxic gas the humans hoped would drive you out into the open works to your advantage as soldiers stumble over the bodies of their felled comrades in an attempt to keep the clusters of wolves in view. As you split apart, so too do the humans, and that's when you turn back and the fighting resumes.

The humans come for your smaller group, disappearing and reappearing through the swirl of smoke like phantasms. Muzzle flares provide a disorienting effect that would leave you staggering if not for the adrenaline in your system and the willpower you've built up to stand and fight.

You've taken several direct hits, and you can feel your body repairing the damage like an itch in the back of your mind. It takes a lot of firepower to put down a werewolf, but you're grimly aware that this may be your final stand. You grunt as you try to pull your claw free from an armored jacket, the human it belongs to escaping through the mist. You're getting slower, and the pack's formation has begun to drift apart with the fatigue, fighting dozens of individual battles as enemies swirl through the hazy pollution.

You raise your other hand to wipe a torrent of sweat from your forehead, and it pulls away stained red. This can't go on for much longer if you're going to make it out alive.

Next

As the gas clears, you can see Haken far off to your right. Another wolf has his back, stalking forward with an intent purpose, bypassing the humans on either side in a rush to attend the warleader. You squint, trying to get a closer look at the wolf through the wispy tendrils of smoke; you casually bat aside one of the soldiers with a well-muscled arm. Sun filters through the haze and reflects off the wolf's golden-blond fur. Lapu?

You've noticed too much strange behavior from the boy for this to be a coincidence. You fight your way over to Haken, nearly reaching him as Lapu pulls something from his pocket, light glittering off a clear tube as he stabs it into Haken's shoulder.

You coil your legs and leap for the boy, colliding with him and pulling him to the ground before he can push the plunger on the end of the syringe.

You raise a claw, lost in the adrenaline of the moment, ready to strike the boy dead before your mind catches up with your body. You waver.

"I didn't have a choice!" the boy wails. "Everybody wanted to fight! I just wanted us to leave it well enough alone!"

Haken whirls, grabbing an intruding soldier by the chin and constricting meaty fingers until the man's face caves in on itself with a sharp crack of bone. He discards the body with disgust as he hovers over you and Lapu.

"What were you sticking me with, boy?" the brute asks as he spies the syringe.

"A s-s-s-sedative," the boy stammers as he pushes himself back along the ground, trying desperately to put space between himself and the enraged behemoth. You hold him down. "They told me it wouldn't hurt you, just help put an end to the war—"

"And what did they promise you, little traitor?" Haken asks, shuddering as his body absorbs several direct hits. He turns on his heel and charges through the slowly lifting smoke, disappearing for a moment before emerging again like a monster from hell, claws and teeth dripping with gore, his fur wet and slick.

"Oh god…" Lapu whimpers.

"The Great Spirit won't help you now, boy," Haken growls. "What did they offer you?"

"They said they'd let me and Tiva go. That she'd be safe. No experiments or torture."

"She was in on this, too?"

"No!" Lapu screams. "Don't hurt her! Please! I…I love her!"

Haken snarls and looks at you. "You know what we have to do."

Lapu looks up at you pleadingly. "We're friends, Holstein. We've been through so much together. Please don't do this! I just wanted what was best for Tiva!"

"Haken, we don't have time to debate this now, we need to—"

"Keep Lapu back from the fighting under close watch. We can deal with his treachery after the battle is won."

"Send him back to the side that he's chosen and see what mercy the humans choose to give him."

"Kill him now before he can betray us again."

Next

Haken nods. "You may not believe me, but I'm not happy about this. I'll do what must be done."

You give Lapu one final disgusted look and leave Haken to his work. You hear chanting from where Haken crouches over the boy. A spiritual send-off? You'd never paid much attention to Haken's religion, but he takes the rites seriously, and the sin of killing another member of the pack is great.

Lapu's sudden scream cuts deep in your heart; deeper than you imagined the pain would reach. But you stand your ground. You'll have to live with your own decisions, just like Lapu is dying for his.

"It's done," Haken says. "Recriminations can wait for later. The battle is not yet won. Tiva will mourn, but so will a great many warriors before the day is out."

Next

In the end it all comes down to numbers versus strength of will. The humans thought they had the advantage, outnumbering you easily four to one, but they never counted on the ferocity of a cornered pack of werewolves. You stand bloodied but clearly victorious, the last of the smoke clearing from the battlefield revealing the bloody fruits of your slaughter. The few dozen soldiers left cluster to keep themselves alive as they retreat, wolves snapping at their heels.

A sudden roar shakes the earth beneath you, the same powerful sound you heard before the battle began.

"What the hell?" Tiva says as she puts a soldier down for the count with a heavy lupine fist. She points to the north. "There…you see that?"

A gigantic form thunders toward the battlefield, its profile low to the ground, but even from this distance you can tell that it's no proper werewolf. No, this creature is almost twice as tall as Haken, its coat a shining ebony, its massive paws pummeling the earth beneath them into fine dust as it rushes toward you with unerring accuracy, slashing anyone in its way to pieces with casual indifference, human and werewolf alike.

You stare, so absorbed with the beast's approach that you would have taken several bullets to the head if Tiva hadn't thrown you to the ground in a desperate attempt to get you clear. The danger barely registers. It's then that you realize the beast is coming for you personally. You have no reason to believe it, but you know it to be true.

You hear your mother's voice again. From your dream. Or was it a suppressed memory?

Your father's on the prowl.

I run. This is one creature I cannot face.

I stand my ground. I can run from this no longer.

I move to confront the beast myself, showing no fear.

I hold back, keeping my comrades close. There is strength and safety in numbers.

Next

Achievement: Victory

You've won the battle but the war is far from over.