Alpha Charming | Rheon

TWENTY-SEVEN

There was no sign of Craig and the other two wolves when the doors finally rolled open. I searched the chaos for flashes of his grey fur, anything that could indicate that he was alright, but found nothing.

Not knowing where Craig went or whether he was okay, made focusing on the task at hand considerably harder. I had to remind myself that the lives of all the packs of Scotland were at risk here, not just the wolves of Craven Pride's. They were all depending on me to break Lucine's curse, and it's already escalated too far.

I spotted wolves limping, whining as they licked at their wounds before being attacked once again. Wolves that oddly resembled the packs I met over the past few days. We were losing, and time was running out.

Taking a few steps forward, I aimed my camera at the raging battle and snapped a shot. "Candid!"

The flash drew the attention of three wolves at the edge of the battlefield. I waited with an upheld breath for their reactions. If they shield me from the fight, they're good. If they approach me with frothing maws, they're bad.

My theory was proved correct when they bared their fangs at me, giving me a clear view of the saliva and froth that accumulated around their mouths. Even if they didn't snarl at me, I'd be able to recognize their intentions by looking at their eyes. They had an odd red tint to it as they prowled towards the lights outside of the garage, a color that very much resonated with Lucine's magic.

Scraping together my courage, I backed up toward the garage. "That came out a bit blurry. Care to step into my studio for a redo?" They crouched lower, seconds away from attacking. "That's it, come and get me."

Spinning on my heel, I made for the garage the second they pounced. I could feel the ground tremble as they chased after me, and I forced my legs to move faster.

The moment I'm inside the garage, I placed the camera on the workbench and pressed the button with the preselected settings. Stealing a look over my shoulder, I'm just in time to see the wolves entering the room. The one at the front lowered its hind legs to jump...just as the first flash on the camera went off.

All at once, the LEDs, reflectors, and strobe lights lit up and blinded my three attackers. They wined and cowered backwards, paws coming up to cover their eyes.

But the camera wasn't done. Another flash went off as it took another picture, and then another, and another, keeping the wolves blinded while I pressed the button on the remote for the roller doors to close.

While the flashes were going off, I retreated to the backdoor and picked up the flamethrower. Now to wait...

At last, the camera ran out of shots just as the doors fully closed. Waiting for the wolves' vision to return was the most nerve-wrecking feat to far. My heart hammered everywhere at once as the first one's sinister eyes locked on me. Letting out a deep, throaty growl, it stalked forward with the other two flanking it.

'Hold your ground,' I repeated in my head, 'Hold it...just a little further...'

Once they reached the center of the garage and stepped into the puddle of gasoline at their paws, I lifted the flamethrower and aimed. "Say cheese."

I squeezed the handle on the flamethrower and watched as a cloud of fire consumed them. A series of blood-curdling howls shook the walls of the garage as they writhed and thrashed against the flames devouring their fur, making its way to their skin and flesh.

When one of them dropped to the ground to roll, it set the puddle of gasoline ablaze for more fire to burn them alive from the legs up. They howled in agony as the flames reached their faces, their eyes disintegrating in their sockets. Finally, the fire reached their brains, leaving them to drop to the floor, dead.