Mine to Protect Chapter 140: FROM THE TREE LINE

*Hazel*

I can now see the clearing not far off, and I use my powers to create an illusion to triple our numbers, in an attempt to scare them off; they might be using thermal scans, although I doubt Jackson’s warriors are equipped with such high-tech gear.

The closer we get to the clearing, the stranger the situation looks. I can only see Alpha Jackson himself with around thirty warriors, but no sign of the humans or the mutants.

Maybe this was really just a farse made up by Jackson in an attempt to abduct me, he never contacted those lab people.

We storm into the clearing at the same time as Damon’s and Ryder’s groups, successfully encircling Jackson and his men, who go immediately in defense mode, their weapons aimed at us.

“Put down your weapons and no one will get hurt!” Derek booms through the clearing.

Alpha Jackson signals to his warriors to stand down, and they immediately lower their weapons, while he addresses us with a smug smirk.

“Luna, Hazel, you finally made it, what a pleasure to see you again in person. Alpha O’Brien, it’s a pleasure to see you too.”

Derek nods in response, he’s staring hard at Alpha Jackson, like he’s trying to read him behind his well-built façade.

“You are alone. Where are the people we were supposed to meet?” Derek asks, not liking to play around the bush.

“They’re probably late, like yourselves,” he replies, still smirking, and there is something sinister in that smirk, making a cold shiver run down my spine.

“Derek, I don’t like it, something isn’t right,” I tell Derek through the link.

“I agree, we’d better get the hell out of here.”

“But Alice? We need to know her location.”

“We can’t help her if we are dead,” Derek says somberly, before he orders everyone to go back, and starts pulling me away by my arm.

Right at this moment, Alpha Jackson’s cell phone beeps with an incoming message, he takes it out of his pocket and looking at the screen scrunches his face up in confusion, and something that looks like sadness.

“Alpha Anderson is dead,” Damon shouts through the link, making Derek stop in his tracks, his eyes widen in horror, and then he starts running, pulling me with him.

“Shift, don’t bother getting back to the cars, run away from here as fast as you can!” Derek booms through the link, using his Alpha tone, so that everyone must obey.

I am going to ask him what’s wrong, when gas starts leaking from the ground in different locations all around, a small sniff and I know it’s wolfsbane. Fuck, no! They set up a trap.

Alpha Jackson looks as surprised as us, and he immediately covers his mouth with his hand, and tries to run away towards the tree line.

Derek is still pulling me, but his footsteps are becoming slower, his body weakened by the wolfsbane. Everyone around us is falling to the ground, unable to move one foot forward, and I know I can’t keep running, I must stay here to protect our warriors from the threat I know is coming.

As predicted, soon from the west tree line, a horde of mutants charged towards us. I put my shield in place to protect us, but I am not sure if it will work, if their claws have been again dipped in my blood, then the shield will be absolutely useless.

I need to stop the gas, before all our men are passed out and inert. I direct my powers towards the hidden sprinklers from which the gas is floating out relentlessly, and I imagine melting them, blocking each pore, until they are completely obstructed.

Once I am done, no gas is springing out from the grass anymore, but if we could have some wind to carry away the lingering gas, it would be so much better. As if the gods or the elements are actually listening to me, suddenly a strong wind picks up, washing away the treacherous wolfsbane and making everyone breath in greedily the fresh air brought in by the wind.

For a second, I am left dumbfounded, seriously considering the possibility that I might be able to control the wind, but then I brush it off, I am no God after all, I am just a wolf.

With a quick glance around, I see that Damon and Ryder are already on their feet barking orders at everyone, telling them to get in position, and to carry the ones passed out towards the east side, where they can be safe until they wake up. I guess we were lucky that the gas was sprayed outdoors and not indoors, if we had been indoors, we would have already been all knocked out by now.

Alpha Jackson is crouched on the ground coughing his lungs out, while his soldiers are doing the same as ours, taking the passed out to safety, and getting into a protective stance in front of their Alpha.

Derek is also on his feet, he’s taken a few steps towards our aggressors, and he’s standing there straight and tall, his figure imposing and threatening. He takes a deep breath, and then emits a terrifying loud roar that echoes through the valley, shaking the trees and sending birds flying for their life.

The mutants don’t seem bothered at all by his display of power, and they keep running in our direction, slashing through my barrier like it is made of nothing. Shit! Just what I dreaded; I won’t be able to protect anyone from their piercing claws.

“The barrier is not keeping them at bay anymore, I’m sorry,” I say to everyone through the link, before I step to Derek’s side at the same time as Damon and Ryder. Derek squeezes my hand giving me some comfort, then we look at each other, the four of us nod in agreement, and without uttering a word, together we sprint towards our enemies, who are by now incredibly close to our group.

I blast the first few rows with my powers, incinerating them to dust, and it’s satisfying to know that even if my barrier has no power on the anymore, they still can’t protect themselves from my light blasts.

I hear their wheezing sound before I actually see them, darts raining on us like drops of water during a storm.

No, I won’t let them decimate us like this, I will not.

I quickly gather up as much power as I can, and I blast it up towards the falling darts, trying to catch them all with my blast. A few escape me, but at least they land on the ground, not connecting with anyone.

I am catching my breath, when a new wave of darts is thrown at us, and again I blast them to nothing. I keep blasting wave after wave, while everyone is fighting with teeth and claws all around me.

Our warriors have brought guns, but they are not very effective on these mutants, it’s like they can’t even feel the bullets, and in this mess of limbs moving around in every direction, flying bullets can do more damage than good, we will just risk hitting our own. So, we stick to the werewolf’s way of fighting, with teeth and claws.

Derek is keeping me safe, never straying too far, making sure that no enemy can reach me, but even like this, my strength is starting to waver, the continuous blasts are taking a toll on me, and I don’t know how long I will be able to keep going.

“Kitten, are you ok?” Derek asks me worriedly through the link.

“I am tiring out, I won’t last for long, we need to find a way to make them stop throwing this bloody darts.”

Just when I am sending out another blast to the sky, Derek shouts behind me, “Hazel, get down!”

I turn in time to see a gun aimed at me not far away, the mutant pressing the trigger, Derek jumps in front of me, hugging me close and protecting me like a shield. No! He’ll die if he takes this bullet, I have no doubt about it, they have tried to kill me on several occasions now, and I am pretty sure that bullet is filled with enough poison to kill me.

At the last moment, I lower my arms from over my head, extending them in front of me, I haven’t recovered enough energy from my last blast to throw out another, so I conjure my shield instead. I know that the chances that my shield will work this time are slim, but at least I need to try.