Chapter 1425: The Last Stand Begins

Gary looked at the state Crawley was in. It reminded him too well of the last time they’d fought together, against the Phoenix group. Crawley had nearly lost his life back then. His body had been shredded, torn open, wings battered, and yet, here he was again.

Still fighting.

Still risking everything, for the sake of the Howlers.

Gary opened his mouth, wanting to tell him to stay, to stop pushing himself… but before the words even formed, Crawley was already in the air, wings outstretched despite the damage. He was slower than usual, not flying with his usual grace or speed, and that only made Gary’s chest tighten with worry.

He shouldn’t be up there like that. Not again…

Crawley had the strongest Altered under his command, Gary thought, watching him disappear into the distance. They were highly trained, elite even. They were meant to be the group that lasted the longest, the most prepared for an all-out war.

Did they just get unlucky? Out of all the enemies they could’ve faced… they had to go up against Ylva?

That thought alone made Gary clench his fists. And then, just as he was about to move, he heard it.

A howl.

Melodic. Deep. Haunting.

Gary froze.

He had heard this sound before. A chilling cry that carried power in every note. It was the song of the Luna. And even now, the moment it echoed across the battlefield, Gary could already see the effects unfolding.

The werewolves began to move.

Those that had been scattered across the restaurant, those who had already been injured or even taken down, were now standing. Slowly, painfully, but undeniably, getting back up. As if nothing had happened. As if their bodies weren’t broken.

They weren’t retreating.

They were turning.

Heading in the opposite direction.

“What’s going on?” Izzy asked, narrowing her eyes. “Are they pulling back?”

“For some reason,” Numba said, his voice low, “I don’t think that’s what’s happening.”

And he was right.

From the side, a wave of Howler members appeared. Humans, dressed in black and gold, rushing over toward the restaurant. Their faces were drenched in sweat, their breathing heavy and ragged.

They looked like they had just run for their lives.

“What’s the matter?” Ian asked as they arrived.

“We came from the café,” one of the Howler members explained, panting between words. “Crawley told us to retreat. He and the Altereds stayed behind to fight, held them off while we got a head start.”

“Alright,” Izzy nodded, taking command. “Get inside and support the others. Follow any orders you’re given. Get to your positions, now.”

Gary sprinted back toward the restaurant’s entrance. He burst through the front doors and climbed up the steps two at a time. From his vantage point, he could see Crawley returning, with far fewer Altered members than he had left with.

Not all of them had made it.

Crawley touched down next to him, landing hard.

“The werewolves… I don’t know why, but they ran right past us,” Crawley said, barely catching his breath. “Were they retreating?”

Gary shook his head.

“No. I’ve been through this before.”

He looked out toward the horizon where the enemy had gone.

“The ones that attacked us… and the ones that attacked you… they’re not retreating. They’re all heading toward Ylva.”

He clenched his jaw.

“That howl, it’s from the Luna. That cry doesn’t just empower them… it turns them mad. They stop feeling pain. Their minds shut down. They become nothing but instinct. Mindless, rabid… like zombies.”

Crawley’s thoughts flashed back to the enhanced werewolves they had fought earlier, the unnatural strength, the speed, the savagery.

That was Ylva’s doing too? he wondered. She could enhance them with her claws, and this on top of that?

If she can do both… if she can empower her wolves with both her song and her claws…

Then what they were about to face wasn’t just a pack of werewolves.

It was a horde of monsters.

“What should we do?” Numba asked, eyes shifting between the survivors.

Gary turned his gaze to the three AFA students he had fought beside before. They weren’t exhausted, but they were injured. Slit had left his mark, and while they still had fight left in them, pushing them further might be a gamble.

Crawley was worse, already badly wounded. His wings tattered, his feathers soaked in blood. And the Altered Hunters he had brought with him? Tired. Worn down. Some barely standing.

Gary knew what they were all waiting for.

His decision.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Izzy said, stepping up beside him. “But you have to understand, it’s impossible.”

She looked at him with determination in her eyes.

“You can’t protect everyone. Not in this situation. If you tell us to pull back, if you tell us to stop fighting, then the odds of us getting swept up in this, of all of us being wiped out, are higher, not lower.”

Her voice was firm.

“And you weren’t even supposed to be fighting in the first place. The fact that you are… says everything.”

She was right. He knew it. But it still weighed on him.

He couldn’t save everyone.

But he could try.

He turned toward the group.

“Howler members!” Gary shouted. “Ready your Anti-Altered weapons! Ranged Altereds, prepare to support from behind!”

He turned back to the others.

“Everyone else, move to the front entrance! When they come within fifty meters, we meet them head-on!”

There were around twenty of them, in total. Altered Hunters lined up with Gary at the front, Crawley and the AFA students beside him. Very few had stayed inside the restaurant itself.

Gary knew what would happen if the werewolves broke through. Once inside, they would wreak havoc. It would be a massacre. The Anti-Altered weapons were already proving less effective in this fight. With the Luna’s song in play, those weapons would barely slow them down.

His ears twitched.

He could hear them.

They were coming.

And then, he saw her.

Ylva.

She hadn’t transformed. She didn’t need to.

She walked with confidence, her strides long and commanding. On either side of her were two massive werewolves, larger than the rest. Their muscles bulged unnaturally. Drool dripped from their jaws like venom. Their eyes wild, unfocused. Gone.

So Crawley was right, Gary realized.

They’d been enhanced.

Her claws had transformed them, altered their biology. And now, they had the Luna’s cry pulsing through their blood, too.

It was worse than they had imagined.

“Positions!” Gary barked.

Everyone moved.

There were around eighty of them now.

Eighty werewolves.

Even after everything, after the earlier waves had been taken down, two packs had joined together, and now this force stood united. Bigger. Stronger. Out for blood.

The front line of werewolves hunched forward, dropping to all fours. Their backs arched. Their claws dug into the earth. Drool pooled on the dirt.

And then,

Ylva raised her voice.

“We will be the only pack left standing after today!” she howled. “The Howlers will cease to exist! So wipe them out! Every last one of them!”

All eighty werewolves, eyes blazing, muscles trembling, roared.

And then they charged.

****

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