My Most Precious Human

Every minute of the three-hour ride raised my anxiety. I kept shifting in my seat as if it was the most uncomfortable chair I had ever sat on. Patrick had noticed it a few times, and then gave me a warm, soothing smile, which helped me remain composed... until another wave of restlessness drew air from my lungs, bringing me closer to a choking state.

Seeing the road sign informing us that we were 50 miles away from Greystoneville sent chills down my spine. We entered the Southern Woods Pack's territory. The long line of black vans drove through the road crossing the vast forest area that surrounded Greystone Mountain, a perfect place for wolves to hunt... or set up their battles while keeping their existence hidden from the human eye.

Greystoneville had been built, starting at the foot of the mountain and climbing uphill. The lower parts, further away from the woods, were mostly inhabited by humans and low-ranked wolves. The upper districts belonged to those who contributed to the pack or brought my father money. Then, finally, Randall D'Apolito's mansion spread across the town's highest hill, surrounded by the woods. This was our main target.

Draven's Moon Hill warriors were going to attack from the lower parts of the woods. There were wide fields that set the conditions for an open wolf battle, but those grounds were further away from the mansion

It was the Royal Army that was going to attack from the side of the mountain. That area gave the vampires the upper hand since it was densely forested, and werewolves couldn't easily run in their wolf form. Werewolves, on the other hand, were weaker than vamps in their human form. My father must have chosen the location of his residence so that no wolves from other packs had easy access to it. I guess he had never thought that he had created perfect conditions for vampires to attack.

We knew that the best warriors from the Southern Woods Pack had already been expecting us. They were fully aware that the Moon Hill Pack and the Royal Army had taken down the Great Five, and they had no allies left to lend their power to them. The Southern Woods Pack was doomed to fight alone.

It was long after sundown when we arrived at the north side of Greystone Mountain. Once we got out of the cars, Patrick handed me a black, long-sleeved sort of armor made of thick and rough fabric. "Wear it," he ordered.

I wanted to ask why, but then I looked closely at the material. I flinched as I realized that my new piece of clothing was made of Kevlar, which was supposed to protect me from bullets and sharp claws. I looked around and noticed that everyone wore similar, protective parts of clothing, making me acknowledge that it was going to be a whole different type of battle.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath.

The problem with the wolves in their human form was that they could use guns. I was quite certain that I was able to regenerate from getting hit once or twice, but I wasn't planning on testing that theory. Besides, my regeneration skills didn't make my wounds painless. Aside from my super genes, I wasn't invincible. The vamps could get hurt by silver bullets, and wolves could die from getting shot with aconite, but for me, each bullet could be equally deadly. I put on my armor. Surprisingly, it fitted without restricting my movements. Nonetheless, having it on me only increased my restlessness.

We walked in wide formations for an hour until we got close enough to smell our enemy. Patrick raised his hand in a rapid gesture to halt.

"Snipers," he said quietly, gesturing an order while glancing high at the trees on his right and left.

I looked up, and only then did I notice soldiers, hiding in the upper crowns, covered in leaves. They all had sniper rifles. At Patrick's command, all of those standing on the tree branches leaned forward, searching through the darkness of the woods with their sharp, blazing eyes.

"I counted six, at ten and eleven o'clock," said one of the snipers from the left side.

Then one from the other side added, "There's a group of around fifteen coming at three o'clock."

"Eliminate as many as you can." Patrick's firm voice pierced through the filled with tension air, and then he glanced at our formation walking on the ground, saying, "Prepare to attack."

Aconite bullets swished through the trees, taking down some of the wolves and alarming the rest, who darted towards us.

"Now." Patrick's command made my adrenalin rise to an insane level in half a second.

Some wolves decided to change their form, while others pulled out their guns and started shooting. My eyes abruptly adjusted to the dark while my hearing shifted to catch the whistling high-frequency pitch, making me able to predict the bullets' trajectory quickly enough to dodge them.

"Silver!" One of the soldiers that got hit roared.

"Eliminate the shooters!" Patrick commanded while charging at those who had turned into wolves.

Furious growls spread across the forest as the vampires and wolves clashed in the fight. The wolves attacked with everything they had. The sounds of enraged clamps of their jaws mixed with roars and howls, but within the density of trees, it was the vampires who were winning the fight.

As our snipers took care of the werewolves shooting at us from the ground, the situation rapidly turned to a head-to-head battle. I quickly learned to use tree branches to my advantage in the fight, since wolves were only able to jump to a certain height. I could get above the wolves and jump on their backs, then knock them out with fast movements or swift knife cuts, just enough to make them lose consciousness. The rush of adrenaline drove me forward, despite the wolf warriors, whose numbers kept increasing.

We were relentless and charged like a machine for hours without stopping. I learned to draw excitement from jumping through the trees and looking down to find my next target. For the first time in my life, I became the predator. I didn't feel the need to rest. My breathing was in sync with my heart rate, which provided an odd composure despite the hectic surroundings. I registered Patrick, checking on me every time he and I landed somewhere near during the battle. Each time our eyes met, he sent me a sly smirk and winked at him, telling him that I was doing fine.

It was dawning when the wolf numbers started decreasing. They were no match for our speed and agility inside the thick mountain forest. The swishing bullets were not that big of a threat either. Of course, it hurt like hell when I got shot in my chest once, but thanks to my armor and regeneration skills, I was absolutely fine in less than thirty seconds.

After hours of a constant fight while the remaining wolves surrendered, unwilling to die for the Alpha, who apparently waited locked inside his mansion instead of joining the fight. Moving forward, we reached the four-meter fence wall surrounding Randall D'Apolito's mansion, the place I once hoped never to see again.

Only once I stopped charging forward and leaned against the tree did I begin to feel my body trembling, as exhaustion hit me with the force of a speeding truck. It was a brief moment for everyone to rest before we were going to face the elite squad located to guard the residence.

"Drink this." Patrick handed me a flask bottle with some kind of energy drink.

I took a sip without asking what he gave me. It tasted awfully sour, but it made me regain my strength in a few seconds.

"What the hell was inside that bottle?" I winced.

"Don't know." Patrick shrugged. "You would have to ask Doctor Duarte. It has a good kick, doesn't it?" he chuckled.

Will Duarte... I smiled inwardly, thinking about the crazy doctor who was the first to discover my super genes. I instantly started to miss him...

Chuckling at my thoughts, I pulled out my phone, hidden in the pocket of my combat pants. I promised that I would be the one reporting to Draven once we reached the position we planned. I wrote him a text, saying that the Royal Army had completed the first part of the task... but my phone failed to send the message. I tried it three times with the same result. Finally, I decided to call him, thinking that even if he was in the middle of the fight, he would see that I tried to contact him. I swiped at the green phone icon.

Suddenly, instead of the waiting sound, a wave of distorted sharp buzz pierced my eardrums, almost making me scream. I tossed the phone on the ground, instantly feeling dizzy. My heart began to pound, and I had to rub my ears for a while before I could distinguish any kind of tone. Patrick and two other soldiers run towards me. Patrick grabbed my shoulders.

"...right?" I could see his mouth moving, but the proper sound came a few seconds later. "Lilith, are you all right?"

"Y-yes..." I mumbled, looking at my phone lying on the ground, still uncertain of what had just happened.

"What were you trying to do?" he asked, as shocked as I was.

"I... I was about to call Draven... but something happened to my phone..." I muttered, hoping that my head would stop spinning.

One of the soldiers took my phone, cautiously picked the last number I had chosen, and made the call, turning the speaker on. We all waited in silence, and then...

"The number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again later."