Double update day! Whoop whoop! Partay over here! Hope you enjoy.

I hadn't been able to sleep all night, and when my alarm went off, I wanted to throw it across the room. 

Everything was silent. It hadn't pressed on me this hard until that damn witch had to use her magic on me. Until I had to see Jared's face again, actually see it, and watch him stay behind again. 

I regretted my last words, It's Eliza. Why did I have to be so stubborn like that? Stubbornness was in my nature though. 

I sighed and pushed the covers back. The floor was icy. I should really get slippers or something. 

I opened the closet and looked over the clothes. Maybe I should go shopping, too. Anything that can keep my mind away from Jared. But shopping though? I'd heard from others that shopping was the cure all. Maybe it was. I wouldn't know. 

I pulled out my hunting classic - all black. Hunts, and now interrogation. Any time there was a change for blood, it was best to go dark. If there was a possibility of me having to be seen by the public, I didn't want the chance to be seen covered in blood. At least not visible blood. 

I pulled the clothes on and grabbed my boots, slipping them both on before pulling the laces tight. 

by the time I made it outside, Isaac was already there. I opened the door and hopped in. 

"So you're really a brunette with blue eyes," he said. 

I tilted my head, my face scrunched in confusion. 

"Your hair, it's been growing out for a little while now. And your eyes are blue all of a sudden."

"Shit." I ran my hands down my face. "Can you wait here for a minute?"

Isaac laughed and waved me on. I ran back into the house to the bathroom. I leaned over the sink, fingering the roots of my hair. Sure enough, they were finding their way out. I really hadn't looked at myself in a mirror. Not really. Hair wasn't as big of an issue. People dyed their hair all the time. My eye color was a different story though, that wasn't really something people changed all the time. I grabbed the contacts holder and slipped them in, blinking a couple times to get used to them again, then ran back out. 

"Thanks," I mumbled as I buckled up. 

"No problem. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Hunting is probably the only thing I will ever be ready for." Unfortunately, I mentally added. 

"For some reason, I really don't doubt that."

"Probably because it's the truth." I crossed my arms and slid down on the seat. I didn't feel like talking anymore, and Isaac wasn't going to make me. Yes, I was really liking this cousin. 

Security nodded as we passed by. It looked like they had been sitting there for a while. Klarke had probably told them not to stop anyone with a badge this morning. Wouldn't want to delay our mission. 

A large assembly had already gathered next to the ranges. People were talking quietly amongst themselves. No one knew exactly why we were all gathered there, no one except Isaac and myself. 

The girl from that night in the alley came up. I couldn't remember her name. It looked like she wished she could be anywhere but next to Isaac. 

"Do you know what's going on?"

Ah. So she probably had been anywhere but to Isaac already. 

"I do," Isaac said with that smirk, his arms crossed. 

"So what is it?" She crossed her arms as well. It was amazing how the same gesture could mean two entirely different things. 

"You'll find out eventually." His smile was huge now. All teeth, and clearly triumphant. 

She tried to contain her anger, but it didn't work at all. She stomped away, back to the front of the room. Probably where she would try to be the teacher's pet to get more information. Or maybe she already was the teacher's pet and was wounded because she didn't know. 

"She's such a bitch," Isaac said, his voice low. 

"We always think that about our exes." I winked and looked back up front. Klarke had just come out to address everyone. 

"Thanks to Jaeger and Jacobson, we now have our second chance to go after the wolves."

The room cheered.

"We will pack immediately and be off within the hour. Same teams as last time. They will lead the charge in Van One. I want to get on the road, so we will communicate on our way there. Get moving."

Everyone cheered again as they stood up. They went to the weapons, searching for the ones they wanted. It was interesting to see what weapons everyone preferred. Some liked daggers, some swords, guns, or even crossbows. I wanted to watch more, but I needed to make sure I got what I wanted. 

Gun and dagger. My two weapons. 

I pulled out a box of ammunition, checked the gun to make sure it was loaded with silver, and then put the small box into my back pocket. 

Isaac tapped my shoulder and placed an ear piece in my hand. Great, these again. 

"Are you ready to head out."

"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose."

"Klarke wants to meet us at Van One to discuss what's going on."

"Of course he does."

"Remember, grin and bear it." Isaac winked and turned to leave. I followed after him, winding through the halls until we were by the vans. 

"You two know the location, correct?" Klarke asked before we were even standing in front of him. 

"Oxleas Wood," I said. 

"Of course." Klarke nodded. "You're going to lead this one again. You're also going to be the first to get out."

It was like he was sending us on a suicide mission. He wanted to put us right in the line of fire without backup around us. 

"Everyone else will surround the location just like last time. If you see them, say the word, and everyone else will come in."

"You do realize these are werewolves, right? Heightened smell, and hearing? What if they hear us before we have the chance to get the word out."

"Well you better pray to God that they don't."

"If I had a God I believed in, then I would." I was done with the conversation. Klarke didn't care what happened to us as long as we got the wolves. 

I went around to the passenger side and got in, waiting for Isaac to finish up with Klarke.

"You really shouldn't have done that," he said when he closed the door behind him.

"I'm tired of tiptoeing around and stressing over what I should and shouldn't do. It's gotten me into the mess I'm in. And that asshole doesn't give a single shit about what happens to us. We could get our throats clawed out, but as long as they get the pack, he won't care at all."

The light on the earpiece flared to life and blinked, signaling it was now live. People filed out of the building and into their vans. I covered the earpiece with my hand. It may not cut off sound completely, but it would muffle it enough that no one would hear with everyone packing the vans. 

"Don't you ever just want to let everyone else know?" I asked. 

Isaac quickly covered his up as well. 

"Most everyone knows."

"Then why haven't you done anything about it? it's like two hundred to one."

"Because those aren't the real odds. Someone like him wouldn't play on their own. He has something or someone behind him. Or pulling the strings." Isaac uncovered his ear piece and put it in. The conversation was over. 

I did the same with my piece, and we pulled out and made our way to Oxleas Wood. 

Chatter came through over the ear pieces. It was clear people weren't as comfortable this time around. They knew almost nothing of what we were going to do. There was no lengthy plan Klarke had gone over. It didn't matter if it was the same idea as last time. It was a different setting, completely different. We wouldn't be surrounding a barn and a house, this was the woods. An element we weren't familiar with. 

They had every right to be nervous, but it was driving my anxiety up the wall. Chatter from hundreds of people all at once. I wished there was a way to turn it off. 

"Enough!" Klarke yelled. 

Everything went silent at once. 

"We are sticking to our same plan. Jacobson and Jaeger will go in first. They will scope out the area while you all get set. When they give the word, we will all move in, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" It was a boom within my ear. 

"Are there any questions or concerns, anyone who doesn't understand?"

His questions were followed by silence. 

"Good, then I expect it to be this silent the rest of the way."

Well someone seemed to be in a mood... more than usual. 

There was just the sound of the tires cruising down the roads, the occasional cough and clearing of throats. If anything, I think it made me more anxious than their chattering. 

"This is where we need to split. We're just over a mile out. Surround the area as best as possible," Isaac ordered. 

"We don't need thirty cars closing doors in the same spot. Spread out," Klarke reaffirmed. 

We were met with silence. 

Isaac drove around the area a little further before he put the car into park and got out. I followed after, Klarke's van pulled up beside us. 

"We're going to go downwind. We don't want them to smell us before we get there," I said. "You'll know when we need everyone to move in. Keep everyone downwind until you're needed in there. If you give us away, we're dead or they're gone."

Klarke nodded, but I couldn't help notice he didn't actually answer. He gave no reassurance that they wouldn't go upwind. I just had to hope the people in that area knew better and listened to me. 

I headed into the woods and Isaac followed after me. We could hear the clicking of firearms being checked and loaded as we carefully made our way. I watched the ground, making sure I didn't step on a twig or make too much noise. I didn't care if we were still almost a mile out, I didn't want to make a single slip-up. 

I pulled the gun out and held it in my hand. The cool metal helped calm my nerves just a bit. It was like I was back home and I had the familiar weight of my dagger and gun. It was just like then, I just needed to tap into that calm before the hunt. But it wasn't before the hunt anymore, we were on it. We were on our way to one of the most dangerous packs in the London area, and it was currently just Isaac and myself. 

Pushing a low hanging branch to the side, I let Isaac pass by first. We slowed down when we heard low voices. Talking. We'd found them already. It hadn't seemed like a mile, but then again it wasn't really easy to keep track. 

The wind shifted just the slightest amount and my back went rigid. One of the werewolves turned, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. I held my breath and prayed to whatever would listen that it wasn't us he smelled. 

The man turned back around, and more joined him. All different ages, men, women, even a couple children were in the area. 

I couldn't believe they would have children, but then it shouldn't have surprised me. They were most likely families. 

I started to wonder if our numbers would really be enough for them. They were smart, they had to be. They'd avoided The Torch for so long. And the creatures around the UK seemed to know a bit more about fighting than the ones back home. 

This could very easily be my last fight. 

Isaac looked toward me, his eyes asking if he saw what I did. A potential army. This pack could do massive damage. 

I nodded once and tapped the ear piece, giving him the sign to call the others in. it was time to move. 

"Move in, now." His words were barely a whisper, but they came through in the ear piece. 

I looked back to the werewolves talking and my heart went straight to my throat. 

What was he doing here? He couldn't be. It wasn't possible. There had to be an explanation. 

Quick footsteps came through the ear piece and my heart pounded. Everyone was on there way to kill every werewolf in this area, and Jared was standing not fifteen feet away. I had to do something. 

A shot rang out and I feared I was too late. I looked over to see Isaac's hand recoiling from the shot, and one werewolf went down. All heads snapped and looked our way, including Jared's. This was it, the fight was on, and my boyfriend, or ex, or whatever he was, was on the other side. 

*******

Dun, dun, duuuuunnnnnnnn!!! Here we are, the end of chapter 27. What do you think of this turn of events?

Remember to leave your comments below, and press that little star to give this chapter a vote if you liked it. The star is either right below this here, or there's another in the top right corner. Or you know, wherever that pesky little thing likes to hide on the app. 

Thank you all, and I'll see you next time!

Red Assassin