Chapter 17

Once the meeting was over it was now time to prepare for the actual battle.

Raphael assembled his stealth team. He had four hunters, four stealth and three warrior Lycans. And one strategist. Himself.

He went over their mission. They would go through the second story window once The other stealth team gave the signal. They checked supplies, weapons and chains. Raphael made sure that everyone's the stealth teams would have chains. Because they were the ones most likely to run into Elves. They each wore a bronze or copper chain that would protect them from most of the Elves magic.

They waited till nightfall. The Alpha headed off with the main army, and the two stealth teams went to their positions. Raphael's team's position was to the west, the other team went further to the east. They waited on a hill for the signal. Half of the team had shifted.

When stealth Lycans shifted they could block their scent and somehow trick the mind so that you could hardly see them. Raphael wasn't a stealth Lycan so he didn't understand it.

They watched as the Alpha charged. It had been a long time since the Alpha had led an attack. He usually left it to his Beta and Gamma. They soon received the signal to move in.

They scaled the house Raphael went last. He watched for any sign that their plan was known but so far so good.

-Second hall.- he mind linked as they walked silently down the steps. No one had seen them yet. It almost felt to easy. -Keep your guard up.- he said.

They reached the point where they were to split up. He and a couple other Lycans went downstairs to the containment cells, while the others would search the house.

As he walked his nose was assaulted by the putrid smell of stale urine, blood and rot.

They got to the base of the stairs and noticed that it was pitch black. Lycans could see pretty well in the dark but not amazingly. They turned and with their noses and hearing picked their way through the maze of cells. They found a few warriors, and some other Lycans. There were some children, but luckily not a lot.

They were about to head back up the stairs when he heard something.

-Did anyone check that room?- he asked he looked back and in the dim light from the stairs saw his team shake their heads.

He walked cautiously toward it. The door had no windows, just a handle. He put his hand on the handle and turned, to his surprise it was unlocked. It crossed his mind that it could be a trap, but it was to late the door was open.

He looked around the small, dark and dank room. It smelled ten times worse in here than it did in the other cells. He saw a small figure in the back corner to the door. They were sitting with their head between their legs, so he couldn't tell the gender. He slowly approached them, as he got closer he smelled something, they were female, and she smelled like a shapeshifter, 'Why would shapeshifters treat their own kind so horribly?' He thought as he crouched in front of the girl. Her hand were shackled to the wall. As he got closer he smelled something familiar, she smelled faintly 'Lycan?' He thought confused. 'How could she smell like a shapeshifter and a L-' then he remembered around thirty years ago there were reports of Lycan/shapeshifter hybrids. A sick, twisted group of humans had been experimenting on them and had created many. They eventually died off, not knowing how to survive on their own.

'So how is this one still alive?' Raph asked himself. He gently place his hand on her shoulder and she flinched, and shuffled further into the corner.

"Shh, hey. I'm not gonna hurt you." He said gently, "I'm here to get you out. I'm here to rescue you." He watched as she slowly raised her golden haired head. He saw bruises on her pale face and a scar that went from her right eyebrow down to her cheek. Her wide eyes were like a lions, which signified her instinct animal. Shapeshifters appearance took after their instinct animal, the animal they would shift to on instinct. They could shift into other animals but it took more effort.

"You're here to get me out." Her small, frail voice asked.

"Yes."

"What about my papa?"

He looked at her confused, "Who's your papa?"

"Alpha Spruce." She cocked her head at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alpha Spruce!?" He said in disbelief. 'Maybe he adopted the girl.' He thought. The girl stood up and showed her height was five foot and that her clothes were old and dirty. 'How long has she been here?' He wondered. But no time for questions they had to get out of there.

Getting back to the window was no problem but the battle had surrounded the house. There were Lycans and shapeshifters at each other's throats, surrounded by the dead. He couldn't see the Alpha, but he could see one Elf.

He was standing surrounded by glowing black and green smoke. You could only see a dark figure inside, but Raphael knew that it was an Elf. Some Lycans attempted to attack him but they were just thrown back, convulsing in pain. Some just lay still like they were dead.

He was looking for another exit when he smelled ozone and felt his hairs stand on end.

"Duck!" He yelled as the lightning bolt struck the ground near the Elf.