Aro stood still with that endless irritating smirk along with his guards as his low-ranked non-gifted vampiric forces ran past to meet the wolves in combat.
Dean was the first to enter the fray, bulldozing half a dozen vampires before sinking his teeth into one. Then another, easily tearing them apart with Leah behind, quickly finishing off those who survived.
It wasn't long before it became chaotic, with wolves and vampires running around and clashing wherever they could, trying to one-up each other.
Remaining in pairs, the wolves kept a vigilant eye on one another, assisting each other whenever one of them was besieged by several vampires attempting to overpower them.
The first wolf to drop was a wake-up call, as Dean ordered them to keep focus, renewing their efforts to bite, tackle, slam, and scratch any vamp they could to death and protect the pack.
Aro keenly watched as the Golden Wolf took out many like they were nothing.
Caius regarded the unfolding scene with a frown. "That one poses a significant threat."
"Indeed," Aro concurred.
"Are you planning to take part?" Aro inquired with a hint of amusement, fully aware of Caius's earlier enthusiasm to engage in the conflict.
Caius merely scowled, choosing not to respond; it was typical of Aro to taunt him in moments of vulnerability. The traumatic encounter with werewolves from his past continued to linger in his mind.
"You two, take care of the Gold one, as for the rest of you, go and thin the herd," said Aro, picking out two of the physically gifted before sending them out into the field.
"And someone take out that damn formation, I'm growing annoyed seeing how easily they've taken those lesser fools down," said Caius disdainfully, observing Seth, Collin, and Brady with a couple of others running around together.
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(Gifted!) shouted one wolf as the battle raged on, alerting the others as his partner was struck with marbled bone spikes protruding from the back forearms of a vamp punching at him from the side.
In a swift attempt to help, the wolf bounded toward the vampire's exposed back, which erupted into a formidable wall of spikes, shredding the fabric and impaling the astonished wolf.
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The alert was issued too late for numerous individuals, despite prior warnings to remain vigilant before the battle commenced.
Even Dean, on the other side, was caught unawares as a couple of ice spikes struck him in the side, preventing him from chomping down on his latest victim's head, who quickly got to his feet and fled to safety.
Grunting, Dean pulled the nearest spike out and crushed it in his jaws, glaring at the perpetrator who was half running, half skating towards him.
(Dean!) cried Leah, sprinting over only to be cut off by a large ice wall with a wave of the vamp's hand, causing her to crash with a thud and a crack as it held.
Suddenly, a second vampire appeared behind the Ice user, advancing at an extraordinary speed as he bounced from foot to foot, launching himself forward like a rocket at Dean. Delivering a powerful dropkick that sent Dean soaring across the field, crashing into the tree line, and rolling out.
(I'm Coming!) said Leah, running after.
(Stop! They're focused on me. I'll take care of it, help the others,) said Dean, getting back up. They couldn't afford to lose too many wolves. It was clear they learned a lot from their time with Jacob, making the gifted that showed up an even bigger threat.
(Fine, but you're not allowed to die until I get pregnant,) said Leah half-jokingly, almost making him choke at the absurdity during such a critical time.
Looking out into the clearing, Dean spotted the ice user, but not the jumper anywhere, the faster of the two. Thinking quickly, he dodged to the side as the jumper slammed down, cratering the area where he once stood.
Straining to see through the scattered debris, Dean attacked, just missing as it jumped out, and then grunted as the vamp unexpectedly ricocheted off a tree and came right back, kicking him face-first into the ground. Simultaneously, an ice blast hit him as the ice user came into range, freezing the vicinity and trapping him in a block of ice.
Enraged, Dean flexed his muscles and broke free, rushing the ice user while keeping an ear out for the jumper's next strike. Unwilling to keep track of the vamp bouncing around from tree to tree above, occasionally breaking one, as it waited for its opportunity.
The ice user scoffed at the Golden Wolf's charge and called upon his powers to freeze the ground before him.
Unperturbed by the wolf's claws smashing through and keeping him from slipping, the ice user grinned as he neared the center.
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Leah sprinted back into battle, attacking the first vampire to cross her path, teeth shredding its outstretched limbs before dodging its two friends and retreating to find other wolves to pair up with and help while searching for Seth.
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Feeling pressured to do more when cries began ringing out as more wolves fell victim to surprise gifted attacks. Sam tried to take command and keep everyone going strong, but like Dean, he wasn't much of a speaker. (Remember, stay focused and stick together! You can mourn the fallen afterward. Do your best to keep others from falling!)
(Dammit, something keeps hitting me I can't see, I swear it's an invisible vamp,) cried one, and shortly thereafter fell with a piercing whine as the invisible foe struck again, mounting him and delivering strike after strike.
(Can anyone help him?) asked Sam.
(I'm on it... Got him,) said Paul, rushing to his side, soaring through the air, and biting the head off the clueless vamp covered in blood, rendering his invisibility useless.
(Good job, keep it up. There are far fewer of them now. We can do this!) said Sam, trying to keep up morale.
(We need help!) cried another.
(Explain! Don't just shout!) yelled Jared angrily, in no mood for stupidity. He and Sam were already busy going around helping, taking out as many gifted as they could, mostly of the strength-based variety.
(We're facing a vamp that keeps reforming, it won't stay down no matter how many times we tear it apart,) answered Seth in his stead.
Leah perks up and sprints towards them, (Have you tried crushing the head?)
(...No,) answered Seth as he avoided another vamp thanks to the timely help of Brady, giving him the heads up.
(Well, I'm on my way, but you should crush it and bury it, and if that doesn't work, you're stuck defending against him until Dean gets back, and at the moment he's facing off against two gifted near the edge of the clearing,) said Leah.
(Okay, will do,) said Seth, snapping off the arm again of the gifted vamp.
Spotting a wolf going down to three vamps dogpiling it, Leah veered off to help as his partner was distracted facing another.
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There was one wolf though, that ignored all that and had eyes only for the vamp that took Jake's life.
When the fighting first started, Embry was stuck behind a wall of vamps he didn't care about, killing all he could to get to who he wanted. It wasn't until Aro sent forth the gifted that his desired target began to move forward, inching ever closer.
Nearly in range, Embry patiently bided his time as he reflexively dodged and struck out at those near him, making sure never to lose sight of the one he truly wanted.
Quil had to work overtime to ensure he didn't fall to anyone else as Embry lost all semblance of coherent thought, becoming deaf to those around him. Dead set on his path of vengeance.
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Entering the center of the ice, his golden ear flickered before nimbly veering to his right. The jumper landing a spinning ax kick where he once was, cratering the location and causing debris and ice to shoot out.
"You idiot! I had him right where I wanted him!" shouted the ice user angrily.
Diving back in, Dean missed the vamp again as he jumped back out, landing casually next to the ice user.
"Whatever, not like he's much of a threat. Let's finish this and get back before Aro gets annoyed," said the jumper, brushing away his faults.
"Yeah, we'll see who he gets annoyed at when he takes your hand," the ice user sneered.
The jumper faltered slightly but jumped away when Dean arrived.
The inattentive ice wielder found himself in an unfortunate predicament, compelled to fall backward onto the ground. He utilized his ice abilities to propel the wolf above him with one hand while deftly maneuvering his other hand to glide safely beneath the perilous jaws.
Skating back around, the ice user looked at the wolf disdainfully, disgusted with his poor display against the beast.
He advanced directly towards the wolf, skillfully evading its head and sliding beneath it from the side. He created a small block of ice in front of his foot to halt his momentum, swiftly pivoting to place a hand on the wolf, aiming to freeze it from within. His eyes widened in astonishment when he realized that nothing occurred.
Noticing the wolf turning to strike, he just managed to get an ice shield up in time that shattered upon impact, pushing him back.
Sensing the jumper's attack, Dean swung his head around in a flash, snatching his extended leg right out of the air, shocking both vamps as the jumper fell limply to the floor with one less leg.
The ice user watched dumbfounded as the wolf took the head of his long-time annoyance and swallowed.
"You, you ate him?" the ice user stated more than questioned, not believing his eyes. A sense of dread crept down his spine as the wolf faced him.
Dean surged forward, dodging a flurry of ice spikes, smashing through an ice wall. Disregarding the ambush of an ice blade that slashed at his side as his body healed instantaneously, leaving no trace of injury as if the blade had merely passed through him like a ghost. He spun around, ducking under the subsequent swing of an ice axe wielded in the other hand, and lunged to bite the head off his opponent.
He wasted enough time here; it was time to get back to the battle.