Chapter 10: The Siege of Ashwood Hollow
The village square was on fire.
Clara stumbled into the open with Jonah at her side, lantern light flickering wildly against the snow. Screams pierced the night, blending with the furious howls of the beasts that tore through the streets. Shadows raced between buildings, hulking and swift, their shapes half-seen but unmistakably monstrous.
"Aim high!" Jonah bellowed, rifle cracking. "Keep them off the ground—make them show themselves!"
Men fired blindly, smoke and flame filling the air. Sparks rained from shattered lanterns, igniting dry timber. One of the houses burned, orange glow spilling across the snow, painting it the color of blood.
"God save us!" Marjorie shrieked from the tavern steps, her voice cutting through the chaos. She pointed a claw-like hand at Elias, who stood at the center of the square, coat torn, eyes flashing silver in the firelight. "He brought them here! He's one of them!"
Her words spread like wildfire. Terrified faces swung toward him, fear twisting into rage.
"He's right there—look at his eyes!"
"He fought that thing like he was one himself!"
"Kill him before he turns!"
"Quiet!" Jonah roared, but his voice was nearly drowned out by the storm of panic.
Clara's chest seized. She stepped forward, hands out, desperate. "Stop it! You'll waste your bullets on the wrong man—he's the only reason we're alive!"
But her pleas barely pierced the din. Another howl erupted behind the church, followed by a crash of splintering wood. Villagers screamed as a massive shadow bounded onto the rooftops, leaping with inhuman speed.
The beast descended on the square.
The men fired, bullets cracking through the night. The werewolf twisted mid-leap, landing hard among them, claws scattering men like children's toys. Blood sprayed. Screams tore the air.
"Hold the line!" Jonah shouted, firing again. His shot grazed the beast's flank, earning a snarl that rattled Clara's bones.
Then Elias moved.
He lunged at the creature with a speed no man possessed, colliding with it before it could tear into the villagers again. Snow exploded under their weight as the two rolled, a frenzy of claws and teeth. Elias struck with bare hands, yet his blows landed like hammers. His eyes blazed silver, teeth bared sharp as daggers.
The villagers froze. Some raised rifles—not at the beast, but at Elias.
Clara's heart screamed in her chest. "No! Shoot the monster, not him!"
But even she couldn't deny the sight was terrifying: Elias and the werewolf looked too alike in that moment, locked in a mirror's fury, predator against predator.
The beast raked his chest, tearing fabric and flesh. Elias snarled—low, feral—and drove it back, his hands shifting, nails lengthening into claws that raked the beast's face. Black blood hissed on the snow.
For an instant, the villagers truly couldn't tell who was saving them and who was damning them.
The werewolf recoiled with a roar, retreating into the shadows of the alleyways. Elias staggered, chest heaving, blood running down his side. His claws trembled, shrinking back into human hands.
Marjorie's voice split the silence. "You saw it! You all saw it! He's one of them!"
Her cry ignited a frenzy. Guns swung. Shouts rose.
Jonah stepped between Elias and the rifles, fury blazing in his eyes. "If you want to waste bullets on the only thing keeping you alive, be my guest. Otherwise, shoot at the beasts tearing this town apart!"
His words jolted some sense into the men. They hesitated, then turned their fire back to the shadows. Still, the suspicion lingered, bitter and sharp.
Clara's breath shook. She reached Elias, her hands trembling as she touched his torn coat. "You're bleeding—"
"I'll live," he rasped, silver still burning in his gaze. He caught her wrist suddenly, his grip strong, almost too strong. "Stay close to me. No matter what you see."
Before she could answer, another crash tore through the street. This time two beasts surged into view, hulking and terrible, their eyes burning yellow in the firelight.
The square dissolved into chaos.
Men fired wildly. Women screamed, dragging children into doorways. One of the beasts barreled through the crowd, seizing a man in its jaws and shaking him like a rag doll before hurling him aside. Blood painted the snow in an arc.
The second beast charged the tavern, claws splintering wood as it tore at the door. Marjorie shrieked from within, pounding against the boards.
Clara's heart lurched. Without thinking, she grabbed a lantern from the snow and hurled it. The glass shattered against the beast's shoulder, flame licking its fur. It howled, rearing back as fire raced up its side.
The moment's reprieve was brief. It turned, eyes burning with fury, and fixed on her.
Clara froze. Her legs refused to move. The beast crouched low, muscles bunching to spring.
Then Elias was there.
He slammed into the creature mid-leap, both of them crashing into the tavern wall with a shudder that sent snow sliding from the roof. His claws tore deep, his teeth bared too sharp, too long. He fought not like a man but like something caught between worlds.
Clara couldn't breathe. She wanted to run to him, to pull him back from the edge, but Jonah's hand seized her arm. "Stay back—he's losing it."
She tore free, tears burning her eyes. "He's saving us!"
The beast shrieked, fire consuming its body as Elias drove it to the ground, pinning it until its movements stilled. He staggered back at last, chest heaving, silver fire blazing in his eyes.
And in the square, the survivors stared.
They had seen too much now. His claws, his teeth, the inhuman strength. Elias could no longer pass for a man among them.
The silence was broken only by the crackle of flames and the distant, circling howls of more beasts closing in.
Jonah raised his rifle—not at Elias this time, but toward the approaching shadows. His voice was grim. "If we're going to live till dawn, we need him. Monster or not."
All eyes turned to Elias.
And for the first time, he didn't hide. He stood tall, blood on his hands, silver fire in his eyes, his voice low and certain.
"I'm not your enemy. But if you want to live, you'll have to trust the monster you fear."
The townsfolk wavered, torn between terror and desperate hope.
And above them, the howls rose higher, closer, promising that the night was far from over.