They come in the middle of the night.

Immediately they got passed the barrier, there was a loud bang, like an explosion. It startled all Astirians awake and immediately they were on their feet or sitting up, fear began to sink into them.

Cobie scrambled off the bed and grabbed the gun he kept on the bedside drawer. Erik made his way to the window, his eyes widening at the bright dark red color the sky was. Evil was within Astir.

The Alpha was here.

"Where are the kids?" Erik asked through the pack link as he made his way towards Cobie who was pulling out his duffle bag from the walk in closet.

"Pytor's got them." came Michel immediate reply.

"I need to get to your study. It's got a rounded view." Cobie said as he heaved the bag onto his shoulder. Erik grabbed Cobie's hand and led him out of the room. Everyone was running helter skelter as Erik led Cobie towards his office.

"They brought an EMF, all signals all down. We can only communicate through the pack link." Gabriel's said, his voice loud in Erik's ears. Erik looks at Cobie who had gone still.

"Cobie l-"

"Colson and Pa." Cobie turned around and took the stairs up, running as fast as the duffle bag would allow. Erik doesn't hesitate to follow his mate up the stairs, his promise to keep them safe ringing in his ears. They bump into Colson who was carrying his own duffle bag with Pa right beside him.

The twins hug as tightly as they could before they pulled apart.

"We need to get to Erik's office." Cobie said and then looked at his Alpha. "Did you get the chance to plan How the pack warriors would be dispatched?"

"No. We just only had training this morning." Erik replied as they walked down the stairs and headed towards his office. Erik could still hear the wolves running around, he could feel their fear in the pack bond.

"How about sending some to the Elders, another to the orphanages, schools and dorms, and hospitals..." Cobie said as they rushed down the hallway. "Aetos can assist with any other thing. Colson and I will take it from up here." Cobie adds just as they pushed through door of Erik's office.

"Don't come down and just stay up here, okay?" Erik asked, reaching up to cup Cobie's cheeks. "Don't come down. Please." Erik begged. He leaned down to press a desperate kiss to Cobie's lips.

"I'll be here and I'll be safe." Cobie promised. "Please be careful and don't die or I'll bring you back to life and kill you myself."

"I promise."

Erik looks at Cobie for a few seconds before pressing one last kiss to his mate's lips.  He looked at Pa and Colson who were standing behind Cobie and said.

"Be safe."

"We will."

Erik nods and after taking one final glance at Cobie, he walks to the nearest window and jumps right out. He lands on one knee and if it was any other time, Cobie would have snickered at Erik's hero landing but this time, they were facing a deadly threat.

"Let's set up." Cobie told his brother. Just as he pulls out a rifle from the bag, a loud piercing scream filled the air. It was sharp and loud and was so full of pain that it made Cobie wince.

Everywhere fell silent after that. It was so quiet that it felt like Cobie could hear his heartbeat and could feel every fast beat. A cold still ran down his back and that's when he smelt it.

The smell of something dirty and decayed.

The berserkers were here.

"Hurry. Strap in and attach the scopes, we're gonna need them." Cobie instructed. "Use the muzzle too, we want to be as quiet as possible when taking shots."
Cobie grabbed his guns and set them up by the window facing the back of the house, that was where the wolves would most likely pass through because of the forest.

"Berserkers are going to flood in soon. You can smell them already." Cobie informed Colson and Pa. "We can differentiate them from Astir wolves by their paws and there's also the little fact that Astir wolves are bigger."

"How much bigger?"

They were cut off by a loud roar. Colson watched as Se Ju ran out of the house, his limbs shifting as he did and in the blink of an eye, the doctor was gone and standing in his place was a huge autumn colored wolf standing at 6ft.

"That much." Cobie said with a smirk while gesturing at Se Ju.

Colson stared gobsmacked at the wolf. Pa on the other hand actually spoke. Pa was a man of little words and only spoke when he deemed it right.

"What the fuck?"

"Yeah. My thoughts exactly." Cobie grinned. "In case the wolves are running and you can't really make out the size, check for the paws. The hairs on the paws of the berserkers are bright red and they're also missing clumps of fur on their bodies."

"Alright! Let's do this."

Cobie nods and turned to his window. He drew the curtains down until it perfectly hid his guns well. He grabs th gun and looked through the scope, zooming in as he watched the forest.

It took a beat of silence before Cobie noticed it, well heard it it more like. Something was moving through the forest at a fast pace and was getting closer by the second. Cobie angles his gun towards the direction of the sound and took a deep breath as he stared through the scope. The berserker was fast but Cobie was faster. He let out the breath he was holding and pressed the trigger. The wolf let out a whine before it hit the ground.

As he kept watching, he hoped Erik was alright. No one was prepared for this kind of attack. They had expected a couple of days at least but not this. Cobie bit his lip as he tried to calm his nerves and push his fear away but how could you face someone who tormented you for so long? Someone who made you want to slit your wrist in order to escape him?

So yeah. Maybe they were safe up here.

Astir wolves and the berserkers tumbled into the backyard, snarling and snapping at each other. Cobie and Colson don't hesitate to start to start shooting, aiming right for the smelly wolves with red paws.

Cobie glanced around, trying to spot Erik but he hasn't seen any sign of his mate yet. The fear within him was trying to tear its head but he just couldn't let it. He was going to stand his ground. He had forgotten to tell Erik to keep pack warriors here at the pack house. It seemed like they were just going to keep themselves safe.

Pa throws him an extra magazine and Cobie reloads. He looks through his scope, zooming in to make sure he doesn't miss anything.

The thing with Unseelies is this. They leave black fairy dust as they flew unlike the Seelies whose dust was gold. Unseelies were aggressive with sharp fangs and yellow eyes.

"Colson, we've got an Unseelie problem." Cobie said as he watched the black crowd of black dust getting closer and closer.

"We can't shoot them. They're too fast." Colson replied as he swaps his rifle for a sniper rifle with a wooden grip.

"We can make it snow. They hate the cold." Cobie spoke.

"It seems like everything is making a bee line for the house." Pa said as he puts the bullet into the magazine. "Your Alpha needs to come back."

"He will."

"Let's make it snow." Colson said, his voice shaky. Cobie knee it was fear. Pa took over one of the snipers and tried to help. Cobie and Colson walk to the middle of the room and turned around so their backs were pressed against the other and raised their hands out, towards the direction of the window.

"Deep breaths."

"Deep breaths." Cobie mirrored. He gathered the energy around him and a scent descended, the air thick with it. The twins close their eyes and then dropped their hands at the same time. Immediately their hands dropped, snow began to fall. The tips of their fingers have turned light blue.

The snow slows down the Unseelies. Some of them were trying to avoid each drop of snow, letting out loud shrieks of pain when the ice touches their skin. Cobie goes back to his gun and gauged the situation. The wolves and Cast-outs Goblins were making their way closer to the house. From the window, Cobie could see Astir wolves but there was still no sign of Erik.

"Do you see Erik on the other side?" Cobie asked Colson.

"How would I know what his wolf looks like?" Colson asked and that's when it clicks for Cobie. Colson and Pa don't know that Erik couldn't shift. They had seen his claws and his eyes bleed red but they didn't know he couldn't fully shift.

"Erik doesn't —" Cobie gestured towards the wolves down. Pa and Colson stare at him with wide eyes once they understood what Cobie had said.

"Tell me you're joking..." Colson asked as he grabbed his gun and shot at the nearest berserker, hitting it right in the skull. The cloud of Unseelies had reduced but the remaining few were still coming closer to the house.

"I'm not."

"But he's an Alpha."

"So what?" Cobie snapped at Pa who raised both hands up in the air in an act of peace.

Conversation died down after that. Cobie and Colson focused on trying to reduce the number of berserkers coming towards the house but it seemed as if the more they kill, even more took their place.

"I'm going down there." Pa said after a few minutes.

"No." Cobie and Colson chorused.

"I can't stay up here, doing nothing." Pa tries to explain.

"Pa."

"I'll be fine. I'm a Beta and you both have my back." Pa said. He doesn't give them a chance to reply. He made his way towards Cobie's window, pulling off his shirt as he went. Pa looks at Cobie.

"Take care of your brother." Pa said.

"Always." Cobie replied immediately.

Pa gives him a nod and jumps right out the window, shifting as he went so he falls onto his paws when he reaches the ground. The cloud of Unseelies had gotten even closer, they were almost close to the window. Since the berserkers, Cast-Outs and Unseelies were here, that meant he wasn't far away either.

Cobie and Colson were distracted a bit once a loud howl pierced the air. It sounded painful and it felt like Cobie's heart was being squeezed. That was definitely Erik. He doesn't know how he knew but he just did.

The howl had definitely been Erik's.

Cobie grabbed the window sill and poked his head out, he had half the mind to jump out and run towards the direction of the howl.

"Look who it is!" A female voice sneered.

Cobie looked down instantly and his eyes widened when he saw who was standing there. She looked better for someone who was poisoned for a few days and released yesterday. Her white hair was pulled into a tight pony tail and she was naked, her feet bare.

"Why don't you come down and play, little fishy? I know your brother is up there with you." Meg sang, her arms crossed in front of her chest. The sun was beginning to rise, washing everything a soft gold. In the light, Cobie could see the bite make on her chest, right above her right boob.

She was mated.

Cobie's blood grew cold when he realized what that meant. She had kept her word. She was now the Luna of the pack. No wonder she healed that fast.

"Listen to your mother and come down here!" Meg snarled.

Cobie took a defensive stand in front of the window, trying his best to shield Colson from her words.

"I'm fine where I am, Meg." Cobie spat at her. It was still snowing but at the spike of Cobie's anger, the wind began harsher and the snow fell fast. Cobie ignored the shrieks of the Unseelie.

"Respect your Luna!" Meg screamed, her face pinched.

"No! I am THE Luna!" Cobie snapped, his voice coming out stronger than it had ever been.

"Why don't you come down and say that to my face!"

"I'm fine where I am, Megan."

This causes her to snarl. Meg tries to take a step towards the house but something pushed her back. Kinda like she had touched a high voltage of electricity. In the blink of an eye, Aetos was standing there, his hands black with mistletoe. He had surrounded the entire house with it as per Erik's orders.

"You have the undead working with you. That's dirty." Meg tsked.

Her words caused Colson to move. Without thinking, Colson made his way to where Cobie was standing, his hands found the gun, his eyes found the target and the bullet hit Meg in the stomach.

"Watch your fucking mouth." Colson yelled, anger making his heart beat go crazy. He hadn't wanted to step in as Cobie spoke to Meg but when she called Aetos dirty, it was like he couldn't stop himself.

Meg laughed. "Your bullets won't do anything to me." She grinned, her claws pushing through her nail bed. She tried to launch herself at Aetos but stopped after one step.

The place the bullet had hit had turned black and it was quickly spreading. Meg screamed when she saw this, she tried to claw it out. She dug her claws into her stomach and pulled out skin after skin, flesh after flesh.

"What did you put in this??" She screamed, dark liquid falling down her face as she did.

Cobie and Colson just smirked. She didn't need to know that they had added an Addonexus blood to their mix.

"What do you mean he's an Addonexus?" Colson asked as he points at Toby who was seated across them in the sun room.

Cobie smiled at his brother. "He's an Addonexus. His name is Toby and he's my employee at the clinic."

"Your brother is telling you the truth."

Colson shook his head and leaned back against the couch and crossed his arms across his chest. "Nope. I don't believe it."

"How about now?" Toby asked and Colson gasped when he sees Toby's eyes turn black and crack liked it was made of glass or tiny spider webs.

Cobie had gotten the idea after training and had immediately called Toby. Cobie and Colson laid out all their bullets and a couple of daggers on the ground and Toby had slit his wrists. As an Addonexus, Toby's wasn't red but a bright yellow. Once the blood touched the bullets and daggers, it made a sizzling sound before completely drying off in seconds. It was the final trick Cobie had and he hoped it worked.

Cobie grinned as he watched Meg fall on her knees, black liquid standing her naked body. Her lips were blue and her claws were falling off. Aetos doesn't snap her neck in half even though he wants to. He knew the twins needed to watch her die by their hands, they needed the satisfaction of the kill.

Meg falls face flat onto the ground, her hair falling to the side. Her eyes were opened and so was her mouth but her heart had stopped. She was dead.

The excitement and satisfaction was short lived. A man emerged from the trees, walking through the fighting wolves like he was walking down a red carpet. He had on a black pinstriped suit and a black shirt, he was bald and there was not a speck of blood on him. The man had laughter lines by his eyes and bright red eyes.

"Fantastic show, boys." The man said and Cobie goes still. He staggers backwards a bit and then let out a loud cry when he sees a berserker drag something close.

No, not something. Someone.

Erik.

Cobie stared with wide eyes at his mate. He turns around and rushed down the stairs without thinking or hesitation. He tore out of the house despite Aetos and Colson screaming for him. He made his way to where Erik's body was lying. He falls into a heap beside it and cradled Erik's head.

He wasn't breathing.

Erik wasn't breathing.

"Tsk... I thought I raised you better than this?" The bald man growled. "Won't you come and give your dad a hug?"

Cobie doesn't listen, he just stared down at Erik's face. Erik wasn't breathing. His mate wasn't breathing. A sharp pain pierce through him and Cobie lets out a loud cry.

—

*author walks away*