Page 4 of Her Eternal Mate

“Get out of the woods, you fools!” Griswold yelled but to no avail. Even though the vampires were greater in number, we had the element of surprise and were making good use of it.

Alexis had taken to the trees and was atop the branches. She lunged at the vampires below her, killed them, then went back up in the trees. It was an effective strategy that was working wonders for her. As for Vince, he was darting between trees, slashing at the vampires as he moved, knocking them out with swiftness. The rest of the wolves had flooded the forest and were everywhere, surrounding the vampires from every direction.

That left the matter of Griswold to me. I had to end it now before it got out of hand.

“You think the forest will avail you? You are wrong. We are the sons of the forest. Not you,” Griswold said. “Long before the first werewolf had even stepped onto this country, the vampires were the denizens of these woods, preying on the people.”

This was just a bluff coming from him. He could already see, just as I could, that being driven into the forest had thrown the vampires. Their numbers were being reduced significantly by the werewolves, who were better attuned to the ways of the woods.

I jumped in the air, ricocheted off the tree nearest me, and collided with Griswold’s upper body, causing him to topple and hit a tree behind him. He was so huge that the tree shook when Griswold collided with it. Instead of reeling away from me, Griswold tore off a large branch and brandished it in front of me like a spear. I leaped yet again, this time landing on top of the branch and using it as leverage to pounce further and claw out Griswold’s face.

My attack was successful as I dug my claw into his face and tore out one of his eyes. Griswold howled in pain and fell to his knees, his hands holding his bloodied face. Upon seeing their leader fall, the vampires halted for a moment.

However, Griswold was not deterred by the lack of one eye. Instead, he wiped the blood off his face and yelled furiously as he charged at me. I didn’t have enough time to recover from my attack. Griswold’s body hit mine and threw me into the air. I was flung over the canopy, and the wind drove out of my chest. Upon landing, I struggled to breathe, but Griswold grabbed my legs and pulled me toward him before I could recollect myself.

I shifted back to my human form to get free from his death grip. Once I’d turned back human, I stood up, holding my chest, and recovered my breath.

“You fight admirably, Wilhelm,” Griswold said. “Let it be known that I commend your efforts and that I hold you in great regard as a valiant opponent. But all your valor and courage are for naught.”

“I’m not the one who just lost an eye and half of his men,” I said. “I don’t even need to be in my wolf form to beat you.”

Will, what are you doing? He’s twice your size.Alexis called out.

Don’t worry. I’ve got this, I reassured her. Of course, I was not going to fight him one-to-one. I could see that he towered over me. But that did not mean that I didn’t have a plan. I intended to draw him away from the vampires and lure him out to the cove. With the element of surprise in my favor, I’d be able to kill him in the cove.

Before I could even think about enacting this strategy, Griswold’s punch landed on my face. I remained on my feet, recovering quickly from the punch and realizing at the same time that my strategy would never work. He was too fast, too aggressive.

Instead, I lifted my hands and rolled them into fists.

“Come on, then!” I said, beckoning him to fight me.

“Are you kidding me?” Griswold laughed.

He was not laughing anymore when I landed a hard punch on his face and caused him to howl in pain. I’d just hit where his eye used to be. I wasn’t above the odd low blow, especially not when it came to defending my land.

Griswold grabbed me all of a sudden in a bear hug and threw himself off the cliff side in the woods. He did this with such swiftness that, at first, I did not even comprehend what had happened. But as we fell from the cliff, I quickly repositioned myself on top of him and let him take the brunt of the fall. He fell with a loud thud and stayed there motionless, an eyeless monstrosity with bulging muscles.

I looked up and saw that both of us were at least twenty feet below the main fight. It was much more silent here, and the rainwater hadn’t reached the deep recesses of this drop. The ground was dry and vast in front of me. Behind me, there was a small cave on the side of the cliff.

Somehow, in all the time that I had spent in the forest, I had never come across this place before.

Griswold was now stirring from his unconsciousness. He woke up with a start, growling as he sat up, rubbing his hands on his head.

“You took me for a fool,” I said. “You thought that I’d not defend my people?”

“The same people that handed you over to the Occultist? Why does your loyalty lie with them?” Griswold asked as he got up on his feet. I was surprised at the level of nuance he was showing despite the injuries he bore. Perhaps, after all, he was a worthy adversary.

“The sins of the father are not for the children to bear. Whatever Fred did was on him and him alone. His grandson fights alongside me as dearly and bravely as any loyal pack member,” I said, advancing on him with my fists raised.

“You and your pack have shown some resolve. Pity it won’t be enough for what lies ahead,” Griswold said. “I have traveled across oceans and continents for vengeance against my kin. I shall not surrender so lightly.”

“Ralph was your brother?”

“No,” Griswold said, shaking his head. As he shook his head, blood dripped from his eyeless socket on the forest floor. “He was my father.”

I had never considered that someone such as Griswold could come from someone like Ralph. Ralph was short, long, and lean. Completely the opposite of what Griswold was. Was this vampire lying?

“It is unbelievable,” I said.