“Oh, but you should,” Val continued, walking behind her. “See, after you showed up, you just fucked up the whole pack. Worse, you fucked him up. Made him weaker, made him stuck on your sorry ass.”
Lyra turned around, not willing to deal with whatever this was. Whoever she was, Lyra didn’t care. “You better back off and focus on why we’re here. You have a problem with Levi and me, sure, but save it until we're done exterminating Ridgeshire of demons.”
“What makes you think you’re better than any of us?” Val asked, looking at her from top to bottom.
Lyra raised an eyebrow. “I have no idea who you are, but considering how you’re acting right now, I’m sure I’m better than you. We have a job to do, let’s try to get it done.”
Lyra turned and began walking, not allowing herself to be distracted by the woman. But she could hear the blood flowing in her veins, boiling with rage. She could hear Val’s heartbeat quicken with each step. Val was getting agitated, and Lyra had no idea why. She silently shifted her fingers into claws, just in case an attack came.
They walked silently for a few more minutes, and got to a large fallen tree that marked the end of their path. “I say we push forward a little bit, and if we don’t see anything, we turn around.”
“There’s nothing ahead, we turn around now,” Val replied, icily cold.
Lyra nodded and began walking back, waiting to see if there would be any calls from any of the others. Val stretched out her arms and cleared her throat. “You just ruined everything, and for what? A child that he doesn’t want, and you can’t control?”
“Don’t you dare talk about my son,” Lyra growled.
“Who gives a shit? You’re not even a dragon, you’re just some wild dog with hormonal imbalances,” Val continued. “Levi was meant for greater things, he was meant for someone better, not your sorry excuse for a being.”
“You keep talking, and you’re going to have to back it up,” Lyra replied, walking away. She paused as she realized what Val was talking about. “Greater things in this context is what—you?”Lyra chuckled as she saw the snarl on Val’s face.
“He was mine. We were fated mates, and he belonged to me. But ever since he met you at that dammed bar—”
“Listen, if you’re jealous of what Levi and I have, there’s nothing I can do. In fact, I hope that we can find a way to come together at the end of this, with the support of both packs,” Lyra continued, walking up to Val as she retracted her claws.
“Can’t happen,” Val shot back.
“Maybe not, but just look at the two packs here in Ridgeshire. We’ve already come together to save this town from the demons, why can’t we have Levi and me together?” Lyra asked. She looked up at Val. “I’m sorry I took him away from you. In a sense, I never meant to. But now that things are like this, we need support, as much of it as we can get. I would like you to stand with us when we try to convince the werewolves.”
Val relaxed and opened her hands for an embrace. Lyra stared at her for a moment, wondering if she was serious. Val wrapped her arms around Lyra, hugging her tightly for a moment before pulling away. She smiled and took Lyra’s palms in her hands.
“Lyra,” Val began with a sinister smile on her face, “I’d rather die than see a world where you and Levi live in happiness.”
“What?” Lyra asked, confused.
She spotted Val’s arm as it began to move, her fingernails shifting into claws as she lunged, targeting Lyra’s heart. Lyra tried to move her hands but saw that Val had grabbed both her hands. Lyra turned her body to the side at the last second, and the sharp-clawed hand was driven into the right side of her body. Lyra cried out in pain before hitting Val with a headbutt, creating space between them.
Val looked at her hand, seeing it covered in blood, she laughed. “I’m going to kill you, Lyra. I’m going to enjoy every single moment of it, and I’ll raise your son as my own just to spite you.”
Lyra groaned in pain. The blow was deep, causing her to bleed furiously. She drew her claws as well, her blonde hair turning white as fur began to cover Lyra’s body. “I’m going to rip you apart.”
Before either woman could move, Lyra realized that the demons were on them, with three juggernauts suddenly appearing behind her. Lyra turned around and ran, getting out of the way of the creature before it could bring its large hands down on her. The impact of the blow to the ground threw up dirt and dead leaves. Lyra leaped right through them and slashed at a smaller demon, taking off its head in a powerful single blow.
“Agh!” Lyra cried out as she felt pain run through her body from the injury she had sustained from Val.
Looking up, Val ducked left and right, moving quickly as one of the juggernauts tried to hit her.
Lyra moved fast as well, getting out of the way as the large demon threw a large branch at her.
A high-pitched sound came from somewhere in the forest, telling Lyra that the others had found demons. She jumped to the top of a tree, getting out of the way of the juggernaut. Lyra pulled herself up on the branch as Val was launched up into the air and slammed into a tree.
Lyra knew she had to make a call to the others. They were outnumbered. With three juggernauts, the best the two of them could do wouldn’t be enough. She had to get help.
As Lyra began tapping at the phone to get the sound to play, Val leaped up into the air behind her, slashing across her cheek and taking the phone along in the blow. Val shattered it in her palm as she dropped to the ground, looking up at Lyra with a bloody grin.
“We’re going to die!” Lyra yelled.
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Val replied before a juggernaut slammed into her from behind, planting the woman face-first into the dirt.