Page 1 of Kitty Cat

Visions

Coveney, on your left!

Hearing his Alpha’s warning, the Head Enforcer of the Wyvern Pride turned just in time to block the jaw of the wolf, preventing him from aiming for his neck, but the shifter still bit his flank pretty hard and deep.

They were outnumbered, practically six to one - seven felines against three dozen wolves - but seeing his wound, Rye still ordered Coveney to get back to their pride house.

I can still help,the tiger said through the pride link.

He probably could, but at what price? The gash needed to be bound, or he’d bleed out at the entrance of their territory.

In other circumstances, Ola could have healed him, at least partially, but the lioness was currently relentlessly fighting against three females. Stopping to heal him right now was the equivalent of asking for a break, so she could make a cup of tea and eat muffins.

Go help Jas,Rygan replied, referring to their strongest female.

Jas hadn’t been happy about it, but she’d stayed behind, with the non-fighters and the children. She was too far for Rye to get a good reading on her through the pride link, but he sensed some distress, which meant that some wolves had made it past their lines of defense.

Fuck.

Coveney didn’t protest, presumably feeling the same call coming from the rest of their pride. Blood trailing him, he ran towards their homes.

Satisfied his Head Enforcer wasn’t in imminent danger anymore, Rye grabbed the wolf on his back by the scruff of his neck, his long fangs breaking the skin, and threw him at the nearest wall. He jumped on the one standing in front of him, claws digging in its back before his teeth closed on the wolf’s face. Now those were taken care of, he turned to Tracy. Ola was dealing with more opponents but Tracy was younger, and more vulnerable. His claws hooked on the flanks of one of the wolves attacking her, and tore through him.

Taking a second to observe their progress, he saw that his pride wasn’t nearly as outnumbered now. Rye had incapacitated at least ten wolves, but the real hero was Daunte, his crazy-ass Beta: the humongous, graceful panther was killing a wolf every other second. The others weren’t doing badly either.

They were winning.

Until they lost everything.

In the distance, Coveney roared, a gut-clenching sound that made them all stop and turn in the direction of their home. With some effort, Rye managed to push through the pride link, despite the five miles separating them, and asked his Enforcer,What is it?

Coveney shared what his eyes saw.

Fire. Their house was burning, each door and window reinforced, barricaded. No scream came from within.

Their pride members were already all dead.

* * *

Coveney cursed like a sailor, while Daunte punched the wall, enraged, sick to his stomach. The younglings in their pride, their submissive…they were all dead.

The only thing keeping them sane right now was the fact that it hadn’t happened. Yet. They were all gathered in the common room of their pride house, and there was no wolf in sight. But what they’d all seen would happen, if they didn’t change the course of their actions.

Blessing the day when their Seer had joined them, as he often did, Rye closed his eyes, tuning out his pridemates’ distress and trying to concentrate on finding a solution.

They didn’t have a lot of time; whenever Hsu had a vision, they needed to move their asses and act fast, if they wanted to avoid the outcome she’d foreseen. They’d ignored her once - because who would believe the word of a six year old child no one knew a thing about? - and they’d paid for it in blood.

Never again. Three years had passed since, and the child had saved their skins so often it was almost embarrassing.

“Can you concentrate for me, puppet?” he gently asked her.

It was a heavy burden to place on a child’s shoulders but what choice did they have?

Hsu nodded, and took his hand.

He ran through solutions; attacking first, blocking their gates, moving the pride, keeping some fighters behind…

No, no, no, and definitely not. Hsu shared her visions with him as he thought of different paths, and all he saw was more fire. Blood. He could even smell it, which meant that their little Seer was getting stronger.

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