Aura sped off toward the mountain pass where she could escape this madness. She firmly believed Enoch had lost his mind. Mating should not be forced on others; that was one of the things Alpha Demos had taught her when she was training to be a Huntress. She had thought Enoch had learned that too, but she guessed not. Aura prayed God would intervene, and smack some sense into Enoch. She maintained her incredible speed with Beta Nyko following behind her. Aura didn’t want anything to do with her so-called Alpha or Beta Nyko for that matter.

The two wolves left the temperate forest of the valley behind them as they entered the snowy pass to the Northern Mountains. Aura had been instructed to eliminate the greedy giant that held all those people captive in the labor camp. Nowhere in Lunaris were labor camps legal, so either way, Aura had a good reason to destroy the mining labor camp.

12 silent hours later...

Torak finally met up with Aura and Beta Nyko about two miles away from the mining labor camp. The camp was larger than Aura had expected. This was a solid operation with two enormous buildings and an array of mining tools spread about the fenced-in yard. It looked like a prison colony Aura had read about deep in Jotunuvar, the giants’ land. Giants had always been mysterious to the other races of Lunaris because they kept to themselves. Except for this one giant that was running this illegal mining operation. Why had the giant left his territory?

“The giant’s name is Henry the Horrendous according to the shifter in the camp. It’s mostly monkeys...I mean simian shifters, but there are some orcs, humans, and elves there too.” Torak described.

“There are elves down there? That’s not something you see every day.” Beta Nyko snickered.

Aura rolled her eyes and focused her attention on Torak. “Do you have a plan?”

“Two options. The first option, we could infiltrate and cause an uprising then attack Henry. The second option, we sneak in and poison him.” Torak suggested.

“The second option wouldn't work because we still have the guards to contend with. We will need the help of those in the camp to shut this place down.” Aura said.

Torak and Beta Nyko agreed to the second option. They made a plan for Aura and Nyko to go undercover in the camp, so they could rally the captives to their cause. Aura wanted a fair fight with Henry the Horendess despite Torak and Beta Nyko's protests.

Three days later…

Aura and Beta Nyko had quietly infiltrated the camp. It took a lot of convincing to get a group of captives to agree to aid them when they strike down the giant. Many of the laborers there were captured on their way through the mountains. The giant, Henry the Horrendas, had a group of well-trained orcs following his command, acting as both guards and trappers. Aura was glad that today they would bring this horrible place to an end.

The mines were dark and cold like the snowy terrain on the surface. Tunnels were lit with oil lamps, and the laborers were given shovels and pickaxes to burrow deep in the ground to find ether crystals. Ether crystals are conduits for magic in magical items. When ether crystals are combined with runes, the crystals can hold a magic spell. This kind of magic was used every day to help with mundane tasks and create intricate systems like indoor plumbing. Ether has been highly sought since there are only a few mines in Lunaris.

Aura, Nyko, and the other laborers were released into the mess hall to eat breakfast. This was where they were going to make their stand against Henry and his fifty or so guards. Aura made her way to the line to receive her daily rations of moldy bread and brown water. Nyko was not far behind her making disgusted faces at his food. He was in his dwarf form while Aura appeared in her human form. Aura felt a buzz in her head letting her know that Torak was ready to begin. She tried to suddenly get Nyko’s attention to confirm that he had received the signal, but Nyko looked at everyone else but her. All the laborers were dressed in brown sacks with little protection from the chilling weather outside of the compound. Aura finally got Nykos attention to signal the beginning of a riot.

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Chaos erupted in the mess hall. Torak rained down poison arrows on the guards. He took out twelve of them in a barrage of arrows while the laborers hid under the tables. Like a dance, Torak threw down Aura’s swords and Nyko’s hammer, and the two of them began to strike down orc after orc that had been weakened by the poison arrows. Torak shot down as many arrows as he could before Henry, the giant, picked up Torak. Nyko called out to the laborers for help, so he could help Torak. The laborers emerged from the tables picking up the dead orcs' weapons following Nyko into battle. Aura saw an opening to strike the giant and called out to Nyko to give her a boost. Nyko stood ready as Aura came running at him. She leaped toward him, and he pushed her up to the giant’s head.

Aura jabbed her swords into the giant’s back. A cry from the giant shook the mess hall. The giant swiped at his back to knock Aura off with one hand as he held Torak in the other. Aura pulled out one sword and shoved it back in the giant’s back higher up. She was attempting to scale the giant as she wiggled around evading the giant hand. It took all of Aura’s strength to pull the swords out and plunge them back into the thick skin of the giant. Aura was limited in her human skin even her speed was reduced as she swung and flipped around her blades to avoid each pass of the giant’s hands. The giant’s loud cries kept shaking the room as Aura slowly made her way up the giant’s back.

Nyko had success below driving back the orc guards with the laborers behind him. Only about half the guards were left, but Nyko had the advantage number-wise. Between strikes, he would glance up at Aura dangling from her swords trying to reach the giant’s neck and Torak squirming in the giant’s hand. Nyko needed to help them. “You,” Nyko called out to the leader of the simian shifters that he had spoken to the day before. “Take over. Lead them.” The simian shifter nodded. Nyko turned toward the giant’s heels. His new target.

Nyko smashed his hammer into the giant’s heel, causing the giant to wale and stumble. Aura clung to her blades as the giant stumbled and swayed. Nyko struck the heels continuously, forcing the giant to fall to his knees. Aura went flying with one of her blades into the air. She flipped and tossed trying to gain control of herself mid-air. Nyko came around and smashed his hammer onto the giant’s hands while the giant tried to grab him. The hand on Torak loosened allowing Torak to wiggle his hands free. Torak plunged his remaining poison arrows into the giant’s hand. The giant mumbled out profanities as Nyko continued to deliver blow after blow on the giant’s wrists. Aura crashed into the giant’s shoulder. She slipped down the giant’s back with her blade cutting into the giant’s skin as she fell.

The giant stood up trying to stomp on Nyko while he plucked out each of the arrows stabbed into his hand. Torak remained tightly squeezed in the giant’s wounded hand. Aura grabbed her second blade and jumped down to the giant’s feet. Nyko ran back and forth avoiding the giant’s feet as Aura jumped and plunged her sword deep into the giant’s heel. The giant shouted and threw Torak at the stone wall of the mess hall.

“Sorry, Torak!” Aura called out as she watched Torak’s body fall down the wall. The giant grabbed Aura and threw her at the wall next to him. The giant called her terrible names while he repeatedly threw Aura at the wall.

Nyko smashed his hammer over and over on the giant’s feet, heels, and lower legs, but the giant would not fall.

“Pathetic. You are all pathetic creatures!” The giant laughed.

If it hadn’t been for Aura’s endurance training, she would have blacked out by now. Her body ached from each slam of the wall, but she held onto a sword. Aura used her remaining strength to bounce over the giant’s hand and run up his arm. Her shifting magic faded from her weak body forcing her back into beast form. Aura forced her body forward up the shoulder. The giant tried to knock her off, but Nyko slammed his hammer hard onto each of the giant’s toes. The giant swiped up and down to both of them and missed.

“Henry…” Aura called out as she neared his neck. “Your greed...will be your...end.” Aura drove her blade as deep into the neck of the giant as she could. She forced the blade along his neck while blood gushed like a waterfall behind her. The laborers scrambled away as the giant fell backward crushing the last of the orcs.

Aura fell away from the giant’s dead body into Nyko’s arms. “Okay. You have earned the right to just call me Nyko. No Beta required.” Nyko said to the woman breathing heavily in his arms. “Aura, think you can shift back into a human?” He asked.

Aura closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could to will her body into a human shape. Cold magic froze her body as her fur burned away into skin and bones cracked into her battered human form. “I don’t know how long I can hold this form, but I will try. Also, please get me some clothes or a blanket. I am freezing.” Aura said with her teeth chattering.

Nyko’s face turned bright red when he realized Aura was completely naked in his arms. Torak limped over to them with the help of the simian leader. Nyko turned around to hide Aura’s naked body. Torak pulled off his cloak and threw it to Nyko. Aura covered herself with it, ending Nyko’s embarrassment.

With Henry the Horrendas and his followers dead, Torak led all the freed captives to the Kingdom of Regalia. Torak took the shifters to a colony deep in the Northern Mountains where they would be safe from the rest of Lunaris. The shifters did not want to leave their homeland, so the colony in the mountains was their best option to leave without fear.

Nyko carried Aura back to the valley where she could heal and rest. She had taken most of the damage herself in the battle, and struggled to remain conscious. Before they left the labor camp, Torak and Nyko set the place ablaze until it became ash, then they caused an avalanche to erase it from the mountainside. Nyko took Aura to the hospital in the underground village and reported the tale of Henry the Horrendas meeting his end at the hands of Aura. He truly believed she was the strongest she-wolf in Lunaris. Would she be the next Alpha Huntress? Or has Alpha Enoch angered the wrong she-wolf?