The sound of a voice echoing down the tunnel jolted Collin out of his sleep, his ears perked as he tried to take in what it was saying. “Rookie! If you’re not out here in the next five minutes I’m sending Nicky in after you!” The pegasus grumbled, annoyed, yet he sat up, flexing his wings as he stretched. He stood to leave when a low, sleep filled voice made him pause.

“C-Collin? Where are you going?”

He looked down at Sirena, seeing her eyes were barely open. She had been on bed rest for the past week or so, needing to be taken care of despite her constant protests. Her stomach was larger than he had ever seen it, and the frequent pains in her back were a signal that the foal was coming, and soon. He gave the mare a soft smile.

“Ember just needs me for something, that’s all. Go back to sleep, dear. I’ll be back soon.” She bobbed her head and then lowered it, letting her eyes shut. Collin left quietly, off to go see what in blazes did the Lead need from him.

“You called me, Sir?”

“That I did. Mark just informed me that we got some company on the south perimeter.”

“More Rouges, I presume?”

“No, worse. Vampires.” Collin cringed at the word. Vampires? Of all the things that could want to pass through their territory, those flamboyant, sparkly bloodsuckers were the last thing he wanted to hear about this early in the morning.

“Let me guess. You want me to go talk to them?”

“Precisely. I’d do it myself, but someone has to stay here and guard the place. And before you ask about Lovelace, I sent her to go help Mark keep these things at bay before you get there.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and Collin? Remember-” “Don’t strike unless they strike first, got it.” The pair stared at each other for a few seconds before Ember stepped forward and rested his forehead against the other's. “Good luck, Rooks,” he murmured softly. Collin nodded and pulled back, changing into his wolf form and taking off.

------()------

The run to the perimeter was short, although to Collin it felt like a life time, what with all the thoughts that were rushing through his head. He finally slowed when Mark and Lovelace came into view, the latter calling out to him. “Still can’t understand you, sweetheart,” he called back, making her roll her eyes. Mark came up to the male Alpha, then gestured with his head behind him.

“You got this covered, yeah? Lovelace and I were going to do a run around to make sure no more of those pale creeps are lurking.”

“Yeah, I got it. How many are there?”

“Five. One of them is so sassy I think they could compete with Sirena.”

“You're hilarious, Mark. Now go, both of you.” They both darted off, and the pegasus took a minute to look calm and collected as he headed towards the spot Mark had pointed to. When he arrived, a chorus of voices sounded all around him.

“Ooh, what do we have here? Another werewolf. At least this one looks cute.”

“Look at those feathers! They would look great on a choker.”

“Can he see us? I don't he can see us.”

His ears lowered. Wonderful. They were one of these types. Loud, obnoxious, and blunt. “No, I can't see you. I can certainly hear you though, and I think it would be best if we got this over with quick.”

“And he’s straight to the point. I like this fella already!”

Collin groaned. Five figures emerged from behind the trees, all dressed in black hoods, said hoods shielding their faces. One look at them all made Collin start to do what he did best: be sarcastic. “Oh, what’s this? Am I part of a cult now? Are we all going to hold hooves and sing Kumbaya?” One of the vampires gasped in disbelief.

“Oh no. He did not just diss on my hoods! I worked hard on these!,” she hissed.

“Kirstie, please,” another voice pleaded, this one deep and rumbly.

The tallest one, which Collin assumed was the Lead, stepped forward and let out a high pitched screech, silencing the other two. They all pulled off their hoods and stared him down, sending shivers up and down his spine. The towering beige unicorn raised a hoof to fix his neatly groomed blonde mane, sharp ice blue eyes unwavering as he stared at the pegasus across from him. “So, werewolf. Should we just cut to the chase?”

“I’d appreciate it. But names first.”

“Scott.”, the unicorn replied, redirecting his gaze to a tan coated pegasus mare with long silvery grey hair. “Kirstin.”

The next a tall dark brown earth pony stallion with short black hair. “Kevin.”

Then another earth pony, this one's coat a shade lighter than Scott’s and he was the same height as Kevin, sporting dark brown hair and a thick beard. “Avi,” his low voice rumbled.

Last a short tan unicorn, with short dark brown hair to suit. “Mitchell, but call me Mitch.,” he said matter of factly.

If he wasn't standing in front of him, Collin would of thought him a female, with how feminine his voice sounded. Scott nodded once, then arched an eyebrow. “That satisfactory enough for you?”

“It’ll do. Now what do you want from us?”

This question make Scott smirk. “Oh, you know. Nothing major. We’ve been traveling these woods for days, and not once did we see anything large enough to provide food for the lot of us.”

“We’re here to take your crap!,” Mitch suddenly blurted, earning a cold glare from the other unicorn. “Sorry.”

Scott huffed and turned his head. “I believe what my mate was trying to say was a contribution to our cause would be very much appreciated.”

Collin’s eyes then narrowed. Something was off about this group, he could smell it. He decided to play rough and see what would happen. “Well tough luck, you giant. We got enough mouths to feed as it is. So if you could be so kind as to turn y'alls cult looking butts around and go back from whence you came, I think we're done here.”

One of Scott’s eyes twitched, and his tail thrashed wildly behind him. “I-I’m sorry? I’m finding it hard to believe that you just dismissed me.”

“Sure did, Scotty boy. Now scram before I call in the rest of my pack.”

Both eyes were now twitching, and the unicorn’s ears were lowered. The eyes turned a vibrant red, the other four following his lead, five pairs of red eyes glaring at Collin with unbridled hatred. Large bat wings burst from their backs, their coats becoming dull and dingy. Sharp, glowing white fangs peeked out from their lips as they snapped their jaws and snarled at him. The dark blue pegasus, to his own surprise, was rather unfazed by all this. He knew that this fight wasn't going to have him get out unscathed, but he didn't care, he was up for a challenge. Letting his own eyes fade to white, he growled back just as fiercely. His wings ruffled menacingly, and he bared his teeth, taking a battle stance.

Transforming quickly, he narrowly dodged an attack from Mitch as he leapt at him, claws fully extended. The vampire hissed as he landed in the dirt, spinning around to pounce on him again. The others tackled him as well, quickly bringing him to ground as their claws sliced through his skin in multiple areas. He howled in pain as a claw cut a large gash on his right eye, forcing him to close it, which now limited his vision. The vampires took quick note of this, using it to their advantage, digging their claws and teeth in deeper. Collin’s heart thumped harder as he felt a set of fangs press against his neck. He remembered what he learned in training, and let his body go limp.

The bites and jabs stopped, and the group backed away, staring at the body on the ground. “Is he dead?,” Kirstin asked. Scott shook his head.

“No. He’s only playing dead to get us to leave him alone. Well I ain't. All of you back up.” They obeyed, going back a couple feet. The unicorn slowly crept towards the wolf, looming over him. “I know you aren't dead, werewolf. Get up.” As much as he wanted to, Collin stayed still, as still as a log. Scott kicked him in the stomach. “I said 'get up’.” There was no movement, not even the bat of an eyelash. The vampire stared at him for a few moments, then shrugged, lowering his head to land the final blow.

What he didn't expect, however, was the sudden blur of fur and his neck in Collin's jaws. What was brief panic before turned into on growing fear as the dark grey wolf started to bite down hard. A garbled cry escaped Scott's throat, and he scratched at his opponent in an attempt to get him off. He struggled to breathe as his windpipe was closing up, and with a sickening crunch, his body slumped as it was crushed. The others looked on with horror filled eyes as they watched the werewolf proceed to rip out their Master's trachea, then the bones in the back of his neck until his head sat cleanly detached from the rest of his body. Collin lifted his head, staring them each dead in the eyes. “Anyone else want to try me? I’ve got all day.,” He offered, spitting out a wad of blood onto the grass. No one else dared to move forward, instead they all moved back, glancing quickly at each other before turning tail and retreating. The now pegasus heaved, his body racked with pain from the numerous wounds that were inflicted on him. His ears perked as a voice rang out in his head.

“Collin!”

It was Speckle. Her voice was urgent.

“Speckle, what is it?”

“It's Sirena. Her water just broke. She needs you now!”

There were no more words that needed to be said, as the stallion ran home faster than he ever had in his life.

Author's Note

[i~~]Hmm, I wonder who those vampires were referenced after.~~.. For real though, writing Scott as a evil character was thrilling/heart crushing for me since I love him so much hehhh... Anyways, hope you enjoyed it! Four more chapters to go, we're in the final stretch boys!