I was unsettled to see the look Tracy's family gave me. Looking down at myself I could understand it a bit but it still hurt. Mary didn't create an awesome looking armor like one could hope for, instead I looked like a green mummy or a swamp monster.
I retrieved my black lightning as I feared that the energy sparking around me could harm Mary while she was trying to protect me. Thankfully she was intelligent enough to leave my face and hands clear so I could see and fight if I needed too.
Dena trumpeted loudly causing the air around us to vibrate and my ears to ring. It had the desired effect though as the four smaller wolves backed away in fear. However the lead wolf howled angrily in response boosting the courage of the four beasts behind it.
I had hoped for a peaceful resolution where the wolves backed off after Dena and my display of power but there was no chance of that here. Together the five wolves rushed toward Dena with the alpha in the lead. The smaller wolves fanned out in a attempt to flank Dena as the alpha kept her attention to the front.
I couldn't help but worry for Dena's safety and was prepared to assist her any moment that I thought she might be in danger.
My worries proved to be completely worthless.
The alpha was far too overconfident in its abilities. It leapt into the air aiming for Dena's throat as the other four circled her. Once the alpha wolf was in the air Dena reacted quickly by grabbing it with her trunk and flinging it down onto the ground with great force making the ground shake a little from its impact. Before the wolf could recover Dena stomped down on its hindquarters with her front leg. I could hear the snapping of bones as the alpha yelped in great pain. The sound of their leader crying out in pain caused the other four wolves to hesitate and stop in their tracks a look of fear and disbelief in their eyes.
Dena didn't let up and skewered the alpha in the chest with one of her long sharp tusks. Within moments the alpha wolf was dead.
In truth, even though I watched everything from start to finish, I thought it was all rather anticlimactic. The alpha wolf was not even close to a challenge for Dena. I had no idea she was so powerful.
'You are on the same level as her?' I asked Mary.
'No, Dena is the weakest of the three of us master.' Mary told me.
The weakest? 'What of Nala?' I asked Mary.
'We are not sure which of us is stronger.' Mary told me though she seemed reluctant to admit it.
Dena glared at the remaining wolves as they cowered on the ground near her. 'Can you bring Nala to take charge of the ones she wants?' Dena asked.
I nodded then thought to Nala and explained what had happened then opened a space tunnel for her to come through.
I heard some gasps from Tracy's family when the space tunnel opened. A second later Nala strode out of the tunnel with a confident and if I do say so, rather sexy saunter. Nala glanced around once she arrived and spotted the four wolves as they cowered around Dena. Looking at the wolves she grimaced. "They aren't very strong." Nala complained to Dena.
"They are better than nothing." Dena retorted aloud. It was a bit odd to hear Dena's feminine and sultry voice coming from the over sized monstrous elephant.
Nala considered that for a moment but she still seemed skeptical. "Fine, I can take them in but I doubt any of them will survive and actual battle. The beasts around the hotel seemed fairly strong." she told us. "Let's go." she growled to the wolves who didn't budge a muscle.
Irritated Nala shifted into her beast form. I was surprised to see her own transformation. She was thirty feet tall and seventy feet long with golden fur that had a metallic luster to it. A black strip of fur resembling a bolt of lighting ran from her shoulder to her tail and seemed dark enough to absorb all the light around it. While she was physically smaller than Dena it was clear who was the stronger of the two. I had a feeling that if the two of them had a 'discussion' on who would be the leader of my beasts again, Nala would be able to win this time with no trouble.
Nala roared at the four wolves angrily commanding them to obey her. However despite the obvious threats of Dena and Nala the wolves still didn't move.
'Master, there must be a stronger beast near here that commands their loyalty.' Nala told me.
I frowned then tried to sense for any other beast presences around us as I had when we were near the zoo in Phoenix, yet I was unable to sense any other beast.
It happened where we least expected it. A enormous wolf only a little smaller than Nala with red and black striped fur leapt out of the shadows of a tree that was clearly too small to hide the beast. It didn't aim for me, Nala, or Dena, instead it was aiming for Tracy's unprotected family.
Ben moved to defend his family but he was too slow and weak, but it was enough. A earth wall rose up from the ground to stop the wolf. It burst through it like it was paper not slowing even a bit, but it did blind the wolf for a moment. My black lightning hit it in the head knocking it back and onto the ground. Dena and Nala moved quickly around Tracy's family as they tried to distance themselves from the monstrous wolf.
With both of them working together I didn't feel worried for them so I moved closer to Tracy and her family, Calidia stayed close to my side as she cast around as if searching for any other trouble that could come.
The wolf was pretty strong given my black lightning didn't kill it outright. Instead it was stunned and disoriented long enough for Nala and Dena to reach it. Dena pinned it to the ground with one of her legs peering down at it curiously. "It's a bitch?" she asked curiously.
I frowned, didn't males lead wolf packs? I gathered my energy within me in preparation for using my black lightning again.
Three more wolves appeared from shadows that were obviously too small to hide them. Two were similar in size to the wolf Dena had pinned down while the last was head and shoulders bigger than the other three. I had no idea how it hid itself but this wolf was clearly the real alpha of the pack. Worse I could feel the approach of more of the smaller wolves that had first approached us. I couldn't be sure of the numbers but there had to be at least twenty of them.
Having revealed themselves I could now feel the presence of the new wolves. One of the smaller wolves had the same coloring and strength of the beast Dena had pinned. The other smaller wolf had more black in its fur and felt to be equal in strength to Dena. The Alpha had more red in its fur almost appearing to be covered in dried blood and it felt stronger than Nala.
If I could sense that much my girls obviously could too. Nala and Dena seemed really nervous as the Alpha stared at them threateningly.
Rage rose up inside of me seeing the pair of them shiver in fear at the presence of the other male. It wasn't because I was mad that they feared the other male, that only made sense, he was stronger than they were. Instead I was angry that it dared to intimidate my females right in front of me.
Mary seemed to sense something in me as she withdrew from around me and returned to her human form beside me staring up at me with awe in her eyes. I had no idea why and I had no time to consider it. I felt the mana flowing inside of me
The Alpha glanced at me but seemed to dismiss my presence as it turned it gaze back to my females then howled at them demanding the release of its mate and they submit to him immediately.
That was the last straw. The energy that had been building up inside of me burst forth into my body strengthening me and changing me. I could feel that I was growing stronger, faster, and more durable even as everything around me became smaller and smaller. Moments later the mana had completed the change and I was able to grasp what had just happened. I had transformed into a beast.
I glanced down only to see Calidia, Mary, Tracy, and her family staring up at me with great fear as I towered over them. Who could blame them, I was even taller than Dena, probably at least fifty feet tall. I had become a bipedal lion with thick golden fur that was covered in horizontal black strips that resembled black lightning bolts. My mane was pure black as were my fangs and the long claws on both my hands and feet. My tail was much thicker than a normal lions and prehensile like a elephant's trunk. More importantly I radiated strength that exceeded the Alpha wolf that was trying to intimidate my females.
The Alpha stepped back as it turned its head to face me warily.
I roared at him angrily demanding he back off or submit to my authority.