Hazel ran with all her might, trying to create as much distance between herself and the battle raging behind her.
She could hear the intense noise emanating from there, indicating things had taken a serious turn.
Hazel sincerely hoped Brandon would be alright. She wasn't too worried about Brandon losing to them, as she could tell he was more concerned about her presence there than the rogues.
He had instructed her to take the secret route, and that's where she was headed.
She saw some of the pack members fleeing from the attacks and merged with them. They didn't recognize her, or rather, didn't have the time to, as they were preoccupied with escaping the rogues.
The rogues seemed to have a taste for the weaklings, chasing with ferocity, tearing their way through the guards trying to stop them. The only ones who could hold their ground to some extent were the enforcers, but they too were falling quickly due to the lack of adequate support.
The advantage the rogues had over the pack force was the diverse species of shifters among their attackers, enabling them to carry out various effective attacks.
A single rhino moved like a raging tornado, crushing everything in its path. More than ten werewolves surrounded the rhino in an attempt to stop it, but they didn't stand a chance. The rhino pummeled through them, taking advantage of its strength and frame, using its huge horn with a sharp tip to puncture holes into the bodies of its attackers. Its tough skin made it hard for the wolves to pierce through, putting them at more of a disadvantage.
There were also the rogue allies following behind the rhino charge: a lion holding its own against three wolves, a porcupine shooting out spikes into its attackers, a bear clawing and ripping through them, and a black feathered raven picking attackers by the shoulder with its talons, taking them high up into the sky and dropping them to the ground, their bodies crushing on impact.
The sounds of screams accompanied by bones breaking were truly terrifying.
The Nightshade pack was truly outmatched, with casualties rising every second, but Hazel felt no pity for the members of the Nightshade pack. If they hadn't come to the trial to watch her get killed and had stayed in their homes, then they wouldn't be victims.
The black feathered raven hovered in the sky, slowly flapping her wings as she contemplated her next move.
She had been taking out the guards and enforcers, so this time, she chose to set her sights on the fleeing people. With her sharp eyes scanning through the forest, she noticed there was an odd one among the regular members. Without much thought, she decided that was her prey. She dove downwards, going after her target, but just when she was about to reach it, her target changed direction.
The raven, already committed to her dive, was forced to pick up someone else in her path.
The raven was angry she had missed her initial target and decided to take it out on the poor soul she had gripped. Using her beak, she mercilessly pierced into the man who kept screaming before violently tossing him off into the distance, his body slamming into a tree with a deathly thud.
It wasn't enough to smash his skull; she had to break his body too.
"Cruel," Hazel muttered, feeling full-body tremors and her breath rasping.
If she hadn't sensed the raven coming and changed direction at the last moment, then that would have been her fate.
The pack members, seeing this, panicked, and some began to shift into their beast forms to hasten their escape.
The reason they hadn't shifted in the first place was that there was no time. It takes a couple of seconds to shift, and that short time frame was enough for death to catch them. More people became brave and began to shift into their beast forms, running off at a speed that left the rest in the dust.
Hazel, noticing the raven was ignoring this, turned towards the Raven and saw its eyes peering at her.
"Shit," Hazel cursed. "Why the hell is it coming after me?"
Hazel wasn't the only one who noticed this. With the crowd lessened, more people noticed her and saw she was the raven target. They steered clear of her, with some even cursing at her for putting them in danger.
"Bunch of bastards," Hazel muttered with her lips curled. Even with their lives in danger, they were still hung up on their prejudices.
The raven soared lower once again and tried to grip Hazel by the shoulder, but Hazel ducked, rolling away from the danger.
The raven let out an angry caw, brandishing her claws and sharply turning to catch Hazel, but Hazel abruptly changed direction, causing her to pick at the empty air.
The raven blinked, shocked by Hazel's agility. Not many could compete with her when it came to speed. She had picked an interesting prey. If she had lips, she would smile, as she was one who loved a challenge.
But the situation was contrary to what the raven thought.
Hazel could barely move and was panting heavily. She had burnt her energy running and performing those intense movements. Heck, from the last attack, the raven had grazed her shoulder.
She was just lucky.
One had to consider that Hazel had been an omega for three years, disconnected from her wolf with barely normal shifter strength. She had just recently gotten her wolf back, and with barely any time to recover, going from prison to silver chain to running, it was just too much for her fragile body to handle.
Hazel only had one option at the moment, and that was to shift.
But there was a problem with that. She had been trying ever since she had left Brandon, but it kept failing. It's the same reason why her stamina sucked. It had been years since she let her wolf out, and they hadn't fully reconnected.
There was simply not enough connection.
Even in her wolf form, her victory was not guaranteed. Now she had to face a bloodthirsty raven in her human form.
Hazel chuckled shakily.
She sighted a spear beside the body of a guard and then picked it up, her limbs shaking.
"I've been through so much shit. What's one more?"
Hazel exhaled, her heart rate steadying, and then she turned towards the raven, gripping the spear.
"I've suffered way too much to die at the hands of a damned bird. So if you think I'm an easy target...."