Scott and his pack heard a deep growl coming from the portal. A moment later, a monstrous creature emerged.
It stood three meters tall, with a deer skull for a head, glowing red eyes, and a body made of twisted wood and vines.
Jennifer and her Darach coven gasped in excitement. Vivian grinned and exclaimed. "Yes! We did it!"
Stiles looked at the creature and asked. "Does anyone know what that thing is?"
The pack exchanged uncertain glances, all shaking their heads, except for Erica, who smirked and said. "I do."
Everyone turned to look at her, and Stiles said. "Of course you do. Did you read all those supernatural books?"
Erica rolled her eyes. "Hey! Why are you guys looking at me like that? I like reading, okay?" She huffed before adding. "And no, Stiles, I haven't read all the books yet. But I'm planning to. You guys should read them too."
Scott cut in. "Alright, Erica, what is that thing?"
She took a deep breath. "It's called a Leshy, a monster that lives in forests and controls plants. In folklore, it's described as a vengeful forest spirit that only lives to kill. Its favorite pastime is hunting humans, draining their life force, and turning them into dry husks. The older it gets, the stronger it becomes. The ancient ones are nearly impossible to kill."
Lydia frowned. "What about its weaknesses?"
"Fire." Erica answered. "They're terrified of it."
Stiles sighed in relief. "Well, we're fine then, aren't we?. We do have a human torch with us."
Boyd smirked. "How about we don't use the human torch and fight it ourselves first? Let's see how strong it really is."
Isaac cracked his knuckles. "I like that plan."
Stiles turned to Scott. "You heard them, buddy. Let us handle this, at least until we can't."
Scott shrugged. "Suit yourselves. But be careful, guys. We don't know how strong that thing is."
Jennifer, seeing that their summoning was successful, stepped forward, her voice dripping with arrogance. "I'll admit, you and your pack are strong. But as of today, you and your mutts, and anyone who dares to stand against my coven will die." She smirked. "With the Leshy under our control, we are unstoppable."
Stiles chuckled and tilted his head. "Are you dumb? Even if we can't kill the Leshy, we can just distract it… and kill you."
Jennifer snorted. "You don't understand. Since we are the Leshy's masters, it will grant us immortality. We won't need to borrow power from nature anymore, we will wield true magic."
While Jennifer spoke, Scott and his pack looked Behind her.
The Leshy moved without warning, a thick wooden branch shot out from its body, impaling Sloan right through the chest.
Vivian and Nyomi gasped, frozen in horror as Sloan twitched violently before the Leshy retracted the branch, letting his body collapse lifelessly to the ground.
Jennifer, oblivious to what was happening behind her, kept rambling. "We will be true witches. We will..."
Allison smirked and cut her off. "Hey, bitch. You might wanna turn around."
Cora smirked. "Your little dream just turned into a nightmare."
Jennifer turned around, just in time to see the Leshy slash both Vivian and Nyomi across the chest, leaving deep, bloody gashes.
The two of them staggered back, their eyes wide with shock. But within seconds, they placed their hands over their wounds, and the gashes closed and healed. Then, they distanced themselves from the Leshy.
Jennifer rushed to Vivian's side, her face contorted in rage. "What the hell is going on, Vivian? Didn't your book say we'd be in total control? That the Leshy would grant us power and immortality?"
Vivian, equally panicked, snapped back. "Don't yell at me! You read the book too! Maybe… maybe we should've absorbed more power from the Nemeton first! Or maybe Satomi's blood wasn't strong enough to control it!"
Jennifer's eyes darkened. "So what now?"
Vivian didn't hesitate. "We need to escape."
Nyomi nodded frantically. "Yes! We need to get out of here while Scott and his pack are busy with the Leshy."
Jennifer clenched her teeth, and looked at Scott's pack, but Scott was gone.
Her heart pounded. "Shit. Where's Scott?"
A deep dread settled in her stomach as she realized she was in danger. She spun around. "Vivian! Nyomi! RUN!"
But she froze in horror.
Scott stood right behind them, his arms outstretched, holding two beating hearts in his hands.
Nyomi and Vivian's bodies collapsed to the ground, their eyes wide with shock, their lives snuffed out in an instant.
Jennifer staggered backward, her breath shaky, paralyzed with fear.
Scott let the hearts drop to the ground. His glowing red eyes locked onto her as he spoke, his voice calm but merciless.
"Aiden. She's yours."
Aiden stepped forward, his glowing blue eyes burning with rage. He turned to Scott and said. "Thank you."
Then, his gaze locked onto Jennifer, his voice filled with venom. "Letting me live was your biggest mistake. I will make you pay for killing Ethan."
Without hesitation, he lunged at her. Jennifer, however, wasn't weak. She had absorbed power from the Nemeton, making their battle evenly matched at first. But while Aiden could heal, Jennifer was slowly draining herself, each time she healed, she lost more of her power.
---
Meanwhile, the Leshy fixed its glowing red eyes on Stiles and the rest of the pack but didn't attack immediately. It was observing them.
Behind it, Sloan, who had been lying motionless on the ground, suddenly stood up. His body had changed, half of it had turned into twisted wood, and his eyes glowed eerily.
Isaac looked at Sloan, and asked. "What the hell happened to him?"
Lydia said. "He was probably infected by the Leshy… He's not human anymore. He's dead."
From across the battlefield, Scott shouted. "Guys! Don't let the Leshy or its… zombie stab you! Shift into your full werewolf forms before fighting!"
Cora cracked her knuckles. "Let me take care of this one. I want to test its strength."
Boyd nodded. "Be careful."
Cora smirked. "I will."
She shifted into her full werewolf form and launched herself at the reanimated Sloan.
Sloan swung his arm, and a massive rock nearby suddenly lifted into the air and hurtled toward Cora. She punched it mid-air, shattering it into pieces, then charged forward. With a swift slash of her claws, she tore deep wounds across Sloan's chest, but almost instantly, the wounds sealed shut.
One of Sloan's arms morphed into a thick branch that lashed toward Cora, trying to entangle her.
Cora reacted fast, slashing the wooden limb off in one clean strike. Then, she dashed forward, severed Sloan's other arm, and then drove her claws deep into his abdomen, attempting to absorb his power. But she didn't get anything.
Sloan's arms began to regenerate, but before they could fully form, Cora moved with lightning speed and slashed across his neck, severing his head.
Sloan's body collapsed to the ground, and within moments, it withered into a dry, lifeless husk.
Cora turned and walked back to the pack.
Stiles raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you absorb his power?"
Cora shook her head. "I tried, but there was nothing to take. He was already dead."
---
Aiden had finished his fight as well. Jennifer, now drained of her strength, had lost her beauty. Her face had withered into something grotesque, and she was crawling desperately toward the Nemeton.
Aiden turned to Scott. "Can I kill her?"
Scott nodded. "Go ahead."
Jennifer gasped, realizing what was coming. She reached out toward the Nemeton, her fingers barely brushing its bark, but it was too late. Aiden grabbed her by the throat, lifted her into the air, and plunged his hand into her chest.
With a sickening crunch, he crushed her heart.
Jennifer's body went limp, and Aiden let it drop lifelessly to the ground.
Scott turned his gaze toward the Leshy. "I can feel how strong that thing is. Stiles, Isaac, Boyd, you three
can fight it, but be careful."
To be continued… 😊