The Apocalyptic Queen's Werewolf Journey (Thora and Darius) novel Chapter 78

**Shadows Hearts by Joseph King**
**Chapter 78: Rat Hunt**

As the mercenaries prepared to unleash their fury, fingers trembling on triggers, Thora executed a subtle yet deliberate hand sign. It was a signal, a silent command for Harvey and his team to mobilize and strike back.

The moment hung in the air, heavy with tension.

Their eyes widened in disbelief. Charging out now? Wasn’t that akin to signing their own death warrants?

Yet, hesitation was fleeting, barely a heartbeat before instinct kicked in. Orders were orders, and they were trained to follow them without question. With a shared resolve, they surged forward.

The mercenaries squeezed their triggers, but an unexpected silence followed. Their weapons jammed, as if an invisible force had sealed the barrels shut, rendering them useless.

In that critical moment, Harvey’s group seized the opportunity. They burst from their cover, weapons blazing, unleashing a ferocious counterattack. The air crackled with gunfire as several mercenaries fell, their bodies hitting the ground before the rest could rectify their malfunctioning weapons.

With the mercenaries momentarily disoriented, Harvey’s suppressing fire forced them back, driving them out of the library and into the chaos of the battle outside.

The library doors became a battleground, each side drawing a line—one side attacking with fervor, the other defending with desperation.

Among the chaos, the student who had faltered earlier found his courage. He snatched up a fallen rifle, adrenaline propelling him forward as he sprinted to the frontlines, eager to join the fray.

From her elevated position, Shirley surveyed the scene with a keen eye, her rifle steady in her hands. With each clean shot, she picked off enemies, her precision a protective shield for her teammates below.

Her sniping held the mercenaries at bay, paralyzing them with fear. They hesitated to move, acutely aware that the unseen barrel lurking in the shadows could claim their lives at any moment.

Thora closed her eyes for a fleeting second, allowing the tension coiling within her to ease, if only slightly.

In her current state, she could only freeze a limited number of bullets for a mere instant.

But that single instant was all she required.

Unbeknownst to her, the soulstone nestled within her glowed with an intensity that surged brighter than ever before, its blue light pulsating rhythmically.

The flickering glow was a telltale sign—Amie, her beast soul, was stirring from its slumber, straining to awaken.

With Harvey’s team establishing the library as their fortress, the mercenaries found themselves trapped, unable to breach their defenses swiftly.

Lance had known from the very beginning that Thora’s team was luring him into the library’s trap.

Yet, he came anyway. The military’s timing had simply aligned with his own plans.

Weighing the odds, he decided it was best to extract Greywolf’s core team.

But in the code of Greywolf, failure was not an option.

So, he left the rest behind, sacrificing them to slaughter the students of Astralis College and cover their retreat.

Suddenly, every soldier froze in place.

A spark of intrigue ignited in Blue’s cold blue eyes as his gaze locked onto a shadow emerging ahead.

In that instant, a figure stepped from the darkness, tall and composed in her school uniform. It was Thora.

Her expression was devoid of emotion, yet the chill in her eyes cut through the air like an ice-tempered blade, fixed squarely on Lance and his men.