VIVIANNA
“Koit, Tav, we have a change in plans.” I said reaching out in our private mate bond link.
“What’s up, babe?” Koit asked.
“I need the two of you and Orion to scout out farther in the area, looking for wolves that might be guarding the warehouse. From the two I just saw, they are well trained and large in size, putting us at a disadvantage with our team. You three are the best option we have to flush them out,” I explained, glancing over at Orion.
“Or at least that’s what Okami says. Do you disagree? ”
“No, I think that is the right call,” Tav assured me. “You and the others keep focused on the warehouse and we’ll manage the wolves, but I suggest you keep this between us.”
“Alright, get to it. Reach out if you need backup,” I ordered, forcing my brain to accept that this was war and adapting to the situation was the smart choice.
“Keep her safe, Tristan,” Tav demanded as I felt him moving further away from the warehouse. “If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
“I would let you, because if I can’t keep our mate safe, I have no reason to be alive,” Tristan agreed.
Hearing this, I growled and snapped at my mate for saying such things, but he just ignored my aggressive behavior and nuzzled the side of my neck.
Mollified by this action and knowing we didn’t really have time for a lovers’ spat, I shoved him with my shoulder and flicked my tail in his face so he’d know that we would talk about that later.
“Let’s get back to our section. You two alright to remain here?
” I asked, looking over my shoulder at them.
“We won’t let anything sneak up on us again. We’ve learned our lesson,” the russet wolf answered.
Tristan and I made our way back to our area but kept a careful eye out for anything else moving about.
“Anyone see something we should know about?” I asked the pack, feeling like this whole situation was too quiet.
A chorus of noes filtered in, letting me know that we needed to step up our game.
“How many entrances do we have on this building?”
“I’ve got three garage doors on the north side, along with a normal door.”
“The whole west side is a giant double-sliding barn door. Doesn’t seem like it’s been opened in a long time though, with the stuff piled in front of it.”
“South has a single door that looks like the main entrance. It’s where the three guards came out.”
“Nothing on the east except for some windows but they don’t look like they open at all.”
Pulling out of the pack link, I reached out to my mates that weren’t hunting. “There is no cover for us to hit this place. We need a distraction to at least give us a chance.”
“Orion’s idea about the cars might not be a bad move. We could see if anyone is open to drive it into the building,” Bentley suggested.
That wasn’t a bad idea, but it needed to draw them away from the building, not to it. Flipping back to the wide link, which was becoming easier each time I switched between links, I took a survey. “Any of you good with cars… as in being able to hot wire one?”
“Yeah, you could say I have experience in that area. Do you need me to come your location?” one of the wolves answered.
“No, if you can get to the parked cars unseen, we’ll have one open and waiting for you.
Once we get it running, we need to drive it and possibly more than one, into the forest away from the building, so it crashes.
” I explained my idea. “We can handle making sure the other cars can’t be used while you manage that task. ”
Tristan nudged my shoulder, looking down at me with a curious gaze. “What do you have planned, beloved?”
“Want to try and see if you can pull off a half shift?” I asked with a wolfish grin. “I have a feeling it will make ripping the door off a car much easier with hands.”
Tristan looked at me shocked… well as shocked as a wolf could look, but he nodded his agreement. “How do you suggest I do this?”
“For me, it was like unlocking a new level. It isn’t really pulling back your wolf to be human and not letting your wolf take over. It’s that sweet spot in the middle. You just have to feel it.”
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before an odd rumbling sound echoed in his chest as he started to shift.
Soon, there he was, standing on two legs, looking like what people thought werewolves looked like in the eighties—wolf man.
It took him a few moments to center himself, stumbling a step or two, but then he got the hang of it, rolling out his shoulders like a cage fighter.
“Ready?” Tristan nodded his head as we both moved forward, toward where the vehicles were parked. “You might want to check and see if any of them are unlocked before forcing our way in.”
Getting clawed hands, that were far larger than a human hand, around a door handle took some figuring out and lots of paint scratching.
By the third attempt, he managed to find the right way to make it work and discovered it was unlocked.
A lean wolf made its way out of the forest over to us.
Through our pack connection, I knew he was the one who offered to help with the hotwiring.
He shifted back to his human body and nodded to us as he looked over the cargo van’s wiring under the steering wheel.
Ripping out some cables, he sorted through a bundle before grabbing what he needed and turning to Tristan. “Mind if I use a claw?”
My mate held out a finger, allowing the man to use it as a knife to strip the casing off the wires, twisted some of them, then tapped the opposites together. Two tries later, the van was running and ready for us to use.
“Check the back of the van and see if there is anything in it that’s useful before we finish the plan,” I directed, watching the man slide the door open, allowing us to peer inside.
Nothing but empty space greeted us, making me huff as I turned back to the forest. We needed something to weigh down the gas pedal as we sent it off in the direction it was facing toward the forest. Not seeing anything all that heavy, I found a branch that might work to wedge it down long enough to do the trick.
Dragging it back over to the others, Tristan took it from me, and the two men worked together to send the van speeding off across the open area and smashing loudly into a tree, where it promptly caught fire.
“Quick, slash all the tires and see if you can get into the Hummer before we get swarmed,” I called as I ran over to the Hummer, giving it a good sniff to see if I could tell who’d been in it.
The back passenger door got ripped off its hinges, allowing me to hop into it. I was hit with Vadik’s scent, making my hackles rise with a snarl. The bastard was here, and he’d brought two other werewolves with him, as he sat in the back like the king he thought he was.
Connecting with everyone in the pack link, I shared my findings. “I have confirmed that Vadik is here.”
No one really responded, but I could feel a mixture of anger, fear, and worry, coursing through the link.
“Don’t worry about him. My men and I will handle that.
You all need to focus on getting Neveah and Kate out of here in one piece.
I know I said no man left behind, but I am ordering you to leave the moment you get your hands on them.
We’ve caused a distraction while disabling their vehicles.
Those of you who see the guards patrolling, take them out. We are going to fight.”
All this took a matter of moments to communicate as I leaped out of the Hummer, giving Tristan the opportunity to destroy the thing. He ripped out wires and sliced through the gas line, filling the air with its sharp scent, covering ours in the process.
Damn, that man is full of surprises. He’s totally getting a blow job later.
“You don’t live on the run your whole life without learning a few tricks, my dear sassy wolf,” Tristan commented as we hustled back into the cover of the forest, moments before men came running out of the warehouse.
An explosion echoed in the air as the fire from the van made its way to the fuel tank.
I was worried that it might catch the tree on fire, but just then, a late afternoon shower started.
This was good and bad at the same time. While it kept us hidden, washing away our scents, it also meant we couldn’t scent them either.
Peering out from the underbrush, I watched a group of five armed men rush to the van, while three others went to check out the other cars we disabled.
“Those of you near the back, away from the distraction, head to the door and make your way into the building. We’ll handle the men out here,” I directed, waiting for my target to get a little closer to me and farther from the other two guards.
“I’ve got this one. Think you two can handle the others? ”
Tristan, who was back in his normal wolf body, nodded his head as he stalked off to get a better angle on his prey. Our car thief didn’t look quite so confident as he shifted back to his wolf. “I’ve never killed anyone before…”
Then what the fuck is he doing here? Did he think we were just going to scold them for kidnapping our friends?
Calm down, the two of us can easily handle the three of them. Taking a life isn’t something you should be okay doing under normal circumstances. It’s riskier to have an unsure person help than it is to just deal with it ourselves.
My wolf just snorted at this but didn’t argue with me further. “Stay out of the way while we deal with this. There is more risk if you try to help.”
He whined, laying his ears flat as he laid down in submission and fear. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You helped get them out here, where we needed them. Stay alert, this could draw out scouts coming in from behind.”
With that, I shot out of the forest and took down the man closest to me, snapping my teeth in his face and making him scream.
He balled his hands, punching me wherever he could find a spot, as my claws dug into his skin, and I bit down on his neck.
His blood filled my mouth, telling me that I got him right in the artery, but even if he was my enemy, I didn’t want him to suffer, so I whipped my head, pulling out a chunk of flesh.
He gasped as blood filled his mouth, eyes wide in terror before the life faded out of him.
The sound of a gun going off and the ping of a bullet hitting the car millimeters from my head made me leap off the body and whirl to face my attacker.
The man had his rifle raised aimed right at me. “They told us you’d be coming. Now it’s time to die, so that the true superior race can rule you rebel scum.”
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the thief shot out of nowhere and hit him right in the side, knocking him to the ground, sending his shot wide.
Without hesitation, I raced forward and grabbed the back of the gunman’s neck and crushed it in my teeth, paralyzing him before I bit and yanked his head right off.
Looking up from my kill, I met the other wolf’s gaze and gave him a nod.
“You might have just saved my life, thank you.”
“I couldn’t do nothing,” he murmured.
“That is exactly what bravery is,” Tristan said as he joined us. “This area is all clear. I suggest we help the others by the van.”
Walking around the car, I saw three wolves fighting with five men that looked like they were on the losing side of the battle.
“They’ll be fine. We have bigger issues to deal with.
” Turning to our thief, I knew this next part he couldn’t come along for.
“Head back to the forest and wait for the others. Alert us if any more guards show up. They could have called for reinforcements.”
“Yes, Dama,” he answered and retreated into the forest.
“What’s the plan now?” Tristan asked.
Glancing at him, I knew he wouldn’t like this plan, but it was what needed to be done. “We walk through the front door.”