Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
The enemy was close enough that I could hear each intake of breath. Being in wolf form amplified my senses, and I could make out ten distinct gaits that raced toward us.
Killian was right about the numbers. I was mildly impressed that he’d read the situation so accurately—I wouldn't have been correct if someone had asked me to predict how many people would come after us. Ten are approaching us. With the way they’re shuffling, there are two in front, so we'll need to take them out fast. If we do, it should make the others hesitate.
Okay. Griffin aimed his gun in the direction they would appear. I've got this, he reassured me…and himself.
My confidence in his ability faltered, but I held my doubt close, not wanting him to feel it through our bond. If he had to talk himself up, that meant either he wasn't sure he could pull the trigger, or he was that inexperienced. Either way, doubt was dangerous in war, and whether we liked it or not, these battles were leading up to just that.
I threw my head back and howled. The enemy felt invigorated and in control; they knew their numbers and weapons exceeded ours. We had to hit fast and hard to show them that we weren't afraid at all.
As expected, their pace slowed. They hadn't expected me to alert them to where we were, and I’d thrown them off.
Good, my plan was already working.
"At least one of them has shifted," one of the men whispered, but he might as well have spoken in his normal voice. "Do you think it's her?" His voice raised in trepidation.
"Shhh," the leader hissed and slowed down.
One of the enemies was scared enough to speak out loud, confirming they weren't part of the same pack, which would make the situation even more problematic long-term—but in our current circumstances, it would help.
If multiple packs were working together, they’d have more resources at their disposal. That thought made my stomach sour. At some point, we had to get on even ground with them. They knew a whole hell of a lot about me, but I knew very little about them. If we wanted a chance at succeeding, we needed to figure all this out…and fast.
The crow flew several feet above my head, making a ton of noise. He was giving away my exact location. That bird was the gift that kept on giving. I couldn't wait to return the favor. I still relished the idea of plucking out each feather, one by one. After all of the pain and suffering he’d put us through, that kind of torture seemed fitting.
The footsteps sped up now that they had a little bit going in their favor again.
That damn bird has got to go, Griffin rasped.
A loud gunshot rang out, and the crow screeched before dropping. His dead body fell right in front of my face, landing mere inches from my body.
Holy shit. Griffin had shot the bastard…and he’d hit him on the first try. He was a good shot, after all.
Comforted that we might have a chance, I focused on the trees the enemies would soon be crashing through. I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t been the one to kill the crow, but at least he was dead. That definitely leveled the playing field.
The enemy was upon us, and the first one stepped through the trees. I growled, bringing his attention to me and not Griffin. The fur at my ruff stood up as I let every bit of my anger shine through.
He swung the gun at me, aiming for my shoulder, but Griffin shot immediately—the bullet hitting between the man's eyes. He fell hard with a resounding thud.
"What the—" someone gasped from behind the tree.
"Don't just stand there," another one said, " move ."
Chaos descended among them, and two men charged into the area.
Knowing they would be looking for the gun, I lunged toward them, forcing them to pay attention to me. One guy tripped over the man who was already dead, as the second guy swung his gun toward me and pulled the trigger.
Move right! Griffin yelled, and I listened, jumping to the side.
The bullet missed me by inches, and Griffin fired two shots, one after another, each hitting its mark. Both were kill-shots in the same place as the first. Griffin had taken out three men.
"What do we do?" one guy blubbered.
"Attack, dumbass," the leader barked. "Now!"
Get behind a tree and use it as coverage, because they're going to try to take you out now. I needed to know he was protected. I pivoted in his direction as Griffin raced behind the largest nearby tree. Most of his body was covered—the only part visible, his hand holding the gun.
Three more enemies stumbled toward us, and, as I’d suspected, neither glanced my way. That worked, too, because I could get closer and take a few out. If we injured them to the point of not fighting, we could get the hell out of here.
I wished there was a way to handle this without killing, but if Griffin didn't shoot to kill, we'd be overrun in seconds. My dad always told me that the fact that we didn't relish killing made the silver wolves different…and after going through all I had, I agreed. I couldn't kill that bear shifter when he was lying on the ground all vulnerable; I couldn’t kill maliciously like that. Granted, he still wound up dead, but that was a whole different scenario.
The taller of the three had his gun aimed at Griffin the quickest, which meant he was the one I needed to take out. He fired a shot at my mate before Griffin could respond.
Are you okay? I asked, as I lunged at the guy's gun hand. The other four men were already moving in this direction, probably realizing that coming one by one was allowing us to pick them off more easily.
Griffin fired as he responded. Yes, thank God you told me to get behind the tree.
The taller guy looked at me right as my teeth sank into his wrist. His eyes widened as he yanked his arm back, but it was too late; he released his hold on the gun, and it fell. His other hand came around and punched my face, causing my jaw to slacken enough for him to pull his wrist out.
I snarled as his blood dripped down my chin. My jaw throbbed, but with my shifter healing, I'd be better within minutes. All I needed to do was weaken as many of them as I could so Griffin could take them out.
Arms wrapped my neck with the butt of a gun digging into my throat as another enemy attacked me. He tightened his arms, trying to cut off my oxygen. I grew dizzy, and if I didn't get out of his hold soon, I'd faint.
Extending the claws on my hind legs, I kicked the asshole in the stomach, digging the nails in as deep as I could get them to go.
He grunted in pain and released his hold. I slashed his skin as I stood back on four legs, and the guy tripped over a tree root and fell. With shaky arms, he raised his gun, and my instincts took over. I bit into his neck, ripping it out.
His body convulsed before going limp.
My heart hurt, but I didn't allow myself to whimper or show any regret. The others would attempt to use my sympathetic side to their advantage, and they didn't need more leverage.
Gunshots fired as our last four enemies joined the fight. I scanned the area to find one left from the last batch locked on Griffin. There was a total of five who were still standing, and they were coordinating their attack.
Instead of attacking just one, I needed to cause pandemonium and swipe at everyone. That way, all of them would have to keep an eye on me.
Unsure what I was going to do, I tried not to overthink it. I charged at each man, running into them before moving on to the next. I kicked my legs and bucked my body, imitating a bull.
All of my years of training had officially been flushed down the toilet.
Griffin continued to fire as I distracted as many of them as I could.
"What the hell is she doing?" the leader grumbled as I kicked a leg higher and hit his face. My claws slashed his cheek, and blood welled up.
"You stupid bitch," he spat and swung the butt of his gun toward my head.
Nope…I already got nailed there once, and it still hurt. I wouldn't allow myself to be injured a second time. I threw my body into his, which made the gun miss my head—barely—but his forearm hit me instead. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as if it had been metal.
Lowering my head even more, I bulldozed the leader into one of the tree trunks.
Duck, Griffin commanded.
Obeying, I dropped and looked upward as his gun fired. A bullet buzzed over my head and into the leader's heart. He jerked as his eyes widened. He glanced at his chest and then focused on me. He lifted his gun, ready to shoot me—but then his head bobbled to the side, and he slumped against the tree.
I spun around to find my next target and realized that there was only one remaining. The guy must have noticed the same thing because he turned and ran back in the direction they'd come from.
No, we couldn't let him get away—we might get some answers out of him. I chased after him, and he glanced over his shoulder at me. Seeing that I was catching up, his face hardened in determination. He reached for his belt buckle, and I knew exactly what he was going to do.
The same thing that damn bear shifter did. He even kept it in the same place.
I pushed my legs harder, urging myself to get to him before he took the damn pill. Once he got it in his mouth, there was no taking it back.
He spun around and fired. The bullet lodged in my shoulder. My leg crumpled underneath me, and I skidded into the ground.
I howled and linked with Griffin, He's about to kill himself.
What? Griffin sounded surprised. I'm hurrying.
But he wouldn't get there in time.
I forced myself to stand, my leg throbbing with sharp, excruciating pain. But I somehow managed to hobble toward him.
"I'm so sorry, but I had no choice." The enemy put the pill in his mouth and a tear dripped down his face. "You have no clue who you're up against."
Ugh . I wanted to ask questions, but I was in animal form and couldn't communicate with him. He seemed like a decent guy who’d been put in an impossible situation. I was beginning to see a common theme.
His body shook as the drug worked into his system. There was no saving him now.
My eyes burned, and my throat constricted with frustration and anger at whoever had created this mess. All of these people we'd killed might not have been here truly willingly, but at the end of the day, their goal was still the same.
Capture me.
Kill the others.
They’d forced us to do whatever was necessary to survive. Letting these men capture me would only make whoever the enemy was stronger and would cause even more unrest and hate to spread throughout our world.
Griffin raced toward me and stopped short when he saw the blood dripping from my shoulder. I felt you were in pain. What happened? He dropped to his knees and examined my wound. Did you get shot?
Yes, but I'll be fine. It was superficial, but I needed the bullet removed. Do you have a way to get the bullet out? It's not deep.
No. His jaw twitched. I've got nothing but keys and a gun.
You have my knife. I nodded to his pocket. Use it and get it out before I heal. It'll hurt worse if we do it later, and if I shift to human with the bullet still inside, it could make my injury worse. I need to shift back to human form now that we have their guns so we can help Killian and Sierra.
Fine. He placed his gun beside him and pulled out my knife. He inhaled sharply and cracked his neck.
If I wasn't in so much pain, I'd have laughed. He looked as if he was preparing for battle.
He held the knife right at the edge of the entry wound, and I forced myself to look at the fallen man, who had died while we were preoccupied. Bubbles poured out of his mouth and down his face.
On the count of—
Just do it. I didn't want to know when. Anticipation was not my friend right now.
Griffin stuck the knife in, and pain coursed throughout my shoulder. I'd thought getting shot wouldn’t hurt much, but I'd been so damn wrong. A whimper escaped me, and I was at the pain's mercy.
The edges of my vision grew dark as Griffin dug around for the bullet.
Maybe I should pull out, he said as he paused.
We've already gotten this far. I took deep breaths, trying to prevent myself from passing out, and attempting to keep nausea at bay. If I got sick, I wouldn't be able to help Killian and Sierra.
Griffin continued his efforts, and his guilt and concern flowed into me, making my already raw emotions even more frayed.
I feel it, he said excitedly. I've got it.
Then get it out. I groaned.
He angled the blade—cutting the wound larger—but within seconds, the bullet fell out, and the knife finally exited my body.
I sagged with relief. Even though the pain was still excruciating, it didn't come close to how it’d felt with the knife inside me. Thank you.
Let's make a pact that this is the last time you get shot. Griffin rolled the bloody bullet between his fingers while his other hand ran through my fur, making my skin buzz from our connection.
It'd be nice to sit here and enjoy the peace and quiet, but we needed to find Killian and Sierra. We hadn't heard anything from them.
Can you take the guy's shirt off him? I asked. I had ripped my clothes, not considering that we'd have access to extra guns, and I'd need to be able to use one. I want to shift back so we can grab some of their guns to go help Killian and Sierra…and I’d rather not be completely naked.
Griffin growled, Hell no. You’re wearing mine. He pulled his hunter-green shirt from his body as I shifted back into my human form. His abs contracted, making my body warm at a very inappropriate time. I looked away, needing to keep my head on straight and not drool.
When I was on two legs, he helped me put on the shirt without using my injured arm too much. The garment was huge on me, and the hem hit around my knees, much like a dress.
Being shorter came in handy, at least for the moment.
When I felt comfortable, I bent down to pick up the dead man's gun. "Now let's go help our friends."