Chapter 14 Between Teeth And Mercy
Between Teeth And Mercy
It was the scream that did it.
Sharp, high, and ragged, slicing through the night from the direction of a side alley behind Neon. I knew I should walk away; caution is the mother of survival in this city, but my feet veered off course before my brain could reject the move.
The alley was too quiet. No traffic. No music from the bar. Just the buzz of a dying streetlamp and the stink of wet brick and old grease.
Two shapes wrestled at the far end, one big and fast, the other thrashing, arms windmilling. I recognized the human element immediately: a woman, maybe mid-twenties, her eyes wide and wild as she scrabbled for anything to fend off her attacker.
The thing pinning her wasn’t a man. I mean, it wore a suit and had roughly the proportions of a linebacker, but its skin was a shade too gray, its mouth hung open way too wide, and the fingers digging into the woman’s collarbone looked jointed in all the wrong places.
My body froze for a nanosecond, fight, flight, or piss yourself, choose your own adventure, but then I heard my own voice ring out, shrill and embarrassingly loud: “Hey! Get the fuck off her!” Not a great plan, but it was the only one I had.
The creature’s head jerked up with a predatory swiftness, eyes blazing with feral intensity: bloodshot and ringed in raw red with veins that spider-webbed across the whites, pulsing faintly, alive with some unnatural rage.
The irises glowed a luminous amber, burning like dying stars, locked onto me with a focus that felt more curse than instinct.
Beneath its weight, the woman whimpered softly, blood trickling in thin rivulets from where its claws dug mercilessly into her skin.
Desperation mauled at my insides as I scanned the alley for a weapon, anything to help.
The creature’s lips curled back in a grin, revealing fangs long and curved like scimitars, slick with fresh blood.
As it growled, the teeth glistened in the moonlight, a savage promise carved in ivory that sent a shiver racing down my spine, leaving my knees feeling like they might buckle beneath me.
A shadow flickered beside me, and Aiden emerged from the darkness of the alley like an avenging angel, his presence both electrifying and reckless.
With a fluid motion, he shed his jacket, letting it fall to the ground.
The creature hesitated, its predatory grin widening into something grotesque as it recalibrated its stance, eyes gleaming with malevolent curiosity.
It was as if Aiden’s arrival had shifted the very balance of power, igniting a spark of defiance against the nightmare unfolding before us.
Aiden shot me a look. “Stay back.”
Aiden’s gaze locked onto the creature, a silent challenge crackling between them as they sized each other up, tension thick enough to cut.
For a heartbeat, I could see the ripple of his skin, the flash of familiar gold in his eyes, a warning and promise all at once.
Then he was in motion, an explosion of muscle and fury, as he lunged forward, barreling into the creature with a force that sent it crashing against the brick wall.
The impact echoed through the alley, a crunch that resonated deep within me as I braced for what came next.
The woman lay crumpled on the ground, her body a canvas of horror.
I rushed to her side, my heart pounding as I took in the gruesome sight.
Her shoulder was a grotesque picture; a jagged bite marred her flesh.
Shreds of skin hung like tattered ribbons from the wound, which gaped open and oozed warmth into the cool night air.
The deep gashes across her abdomen were equally horrifying, five precise slashes etched into her skin as if some feral beast had marked its territory.
This was more than just an injury; it was a warning carved into her very being, each cut telling a story of violence and terror that made my stomach churn with dread.
Behind us, the fight escalated into a full-blown mauling.
Aiden and the thing traded blows that sounded like sledgehammers hitting slabs of meat.
I glanced up and caught a glimpse of Aiden’s jaw elongating into something canine and feral as he bit down on the creature’s shoulder, tearing out a chunk that sprayed black blood onto the wall.
The thing shrieked and retaliated, raking its claws across Aiden’s back, shredding his shirt and exposing raw, already-healing flesh beneath.
They rolled together, snarling, crashing into trash cans that clattered to the ground like a percussion section gone rogue. The rain began to fall in a steady rhythm; the air thickened with the scent of wet concrete and blood, mingling into a metallic tang that hung heavy in my lungs.
Aiden and the creature clashed fiercely, their movements punctuated by flashes of lightning that illuminated their struggle for dominance.
The raindrops drummed on trash cans and slicked down brick walls, creating a cacophony that drowned out all but the primal sounds of growls and snarls echoing through the night.
I turned back to the woman sprawled on the pavement, her body limp and pale against the dark concrete.
Blood pooled around her, soaking into my hoodie as I pressed it against her wounds with trembling hands.
Her eyes fluttered but remained unfocused, lost somewhere between consciousness and oblivion.
With a guttural roar, the creature hurled Aiden against a dumpster with bone-jarring force that left an imprint of his shape in the metal.
My heart raced as I winced at the impact; Aiden rose again almost immediately, shaking off debris like a warrior reborn.
He let out a growl so deep it resonated through my bones.
The monster hesitated for just a moment, perhaps reconsidering its life choices before baring its teeth at both of us.
In what felt like an absurdly human gesture, it seemed to wink at me before it turned and bolted down the alleyway with alarming speed.
Aiden lunged after it without hesitation, tackling it from behind as they tumbled out of sight around the far corner.
The woman’s breath was shallow and quickening as blood continued to seep from her wounds, each pulse a reminder of time slipping away.
“Hang on,” I murmured softly to myself while my fingers fumbled for my phone and dialed 911 with hands that wouldn’t stop trembling.
But just then, Aiden returned through the haze of rain-soaked chaos. His shirt hung in tatters; bruises blossomed across his skin like dark flowers while cuts knitted shut before my very eyes. He bent over slightly, hands resting on his knees as he drew sharp breaths like he’d sprinted miles.
His voice cut through the ringing in my ears. “Put that away.”
I clutched the phone tightly. “What? Somebody has to call an ambulance; she is bleeding everywhere…” I blinked at him in confusion. “She needs help!”
“She’ll be fine,” he said, not unkindly. “And believe me, you don’t want them involved. If you call the cops, it’ll only make things worse. For her. For you.”
I stared at him, my mind skipping tracks. “You want me to just leave? After that thing tried to rip her apart?”
He shook his head. “We’ll take care of it. This is…our jurisdiction.”
I let out a sound that could charitably be called a laugh.
“Jurisdiction? You’re not even a cop. You’re a…” I broke off, gesturing at him with both hands, “…whatever you are.”
He smiled, just a little, and for the first time since the fight, it was almost human. “We have our own kind of police.”
I rolled my eyes. “Great. So what, you have, like, a werewolf union? A magical Neighborhood Watch?”
The woman remained unconscious beside us; her chest barely rising and falling beneath layers of soaked fabric stained red with life’s essence escaping her body.
Aiden’s gaze flickered toward her before returning to me, his expression unreadable yet heavy with something unspoken between us amidst this stormy night filled with danger lurking just beyond comprehension. “I’ll call for help.”
Aiden retrieved his phone from the damp fabric of his jacket, which lay crumpled on the ground like a forgotten memory. He pressed a button, bringing the device to his ear, and his expression shifted into one of focused intensity.
His voice was low and commanding, laced with urgency as he barked out orders, each word clipped and precise.
The rain drummed around us, but he seemed insulated from its chaos, eyes narrowing as he listened intently to the response on the other end.
The flicker of the streetlight caught the tension in his jaw, revealing a man who had stepped into a role that demanded authority amidst this nightmare.
After he ended the call, we sat there for what felt like an eternity, the rain washing away remnants of violence while we both caught our breath together in silence broken only by nature’s symphony around us.
I wanted to thank him or ask about what had transpired moments ago, the transformation unfolding right before my eyes, but words failed me entirely as they often did when faced with such raw emotion tangled up inside me like vines choking out light where there should be clarity instead.
So instead I leaned back against the wall feeling droplets cascade over me mingling with blood and fear, allowing myself just a moment longer to breathe amidst chaos swirling all around us because somehow this was my life now: monsters lurking within alleys while heroes emerged cloaked under shadows, and here I stood caught somewhere in-between trying desperately not to drown beneath it all even if everything felt impossibly messy… yet undeniably mine.
After what felt like an eternity, two men rounded the corner of the alley, their identical features instantly telling me they were twins, the kind of tall, blond, broad-shouldered duo you’d expect to see modeling tactical gear or starring in a gritty Netflix reboot.