16. Fin
Chapter sixteen
Fin
The five of us followed the Alpha toward the rickety porch, where we found one guy kicked back in a rocking chair with a shotgun resting on his lap, snoozing in the setting sunlight.
Fowler turned and let out a low growl toward Kono and Rel, lifting his big, wolfy head in the direction of the back of the house.
Understanding the command, the two smallest among us moved back and disappeared from view. They would be good at ambushing anyone who tried to run out the back door.
The three of us at the front didn’t need to discuss strategy. I trained both of them when they were teens. Alpha said kill them, and I planned to get to the bastards before they could shift.
Fowler lunged for the man with the gun, ripping into his throat before he could let out a scream to warn the others. Blood gushed from the wound as Fowler spit the flesh from his jaw and moved toward the door.
We weren’t quiet enough for shifter ears though, and I heard them questioning what was going on as we burst through the front door with force.
A light-haired younger man I didn’t recognize was there, holding a glass pipe, and he was slow to yell for help.
“Alpha, the wolves,” was all he got out before I had him pinned to the ground by my jaw.
I ripped at his tattooed jugular, hearing his heart beat slow and stop within seconds as his body was surrounded by his blood.
Almost choking on his taste, I understood why Fowler was so quick to spit the flesh out. These men tasted toxic and I didn’t want his drugs in my veins.
Ricky came up beside me, rubbing into my side before following Fowler to the next room as if he needed to assure himself I was safe. This is why you shouldn’t sleep with members of your pack. It was a distraction.
My wolf bristled at what he called my stupid human thoughts as I followed the others into a filthy kitchen where Fowler and Ricky had stopped short. Zac was there holding a knife to Channing’s throat.
“Stop or she dies,” Zac threatened, and I wondered why he didn’t shift.
Then I noticed the drug paraphernalia all over the counter and table beside Channing.
I growled and stepped forward thinking they might have drugged her.
She looked whole, still dressed in her black jeans, riding boots, and leather club jacket from when she was taken, though I could see the dirt on her face and knees.
Alive, but exceptionally angry to be tied up, by the look on her face.
“Last time you touched me it didn’t go so well,” Channing snapped her teeth, and I noticed there was blood at the corner of her mouth, and Zac was missing the tip of one finger.
Good for her.
Zac visibly paled at her words and leaned away, but kept the knife at her neck. The right side of his face was freshly scarred from my attack the day before. Or was it early this morning? I’d lost track of time with everything going on.
Outside, I heard the sounds of a fight and hoped it was Kono and Rel taking out the fourth guy. There was a bear snarling, then it cut off, followed by a howl, and I knew we were down to their new Alpha. The three of us stepped closer.
“I mean it, I’ll cut her throat,” Zac warned, and I saw the blade cut into the flesh just above her collarbone.
The idiot didn’t have his knife in the right place. And it was only a shitty steak knife. Still, we all stopped our movement.
For once, I wanted to shift and ask what his plan was. There were five of us and only one of him. Or maybe I could talk him down? I was about to shift when a new sight made my blood run cold.
Through the open back door, a large red bear filled the doorway and I froze. Did Rel and Kono not win? No. That would mean they were too hurt to stop the bear from coming back for their Alpha’s pathetic ass.
Zac saw the bear and grinned. He lowered the knife as the bear squeezed through the doorway. “Good, you finally joined us. Kill these three while I get the girl out.”
The bear burst forward and I moved in front of Ricky, expecting the attack. But no claws met my flesh. Zac screamed and I turned to see the bear had him on the ground. It was tearing into his flesh when I caught the scent. This was a female alpha bear, not one of Zac’s men.
Janessa was helping us take out her brother. Using the four-inch daggers at the end of her paws, she tore at his stomach while his arms started to shift.
Fowler shifted beside us and ran to untie Channing. Seeing the danger of getting between two bears, I moved to get between them and my packmates who were vulnerable in human bodies.
Ricky joined me, creating a barrier between us and the bears, who took up all of the space in the room.
Fowler got Channing loose and was helping her to the back door when Janessa reared up on her hind legs.
Her ears touched the ceiling before she brought her weight down on Zac, who was still only half shifted.
He screeched until she bit down on his skull and we slipped out the door. I tore my eyes away to find Kono shifted back beside Rel and a bloody body shifting back to human form.
Ricky ran to his friend, running his nose along Rel’s flank where there were four claw marks. He licked at the wound and Kono frowned like it was unsanitary.
“How did he get hurt?” Fowler asked, holding a weak Channing up beside him.
“The guy shifted as he came out the back door. We had him injured, but he caught Aurelius,” Kono gestured to Rel’s injury. “Then Janessa showed up and distracted him.”
Shifting back myself, I growled at Kono, “And you let her inside?”
“She said she would help,” Kono told me without changing his expression besides the raise of one eyebrow. “And I was too busy checking on your omega to stop her shifting into a massive bear.”
My jaw tightened at the excuse, because Rel was an omega and should have been protected. Kono wasn’t pack, and despite being an alpha, his coyote was no match for a bear. In the end, Janessa did help us.
“Thank you, Kono,” Fowler said before we all turned to watch the bear in question shifting in the doorway before walking outside and down the back steps.
“It’s done,” she said.
She had blood on her face and hands, and a scrap of fabric clung to one wrist. Janessa likely shifted too fast to get undressed. She was naked now, but didn’t appear to care that we could all see her like this. Hell, we were all naked except Channing and Rel, who was still furry.
Ricky shifted and immediately walked over to shake her hand. “Thank you for showing up.”
“We have a long history of killing our predecessor in this pack.” Janessa took a deep breath and held her head high, glancing at Channing. “As reluctant as I was to be part of the pack, to shift at all, it was time to step up.”
“Thanks for coming back,” Channing said, and her voice was stronger than I expected considering how she was barely staying on two feet. “I could tell you were different.”
“Any time, blondie,” Janessa winked at Channing and walked back into the house.
“You’re Alpha now,” Kono called out. “I hope you plan to run the pack better than the men in your family.”
“I have a lot of cleaning up to do before I go back to college next week,” She replied, not looking over her shoulder, eyes on her dead brother. “But I promise things will be better.”
We watched her close the door before looking to Fowler for instructions.
“Let’s all go home.”