Like two bomber jets, Roman and Charlie
attacked the Alpha using both their sharp claws and beaks to cut it
up and chase it away.
It retreated out of the ring of candlelight
into the darkness.
Roman pursued, Charlie beside him, flapping
his wings to keep up. When they were out of the protective circle
and into the darkness of the forest, Roman stopped his decent and
flapped his wings frantically to get away. A big man, holding a
broadsword was waiting for him.
"
Charlie! Watch out!"
Roman veered for
the trees and avoided the blade as it sliced the air.
The sword caught Charlie's wingtip and he
spun and dropped.
Roman flew towards him, but Charlie regained
his balance and with a whoosh of his wings flew to the trees. He
perched on a branch and shook out his feathers.
The Alpha met Roman's gaze, sword poised.
"Time to finish this," the Alpha said.
Roman flew over Charlie and then circled the
man with the sword. The blade sliced the air, close to Roman.
I
can't fight him like this.
Roman flew back to the red witch and made
loud squawking noises. She threw a red ball of mist at him.
Roman plummeted to the ground and hit hard,
getting the wind knocked from him. Human once more, he lay naked
and helpless on the snowy ground, his head spinning. As he
recovered, he thought of his gun. Roman got to his elbows and tried
to look for it.
A man stood over him, smiling, holding the
sword.
~
Charlie shook out his right wing, seeing the
tip of his feathers had been knocked off. He didn't feel pain but
knew it had damaged his maneuvering capabilities.
"Roman?"
He hopped on the branch and looked around. When he didn't see
anything under him he grew upset and tried to fly. With his balance
compromised, Charlie flapped hard to keep airborne and looked for
his man.
Not only had Roman vanished, he couldn't see
the circle of dark-cloaked figures, or the red witch.
She-it!
Fuck! Fuck!
Charlie struggled to fly straight, avoiding
the trees in the darkness and getting exhausted. He hit a low
hanging evergreen branch, one loaded with snow and toppled to the
ground. The snow dumped on him and he poked his head up through the
pile and attempted to shake himself out of it.
Flapping and hopping, Charlie was completely
spent from the effort. He opened his beak and spread his wings to
touch the icy ground to rest. When he looked up, he was near a
cabin or shed of some kind. But it wasn't the shack he and Roman
were familiar with, this was larger. Charlie hopped closer to it,
trying to find a window or a door. He scampered around the length
of the wall and tried to fly, but the exhaustion in him was taking
its toll. Finally getting to the door, which was nothing more than
wooden beams and a handle, Charlie stuck his beak under it and
tried to sniff. But his crow sense of smell didn't compare to his
wolf senses.
He squawked out of frustration.
"Hello?" was called from inside.
"
Butch"
' Charlie hopped up and down in
excitement. "
Butch"
' He cawed and pecked at the wooden
door.
"Is someone out there? Help me!"
Charlie tried to fly higher and use his
talons on the handle but kept missing and tumbling to the ground.
"
Butch!"
He cawed and pecked at the wood.
Calm down,
Mosby
, he told himself.
Ya gotta be a man to do this. Calm
the fuck down
.
"Is someone out there? Help!"
Charlie stopped flapping. He kept his back to
the door and folded his wings over his head.
Calm. Calm
…
~
Roman gasped for breath, fatigued from the
change. He shivered in the snow and looked up into the gleaming
amber eyes of the Alpha male. The sword was brought down to cut him
in half.
Roman rolled out of the way and tried to get
to his feet. The blade made another strike, hitting the ground on
the opposite side. Roman lunged at the legs of the man and was
amazed when he rolled through thick mist and didn't contact a body.
With a supreme effort, Roman got to his feet and confronted his
foe.
"Kneel." The man pointed to the ground in
front of him with the tip of the sword.
"Fuck you." Roman felt his teeth ache and
fought it. He could not win a battle against this man as a wolf.
He'd seen how badly that went.
Facing off, Roman and the Alpha began to
circle each other, looking for the right opportunity to take down
their opponent.
The Alpha swung the blade and the very tip
grazed Roman's stomach. He backed up and clenched his fists.
Behind the warrior, out of the gloom, a band
of soldiers began to emerge.
Roman tried to control his breathing, having
no idea if these phantom shadows were real or imagined.
Four warriors, carrying broadswords, stood at
the Alpha's back. The Alpha smiled.
"You have to be kidding me!" Roman retreated
further, wondering if he was dreaming or awake.
"Welcome my pack." The Alpha gestured behind
him.
"No way!" Roman rubbed his face and hair.
"This is crazy!" He shouted into the air, "Ophelia! Did you drug me
again?" Roman looked for her, for her black-cloaked coven. Then he
glanced down at himself. He was naked and the slice on his skin was
red, but not bleeding. "Am I awake?"
The Alpha took a menacing step closer, the
group of men behind him, poised like a Roman infantry.
"Charlie!" Roman yelled, "Charlie! Where the
fuck are you?"
~
Butch heard bizarre scratching and noises. It
was so dark he couldn't tell where they were coming from. His own
huffing breath and heartbeat was loud in his ears. He tugged at the
bindings, wrenching the leather cords until his skin was raw. The
noise of something hitting the door made him shiver.
Then the door handle actually shook and
creaked.
Butch gulped and never recalled feeling so
helpless.
The door opened and it was so dark outside,
he couldn't see anything. "Oh, Lord, help me."
"Butch…"
"Charlie?" Butch began jerking his limbs to
be free. "Charlie! Thank fuck!" Butch tried to see him in the
darkness. "Where are you? Get me the hell out of here." Out of the
shadows he spotted Charlie crawling towards him. "Charlie?"
As if it took everything the man had, Charlie
made his way to him and began working on the knots at Butch's
ankles. "Oh no. You changed. Charlie, that Alpha fucker…he tied me
up in here."
After untying one ankle, Charlie worked on
the other.
"Goddamn. Where's Roman? Charlie, I am so
messed up in my head, I don't even know what day it is." His legs
free, Butch tried to be quiet as Charlie made his way behind him,
releasing his wrists.
Butch lowered his head and began to cry,
biting his lip. "Charlie. Tell me. Is Roman dead?"
Charlie tugged the leather off Butch's hands
and said, "I don't know."
Butch covered his face in grief then
contained his anguish. "What did the bastard do to y'all?"
"Let's get the hell out of here." Charlie
used the chair to stand.
Butch took off his coat and wrapped it around
Charlie's shoulders. "Where are we?"
"I have no idea." Charlie put the coat on and
gripped Butch's arm, leaning on him for support.
"Jesus H. Christ," Butch said, holding onto
Charlie as they left the building. "I can't see my way out of this
mess."
"Yer not the only one, Butch."
Butch exited the strange cabin and looked up
at the stars in the night sky. "Which way?"
"I don't know. But I want to get away from
this place."
They held onto each other's hands and raced
into the darkness.
~
Roman backed up warily.
The pack was advancing, swords held ready for
battle.
Roman hit a tree as he retreated and ducked
down, trying to get behind its thick branches. The cold snow melted
on his back and the twigs scratched his skin.
Something help
me
.
Roman was trained for many things. But
fighting against unknown beings, holding swords, while he was
naked? Not this.
His tongue kept being drawn to his canines
but he knew the minute he turned wolf, he'd have a pack of angry
canines on him.
Looking behind him as he withdrew, Roman
noticed a red glow in the snow. He made for it, slowly, reaching as
he walked backwards. As he grew closer he could see what it was. It
was his pile of clothing, and his duty weapon.
Roman grabbed it, crouching and pulled the
gun out of the holster. He aimed and opened fire.
The muzzle lit with white flames and the
noise shattered the darkness. The Alpha and his pack hesitated, but
Roman didn't know if the ammo was useless, or he had become a lousy
shot. He crouched behind a tree trunk and aimed at one of the
subordinate males. He shot it in the chest.
It touched the bullet wound and appeared to
have been at least damaged.
The Alpha snarled and showed his teeth. One
by one, Roman picked off the little army. The shots would have been
lethal in a human, but at least these pack members were stunned and
gripping the wounds.
~
"Gun shots!" Butch yelled.
"Roman!" Charlie launched over the snow and
brush, gaining a second wind. He and Butch sprinted towards the
noise, which was echoing in the clear mountain air. As he ran,
Charlie envisioned an army. Not an army of men, an army of
wolves.
Maybe it was ridiculous, but it helped him
remain calm, not change, and gave him hope.
As another shot rang out, giving them a
direction to aim for, Butch began yelling, "Roman!" at the top of
his lungs.
Advancing on some kind of confrontation,
whether it was against the red witch and her coven or the Alpha,
Charlie envisioned timber wolves. Wild, free, and members of his
and Roman's pack.
JP and Goat were in their cabin when they
heard Harley barking like crazy.
"What's that dog up to now?" Goat asked.
"I don't know. Maybe he can't sleep either."
JP looked at the door. "You realize leaving Roman and Charlie alone
on that mountain to find Butch was a dumb idea."
"Well?" Goat stood up. "You want to go back
up there?"
JP headed to the door for his coat. "I do. I
can't stand sitting here doin' nuthin'."
The dog was going berserk.
JP put on his coat and hat, stepping into his
cowboy boots. He picked up the shotgun and said, "Get the
flashlight, Goat."
"I got it." He held up a large plastic
spotlight they used for night hunting. Goat met JP at the door and
when they opened it, the sound of Suzie yelling at the dog to be
quiet was clear. JP and Goat hurried to the ranch house. They stood
on the porch and knocked on the door. Harley was right behind it,
barking like crazy, crazier than they had ever heard him
before.
"Hang on!" Suzie yelled through it. "Harley!
Shut up!" The minute she opened the door, the dog broke from her
grip and took off up the mountain. Both JP and Goat gaped at it in
surprise, then they heard gun fire.
"Are you kiddin' me?" JP jumped out of his
skin. Another shot rang out. "That's gotta be Roman!" He took off
to the barn. "Suzie! Call Sheriff Kenmore!"
"An' Agent Dean!" Goat shouted, running
behind JP.
Two more shot were heard in the distance.
"Goddamn!" JP grabbed his horse out of the
stall and stuffed a bit in its mouth, hopping onto it bareback. It
startled and stomped and then responded to his command, bolting out
of the barn. JP's gun in one hand, the rein in the other, he
galloped as fast as he could.
"Hang on!" Goat yelled as he climbed onto his
horse.
"Come on, Goat!" JP gripped the horse tightly
with his thighs and encouraged it to fly. "Ya! Come on, boy!" JP
followed the crazy Jack Russell back up the mountain trail.
~
Roman heard Butch calling him, so he stopped
shooting. "Over here!" he shouted, crouched low, his hand still
gripped to his pistol. The gun was hot in his hand and the rounds
had gone through the Alpha, doing nothing to stop him.
The Alpha stood his ground but his minions
had vanished.
Noise of panting breaths and twigs snapping
came up behind Roman. He knew who it was.
"Am I glad to see you." Butch crouched down
with Charlie behind him.
"No time for happy reunions." Roman nodded
ahead.
"Damn." Butch obviously saw the Alpha.
"Montague! Ain't you tired of this shit!"
"You know his name?" Roman gasped in
surprise.
"He told me."
Roman eyed the man, who was still holding the
sword. "Charlie…" Roman waited for an answer. When he didn't get
one, he tried to see his lover in the darkness. Charlie was wearing
Butch's coat, crouched down, his eyes closed. "What the hell is
wrong with him?" Roman asked Butch.
"He's been quiet since he saved me. Don't
know."
"Enough!" Roman stood, aiming the gun at the
image of the Alpha and approached him.
"No! Roman! That gun ain't no good!" Butch
grabbed for him.
Roman advanced, step by step, watching the
amber eyes of this creature glow. "You lost. Get lost."
"Only room for one Alpha." He sneered.
"Yes. Me." Roman pointed the gun at the Alpha
and opened fire. The muzzle blasts lit the night and the noise was
deafening. When all his rounds were spent, and his slide locked
back, Roman looked through the steamy smoke. The man was still
standing, sword poised.
"Fuck!" Roman lowered the gun to his side.
"Fight fair!"
The Alpha approached Roman, grinning. "Wolf
to wolf?"
"No! Man to man!" Roman waited, watching
every move this beast made. "Montague? Is that your name?"
"Roman." He sneered. "That is yours."