Authors: Kassanna
An explosion made the glass tremble in the windows. Myka grabbed the edge of the table as the house itself shook. He lifted his head in time to see a blazing, orange fireball rise above the trees and tear up into the sky. Multiple spirals of gray smoke followed and covered the area in a haze.
Boris looked over his shoulder. “Found them. But we are a tad late in stopping them.”
Rhys grunted as he kicked off his other boot. “Dammit, it will take a shitload of money to cover that up.” He shifted, leaped on the table and then bounded off running down the hall.
Boris looked at Myka and shrugged. “I swear my woman can make any day fun.” He shifted and lumbered down the hall at a trot.
“Fun…this is not damn fun!” Myka yelled at Boris’s retreating back then mumbled. “Goddess, keep Tee safe.” He shifted and took off behind his brothers.
Chapter Ten
Tee coughed and waved her hand to clear the smoke billowing in the air. She squinted and looked around her. Where the wall had once stood, a pile of rubble littered the ground and a few men were sprawled on the other side of the debris, unconscious. Fre was already scrambling through the hole Nix created. Nix grabbed her arm to help her over the wreckage but she slipped and sent a spray of rocks tumbling down over Tee.
Tee climbed over the heap and slid down on the other side when she missed her footing. “No offense, Nix, but you really need to practice your technique with C-4.” Tee spoke the words over her shoulder.
“Hey, I’m self-taught although next time I won’t use so much plastique. I mean if Boris would let me handle explosives more often, I’d be hella good blowing shit up. Can you move a little faster? Boris had to have seen the explosion and if I know my bear, he’s on his way.”
“Nix, my family in Louisiana saw that blast.” Tee jumped over the partial drywall and held her hand out to Nix.
They both straightened and met Fre at the bottom of the heap. She put her finger to her lips and then pointed at the dark opening through the haze. Tee nodded. She and Nix moved to stand on each side of the doorjamb and waited. Within seconds guards poured through the opening. Shocked to see Fre, they stopped and corked the bottleneck they were creating.
Fre flicked a salute to the confused men. Tee kicked the knee of one of the sentries blocking the doorway and he fell forward. When he went down she thrust her foot up catching him in the chin. He dropped. Men pushed over him and Fre stepped up and swung a fist at the sentinel behind the fallen man.
Nix caught the next guard, climbing over his body like a monkey. She curled her legs around his shoulders, grabbed him by the chin, and twisted his neck. She leaped from his shoulders when he dropped. Tee took on the next man, catching him across the throat with a forearm, giddy that she had the chance to engage in some hand-to-hand combat. He made a gurgling noise before tumbling down into the growing pile of fallen men.
Tee looked down the hall searching for another opponent. When she didn’t see any more men, she crooked her fingers to her friends and entered the shadowed passage. People were yelling and scurrying about at the other end of the hallway. Tee shook her head and paused before crossing into the brightly lit area.
It appeared that the explosion created some confusion. Tee peered around the edge and spotted a group of guards surrounding a couple as they moved across the room. She pulled back.
“I see a couple, both of them have blond hair. The woman is taller than the man,” Tee whispered. “I’ve never seen Roman or Seri, so I can’t be sure if that’s who they are.”
Nix and Fre nodded. Nix spoke. “That could be them. But there is only one way to find out.” Nix sprinted past her into the open space.
Tee looked over at Fre. “Not only is Myka gonna kill me, but it seems Nix wants Boris to have a hand in my death too.”
“Girl, live a little. The worst you might get is a spanking and let me tell you, there have been many days I’ve been a little naughty on purpose.” Fre patted Tee’s shoulder and ran past her.
Tee took a deep breath and rounded the corner. Fre and Nix stood still. Tee moved to stand between them and came face-to-face with a group of wolves. They’d formed a line between them and the couple on the other side of the room.
“See, this is why you never underestimate the beauty of planning ahead,” Tee remarked drily.
“Roman, you shit. Act like a wolf. I challenge you, you bastard. You want my son, fight me for him, dammit!” Fre called out as she slid shells into the shotguns chamber with a slide of her hand.
Tee wiped a hand down her face. Really, could the situation get any worse? “Fre, honey, you’re human,” she whispered.
Nix clutched the crossbow in one hand and a knife in the other. “Ya know, Fre. Tee has a point.”
A guard growled and stepped forward, saliva dripped from his maw. Tee inched forward and placed herself between the animal and Fre. The man she assumed was Roman moved up. He stood just about five foot seven with a stocky build. His sandy-blond hair was tied in a ponytail at the back of his head. His suit, disheveled, was ill-fitting. If she wasn’t mistaken, it appeared he hadn’t exactly kept fit either. He could have been a businessman experiencing a midlife crisis.
Roman scoffed. “Fighting a human woman is beneath me. I wouldn’t expend the effort of dirtying my hands. Kill them,” he ordered his men.
Tee caught the movement as one beast leaped up from the corner of her eye. She pulled the gun from her hip, took aim, and fired. The single shot landed in the chest of the animal and sent him flying back. Tee drew her other sidearm and took a few steps forward, her arms extended straight.
“Listen up, I will bust a cap in the ass of the next wolf who tries to jump us. So you may want to ask yourselves, are you feeling froggy?” Tee met the stares of a few of the predators crouched down before her and decided to bait the beast in charge. “Roman, right? We don’t know each other but I have to say you’re coming off as a real punk. I mean, a human woman issues a challenge and instead of stepping up you let your men do your dirty work. I can see why your pack is suffering. I mean what wolf secure in their wolfiness would want to follow a sorry ass such as yourself?”
She thought about and discarded plans in her head. Under the guise of checking out her opponents, she took a quick scan of the room. Another animal moved forward and she cocked her gun. “Do the math, dumbass. Fifteen bullets and one in the chamber, even if I miss a few, there are still more than enough to take several of you out.”
The woman eased up next to a glowering Roman. Her eyes were cold and her face was tight with a slight blush to her cheeks. She gripped his arm and gave a slight shake of her head. “Let’s talk, snake. You are a snake aren’t you? That’s the sense I get. I mean there are so few animals who actually like to wallow in the dirt.” She sneered.
Tee snorted. “If that’s your best attempt at an insult, dog, try again. I don’t have to say much since the mate you’re hanging onto appears to be more than enough of an embarrassment.”
“What shifter wouldn’t be leery at sullying his hands with a human? Think about it, it would be an unfair fight. Actually, my husband is being quite generous,” the woman continued.
Tee focused on the woman. “You must be, Seri. I find it interesting you refer to ole Roman there as your husband and not your mate. I suppose the claiming wasn’t so hot, huh?”
Seri puckered her lips before she visibly relaxed. “You’re no better than those two humans it seems your hell-bent on protecting.”
“I see your lips moving but all I hear is blah, bah, blah. You want to talk, say something worth my time to listen. If not, my suggestion would be to shift because I’m coming for you and just so you know, I can produce enough venom to drop a horse in ten-point-two-five seconds.”
Nix whistled before commenting. “Dayum, Tee. I have a newfound respect for your abilities.”
Fre chuckled, then added. “Me too.”
“Shut up you freaks!” Seri snapped. “I will accept your challenge on my husband’s behalf.”
Tee exhaled. “It’s a damn shame, Roman, when your woman has more balls than you do. Let’s establish a few rules shall we. You will fight me, not Fre, and I leave it your choice. Do we fight as humans or as our animals?”
“I don’t care what you fight as.” Seri lunged as she shifted.
Tee holstered her weapons and fell back in an arch. Flipping up, she felt the burning pain where Seri had torn into her midriff with her claws. Nix screamed something she didn’t quite catch. The wolves surrounded them closing off any escape routes. Seri snarled, opening and snapping her jaws. Tee straightened and turned her head left and right to loosen the muscles in her neck. Nix stood close to Fre, her crossbow aimed at the animal nearest to them. Tee partially shifted and smiled wide to show her fangs. Seri stilled.
“What’s the matter, bitch, scared of getting bit?” Tee’s word slurred as she spoke around the additional teeth in her mouth.
The wolf stalked her moving slowly. Nix screamed something about Seri’s legs, temporarily distracting Tee. Seri’s nails beat a hurried tattoo on the tile floor, the only indication she’d moved. She leaped at Tee. Tee slid to the side grabbing the animal by the scruff of the neck and rolling across her back. She shifted into her beast and fell beneath Seri, striking at her smooth belly as the wolf landed.
Tee slithered to Fre and Nix, coiling her body in front of them. She stiffened, lifted her head, and watched as Seri took a few steps before collapsing. Beyond their small group growls and bellows could be heard. Tee returned to her human form. Out of the darkness from the passageway where they entered the room, a gray wolf flew over their heads. The shifters surrounding them turned anxiously, glancing around. Roman broke through the line and dropped to his knees, pulling Seri’s head into his lap.
She cleared her throat. “You have an hour, maybe. If you leave now, you can save her. I didn’t release near my normal amount of venom.” Tee cocked her head and watched as Roman gathered Seri into his arms. Her adrenaline would be pumping, pushing the poison through her system quickly. The blonde wolf was too weak to even shift to her human form.
Roman barked orders at his men and they preceded him with a few hanging behind facing them.
* * * *
A brown wolf jumped from the rubble to block Myka’s path. The animal growled a warning. Fuck that, he could smell Tee and she was close. More wolves emerged from beyond the destroyed wall like ants fleeing an anthill. He jumped for his opponent’s jugular, chomping down on fur and flesh. The beast yowled, and Myka viciously shook his head to rip muscle from bone. Blood coated his mouth, dripping from his lips. Claws ripped at his legs as the wolf tried to pull free of his grasp. A twist of his head, he felt the windpipe crush under the pressure of his jaws. He released the limp animal and ran at the next one.
He could hear his brothers’ growls and the yelps of their opponents told him Rhys and Boris were tearing through Roman’s sentinels. He met a gray wolf at the top of the cement pile. The wolf head-butted him in the chest and Myka lost his footing, his hind legs slipping on the smaller, looser stones. He clawed at the rocks to keep from tumbling back.
The other wolf turned his back and scraped its feet over the concrete sending pebbles showering down on him. The bastard’s tail waved in front of his muzzle. Myka threw all his weight forward and clamped down on the appendage. The animal took off running and pulled Myka up over the slab. He let go of the tail and leaped on the beast’s back, digging his nails in before rebounding off to land in front of the wolf. Myka spun around and dropped low, prepared to lunge. The animal couldn’t stop its forward momentum and barreled into Myka. Countering the move, he reared up on his hind legs and cut into his enemy’s chest with his front claws.
Tee’s scent wafted to his nose. The metallic smell of blood, her blood, sent him into a frenzy. Swiping his paw and cutting the beast’s muzzle, he leaped forward and bit down on the animal’s ear, tearing it in two. He spit out the torn flap and bit down on the wolf’s neck. The creature reared up trying to get free. Myka twisted his head, tossing the beast back and forth. He saw Rhys in his peripheral vision before his brother pounced, his paws landing close to Myka’s nose on the animal’s back and snapping its spine. Myka dropped the wolf where he stood and glanced up at Rhys. His brother lifted his muzzle and howled. Myka followed Rhys’s lead, reiterating his brother’s cry.
Death comes
.
A gray-and-white wolf whizzed past their heads, flying down the hall. Boris grunted behind them. They ran into the passage, fear skittered along Myka’s nerves twisting in his gut. She was hurt, and he knew it. There was no other reason to smell her blood. If she wasn’t badly injured, he’d wait until she healed, then he’d kill her. He saw her, standing in front of the other women like the soldier she was trained to be. Ignoring his brother’s barks he trotted to her and stood at her feet baring his teeth, placing himself between her and the sentries who were backing away.
Roman was retreating. He cradled a blonde wolf to his chest. Boris and Rhys flanked him. Together they watched their enemies’ hasty departure.
Myka shifted and glanced over his shoulder. “Did you kill her?”
Tee shook her head. “No, not if he can get to the antivenom in time. She has half an hour maybe forty-five minutes before it’s too late.”
“Why didn’t you kill her?” Boris asked.
Tee was quiet and Myka turned to face her. “Tee?”
She shuffled forward and cupped his face with one hand, while she grabbed her belly with the other. Before Tee couldn’t explain herself, she collapsed into Myka’s arms. He scooped her up, looked down where her hand fell away from her stomach, and saw three deep gouges above her belly button. Fear ate at his insides while he quelled the panic bubbling up his throat. He inhaled and the act of breathing hurt. Myka turned to rush her from the scene.
Rhys gripped his shoulder. “Our men should be here. We can meet them outside. Get Tee some help.”
Myka shook Rhys hand away and started walking quickly.