“No,” Ox snapped. “But your clan does. I can smell it. The sweat dripping down the backs of their necks. The way their heartbeats stutter and trip. You may not be scared, but they are terrified.”
“They will do as they’re told.”
ready be ready run protect the humans get back to the house home safe home
“Then they’re already dead,” Ox said, and it was now, it was now, it was now—
An electronic sound chirruped loudly behind us.
“You there!” a voice called out from a loudspeaker. “Stand down. I repeat, stand down. Lower your weapons and—holy shit, are those wolves?”
Jones.
Many things happened at once.
Ox: move safe home now
and,
the wolves in the air above us screamed as the chains tightened
and,
Rico and Chris and Tanner and Jessie running
and,
the raven broke free of its cage, wings spreading as I hurled the feral wolves at the hunters, their jaws gaping as they snarled, Elijah’s eyes going wide, the hunters shouting,
and,
two shots fired.
A bullet whizzed by near my ear.
The second bullet caused Ox to grunt as it hit him high in the shoulder. I felt it, a burst of it hurts it hurts oh my god it hurts, and he took a step back.
Elijah jumped out of the way as the feral wolves slammed into the group of hunters that had gathered behind her.
Joe roared angrily, even as Ox fell to his knees, his shift taking over. The muscles in his back rippled as black hair sprouted along his skin. His hands became great paws, his face elongating as the wolf emerged.
Mark pushed against my legs, forcing me away from the screaming hunters, who were scrabbling back from the snapping pain of the hurt wolves.
We ran.
I glanced back over my shoulder before we disappeared into the swirling snow. Elijah had picked herself up and was staring after us. She caught my gaze and raised her hand, wiggling her fingers at me.
We passed by the cruiser.
Jones was inside, eyes sightless.
A trickle of blood slid down from the hole in the center of his forehead.
enough
MY LUNGS were burning by the time we reached the house at the end of the lane. The wolves had stayed behind the humans, making sure they didn’t stop. Chris and Tanner were flagging. Elizabeth and Robbie kept them upright, allowing them to lean on their backs, pushing them on.
We passed the blue house, Kelly leading the way, shifting toward human, feet slipping in the snow as he reached the porch of the Bennett house. His eyes were wide and fearful as he looked back at us in time to see Ox fall to the ground, sliding in the snow, leaving a trail of blood behind him.