"Bobby Sue," Dwayne yelled over the growling and gnashing of teeth as Granny approached the Wolves. "You stop right now."
He was clearly using some kind of Vampyre voodoo on her as her gait slowed. She moved as if she was underwater but she didn't stop. Her determination sickened me and I watched in horror, ready to shoot anything that jumped her.
The snapping of jaws increased. It sounded like a disjointed melody punctuated by hisses and yips of rage. My instinct to shift was almost debilitating but I stayed in human form. I refused to let my inner turmoil and fear for my clearly insane grandmother unhinge my focus. My training was top notch and I was about to put it to a test like I never had.
Granny was headed toward two silver Wolves at the back of the Pack. Hank was coming up with speed around the other side of the pool and Dwayne hovered over Granny as she blindly ran. The clusterhump was seconds away and I quickly pulled another gun from my belt. I was ambidextrous as far as shooting went, but I could only aim one gun at a time. Shit shit shit.
It happened like a slow motion B movie with a plot that gave you nightmares for the rest of your life. The two wolves she was headed for backed away hissing and snarling as the rest of the Pack went for my Granny. I aimed and fired repeatedly, missing most of my targets because they were too close to her. Hank attacked the two biggest wolves on the outer edge and was in a fight for his life. I continued to shoot and mortally wounded three.
Dwayne was a tornado of fire as he ripped through several who were trying somewhat successfully to tear him apart. However, Granny wasn't defending herself. She was intent on the two who refused to fight. What in the hell was she doing?
The bullets were useless. I tossed the guns and shifted. I backed up about ten feet from the pool and took a running leap over it into the fray. My back paws caught the edge and I went tumbling into the bloodbath. Power surged through me as I ripped and tore at anything that came near. I lost sight of Granny and prayed like hell she would have the wherewithal to shift and fight.
A vicious burn shot up my back left leg as a large brown Wolf clamped his massive jaws down on me. Something unfamiliar roared through my blood and came out of my mouth—a sound so chilling it made me ill. I embraced it, flipped backwards and tore the Wolf attached to my leg to shreds. The blood ran hot down my throat as I clamped down on his neck and ruptured every major artery. His gurgled snarl as he bled out was beautiful and horrifying. The thing living inside of me wasn't satisfied though. It wanted more. It wanted to kill more. The thing was me, I realized with shock… and I needed to kill more.
It was so fast and so violent I was unsure where to focus next. Fur and bodies were flying. My coat was matted with blood and a deep laceration over my left eye made seeing difficult. I went by scent and continued to maim, mutilate, and kill. Part of my soul had taken a leave and I felt like an atrocity on autopilot.
Not knowing if we were winning or losing, I kept going. As I plowed through the rabid Wolves I searched desperately for Granny and Hank. Dwayne was still flying above even though it was clear he'd lost a few parts.
"Speak to me," I demanded of Hank and Granny. "Where are you? Are you okay?"
"Never better," Hank grunted. "Five down. Four left. By the tennis courts. Go, go, go."
He didn't have to ask twice. I leapt over the dead and bounded to the tennis courts. What I saw was stupefying and I didn't know what to do. I skidded to a halt and tried to make sense of the scene in front of me.
Two jet black Wolves had Granny pinned to the ground. I howled with agony when I saw how damaged she was. She was unconscious and I was unsure if she was still alive. There was so much blood. Why hadn't she shifted?
Hank halted as he realized the same thing I did. The other two Wolves, the ones Granny had been trying to reach, were challenging the ones that had her down. They were silver gray and huge. Foam and blood dripped from their fangs as they advanced on the black Wolves. Granny's limp body was tossed behind the black Wolves as they dove at the ones trying to get to her. Was it a fight for the kill or were they trying to stop the black ones?
"What's happening?" I asked Hank as he inched closer, only to get thrown violently back by the larger of the silver Wolves.
"It looks like they're trying to defend Granny," he grunted as he struggled to his feet. "It makes no sense."
"Is she food?" I asked, horrified at the thought.
"Normally I'd say no. Wolves don't eat each other, but today I'm not sure," he said as he approached again. "I'll distract them. You try to get to Granny."
I'd seen Wolves fight. I'd seen Wolves fight to the death, but I'd never seen anything as vicious as the battle raging over Granny. The Vampyre blood coursing through my system made me an unstable monstrous killing machine, but these Wolves were downright barbaric. They were going for eyes and jaws, not directly for the kill. The damage they were inflicting was meant to cause humiliation and physical misery. My stomach churned as I attempted to circle the perimeter and get to Granny. How had I killed any of them? Had I fought with that kind of depravity just moments ago?
I pushed the thoughts away and tried to close in. If I could get to her I could drag her to relative safety as the blacks and silvers destroyed each other.
"Hank, stay back. None of them need our help. They're doing fine on their own with annihilating each other. Circle around and meet me at Granny."
"On it," Hank said gruffly as he inched along the far side of the assault.
The sounds of death mixed with eerie howls suspended my forward motion briefly. The silver grays had won. The black Wolves lay torn and mangled on the ground. Blood flowed and the silver Wolves appeared pretty torn up. As they made their way to Granny I increased my trot to a sprint. There was no way in hell they were going to eat her. It would be over my dead body.
I reached her very still body before they did and turned and growled. My teeth gnashed and I felt a blast of surreal and deadly rage rush through me. I stared straight into their red eyes with aggression and hatred. If they took one more step they would die. I might die with them, but I would not go out alone.
Hank's shoulder touched mine and the snarls and blinding sparks that swirled around his body were mesmerizing. They gray Wolves halted and watched with eyes narrowed to slits.
"I don't know if you can understand me, but if you take one step closer to my granny it will be the last thing you ever do," I hissed savagely. I held my bleeding head high and kept eye contact. "I don't know if you can understand the concept of love or family, but she is mine. She is all the family I have left in the world. If you go for her I will crucify you and send you straight to hell."
Time felt suspended as we stared at each other, waiting for one pair to make the first move.
"She's dying," the larger of the gray Wolves said in a deep and melodic voice. "Go to her. We are leaving."
With that they turned and walked away. Several times they glanced back. Hank and I stood our ground and didn't move a muscle until they had reached the far edge of the property and disappeared.
"What was that?" Hank whispered.
"They understand our language and they can speak it," I said as I scanned the tree line for proof they were truly gone.
"That makes no sense. Why would they leave?"
"I don't know. Are they definitely gone?" I asked. I saw no movement in the tree line, but I didn't trust they had left. These Wolves were far different than any I'd ever dealt with.
Hank lifted his muzzle to the wind and sniffed. "They're gone, but we don't know if they're coming back. We need to get Granny inside. Shift."
As I shifted and turned, my stomach dropped to my toes. Dwayne's agonized screams bounced in my head and I closed my eyes hoping when I opened them the horror before me would be different.
It wasn't.
Dwayne held a lifeless looking Granny in his mangled arms and rocked her while he wailed. This was not happening. She was going to walk me down the aisle. Granny was going to babysit my children so
me day and teach them bad words and how to play paintball without safety gear. She was going to feed them ice cream for dinner and they would tell her secrets Hank and I would never be privy to. She was supposed to ground me when she realized I got Hank's name tattooed on my ass. I hadn't even had time to get inked so she could be pissed and tackle me. This was wrong. This was not supposed to happen.
Speech left me as I dropped to the ground and felt for a pulse. It was a whisper, but it was there.
"Shift, damn it," I screamed at her unconscious body. "You have to shift to heal."
I grabbed her from Dwayne and shook her. She simply had to wake up and shift. "Wake up," I cried out as my own blood and tears rolled down my face.
"She has to wake up," I shouted at Dwayne. "Make her wake up. Please God, please God, please God," I muttered hysterically as I continued to shake her.
"Essie, stop," Hank said in a raw and pained voice as he squatted down next to me and tried to take Granny out of my arms.
"No," I hissed and slapped him away. "Can't you see? I just have to wake her up. Then she can shift and she'll be okay. Just let me wake her up. You'll see. She'll be just fine," I sobbed as I buried my face in her bloody hair. "She has to be fine. I need her."
"Essie, she's dying," Hank said grimly. "Let's bring her inside and make her comfortable."
"She's not dying," I insisted angrily. "She still has a pulse. She just has to… "
I couldn't finish. It hurt too much. I felt her slipping away as I gripped her body tightly to mine.
"I love you so much. My world will be so wrong without you in it," I murmured in her ear. "I forgot to tell you I was going to wear a purple dress to get married in, but now I have to wear that buttass awful one of Mrs. Wilson's. You would have been so pissed if I wore purple… please wake up, Granny. Please."
"She has a pulse?" Dwayne asked as her took her wrist and pressed on it.
I nodded and gently pushed the bloody hair off of her beautiful face.
"Why did she do this?" I asked through my tears as I tried to make sense of her behavior. "She didn't even try to defend herself."
Dwayne stood up and stared up at the setting sun for a long moment. "I'll need your permission," he said in a hollow voice.
"For what?" Hank asked as he wrapped Granny and me in his strong arms.
"I don't know if it will work since she's so damaged, but I want to try."
"Try what?" Hank asked tersely.
"She has a slight pulse and she's taken my blood," he said slowly as if he were piecing a plan together as he spoke.
"Yes. And?" I asked in frustrated confusion.
He looked straight at me and was more serious than I'd ever seen him. My head began to spin and my body trembled.
"Get to the point," Hank ground out.
"I want to turn Granny. I want to turn her into a Vampyre."
Chapter 12
"Absolutely not," Hank growled forcefully as he rose to his feet and placed himself between Dwayne and us.
"Why?" Dwayne asked as he paced tight small circles and wrung his quickly regenerating hands. "She's dying. Why wouldn't you give her another chance?"
"What in the hell would she even become?" Hank demanded harshly.
"I don't know," Dwayne admitted slowly. "I just don't know."
I sat silently and absorbed what was playing out. Would Granny want to be a Vampyre? Would I? Would her Wolf die if she was turned? Was I horrifically selfish to want to yell yes?
Glancing down at the precious woman in my arms I wished I could ask her. I shook her gently again trying one last time to wake her so she could shift and this whole conversation would be moot. I didn't want to make the decision, but I was very cognizant it was my decision to make. What would she choose for me if the tables were turned?
"Will she make it through the transition?" I asked quietly.
Hank's head jerked to me in surprise and I met his confused stare head on.
"I'm not sure if she'll survive it," Dwayne answered honestly. "It's difficult even if she's in top form. Plus, I've never turned a Were before."
"This is insane," Hank muttered angrily. "It's unnatural and could go more wrong than we could ever conceive."
"Why?" Dwayne shot back viciously. "Because I'm a Vampyre? She will be less because she will become a blood-drinking abomination of the night? Is that your issue, Wolf?"
"That's not what I said," Hank ground out in fury as he went toe-to-toe with Dwayne.
"Maybe not in words," Dwayne hissed and began to glow.
"Stop it," I cried out as they circled each other aggressively.
Gone was my silly gay Vampyre BFF and gone was my compassionate loving mate. They were two supernatural creatures about to kill each other.
"This is unacceptable," I yelled as they both stopped and struggled to regain their composures. "Granny would have both of your butts in a sling for this kind of behavior. I'm about to stand up and open a can of whoop ass on you two right now. We just survived Dragons and some whacked-out Wolves. We did this together. You will not harm each other. I can't take it."
Both men had the grace to look shamed.
I stood up carefully and held the limp, almost lifeless form of my beloved grandmother in my arms. I was hoping for some divine intervention as to what to do, but there was none. It was my call and I would make it.
"Hank," I said softly as I waited for him to look at me. After a moment of gathering himself and releasing his anger, his beautiful eyes rose to mine. "If it were me dying in your arms and you had the chance to keep me with you… what would your choice be?"
I already knew what my choice was, but I needed him to understand. I wanted him on board with me because I had no idea how it would all go down. I needed him like I needed to breathe and I was certain I couldn't do this alone. If I had to, I would—but I didn't want to.
He turned away and paced like a caged animal. Running his hands through his hair, his shoulders slumped forward and a shudder wracked his body. With slow methodical steps he walked back and stood in front of me. The pain in his eyes stole my breath and I moved toward him with Granny still in my arms.
"You are my reason for living," he said as he reverently ran his thumb along my bruised and battered cheek. "My existence is hollow and meaningless without you. I would kill for you and die for you. So yes, I would make the choice for you to be with me, no matter what the consequences."
My eyes filled with tears as he gently pressed his lips to mine and then to Granny's forehead. I loved him more with each day and minute that passed. I was not an easy person and he was as complicated as they came, but we fit together perfectly.
"Dwayne," I said as I moved away from Hank and approached him. "I love you and thank you for this gift. I want you to turn Granny."
"Essie," he began.
"I know she might not make it," I cut him off before he explained the dangers. "However, it will give her a chance. She'll be thrilled she can fly all the time. And just think… you and she can keep the drag-strip act together for eternity."
My small giggle belied my fear, but the chance Granny could survive gave me strength and hope. I didn't want to hear what she would have to go through to live, but I was going to man up and ask.
"Will it…" I stuttered.
"Yes, it will hurt," Dwayne said in a business-like tone that I understood. This was difficult for him. He adored my granny like she was his own.
"How long?" Hank asked.
"A week or so," he answered. "I will drain the rest of her blood and then I'll slash my wrist and feed her hourly for three days."
"She'll know what's happening?" I paled at the thought of what I had agreed to, but knew it was right.
"No," he said tersely. "I don't think she will understand until she rises. She'll feel the pain but won't know why."
"Oh my god," I muttered as I held her tight. My stomach clenched and my throat felt raw. What if I put her through this and she didn't make it? Her last days on thi
s earth would be excruciating. "Am I being selfish?' I whispered.
"Only you can answer that," Dwayne replied. "But if it makes you feel better I would do the same for you, even knowing what the risks were. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think she had a chance to survive. I love her too much to put her through what she's about to endure."
I knew he did and I did too. Her pulse was barely there now and I worried we might be too late if I asked more questions.
"Do it. Now," I said as I handed her over to Dwayne. "What can we do to help?"
"Leave," Dwayne said, carefully knowing it was not what I wanted to hear.
"What?" Hank demanded. "You can't think we're going to leave her here."
Some Were In Time Page 13
