by JC Holly
This time as Farrell’s previous position came into sight, he was nowhere to be seen. Two dead wolves lay on the floor, though, both with their throats torn out. As he wondered where his partner had gone, he heard a snarl and looked up to the top of the car to find Farrell, his gaze locked on Victor’s two attackers. With a leap he landed on top of the larger wolf, forcing him to the dirt where they thrashed about, claws and teeth flying.
Victor would have smirked if his muzzle was capable. Thinks he’s a wrestler. Regardless of the dramatic entrance, that left him with only one target, and by himself Gray wasn’t much of a fighter. Victor feigned a dodge to the left, then came in hard and sank his teeth in the wolf’s throat. They thrashed for a moment, but soon fell still, and Victor bounded over to Avani and Sandy, confident that Farrell could deal with his wolf.
The girls didn’t need the help. Of their three opponents, only two still stood, and one of those was limping hard. As soon as they spotted Victor’s approach, they both made a break for it. Avani went to follow, but Victor yipped at her to stop.
She was wounded, but only a few nips to her side. Sandy had emerged unscathed, though. A yelp behind them had all three turn to watch Farrell finish off his enemy and stand. He shook his head and then bounded over to the rest of them. His shoulder was bleeding heavily, but he seemed not to notice. Victor wished he could say the same about his neck. The pain was intense, and he could feel his fur soaking through with blood. Farrell inspected it and then nuzzled the good side.
A screeching of tires nearby had all four alert and snarling again, but it was short-lived. A familiar pickup truck had stopped next to Avani’s trashed car, and Paul stuck his head out of the window.
“More are coming. Get in!”
As he said it, another engine roared from somewhere near the cabin. All four ran for the truck then leapt into the back, one at a time. Once they were all inside, Paul slammed his foot on the accelerator hard enough to spin the tires, and they shot off into the night.
* * * *
Avani was the first to shift back once they’d arrived at Sandy’s place, and disappeared up the stairs with Sandy in search of clothing. Every pack house held a cache of clothing of various sizes in case of emergencies, and Avani soon reappeared in a bathrobe carrying two plastic bags marked “male, large.”
They had lost their pursuers soon after they’d hit the main roads, but even so Paul kept an eye on the front window. After all, Gabriel would know the addresses of most of the pack, this one especially. Still, it made more sense not to lead them elsewhere just in case they ended up revealing the address of one of the pack’s properties that they hadn’t already known.
Victor shifted next, and wished that he hadn’t. Shifting wounded was always risky and painful, but he had no alternative. The wound on his neck needed treating, and it couldn’t be done in wolf form unless he wanted to stay in that form until it healed. A shift would just retear what had already started to mend.
As soon as he was human again, he tore open one of the bags and pulled on a pair of jeans and sat on the kitchen chair that Sandy had pulled into the front room. She had a first aid box opened on the floor, and began cleaning the wound.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she said. “They missed the artery, and the damage to the muscle looks minor. Couple of days and you’ll be fighting fit.”
Victor smiled in response, but most of his attention was on Farrell. He was still in wolf form, due to the bullet in his shoulder. Shifting could be fatal until it was removed.
Avani bent over him and peered at the wound. “Fuck, what were you doing getting shot at?”
Farrell growled and nipped playfully at her. She scratched his head then snatched a pair of tweezers and a lighter from Sandy’s first aid box.
“This is going to hurt like hell,” she said as she ran the lighter over the ends of the tweezers to sterilize them. “Try not to move too much.”
Farrell nodded once, then lay on his side and shut his eyes. He yelped once as Avani started work, but didn’t move.
Paul came over to Victor and glanced at Sandy’s work. “Nice job.”
“Ex-nurse,” she said with a shrug. “You never forget.”
Victor reached up and punched Paul on the arm. “We all owe you big, man.”
“Eh, don’t worry about it. It’s what packs do.”
“How did you know where we were?”
“I stopped by the bar, and Ethan filled me in. I was on my way home and decided to swing by the area just in case, heard the fight and saw a couple of trucks full of Weres headed your way.”
“You probably saved our lives.”
Paul smirked. “Probably? Think you could take on that many wolves with a hole in you?”
“Me, no. Farrell, though…Maybe. Guy’s a machine.”
Paul raised an eyebrow. “Who would’ve thought it from the pacifist.”
Farrell chuffed in response, then yelped.
“I said stay still, jackass,” Avani said. “I’m two inches deep into your shoulder, trying to dig a chunk of lead out.”
Victor laughed and shook his head, then winced as the motion sent pain searing down his neck.
“And you’re no better,” Sandy muttered.
“Sorry, nurse.”
“That’s more like it.” She applied a thick bandage and taped it into place. “And if anyone’s thankful tonight it’s me. You guys risked your lives to rescue me.”
“Like Paul said, it’s what packs do,” Avani said. “Okay, bullet’s out. Time for you to show us all your cock, Farrell.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Paul said. “The guy’s far too eager to strip off.”
“Well it’ll be new to me,” Sandy said. “And I’m all for new experiences.”
“It’s quite the sight,” Victor said with a laugh.
Farrell stood on all fours and shook his furry head, then chuffed once. All four turned away as he shifted, then back as he spoke.
“I happen to be very proud of my body.”
“I’m a big fan, too,” Victor said. “How’s the shoulder?”
He stooped to rifle through the second clothes bag. “Hurts, but I’ve had worse.”
The wound on his human form was at the back of the shoulder, and small. It was deep though, as bullet wounds generally were, and the shift had caused it to bleed anew. Avani wiped it up with a sterilized pad and slapped a bandage on top.
“You’ll be fine in a week or so,” she said.
Farrell smiled and pulled on a pair of jogging pants. More like a couple of days, Victor thought. The sooner, the better, of course.
As the other four discussed the night they’d had, Victor disappeared into the kitchen with the phone to update Ethan. He picked up on the first ring, and Victor had never heard him sound more stressed.
“We’re all fine,” he started with, just to calm the man. “Sandy is safe, and we’re all in one piece. Just a few minor wounds from a fight and a trashed car.”
“Shit. But you got away safe?”
“We did, yeah. Paul was in the area and heard the fight.”
Ethan sighed. “Thank god. I may have to promote him. So, tell me about the wounds.”
Victor curled his fingers around the phone a little tighter as his neck twinged. “Sandy’s fine, Avani’s just got a few scrapes. I have a torn throat, but nothing a couple of days won’t fix, and Farrell took a bullet to the shoulder.”
“A bullet?”
“Yeah. Avani got it out, though. Small caliber, so it didn’t do too much damage. You know how fast he recovers.”
“Yeah. Even so, though, since when does Gabriel allow guns?”
“Looks like he’s stepping up again.”
“Kidnapping, murder, and now guns, too. He has to be stopped.”
“He will be, boss.” Victor glanced back into the front room. “Soon as I catch a few hours’ sleep, I’m good to go.”
“Nuh-uh. No way. You and Farrell are off duty for th
e next three days.”
“Three?” Victor restrained the urge to swear. “We’re in a war, boss. There’s no way I’m taking three days off. One day.”
“Who’s the boss here, Vic? Two days. Final answer.”
“Two, unless there’s an emergency. Then you call.”
Ethan sighed. “Fine. But you’d better not show your face unless I call you. Same goes for Farrell.”
Victor smiled as the image of him and Farrell holed up in their apartment for two days sprung into his head. “Done. I’m sure I can distract him for that long.”
Ethan laughed. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll think of something. Just make sure you call or text every eight hours. I’m having all pack members do it now.”
Victor agreed to keep Ethan informed, then hung up and headed into the front room and gave Farrell the news. He took it better than Victor did.
“Eh, fair enough. As long as he calls if we’re needed, I’m fine with that. We have a date tomorrow, after all.”
“A date?” Paul said with a grin. “Since when do either of you date?”
Victor shrugged. “I figured it’d make a change from casual sex.”
Farrell pouted. “We can’t do both?”
“Nobody’s stopping you,” Avani said, gesturing to the sofa. “Get to it.”
Paul laughed. “We really need to find you a boyfriend, Avani.”
“Or a girlfriend. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m no longer fussy.”
Victor laughed and gestured for Farrell to follow him into the kitchen. He did, and once they were alone, Victor kissed him hard on the mouth, ignoring the pain that flared in his neck.
“How’s the shoulder? Really.”
Farrell smiled. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s sore, but I can still move it okay. Hell, throw a bottle of whisky down me and I won’t feel a thing. What about you?”
“I’m fine. It’s sore, but there’s no serious damage.” He grinned. “Though that whisky wouldn’t go amiss.”
Farrell ran a light hand over the bandage on Victor’s neck. “We’ll stick to our original plan for now. Movie, then a coffee. We should probably stay here till the morning, though, then get Sandy somewhere safe.”
“Yeah. She can stay with Avani.”
Farrell waggled his eyebrows. “Hey, maybe Avani’ll get lucky.”
“I heard that,” Sandy shouted from the other room.
Chapter Nine
Farrell woke before the rest of the house. More accurately, he’d woken several times over the course of the night, each time because he’d rolled onto his shoulder. After the last attempt to sleep failed, he decided enough was enough and got out of bed.
He’d told the others that his shoulder wasn’t that bad, but he’d only said that to stop them worrying. He was pretty sure Avani knew. After all, she knew exactly how deep the bullet had been. She wouldn’t breathe a word, though, and he was glad of it. Even as bad as it was it would still heal fast, and if everyone thought it wasn’t too bad they wouldn’t be surprised when he was fine in a few days. All he had to do was hide the pain for the first day or so, and that was no big deal, since he and Vic had been relieved of duty. He stretched his good arm out wide, then dipped to touch his toes. Everything else seemed to work, at least.
He and Victor had been given the spare room of Sandy’s house, and more than one joke was made about what they’d get up to overnight. In the end though, despite how much both of them wanted to, they both decided a night’s rest would make more sense. Besides, there was only a single bed, and neither of them was feeling spry enough to contort themselves onto it. Instead Farrell had insisted Vic take the bed.
He left Victor sleeping and crept out of the door, something he’d developed a knack for over the centuries, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. To his surprise, Paul was still awake and sat in the armchair he’d flopped into last night when he insisted he’d keep watch. He smiled as Farrell nodded to the kitchen.
“Coffee?”
“God, yes.” Paul rubbed his face. “Make it a large one.”
“If I had more energy I’d make a rude joke.”
Paul followed him into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as Farrell investigated Sandy’s cupboards. After some rifling he found some cups as well as the sugar bowl. He flipped her coffeemaker on and winced as it beeped loud enough to wake the dead. Or in this case the others upstairs.
“So,” Paul said as he glanced out into the garden. “How’s the shoulder really?”
“What do you mean?”
The big man raised an eyebrow. “You think I haven’t noticed how you’re doing everything one-handed?”
Farrell sighed. “It’s pretty damn painful. Kept me up for half the night. I’ve not got a huge amount of mobility, either.”
“I figured as much. Makes you glad you’re a Were, doesn’t it?”
“I hear that.” He shrugged his good shoulder. “I’ll avoid doing much with it for a day or so, and then start stretching and exercising it after that. No wolf for a while, though.”
Paul nodded. “That must be the hardest part for you.”
“Pretty much.” Farrell took the full cup from the coffeemaker and handed it to Paul. “Guess I’ll have to let Vic do all the heavy lifting for a while.”
“I can manage that.”
He turned to find Victor in the door, a bemused smiled on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me it was so bad?”
“You’ve been standing in the doorway listening?”
Victor laughed. “I’m a friggin’ werewolf, Farrell. I could hear you from the other end of the street.”
Farrell shook his head. “Okay, so I’m not that smart first thing in the morning.”
“Apparently not.” Victor folded his arms. “You gonna be okay for the date?”
“I’m not that much of an invalid. Pretty sure I can cope with hand holding and the odd smooch.”
“Glad to hear it. You can prove it by pouring me a coffee.”
The girls woke shortly after, and all five gathered in the living room. As they had decided last night, Sandy would head off to stay with Avani for a while, and Sandy started fretting over what clothes to take, and what to leave. Avani watched, bemused. She’d never been the girly girl type, as anybody who’d seen her in a bar fight could attest.
The conversation soon turned serious, though, as they considered Gabriel’s next move. As Paul had been a member of his pack, he did most of the talking.
“He’ll probably do one of two things. Either he’ll go quiet for a few days while he decides on a course of action, or he’ll spring right into a counterattack.” Paul finished his coffee and thumped the cup onto the coffee table. “He took a lot of casualties last night, and at the hands of only four wolves. He’ll be pissed off, but he’s usually not one to act out of rage. We survived the night, and Ethan hasn’t called anything in, so hopefully it’s the first of the two, and we won’t hear from him for at least another day.”
“I hope you’re right,” Victor said as he fingered his bandage. “I’ll happily go and tear the guy a new one, but I’d rather it wait until I’ve stopped leaking vital fluids.”
“Same here,” Farrell said as he tentatively rolled his shoulder. “Luckily I don’t need two working arms to watch a film.”
“Film?” Victor laughed. “Over here in Amuricuh, we calls ’em movies.”
“And that makes so much more sense, of course.” Farrell smirked. “Whatever you call them, I want explosions and/or gratuitous nudity. Couple of laughs wouldn’t go amiss, either.”
“So you want a comedy porno starring Bruce Willis? I’m not sure I want to see that.”
“What about Vin Diesel instead?”
“Now that I’d watch. Twice.”
* * * *
By the afternoon the five had gone their separate ways. Avani and Sandy had headed off to Avani’s place with far too many suitcases, and Paul had headed home to his boyfriend. Victor and Farrell were the last to leave,
and locked up on their way out using Sandy’s spare key.
Paul had offered them a lift, but they’d both decided that a walk would do them good. It wasn’t necessarily the smartest move in the middle of a pack war, but Gabriel likely wasn’t idiotic enough to do anything in broad daylight. Too much of a risk of police involvement, and nobody wanted that.
The afternoon was cool and damp, but pleasantly so. It raised the scents from the nearby green areas, while also dampening down the exhaust fumes of the nearby main roads. The theatre was a few miles away, and they had to stop off at the bar first to collect their wallets—Farrell had wisely suggested they leave them there before the rescue last night—but neither of their wounds affected their walking, so it was no hassle. It gave them chance to talk, too.
“I’ve been thinking,” Farrell said, glancing at Victor.
“Hmm?”
“After this war crap is over with, I want to travel for a while.”
“Oh?” Victor tried to ignore the churning in his stomach. “Where to?”
“Europe, mostly. I haven’t been back home in over a decade, and I’d like to head to a few spots I’ve never visited, too.”
“I see.” Victor chewed his lip. “How long is a while?”
Farrell shrugged, then winced. “I don’t know. Few months. A year. Depends, I guess.”
“On what?”
“On whether you’d come with me.”
Victor stopped and Farrell turned, an eyebrow raised. “What?”
“Nothing.” Victor caught up again. “I’m just surprised, is all.”
“About which part? The travelling or wanting you to come with me?”
Victor rubbed at his neck. “Both, I suppose.”
“Well you know I like to travel. Don’t get me wrong, I intend to come back. Ethan’s pack isn’t something I’m willing to leave permanently. It’s just that I’ve been getting itchy feet lately. I need to get out there again.”
