Night Howls

by Amber Lynn

  “What are you?” Will asks clearly in awe.

  “You still don't get to know. I have to tell you that this probably won't end well for you. Being in between me and a psychotic werewolf seldom ever does.”

  “Believe me after today, I would die a happy man. You know you really nailed your scenes earlier. I know you are taken and all, but I wish you weren't. There is something really special about you, Nyx Slaughter.”

  “That's what I keep hearing. Here, this is our landing spot. The guys should be here in another couple of minutes. They travel fast as wolves, but not as quickly as I do with wings.”

  “Your wings are so pretty. I know it is dark, but they shimmer. What color are they?”

  “They are gold and I am putting them away now,” I say as I wrap them up.

  “So, you are a princess to the werewolves and you have gold wings. Do you have a little bird in your blood somewhere?” he asks joking, probably trying to take some of the stress out of the situation.

  “Not that I am aware of. I am a very special case.” I hear the guys’ paws getting closer and I turn to look at them. My pack of misfits is growing. It looks like Sam and Phee came along. I had forgotten they were even around. A bunch of humans having sex all over the place has that effect on you. I won’t even mention the giant explosion.

  “I tried to stop them,” Alex says shifting. “You know how Phee is, though.”

  “I couldn't let my big sis face the evil werewolf alone,” she says coming closer in her humanoid form.

  “Sean has an army of at least one hundred werewolves that will do anything he tells them to. This isn't exactly the situation I wanted you to cut your teeth on,” I say knowing it doesn't make a lick of difference to the irrational teen.

  “We got this one, so what's the plan?”

  “Will is going to be the bait. I don't think Sean will be able to resist coming out to take care of a human walking on his property personally. The key will be for him to not get taken inside. If that happens we are screwed.” I turn to Will to give him instructions. “I want you to stand in the street and yell about how you know he is the one that has been killing your friends and you are going to turn him in. Just silly nonsense like that. We need him outside.”

  “I can do that. You said his name was Sean, right?”

  “Yes, but dickhead or asswipe will also do. The bad part is we will have to be far enough away that he doesn't sense us at first. He is a werewolf, so I doubt his sense of smell is all that good, but he can hear. We have to be able to take him by surprise.”

  “Got it. Can I have something to try to protect myself? I know it won't do much good, but I would like to have something.”

  “Here, take my Beretta. It has silver bullets and just one of them will kill him. He will probably sense you have it, but you having silver shouldn't surprise him. We will be about a block away and be able to hear your conversation. When I know it is him, I will be by your side in a second.”

  “I trust you. Let's go get him,” Will says amping himself up for the mission. If I thought just me showing up would draw Sean out, I wouldn't risk Will like this. I give him directions on where to go and we move in.

  Chapter 21

  A space alien has taken over my body

  “Don't worry. We will all get through this just fine,” Alex says from beside me.

  “You know I cannot help it. Not only do we have a human helping us out on this one, but little Phee is out there somewhere. If she keeps herself from gabbing while she is supposed to be listening, it will be a miracle.”

  “Luckily, she can talk to Sam like we are now and not give away her location.” I still haven't confirmed that fact, but I am pretty sure it is true. They have a proper werewolf bond and if me and Alex can do it, those two should be able to.

  “Hey asshole,” I hear Will start yelling. The games are already beginning and I am not sure I am ready. Something has me on edge. “Sean, I hear you are the one out killing humans. Just thought I would let you know I am going to the Collective to turn you in. I saw one of your flunkies passing out pills tonight at Bandits.” Things remain silent for a second, so he starts back up. “Hey, can you hear me? I think it is only right to give you fair warning.”

  I hear a door softly open followed by someone running. “You know, little human, she thinks she is so smart, but yet she sends you who smell strongly of her weirdness. Her particular aroma is so unique I bet any paranorm can tell when she has been around. Even a lowly human like yourself could pick it up if you knew what to look for,” Sean's voice echoes through the streets. I immediately kick into motion with my gun drawn.

  “I don't know who you are talking about. I heard rumors that you were the one gunning for us, so I came to verify them.”

  “Cute. You are the lead actor in the human's little movie aren't you. I have done my research and you would have probably been last on my list to die. I have seen the way you look at her. I have been watching her for a while and it is the look I see on every male face that comes in contact with her. She is really something amazing isn't she?”

  “You keep using pronouns and I have no idea who you are talking about,” Will says still buying time. I am about a hundred yards away when I see Sean grab him around the neck. Will has no chance of fighting back.

  “Oh, I think you know exactly who I speak of. Nyx, it is nice to see you again so soon. I thought you gave me a full twenty-four hours,” Sean says as he squeezes his forearm across Will's throat. “It has been maybe two. I hope this means you have changed your mind about signing up with my team.”

  “Let him go, Sean. This is between you and me.”

  “You and me and the six other werewolves and the Hellhound you brought with you. I don't think this is between just the two of us at all.” He is right, but he needs to man up and lose the human.

  “Let him go,” I reassert. He is using Will as a shield and I cannot get a good shot. I see Sam and Phee across the way and I shake my head no, so they don't take the shot either. There is too great of a chance it will go straight through him and hit Will.

  “Why would I do that? I have everyone right where they should be. I just wish you hadn't given all of your wolves stinking protection against my crystal. It would have been so much more fun to turn you guys against each other.”

  “No matter what happens, you get that crystal away from him,” I tell Alex as I start to weigh my options. This is why I hate bringing anyone in on my missions. When it is just me, I don't have to worry about casualties.

  “You can count on it. What's our move?”

  “Follow my lead, I guess,” I say and prepare myself for the very likely fact that someone isn't going to make it out of this. “Would you be up for a prisoner exchange?”

  “Really? You are going to give yourself up for a human? You hear that boy; you actually made an impression on the great Nyx Slaughter. She is willing to die for you. That is kind of cute.”

  “Enough talk, are you going to do it?” I don't need him making Will think he needs to protect me. I am a Hell of a lot more durable than him and I hope he realizes that.

  “Remove your weapons first and then, yes, we can make an exchange. In fact, I think a lot of weapons should meet the pavement. Alex is the only one of you that I don't believe is carrying.” I never have figured out why my wolf beau doesn't tend to carry any weapons. He is the only one of us that has for sure been on the Collective's hit list and it doesn't even faze him.

  No one moves as I start taking my holster off. “Go ahead. He hasn't called out any of his goons, so we should keep him happy as long as possible.” That gets everyone moving and I hear knives hit the ground. I remove my final thigh knife and call it good. “I am clean, how do you want to do this?”

  “Good question. How about everyone other than Nyx move over to my right, where you are a good distance away from your armory. I know none of you will be slow to pick something up the second the human isn't in immediate danger.”

&
nbsp; Everyone shuffles over to the indicated spot. “Okay, now let him go.” Will has had most of his oxygen cut off for a while now. That cannot be good for his brain.

  “You come to me and once you are close enough, I will let him go.” Things are moving way too slow for my liking. I do as he says and move closer. I am standing in front of them and just before I am within reach, Sean pushes Will into me and I hear a gun go off. I glance quickly to see Sean standing there with the gun I gave Will.

  “No!” I scream and fall to the ground with Will on top of me. The bullet passed through him and is lodged in my chest. I don't think it will be serious for my health, but Will won't be that lucky. I hear wolves growling and fighting, so I figure Sean is being taken care of. I sense more wolves than there should be, but not enough that I am immediately needed.

  I roll Will off of me to try to get a look at the damage. “How bad is it?” Will whispers weakly. He spits up a little blood and I tear his shirt off to get a better look. I don't like what I find.

  “It is just your left lung; you have two of those, right?” I ask trying to make light of the situation. I use his torn shirt to try to press hard on his wound hoping to stop some of the bleeding. “The good news is that the bullet went right through you. It is tickling my rib cage as we speak.” Maybe not exactly my rib cage, but I can feel it in there. The bullet passed through his lower lung and hit me pretty high in the chest.

  “You guys have any good doctors around that can stitch me up?” Therein lies the problem, Night Owl City doesn't really have a need for an actual doctor. There are a few people that can remove bullets and sew you up, but I don't know of anyone that can fix a lung that is hemorrhaging like Old Faithful. My hand brushes his as I shift slightly with my compress. His hand feels like ice and I think that means things are starting to shut down. Crap.

  “I don't think I could get you to anyone in time, even if they were able to help. This isn't exactly an injury common in paranorms. For us, the bullet is either non-lethal and we just heal ourselves or whatever it is made of works its way through our system and kills us.”

  “Well, like I said earlier, I am going to die a happy man. Our movie is going to make all sorts of money, since it stars a dead man. Not sure what they will do with the scenes I hadn't had a chance to shoot yet.” He starts a coughing fit and more blood is spit off to the side. “My mom should be left with enough money to make the rest of her life very easy.”

  “Do you have any other family?” I ask trying to keep him talking. I don’t know if it is all that good for him with having had a bullet recently pass through his lung, but silence would not sit right with me.

  “Nah. It is just me and her; it has been for a long time. She is why I do what I do. I want to be able to pay her back for all the sacrifices she made for me.”

  “Why do you have to say sweet stuff like that,” I say sighing and regretting my desire to keep him talking. If he is going to die, it is a lot easier for me to just hate the guy. I mean, up until this moment he has been an oversized jerk. “I cannot believe I am going to offer you this, but I can probably keep you alive. You won't be able to go back to your old life, though. A lot of things will change for you.”

  “I thought you said humans can't be turned into werewolves. If you are saying it is possible, I am game. I don't think I am quite ready to die, just yet. From what I have seen, the werewolves in this town get all the pretty girls.” His voice is getting even weaker. Before long, he won’t be able to talk. I have to hurry before he passes out. I don't want to make this decision for him.

  “You won't be a werewolf. Chances are good that you would become a vampire. You will not be able to see the sun again for many years and your diet will greatly change.” I don't know if me being a hybrid will make it so I can change him or not, but it is worth a try. I cannot be sure exactly what he will become, either. Drinking my blood may change him into an elf.

  “But I will be alive. I can figure things out later.” Well, I guess that is all the permission I need. I don't know exactly how this works, but Sebastian told me once when I had his blood in my system not to get myself killed, so I think that is the key. Will is knocking on death’s door; a little sip should be all he needs.

  “Are you sure about this? I don't know what the ramifications will be. Shouldn't we talk to Sebastian first?” Alex says coming to join me in his human form. I give him a quick once over and he looks to be covered in blood, but not injured. I don't really want to take my eyes away from Will at the moment to check Alex out more thoroughly.

  “Does it look like he has time for us to chat with Sebby?”

  At this point, my own blood loss is making me a little weak and things are a touch fuzzy. I know the bullet won't kill me, but it does take me a little while to bounce back. I lengthen my vampire fangs and bite hard into my wrist. With the blood flowing, I move my wrist over Will's mouth and let the red liquid work into his throat. He is beyond weak now, but I feel his throat move enough to swallow.

  I was afraid it might be too late for that. With the amount of blood that has poured out of him, it should have been too late. He seems to have a real fight to live in him and I hope that will be enough for whatever comes next.

  I remove my wrist from his lips. What I have given him is the best I can do. My hazy mind is getting worse and a nap sounds good right about now.

  “I will get you both home. Go ahead and sleep,” Alex whispers and I follow instructions.

  Chapter 22

  Two like forces drawn together

  Waking up in my own bed and not remembering how I got here is one of my big pet peeves. These days it happens way more than it used to. There is another body in bed with me and it isn't Alex. I would find it more distressing if I didn't know that it was Will. His scent is different, so I am guessing the change actually worked.

  “Any side effects I should know about?” I ask Alex who is sitting on the edge of the bed closest to me.

  “His body has been having issues being too far away from you. I think it is just temporary because you don't have to be touching anymore. He hasn't woken up, but I hear that can take a couple of days.”

  “Yeah, Sebastian told me that once. I take it you took care of everything with The Enlightened.”

  “While you were busy saving a human life the only way you could, we were able to take care of Sean and about twenty of his wolves before we got the crystal away from him. Once he wasn't in control of it anymore the connection snapped and the rest of his followers stopped fighting.”

  “Were you able to get them help before the Collective came in to execute them all?”

  “I told them the situation and some came back with us and are currently residing in our holding cells. The rest scattered hoping to go back to their normal lives,” he reaches over and wipes a strand of hair out of my eyes.

  “Anything else I should know about? How about injuries on our side?” It sounds like things are wrapped up nicely. Jake should be cleared and the humans don't have to worry about rogue werewolves killing them off.

  “Sam hit the ground funny and dislocated his shoulder, but we snapped it back into place and he is as good as new and you already know that your Suburban didn't make it out of the explosion alive. There is a slight issue that I am not sure how happy you will be. After you had started the transformation with Will, I left you to help direct people where to go. When I came back not two minutes later, Clyde had gotten to you and was licking your bullet wound.”

  “How do you like me now, you crazy bitch?” a strange voice says in my head. “I don't really mean it, Mommy. I just have been dying to say it.”

  “You have got to be joking. Clyde was able to connect his weird bond?”

  “Why are you asking him? You can just talk directly to me now,” Clyde replies and he pops his head up becoming visible by the edge of the bed. “I cannot believe how long it took me to get you alone and bleeding. You seem to find yourself injured so often that when I first came home wi
th you, I thought it would be a piece of cake.”

  “Oh, this just isn't right. You should not be able to talk to me. Make him stop, Alex.”

  “Sorry, I think the only way that is happening is if you get him a new master and you would have to take a trip to Hell for that one. Just any old wolf or vampire wouldn't be able to control him.”

  “Mmm. Someone is cooking some cow. I have to go investigate. Talk at you later, Mommy,” Clyde says and runs out of the room.

  “You can hear what he says, right?” I ask hoping I am not losing my mind.

  “Through you, yes. Maybe at least now he can tell us what he can do. He was pretty wicked in the fight tearing apart wolves and commanding even more into their biped forms. Do you know anything about siring a vampire?” he asks changing the subject. He lies down next to me and draws me in close.

  “It would have been a good idea for me to know that kind of information before I went through with this, but I know nothing. I have no clue what is going to happen. I didn't even know for sure if I was doing it right,” I say as I wrap my arm around him.

  “Why did you do it then?”

  “I don't know. He didn't deserve to die and I couldn't let him if there was a way I could prevent it. I have no problem killing bad guys, but he was an innocent. I knew going into the standoff he was going to be vulnerable, but I couldn't tell him not to help. If Sean wasn't stopped, more people would have died,” I think in the not so distant past, I wouldn't have had an issue with an innocent dying, but my life has changed so much lately that it just didn't feel right.

  “I am sure he will be grateful for what you did. He gave his consent. It was clear he wanted to live if it was possible. It would be helpful if any of the vampires were around to answer our questions. We may work together for a common goal, but I am still not aware of all the things that make vampires tick.”