I jabbed upward with an open palm, catching it by the throat just before it could clamp down on my face. But I wasn’t trying to push it away. No, I was done playing that game. My fingers closed on its windpipe and I clenched them shut with everything I had.
The wolf let out a quick yip before its air was cut off. For a moment we struggled in silence, but then the impasse was broken by the sound of wet meat being ripped apart as I pulled back and tore its throat out.
A small geyser of blood sprayed from the wound and its body fell slack atop mine.
I shoved it off and stood up, realizing that the neighborhood had suddenly grown quiet as the proverbial grave.
All around, I could see yellow eyes peering at me from doorways, windows, and bushes. If they hadn’t been aware of my presence before, they definitely were now, which was probably not a great thing as I counted nearly a dozen wolves from my vantage point alone. Most importantly, I turned back toward my house and saw the big cheese himself, Craig, standing and staring back at me.
I’d gotten his attention, albeit perhaps not in the manner I’d meant to.
Now to see if I could keep from getting killed long enough to take advantage of it.
CHAPTER 36
Craig’s massive form shimmered and then began to shrink in on itself. The shaggy hair covering his body receded. His ears became shorter and more rounded. The long snout on his face began to pull back, for a moment leaving the oversized teeth still sitting within in a strange semblance of an overly wide smile.
He lost probably a good two feet of height, and the rippling sound of his bones and muscles contracting could be heard even from where I stood. If the transformation hurt – and it certainly looked painful – he didn’t show it, continuing to stare at me as his flesh contorted and rearranged itself. He was still a big man, don’t get me wrong, but compared to his wolf form he was far less impressive.
I guess maybe that was supposed to be the point.
Well, that, and he could speak clearly again.
“You had to know this would happen, Tamara.” His voice sounded almost rueful, but then he paused for a second. “It’s okay. It’s just us here. No need for Halloween masks.”
He was right. I whipped my disguise off my head and tossed it to the side. It was actually nice to breathe fresh air again. As well as the mask had served me, it had been starting to get mighty ripe. Unfortunately, the freshness of the night air was tainted with the smell of blood and other odors that I really didn’t care to identify.
I began walking forward, intent on giving him a piece of my mind while I had a chance to do so, but stopped as he came more clearly into view. “Um, any chance you could maybe throw on a pair of pants first?”
He lifted his hands up as if stretching. “This night is ours, child. Why should we hide who we are, what we are?”
“So you’re saying you’re a dick?”
That actually caused him to chuckle, but then his mood quickly turned grim. “You could have avoided all of this, you know. Joined our pack, followed our rules, been our ally. But you turned on us. Took my offer and spat it back in my face.”
“An ally?” I asked, moving toward him again, albeit making it a point to keep my eyes focused above his neck. “You didn’t want an ally. You wanted me barefoot and pregnant near the woodstove. You wanted a slave. You wanted someone you didn’t have to fear.”
“You think I’m afraid of you?”
I locked eyes with him. “I know you are.”
“Is that why Jerry is missing?”
Missing?
“Yeah. We heard him, calling for help right before his cries cut off. Don’t know what you did with him, but we know it wasn’t good.” He raised his voice. “So I ask again, is that why you killed one of our own?!”
The fact that they hadn’t found Jerry was odd. Or maybe not. Near the end, there’d been some freaky ass things happening in that glade. I guess that also accounted for the fact that I was able to make it to High Moon in time to warn Riva. Strange, but not nearly at the top of my priority list right then.
Snarls rose up from all around me. I could see what Craig was doing – riling up the troops before setting them loose on me. Even fresh, I wouldn’t stand a chance against those odds. They’d tear me apart while he stood there with his dick swaying in the wind.
“You threatened my town,” I shot back. “You had me followed and threatened to kill my best friend. And for what? I’m just one person, the only one of my kind. The only hybrid between the two races.”
I let that sink in for several seconds. As expected, hushed murmurs rose up around us. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but there was definitely sentiment other than anger in the air ... confusion and maybe even some worry. Craig had given them a bullshit story so as to avoid a mass freak-out. Pity he hadn’t counted on me to spill the beans.
“Let’s face facts: you went to some extreme lengths to ensure I followed your lead like a good dog.” I raised my voice as well. Two could play at this game. “If those aren’t the actions of someone who’s scared shitless, then I don’t know what is.”
“You watch your tone, girl,” he warned, flashing teeth that had seemingly doubled in size in the time it took him to open his mouth.
“Sorry, but I’ve seen that trick before.” I turned and addressed the wolves in the neighborhood, those I could see and those I knew to be hiding just out of sight. It was time to play that fear card against them. “And in case you’re all wondering why several of your pack mates aren’t here with you now, let me assure you that I’m the reason.” I pointed a finger at Craig. “But he’s the cause.”
More snarls rose up, no doubt some whose dander I managed to raise. But just as many chuffs and whispers could be heard out there in the crimson-stained night.
They were unsure. They’d never met a boogeyman, or woman, like me. And now here I was presenting myself out in the open. I knew they probably all wanted to kill me, a product of a union with their ancient enemies, but which of them would be brave enough to go first – especially with a seriously broken wolf lying just a couple of yards behind me?
“You’re an aberration, nothing more,” Craig said. “The result of an ill-conceived union after your whore mother bewitched one of our own.”
Kudos to Craig for not outright mentioning my dad. They were brothers, after all, and if it became common knowledge that Dad was actually in love with a witch, there was bound to be some blowback. As for the slight about my mom, I wasn’t so easily riled up. I mean, heck, I’d been in high school not too long ago. That was practically a softball.
“He should have cut her belly open and let you spill out onto the sidewalk the second he learned what she’d done to him.”
Okay, that pitch was a bit faster.
“To think the Monarch Queen fooled me for so long about what you were. Had I known, I’d have slit your throat as a mere babe.”
And there we were, the mistake I’d been hoping for. Oh, he wasn’t getting to me at all. Fuck no. I’d lived with my trash-talking dweeb of a brother for over a decade. After a while, it all just became white noise. But his statement was a spark that I was happy to pour some gasoline on.
“So that’s the brave alpha of the wolves, is it? First you threaten the innocents of this town. Then you threaten my friend. And now, here I finally am, and the best you can do is wish you’d killed me in my crib. You’re real tough when it comes to everyone but the person you should be threatening.”
“I’m not afraid of you, cunt.”
Ooh. That was going to cost him. I had a very strict rule when it came to guys who pulled out the C-word. Good thing it already coincided with my plans for him.
“Prove it,” I said. “I’m right in front of you. You can kill me outside of my own house, which is what I’m thinking you had planned all along. Unless, that is, you’re just standing out here admiring Mom’s flower beds.”
We were close, I could feel it. I flexed my stomach musc
les – still tender, but not as bad as before. My own healing was definitely starting to catch up. Hopefully enough so that I could wear a two piece again without my stomach looking like a jigsaw puzzle. But worrying about the beach was for later. For the moment, I’d be happy with my guts not spilling out all over the street.
Now to add the finishing touch. “Or are you going to order your underlings to do what you’re afraid to do yourself? Let them take all the risk while you stand there, a pretender to the throne?”
Several of the yellow eyes that had been on me abruptly shifted over to Craig. This wasn’t some crusty old monarchy where a spoiled rich kid was allowed to sit on the throne while the peasants went out and died in whatever war they felt like waging. In the wild, the strongest led, but only until such time as something else proved itself stronger. I wasn’t exactly Jane Goodall, but I knew enough to understand that weakness was not a trait alphas showed if they wished to keep their lofty position.
“You think you’re smart, do you, girl?” Craig asked, his voice growing deeper, more gravelly.
I knew what was coming next. Truth be told, a part of me dreaded it. I mean, I wasn’t so stupid to think I was invincible. On the upside, at least he’d be hairy enough for me to forget he was naked. Glass half full and all that.
“You are a mere genetic aberration. I am a descendant of Valdemar himself,” he cried as his canines elongated into cruel spikes. “His divine blood flows through my veins.”
“Dude, you drive a tow truck. Let’s not pretend either of us is being crowned King Shit anytime soon.”
If Craig had anything to say about that, it was lost as he continued to change. Coarse hair sprouted from his body and his muscles began to enlarge. By the time they were done, he’d be nearly twice his original size.
That was, assuming I let him finish – something I wasn’t particularly keen on doing.
CHAPTER 37
I was on the move before the change was even half-finished. As my father had been good enough to show me, a werewolf’s power began to increase at the very start of the strange transformation from man to beast, so there was no doubt that Craig was already well on his way to beefing up. But he wasn’t fully there yet.
Pity for him, I wasn’t above using that to my advantage. My gut didn’t particularly appreciate the sudden burst of speed I put on, but since my intestines didn’t immediately go splaying out across my front lawn, I figured they’d hold for now.
Craig adopted a defensive stance even as his body continued to ripple and morph. The upside for me was that the transformation wasn’t entirely uniform. While his body had already expanded to the point where it was nearly a foot taller, his arms hadn’t yet gained enough reach to bat me away like a gnat.
That still didn’t mean he was helpless. He threw an ungainly punch which I blocked before stepping inside his defenses. Grabbing hold of his torso, I spun, noting how disturbing the feel of his rippling flesh was. Fortunately, I didn’t have to hold on for long.
I let go and sent him flying toward our garage. Though I didn’t care to imagine the blow-up Mom would have if I survived this night, I wanted to fight this battle with as much of an advantage as I could muster ... even if it meant I’d be waiting tables to pay for a new garage door.
Much to my surprise, though, rather than plow through the aluminum, there came a crackling flash of light and Craig rebounded off it. He rolled away, his hair smoking from whatever had just happened.
It was Mom’s doing, had to be. Either that, or Dad had invested in a hell of a home security system recently. Regardless, that seemed to answer why Craig had been standing just outside our property line. He knew.
More importantly, now I did, too. Home field advantage was a good thing, but it was even better when the field was booby-trapped against the opposing team.
Sadly, Mom’s spell seemed to be aimed at keeping people like Craig out, not instantly vaporizing them. Guess that was too much to hope for.
My uncle lay on the grass, the creepy lawn gnomes staring impassively as he finished his transformation. So much for them being an extra layer of security, too. Guess Mom really did just like the freaky little things.
My uncle rose from the ground, fully in his wolf form. The only indication that he was even slightly inconvenienced by Mom’s wards was a slight bit of smoke rising from his fur. That wasn’t good. I’d hoped to take the wind out of his sails with one shot, but I guess it wasn’t going to be that easy.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and I dared a glance around to find the entire street seemingly full of werewolves – all of them watching us.
No, not just watching. I had a feeling they were also there in case one of us lost our nerve and tried to make a run for it. They were our audience, but also our prison. Guess I was in for both a penny and a pound.
Speaking of which, I had a feeling that Uncle Craig was going to be looking for his pound of flesh. He threw back his head and let out a roar. This was no mere howl at the moon. It was full-on rage from a nightmare beast. He started heading toward me.
Wolf muzzles didn’t appear too conducive to long soliloquies, but they were capable of blurting out the occasional understandable word.
“Die!”
And yes, the meaning was quite clear, despite his voice sounding like he had been gargling broken glass. Even if I hadn’t understood, the sight of him picking up speed, a locomotive on legs, was more than enough to get the point across.
“Let’s do this!”
And that was all the time for words I had before he was all over me like a new suit.
♦ ♦ ♦
Craig swung a massive arm at me. It was like someone had grafted a tree trunk to his body. I tried to block it but was sent flying instead. My own strength might have been formidable, but he had physics on his side. His size and mass eclipsed mine by several times over. I might have had the advantage when it came to center of gravity, but that meant little when I was being batted aside like a Wiffle ball.
I flew across our driveway and slammed through the vinyl fence that separated our yard from the Havenstock’s, our next door neighbors. Mind you, considering the current state of their house, I doubted they’d be too worried about it ... or the granite birdbath on their front lawn that eventually halted my momentum.
Ouch! That was definitely going to leave a bruise.
Of course, that assumed I’d be alive enough to enjoy a bruise, something Craig seemed intent on not allowing. Guess the posturing was over and done with, as he appeared – larger than life – in front of me before I’d fully recovered. He lifted his arms over his head, no doubt meaning to batter me into a greasy grass stain.
Unfortunately for him, something like this was more my speed when it came to fighting. Playing whack-a-mole with each other had been a poor strategy on my part. But now I had a chance to make up for it. Instinct, and several years of drills, took over. Where he went high, I went low.
I grabbed hold of Craig’s legs before he could pummel me and pulled them out from beneath him. He went down on his back, and I rolled over him as if going for the pin. He was far too big for that, but his size was just right for me to bring the heel of my foot crashing down square onto his muzzle.
He let out a yip of pain and I quickly rolled off before he could retaliate. I didn’t go far, though. We both got to our feet at the same time, but I ducked down low and again kicked his legs out from under him.
Dropping him to the ground wouldn’t do much to hurt him, but it put him in prime position for me to end this fight the same way I’d ended a few others this night.
I threw myself on top of Craig and grabbed hold of him – one hand on his muzzle, the other on the side of his head. I simultaneously pulled and twisted, hoping to snap his neck like a twig.
Ugh! Come on!
Sadly, I underestimated him. He was a werewolf all right, but on steroids. It was like he had muscles on top of his muscles. I’d barely managed to turn his head to the side be
fore he grabbed hold of me with his massive paws. “ARGH!”
His claws dug into my flesh, easily turning my leather jacket into confetti. God, I was stupid. I’d been so eager to end this with one move that I’d handed myself to him on a platter.
Searing pain flared up from my sides as he put on the pressure. I was in a bad spot of my own making. I might have been wrestling for years, but apparently I was a rank amateur when it came to life-or-death struggles. Taking my hands off his muzzle to pry his claws out of me would leave me wide open to his maw of massive teeth. Christ, it was as if a mad scientist had grafted arms to a great white shark.
Craig, not quite the idiot I’d made him out to be, chuffed in amusement, fully aware he had me where he wanted me. It was either let him continue to shred my body, or accept that the last thing I would see in this world was the back of his throat.
Thankfully, my coaches over the years had been up to snuff – not only drilling me on what was expected, but teaching me to think on my feet so as to escape when things went south.
Faced with a choice of being chomped or fileted, I chose option C. I let go of Craig’s muzzle with one hand and jammed my thumb into his eye instead. I didn’t have claws quite like his, but I’d been growing my nails this past month, trying to look a bit more feminine for Gary. I guess some good had come out of dating that cheating jackass after all.
I shoved good and hard, not caring if I got eyeball gunk all over my hand. The result was music to my ears.
Craig screamed and did his damnedest to push me away before I could properly finger-bang his brain. I was tossed off him like I weighed nothing, back toward my own yard, where I went tumbling head over heels until I skidded to a halt next to one of Mom’s favorite rose bushes.
Oh well, at least I hadn’t hit it. Not only would that have hurt like a bitch, but I’d have heard about it for a long time to come. She was kinda partial to them, after all.
Get Bent! Page 24
