Page 131 of The Forsaken Heir
The mechanicalclack-clackof cocking machine guns, shouts of the security men, and Freddy’s howl of defiance turned the night into a blistering soundscape.
“Get down, motherfuckers!” one of the security guards shouted as he aimed his gun at us.
Nicolas jumped forward and kicked the gun out of the man’s hand. The two of them tumbled to the ground, shifting to their wolf forms in a storm of snarling mouths, gnashing teeth, and ripping claws.
The pop of gunfire and the growls of wolves erupted in the night. Shifters preferred fighting in their animal forms, but in situations like these, guns were sometimes better. You could rain death down with silver bullets from a safe distance rather than get close and use teeth and claws.
Taking Nicolas’s lead, I kicked the guard who rushed me in the stomach. He toppled over. Behind me, Julian let out a curse. When I turned, I found him in a chokehold. Moving fast, I aimed a fist at the guard’s face, but he saw it coming and turned his head, my fist glancing off his jaw. He winced and pulled away just enough for Julian to get free.
Before I could do more than blink, a heavy, furry body slammed into my back, sending me sprawling on the ground. Hot, wolf breath hissed along my back, and teeth grazed my skin, trying to find purchase at the back of my neck. I screamed out tomy dragon, desperate for any help he might be able to give. There was the familiar ache as my fingers extended into sharp dragon talons that could do serious damage. My mouth became too full, and it took half a second before I realized my teeth had elongated and sharpened. I’d half-shifted before, but never anything like this.
I mentally thanked my dragon and spun around, slashing the wolf across its belly and chest. The creature rolled away and yelped in agony as it thrashed around.
A bullet ricocheted off the pavement a few inches from my face, sending dirt and a fine spray of vaporized asphalt into my cheek. The man who’d fired, swung the gun an inch over, zeroing in on me, but before he could fire again, Nicolas’s wolf slammed into his side, his teeth sinking deep into his neck. Before the guard had time to react, Nicolas tore his throat out.
Jumping to my feet, I batted aside another wolf who tried to bite into my arm, but as I did, another caught me from behind, sinking its teeth into my calf. A cry of pain and rage erupted from my throat. Turning, I reared back to swat at its eyes with my claws, but before I could, the beast’s head burst apart in a spray of blood and bone.
Shocked, I looked up and found Julian holding a smoking pistol in his left hand.
“Where did you get that?” I barked, the words muffled behind the huge fangs protruding from my gums.
Julian shrugged and ducked behind our car. “You shifters always rely on teeth and claws, but silver works pretty well,” he said as he opened fire on a group of wolves rushing us.
I looked around, trying to make sense of the chaos. I couldn’t see Freddy, but I could hear the cacophonous sound of wolves fighting in the darkness beyond the headlights. I had to hope he was okay. I assumed they wouldn’t kill him, but the guy Nicolas killed had been seconds away from blowing my brains out, and they needed me as a hostage to garner support, which probably meant anything was on the table.
Carlisle struggled to his feet, the sounds of gunfire and howls tearing him out of unconsciousness. The man stumbled toward his car. A sudden realization hit me. He was going for a radio or cell phone to call in reinforcements. I couldn’t let that happen. We were already outnumbered. Any chance we had at escape would vanish.
I rushed at him and nearly caught him from behind, but I had to flinch back when bullets hit the ground in front of my feet. The man who’d fired, tumbled to the side, clutching his stomach as Julian sent a round into his gut.
“I’m out of ammo.”
Freddy bounded toward us and leaped through the air, catching the wrist of another guard before he could fire his gun. The guard shifted without hesitation, and a new fight began. Two more wolves emerged, snapping at Freddy’s hind legs.
Too many, I thought, as I rushed to catch Carlisle.Way too many.
Carlisle was at the van door, his fingers scrambling at the handle, blood still dripping from his chin. I leaped and slammed my foot into the back of one of the wolves attacking Freddy, using him as a springboard to launch myself through the air, tackling Carlisle right when he swung the van door open. Myshoulder slammed into his chest, and we both fell backward onto the ground.
Carlisle kicked me away, knocking the wind from me for a second. He got to his feet and glared down at me.
“Jumped-up fucking lizard bitch,” he said, swiping the blood on his chin away with the back of his wrist. “We’ll see how good you are now.”
He half-shifted and leered at me with yellow eyes, saliva dripping from jagged teeth. He raised his clawed fingers and beckoned me forward.
“Come on,” he snarled.
My dragon roared in defiance, power surged forth from within, but I still couldn’t shift, not even halfway. I had my claws and teeth, but not much else. I might as well have been a human with a pocket knife trying to fight this monster.
Behind me, the sounds of fighting were dying down. Had the others been taken? Killed? Who knew. This was my last stand. I’d either fight my way through this gigantic werewolf and make a run for it, or I’d die right here.
“Let’s go, you son of a bitch,” I hissed, flexing my claws.
Carlisle’s wolfish face twisted into an approximation of a grin. He opened his mouth to reveal the wicked fangs that would probably soon tear my flesh from my bones.
He stopped suddenly, eyes narrowing in confusion. Turning, he looked up into the night sky behind him. He hadn’t even gotten his head fully turned when a red-hot jet of flame burst out of the sky, sending torrents of orange fingers of fire cascading aroundhis body, engulfing him. His howls of agony echoed through the night sky.
I stared at him as he thrashed around, bellowing out his death throes, until he finally collapsed in a smoking, burned ruin. An instant later, my heart soared as the familiar screeching call of Vince’s dragon shattered the air.
He landed a few feet from me, the earth shuddering at the impact of his body. More gunfire opened up behind me, and when I turned, I saw Rasp flying by, pelting the security team with flames. Delphine was holding onto Rasp’s back for dear life. I whirled back around to Vincent, barely daring to hope.
