by K. N. Banet
“Jacqueline, that’s unkind,” Hasan snapped. “Get over here.”
I moved back to him and angled, so he could strap the pack on me. It was literally a fucking fanny pack!
“This is the ugliest thing I have ever put on in my life, and that’s low bar,” I said, not considering the entirety of my company.
Hasan jumped a little, surprising me into jumping as well. Someone growled, and I turned to see everyone staring at me with wide eyes, including Davor and Niko who weren’t even totally finished Changing.
“Ah. Yeah. This is the first time everyone has heard me do this except Jabari,” I said, trying to keep all of my words in the open. That was a little thing about pack magic. I could focus on one head and talk to it, or I could throw the words out into a void, not considering who would hear them, only the feeling I wanted them to be heard.
“That is very strange,” Hasan said softly. “How do the wolves live with voices in their minds?”
“I’m not sure where you’re going with that.” If I could have frowned, I would have.
“My mind is my space,” he said, looking down at me. “It feels…like a violation for you to speak there. It’s very uncomfortable.”
“I can’t read your mind if that’s a concern.”
“No…but maybe you should leave the speaking for when it’s absolutely necessary. It could prove distracting to many of us.” He ran a hand over my head, scratching behind my ears for a moment before turning away. I stepped away as he fell and began his Change. He was a little faster than me, maybe by a couple of seconds. I chalked it up to age and experience, which was what he always said.
Once we were all ready, Hasan took the lead and found my trail, and we followed it backward. It was less than twenty-four hours since I had escaped, so it still smelled fresh. That worried me, and I figured it worried my family as well. With the scents so fresh, there was no way of telling which one would be the right one to follow to hunt down the dissenters.
It felt like it took forever to find the cabin-like house in the woods with its wood walls and earthy tones. It felt so alone, so foreboding. Part of it was too normal, which made it more intimidating. This had been a normal home. People had once lived here, probably happily, and now there was a dungeon in the basement that could have been the place where I died.
Don’t think about it, Jacky. You escaped, and now it’s time to get back at them.
I lifted my head and sniffed the air as my siblings sniffed around me, moving more cautiously toward the house now that it was in view. I was hoping to smell one thing in particular and caught it—blood. I followed the trail, lowering my head to sniff closer to the ground, trying to find the source of the scent. It took me around the house, Hasan following me. He was probably curious about what I was looking for since none of us were going to waste time on something that didn’t matter.
To me, at least, this mattered.
I found it near the dirt drive of the home. The kitchen door I had escaped from had to be at the back of the house, and this was the front. I saw a long mound of dirt and padded over to it, digging when I arrived, the scent of blood and decaying flesh becoming more prevalent.
There he was. Sam, the werecat who had been too excited to torture me.
Hasan bumped me with his shoulder, and I decided I had to explain.
“He was going to torture me. He’s the one I shot. I was hoping to find him dead. There’s only six left, then. Well, as far as I know.”
He huffed, nodding his head. I took that as a good thing even as he minutely shook his head afterward as if he was trying to get my voice out of it.
We walked around the building and met with the rest of the family. Hisao, prominent with almost black coat with black stripes and gold eyes like mine and Hasan’s, stood near the back door, sniffing around. He looked up at us, then turned to stare into the doorway. Hasan snorted and nodded his head when Hisao looked back at us.
I guess they don’t need me to pass around messages. They’ve been in werecat form together often enough to have a good understanding of each other’s body language.
I watched as Hisao and his partner, Niko, walked into the house. Jabari and Zuri moved to the back door, Zuri peering in after them. After a moment, Zuri and Jabari went in as well. When Hasan stepped forward, I growled softly.
“I’m not going back in that house,” I said sharply. I didn’t care if he was in charge or my father. If he went inside, he was going alone.
He didn’t move again, looking down at me. He was a little bigger than Jabari, but it was probably by a matter of ten pounds and an inch of difference. None of the family was nearly the same size as me, which should have intimidated me. I was tiny compared to all of them.
My feet didn’t move, and I didn’t relent under his gaze. There was no chance in hell I was ever going back in there. I never wanted to see that basement again, and I knew that’s where my feet would take me. Hasan would want to see where they’d held me, and I would follow.
So, I didn’t move.
Everything was quiet as Jabari walked out, then Zuri. Neither seemed bothered, but in werecat form, that was hard to determine. Jabari was only a few feet out of the door, and Zuri was right behind him when everything went wrong.
It was like a movie, only it was my worst nightmare because it was real. In a split second, everything went from still and silent to complete mayhem. The boom that came from the house and the power of the shockwave from the blast sent me off my feet even though I was around five hundred pounds of feline. Blood and smoke filled the air as the dark night was illuminated by the fireball erupting from the house. Windows blew out with the distinct sound of shattering glass. Wood creaked and collapsed with the earth-shattering sound of pure destruction as the building’s materials exploded out and fell in on themselves.
Someone roared. A feline scream pierced the air.
Objects hit me—shards of glass, pieces of wood, splinters, rocks, pieces of the house—cutting into me, digging into my flesh. I was probably bleeding in two dozen places by the time it was done.
I was also off my feet. My vision was blurry, and my ears were ringing. A second roar seemed very distant. A third after that, but it seemed closer. Still too far away. My sensitive hearing was blown, and I could hazard my eardrums were ruptured by the initial explosion.
I tried to stand, growling at the pain. I had hit the ground hard. After a few staggering steps and several blinks, my vision began to clear, but it didn’t reveal anything good.
In front of me, the house burned, large chunks of wood falling.
“NIKO! HISAO!” I screamed into the night. I turned to see where the rest of my family was and noticed none of them were ready to help me save our brothers. Jabari was standing over Zuri, but he was looking to the woods. Blood poured down his side, but I had no idea what the extent of his injuries were.
Snarls and growls forced me to look that way as well.
I turned just in time to see Mikkel’s werecats running for us before one of them took a leap and attacked me.
I wasn’t able to ready myself before the large female landed on top of me. I went to the ground, screaming as claws raked over my ribs. I brought my back legs up and kicked, but she dodged. It took a moment, but I recognized her scent—Fiora. I considered the numbers while she danced around me, trying to snap at my weak points while I got to my feet. Spinning, I swatted the air between us to drive her off while also trying to find my balance again. I staggered every few steps, still too disoriented to properly fight. She snarled and jumped on me when I stumbled a fourth time, and her large canines grazed my back. I roared in pain, but I was grateful she didn’t get ahold of me.
I bumped into another werecat as I tried to create distance between us. I didn’t know who it was, but by the snarls and growls going on around me, it wasn’t an appreciated bump.
Fiora moved around me, snarling. She was playing with me, and I knew it. She was probably angry I had killed Sam and left h
er locked in that cage, and angry that Sam wasn’t the first of their group I had killed. Two of them had fallen to me, and they had been winning. Now, she wanted to repay that in kind.
She jumped for me again, and this time, I dodged, but poorly. She shoulder checked me on her landing, knocking me to the ground again. The smoke was thick now. My eyes watered as I continued to try and dodge Fiora’s attempts to attack me, realizing too late, she was efficiently driving me away from the rest of my family. My back to the trees, I could see my family fighting for their lives behind her and the house that had become smoldering wreckage, probably holding two of my brothers dead inside.
I wasn’t expecting the claws that grabbed onto my hindquarters and pulled me down.
23
Chapter Twenty-Three
I rolled and kicked up with my back legs, able to shake the new attacker off. My nose was unable to smell who it was thanks to the overriding smoke, but I knew the werecat. I had seen Lani’s feline form before.
With a roar, I swiped up with my front paw, rejuvenated. Fiora had brought me back to the woods for Lani to attack me. This was a special revenge just for me, and with the explosion, they could get away with it. Two of my family had been in the house when it exploded, and Zuri and Jabari were probably both severely injured.
They could get away with making sure I died because they had tipped the scales in their favor.
I tried to roll and screamed as claws ripped at my side. Fiora tried to lie on me, to hold me down so Lani could tear me open. I bit into the closest flesh I could, listening to Fiora scream over me and try to pull away. I let her momentum help me to my feet and shoved her down, keeping my fangs buried in her.
Lani rammed me, and I released Fiora before the force of the hit pulled my fangs out of my mouth. She swiped at my head, but I reared up to meet her in a classic feline move. We tried to hit each other, our large feet slamming whatever we could hit. I hit her once, claws out, and knew I raked open her cheek when Fiora rejoined the fight.
The air was knocked out of me as she pushed me down, her head going into my vulnerable gut. I brought my back legs up again and kicked, hitting her.
Now, the air smelled of blood and smoke—everyone’s blood. There were so many scents that telling the difference- especially as I got on my feet and sized up my two opponents- was impossible.
I was limping now, unsure which injury caused that, but I was pleased to see Fiora was favoring her right front leg, and Lani had blood covering half of her face. They separated and prowled around me in opposite circles, keeping me close between them.
I tried to turn to keep an eye on either of them, but every time my back was exposed to one, she took a swipe. I hissed as the backs of my legs were torn up, and I couldn’t protect them, not from both of the females. The limp grew more pronounced.
“Is this what werecats do now?” I asked, knowing they couldn’t answer. “We toy with our prey and fight unfairly? Do you think that your cause justifies this? How do you think other werecats will feel when they learn you took down Hasan and this family with cheap tricks and human technology?”
I needed to bait them into breaking their fucking torture circle. I needed one of them to present an opening I could exploit. When getting at them that way didn’t get the reaction I wanted, I decided to get mean.
“You’re both just Mikkel’s whores, doing his fucking bidding, but let me tell you, girls, he’s not all that if he has you doing this. Hasan would never ask anyone to do something so dishonorable because he was jealous of someone else’s power. Mikkel is an impotent, disgraceful mess, and you both choose dick over honor and respect.”
I didn’t know which of them would be more offended, not really understanding who cared more about Mikkel. Lani roared and jumped for me.
She met me where I was, and we clashed again, fur and blood flying as our claws tore into each other. Fiora came up behind me and grabbed the scruff of my neck, her saber teeth puncturing through, and yanked me away, putting me in an awkward position. I pushed back, remembering how I knocked both wolves and vampires off my back and rolled onto her, knowing my weight would cause her problems. She let go, probably because my weight would have knocked the air out of her, but was able to get me with the same classic back-leg kick I had used.
I nailed a strong hit to Lani’s face, batting her away before turning back to Fiora. I lifted up and dropped both of my front paws on her chest to hold her down, claws deep into her ribs, scratching her bones. Before Lani could recovered, I sank my fangs into Fiora’s neck, puncturing her windpipe and jugular. Blood flooded my mouth, pouring out onto the soil.
Lani roared and attacked me again. This time, I didn’t release Fiora. I tore out the precious body parts as I faced Lani. When Lani slammed into me, I was ready, feeling victorious already. With one dead, the other was much easier.
A roar echoed from the rest of the fighting. I heard bone crunching, and Lani jumped away, her head turning. I didn’t get distracted, rushing her. She dodged, still much healthier. She looked at Fiora’s body, then at me.
“We’re finishing this,” I snapped at her.
Another roar made me want to look, but I didn’t take my eyes off her. A feline scream made my heart ache. I didn’t know who was winning or losing out there.
But Lani had a view over my head and must not have liked what she saw.
She turned, without giving me another look, and ran.
I took two steps, then stopped again, listening to the fighting behind me. Lani was running for her life. That told me she was one, a coward, and two, losing, at least in her view of things.
I turned and ran back for my family. Jabari stood over a dead body, tearing it up. Zuri was on the ground, but I could see her chest rising and falling, a large piece of metal, like rebar, sticking out of her ribs.
Jabari didn’t look up at me, lost in his rage as he yanked a back leg off the dead body underneath him.
I turned, trying to see what I could do. Davor, a blond-looking werecat, was being pressed hard by his opponent, and while I hated Lani and Fiora, their double team tactic worked, so I ran for my brother.
“Davor, fake him out,” I ordered, running at full speed. My body screamed in protest, but adrenaline was able to keep the pain dull enough for me to focus.
Davor didn’t miss a beat, pretending to limp and misstep. The other werecat took his chance, lunging for my brother. I leapt and hit the side of the enemy, sending both of us rolling in the dirt. It felt like two trucks in a head on collision, but I didn’t let that bother me. I clawed at the other werecat as Davor ran for us. The enemy werecat kicked me off and snapped at me.
Davor rushed in and was able to get a holding bite onto the werecat’s front leg and shook hard enough to break it. I grabbed one of his back legs and did the same, listening to the screeching scream of pain, more of a distressed yowl. It made my ringing ears worse, but I didn’t care. I continued to pull the leg into an unnatural position, so I could dodge the working leg.
“Hold him. I’m about to yank this fucking thing off.”
He pulled the front leg in the opposite direction, and together, we maimed the werecat between us. I wasn’t able to completely remove the back leg, but it was fucked up. Davor was able to tear off the front, and bleeding out, the werecat died before Davor grabbed the back of his neck and shook it hard enough to break it.
As we finished, a satisfied roar filled the air, and I turned to see Mischa standing over a burned body, her silver and white coat covered in blood. She roared a second time, proud of her kill.
With her safe, that only left one fight—one duel that could decide everything.
I saw them from where I was, two massive werecats brutally beating on each other. Mikkel was a similar size to Hasan and Jabari, proving he was old and strong, living long enough to achieve such a great size. He was also an experienced fighter.
Unlike the messy way I had fought against Fiora and Lani, Mikkel was purposeful, and so was my f
ather. They were obviously choosing their attacks carefully, refusing to leave openings to the other. I started walking toward them, but Davor blocked my way, shaking his big head. I growled.
“Move. We can end this now!”
He turned to the burning wreckage, and I understood.
He had faith that Hasan would win. We needed to try and get to Niko and Hisao. Hopefully, they were still alive.
Mischa must have seen us. When Davor and I reached the smoldering rubble, she was right there beside me. We dug furiously, trying to move big pieces and get into the shell of the structure. It didn’t take long for Jabari to finally join in, helping me move a beam by crawling underneath it and lifting with his back. I got under him and moved further into the home. When I found no way further, I backed out.
A roar was heard, and we all turned together. Mikkel and Hasan were both bleeding, and Jabari walked away from us, his head high. I knew what was happening. Jabari would inherit it all if Hasan fell, and his first act of leadership would be to kill Mikkel before the other werecat could celebrate.
I was too distracted by the fight for a minute as my werecat father and Mikkel clashed one more time. That werecat had beaten me. He’d had his friends beat me. He had turned Lani against me, so no matter how hard I worked to do better, it didn’t matter.
Davor gently pushed me aside to keep working in my spot.
I had no words of encouragement for Hasan. He would win. I had to believe he would win.
One good hit to Mikkel’s jaw broke it, and Hasan dove for the last bite, ripping out the male’s throat. When he roared in victory, we joined him, not caring if it brought human attention. Not caring if it was a bad time. Victory was had.
For the most part. Turning back to the smoldering rubble, I knew we still had to find Hisao and Niko.
And in the back of my mind, I knew my fight wasn’t over. Lani had run, and this wasn’t going to be over until I felt her die between my teeth.
Hasan and Jabari joined us in the digging. We sniffed and hoped to find evidence that either of them had survived. It was hoping against the odds. The blast had been huge, and the fire afterward probably fatal, but I tried to believe.