Werewolves and Wranglers

by Kristen Banet

  Everything was going exactly as they had planned.

  Until a very feline screech echoed in the distance. An angry howl, then more.

  “Werewolves are free!” Tobias roared over the bedlam. “We’ve gotten their attention.”

  Valen mentally winced. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so loud.

  19

  Adalyn

  That wasn’t what Adalyn had wanted to hear, but it didn’t surprise her. They weren’t being nearly as quiet as they should have been. Caught up in the action, they were all loud. Easton was taking shots like he planned to run them out of ammo in the next five minutes. Remy was tearing around and scaring the shit out of every human he came across. Valen was roaring.

  Nope. Subtlety isn’t one of our skills, apparently.

  She reached out and used magic to yank her rifle to her. She checked the ammo. It was their standard lead. Would hurt like hell, but it wouldn’t kill a werewolf. She was hoping to deter them. It would get them through the night.

  She heard one before she saw it. A snarling growl, the thumps of heavy footsteps running for them.

  “Down,” she ordered, ducking. Thankfully Tobias also noticed, grabbing Easton and yanking him down as well. A werewolf flew over their heads. It was much bigger than the one she saw in the mines, and that worried her like hell. There weren’t many that large.

  “That’s Lawrence,” Tobias told her as they stood back. “Felicity will be close behind him.”

  “Fuck,” she muttered.

  Sure enough, the feline Alpha ran out into the field next, hissing as she tracked her quarry. She didn’t spare a glance for anyone except the massive Alpha werewolf, who threw his head back and howled.

  “Of all the damn werewolves to break out,” she said, pulling up her rifle to stop a human from running. She nailed him in the back, but couldn’t hit the werewolf that jumped on the downed human and began tearing into him. “His breakout must have encouraged half the pack to make it out.”

  “That’s how they work,” Tobias reminded her, his hands glowing. “They’ll follow their Alpha, and he’s realized intruders are in his territory, fucking with his food supply.”

  “Don’t need the education right now, you two!” Easton said loudly, getting off the ground. He pulled his rifle up and took aim on a werewolf, one smaller than Lawrence, coming for them. She reached for the gun and yanked it down as he took the shot. Her hand burned but she had a feeling he was already loaded with silver. “What the hell?” he demanded.

  “Wait. We can hold them off. We don’t need to kill them.” She wasn’t mad at him worrying about surviving the night, but there were other options. This was why she was glad to have Tobias. “Just watch for a minute!”

  Tobias was silent, his hands up as the werewolf approached them, snarling and biting the air as if it couldn’t wait to eat. His palms glowed an eerie green as he stepped closer to the cursed beast. He was silent and patient as he drew nearer, reaching out as he got closer. He moved slowly, but with purpose, to keep the werewolf’s focus.

  “Quiet. Be at peace,” he whispered.

  The werewolf fought and snapped at his hand, which was yanked away quickly.

  “We have more coming,” Easton told her, nodding into the dark. She turned to see the glowing eyes of more stalking them.

  “Get Valen over here,” she ordered.

  “He’s already coming,” he promised.

  As one werewolf jumped forward, the bear was suddenly there, tackling it to the ground. The focus of all the wolves now diverted onto Valen, the new biggest predator in the area. With a roar, Valen challenged all of them to try and take him down.

  Her heart raced as they all jumped him.

  “Valen!” she called out.

  Easton grabbed her and pulled back. “Ward us,” he demanded. “Adalyn, ward yourself and Tobias. I’m going out there!”

  She did as he asked. Valen would be fine. She was already seeing him toss one back. He took a few bites, but she knew he had an immunity to the curse. He didn’t seem bothered. She wasn’t even sure he was bleeding.

  “You got this, Valen!” she yelled, cheering him on. She took the chance to tear her eyes off him as Easton disappeared and showed up next to him. He and a werewolf ended up in the dirt, rolling in a fight. She couldn’t see the sapphire glow of his eyes anymore, wondering if they had done that strange thing where they went all black.

  Finally, she knew she needed to find some other problem to deal with. Valen and Easton would hopefully be fine.

  All around them, fights with werewolves were breaking out. Remy was rolling around and snapping at a werewolf. The few humans who hadn’t been able to run were firing everything they had to defend themselves. She threw a ward around them. It sucked to do so, since it would keep them safe and they could still fire at the werewolves, but she needed at least one alive.

  Some of the werewolves went for the cattle, taking them down and eating, easily distracted by the prey. That was something, at least.

  A screech filled the night and Adalyn threw out her arm, seeing a dark feminine shape fly through the night. She caught Felicity before she hit the ground and yanked the werecat towards her and into her ward.

  “Felicity,” she whispered, kneeling down. “Hey, are you okay?”

  There was blood over her stomach.

  “I will be,” the werecat Alpha promised. “But I’m done for the night. He’s enraged, and—”

  The snarl that was louder than all the others grabbed everyone’s attention. Tobias cursed, jumping back from the werewolf he was holding in his calming spell as it was broken by the Alpha’s call. A howl filled the night, followed by what felt like a dozen more.

  “Oh no. He’s going to coordinate them now. This isn’t good.” Felicity struggled to stand up, Adalyn holding her elbow. “Adalyn, you have to get as many people in here and hold these wards until dawn, do you understand me? Sure, the men can fight for as long as they’re able, but they can’t do this like you, and they won’t be able to beat the pack.”

  “Where are the rest of your felines?” she asked.

  “Holding most of the pack back in the town. I left them there to handle the ones who got out. Lawrence is the key. If he’s forced to submit, the werewolves will back off.”

  “I can’t kill their Alpha,” Adalyn whispered. She could. A silver bullet would finish this, then.

  “No, don’t kill him. They’ll lose their minds. He’s in control, so they are. That’s the secret to their pack hunting. It’s why he refuses to skip a full moon with your potion.” Felicity held on to her shoulder. “Call your men in,” Felicity demanded. “Do it now.”

  Adalyn squared her shoulders and threw as much magic into her wards as she could. Tobias joined in, having to say the spell Maxwell taught him ages ago.

  “To me!” she screamed out. “Everyone back to me! Get in the wards!”

  A werewolf threw itself at her barrier and bounced off. Valen jumped in, forcing two werewolves off his back. He shifted back into his human form, looking like nothing had happened. Easton blinked in next, landing next to her.

  “Where’s Remy?” she demanded.

  “No idea,” her Nephilim answered. “I’m telling him to head back, but he can’t talk back. I only know he’s out there and he’s alive.”

  “Damn it!” The night was going much worse than they had planned for. “Felicity, how did this happen?”

  “Lawrence was out of control faster than I expected. Agitated.” The feline Alpha sighed, holding her side, hopefully slowing the bleeding. “He broke past me. There’s no other way to say it. The severity of this is my fault. A few of the others wouldn’t have been so bad.”

  Adalyn felt another werewolf test the ward. Looking for the humans, she realized they were gone. They must have snuck off when the wolves realized they couldn’t get to them and moved on. Now if only the werewolves would do the same for her group.

  “Remy!” she yelled out. No answer. “He
’s going to die out there,” she told them. “We have to ride it out ‘til dawn.”

  “Or defeat Lawrence,” Felicity reminded her. “Make him back off.”

  “Yeah, and who's going to do that?” she asked the Alpha. “Valen?”

  “I could,” the Russian said. “I could beat him.”

  “I don’t want you out there without backup, like Remy already is.” She didn’t like the idea of any of them being out there.

  “I can’t die,” he told her in a strained whisper. “I can’t die of anything but old age or a few choice beings, none of which are here. I can do this.”

  “We’re giving you backup,” she repeated.

  “Keep the wards up,” he ordered her. With a nod, she lifted her rifle, still only loaded with regular shots.

  “Everyone, no silver. We’re safe in here. No reason to kill any of them.”

  With a chorus of agreements, they all lifted their rifles.

  “I told Remy to head back and either get in here or help Valen,” Easton announced.

  Valen shifted and left the ward, walking toward Lawrence, who was now surrounded by prowling werewolves. With a roar, they met in a clash of fur and claws.

  She winced at the cracking sound it made.

  They rolled and fought, teeth sinking in wherever they could get a bite, claws tearing each other open. Valen was tossed first, making Adalyn gasp. The pack of werewolves weren’t watching the fight either. They were prowling the outside of her ward, still trying to find a way in.

  “Why won’t they leave us alone?” she asked Felicity.

  “They know we’re a bigger threat than the humans,” the werecat answered. “Right now, they’re not thinking about who is on whose side. We’re all intruders, and the humans aren’t the bigger threat.”

  “Great.” She threw out a hand, blasting the ground next to one of the wolves and spooking it. It leapt back a clear ten feet, snarling in the dark. I don’t want to shoot them. I probably should, but damn, I don’t want to.

  Easton didn’t have the same hang-up. When another jumped to attack her ward and try to break through, he shot it square in the chest. It fell hard into the dirt. She winced. It would be back up in a few hours, once someone pulled the bullet from it, and heal just fine, but damn, it was painful to watch.

  Her ward nearly shattered when Lawrence crashed into it. Adalyn jumped back as the back of the giant werewolf flew into it. Valen roared, but Lawrence didn’t seem to mind the impact, jumping back into the brawl with the Russian bear.

  Adalyn had no words. She kept helping Easton and Tobias push werewolves off from the ward, trying to keep it strong, but they were on the losing side. There were a dozen of them and they continued to press, slamming into the ward, trying to get their prey.

  A howl that wasn’t one of the werewolves got their attention. Remy came flying back into her view and tackled one of the wolves, snarling as he bit down into its neck and tore. Adalyn gasped as Remy tore its head clear off, snarling as hellfire blazed around him.

  “Look,” Felicity gasped.

  Adalyn followed her gaze to see the other werewolves were now watching Remy, with blood dripping down from his jaws. He snarled, showing off impressive fangs. Valen and Lawrence continued to fight in the background, a war between giants.

  The werewolves pounced together. Adalyn threw out her arm, trying to throw some off but there were so many of them. Remy shook them off and defended himself as well.

  “Get him in here!” she yelled at Easton. “Remy! Get in here!”

  The hellhound ignored her and so did the Nephilim, who kept his rifle up, trying to knock werewolves off. Remy bit into one, shaking hard enough for bones to crack and break. The werewolf practically screamed as Remy tossed him. Another tried to bite into Remy’s shoulder but she watched its teeth hit the strange bones that covered Remy’s ribs on the outside.

  “He’s built for this,” Felicity said, almost in shock.

  “He’s an apex predator that can kill other apex predators,” Tobias added. “They rule the wildlife of Hell. I should have expected it.”

  “Yeah, well, he can still get hurt!” She didn’t really care that he could win. She didn’t want him out there.

  “They’re backing off again,” Easton pointed out. “They know he can kill them easily and don’t know his weak spots yet.”

  “They’ll find out,” Tobias said softly.

  Remy ignored them, turning for Lawrence and Valen.

  Adalyn shook her head. “No, Remy. Don’t do it. Stay out of that one!”

  Remy didn’t listen. He tore towards the two beasts and tackled Lawrence into the ground, snapping viciously at the Alpha’s neck. Valen fell back, realizing someone else was there. He swiped away smaller werewolves who followed Remy. He held them off while her hellhound took on the Alpha by himself.

  “Why did they switch?” she demanded. “Damn this!” She reached out with her magic and yanked one of the smaller werewolves from Valen and tossed him into a tree.

  “Adalyn, you have to slow down. You’re running out of magic.” Tobias was being serious, and so was she when she responded.

  “I don’t care.” It was a full moon, and she looked up, reaching up with a hand. With a flat palm to the sky, she begged the world around her to give her more energy. It obliged. She yanked another werewolf off Valen, sending it over thirty feet away and into the dark. Then another. And another.

  A howl filled the night and their attention was dragged back to the duel between Remy and Lawrence. Lawrence finished howling, trying to pull away from the hold Remy had on his back leg. Remy shook hard, breaking it.

  It was eerie to watch Lawrence fall, whimpering. His pack ran for him, circling him and snapping at Remy, who backed off quickly.

  “Will Lawrence be okay?” Adalyn asked softly, wondering if they just threw the werewolf pack into turmoil by injuring their Alpha so severely.

  “He’ll be fine if those are his most loyal, and it seems they are,” Felicity answered.

  Remy never turned his back on the werewolves as he moved towards the ward. He slipped inside at the same time as Valen, both shifting back into their human forms. Both had a few bites on them, blood showing on their clothing.

  “Are you both going to be okay?” She went to Remy first, looking over the bleeding bites.

  “I should be fine. Do you know any healers?” Remy leaned on her.

  “I can heal,” Tobias said quickly. She backed away as Tobias walked closer and touched Remy. She looked at Valen expectantly.

  He pulled open his bloody shirt and revealed nothing. “Already healed,” he said with a smile. “So what now?”

  “They’ll lick their wounds for the rest of the night,” Felicity told him. “We just need to wait it out. With Lawrence injured, they’re done. Remy, you’ll need to talk to Lawrence in the morning.”

  “Why?”

  “Bare the neck so he maintains control of the Pack. Don’t do it for any others or it’ll be a political problem.” She shrugged. “Until that point, guess who is the werewolf Alpha?”

  “Me. Fuck. Okay. I can do that.” He sagged. Tobias had glowing green hands again and Adalyn watched him heal the bites. “I’m immune, right?”

  “You’re a shifter, so you should be,” Tobias promised. “Never heard of the curse affecting them before, but magic is unpredictable.”

  Adalyn took the chance to sit down on the dirt, sighing heavily. “Well, tonight couldn’t have gone worse.”

  “This has been pretty bad,” Felicity agreed, sitting next to her.

  “How’s the bleeding?”

  “Slowing. I’ll be fine in a week. It’ll scar, but whatever.” The werecat smiled.

  “So now we just wait for dawn and try to figure out what to do next?” Easton didn’t sound happy about that.

  “That’s exactly what we do.” She didn’t have a better idea.

  “Well…” Remy chuckled. “I caught the humans’ scent back to wherever th
ey’re hiding. So we can track them on a later day.”

  “That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks,” she told him, smiling. She held a hand out to him and when Tobias released him, he walked over to her and grabbed it, falling down into the dirt when she tugged lightly.

  She leaned on his chest and he played with her hair. Finally, she poked one of the injuries on his stomach.

  “What was that for?” he whined.

  “Next time I tell you to get safe, you get safe,” she whispered. “You understand me? I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose any of you.”

  It was the closest she could come to admitting how much she cared for her deputies to them. But tonight, seeing all of that and now having a moment of peace, she just wanted to cuddle up with Remy and know he was okay.

  “We’ll deal with tracking them down in the morning,” she continued. “Don’t think about it right now.”

  “Yes ma’am,” he whispered in her hair, kissing the top of her head.

  20

  Easton

  Easton watched the sun come up and got to witness a werewolf shifting back into human form. A dozen of them.

  “Finally,” Adalyn said.

  Easton closed his eyes. She sounded so tired. Another long night that went completely wrong. He could relate to her exhaustion. He was tired of all of it. The only good thing that came from the night was the sight of her and Remy together on the ground, in his opinion. He nearly smiled at the sight of them.

  “Lawrence,” Felicity called out. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like shit,” he answered, pushing off the dirt. He had to put all his weight on one leg, hobbled by the break Remy had given him. “I’m sorry.”

  Adalyn waved a hand and the ward around them fell. She walked out first, heading straight for the Alpha.

  “We had them, Lawrence. We knocked them off their horses. We were going to have a few of them secured. We could have finished it last night.” She didn’t pause for the other werewolves trying to stop her advance. Easton admired the way she pushed straight past them and into the Alpha’s face. “And you couldn’t control yourself.”