In that second, she realized a shift would be her only chance. They might still kill her, but she decided in that instant that to die in a fight was far better than what lie ahead if she did nothing at all. Tina closed her eyes for a moment and as she did, her body began to gyrate and contort.
“Shit!” the first man yelled. “Stop her!”
All four men jumped on top of Tina. The force of the impact distracted her just enough to break her attempt at a shift.
“Goddamn it!” the man yelled. “We don’t have time for fucking around…kill her now!”
Two of the men pinned her to the ground as the other three stood over her and aimed three guns in her direction. Tina struggled against the grips of the men as the held her in place. For an instant, her ears filled with the clicks as the hammers on the guns locked into place.
“Now!” the man yelled. “Do it!”
Tina squeezed her eyes shut and just as she did, the sound of shattered glass rang out from the lobby.
“Tina!” a voice cried out.
Jericho!
Tina took a deep breath to scream in response. But before she could, a heavy hand slapped against her mouth and the gag. One of the men that straddled her moved his index finger over his lips.
“Tina!’ Jericho yelled once more. Glass scattered across the floor of the lobby as her brother stormed the entry to the clinic. “Tina! Where are you?!”
“Come with me,” Jericho said. As he spoke, Tina thought she heard others enter the clinic with him. A fraction of a second later, her suspicion was confirmed when Chuck and Max called out in unison for her.
“Tina!” they yelled.
The men atop her scrambled to their feet.
As she raised her head off the ground, every human shape in the room started to transform. Thud after thud, the men’s limbs contorted and lengthened as they dropped to the floor on all fours. Moments later, five large black wolves snarled and paced back and forth just inside the door of the emergency room. Tina cried out into the gag as she lay half-naked on the ground.
But just as the shifters completed their transformation, all sounds from the lobby ceased.
Doubt spread among Tina’s attackers. The wolves hung their heads low and looked at one another with caution. Although they’d restrained her, the knots weren’t anything she couldn’t try to get out of while their attention lay elsewhere.
The bonds around her wrists were somewhat loose from her attempt at a shift moments before. With her eyes on them, she moved her wrists from side to side and before long, she popped one hand free. Once she broke the second one free, she reached down towards her feet and did the same. All the while, her luck held as none of her attackers looked back in her direction.
***
With them still distracted for the moment, Tina turned her head to the right. Less than ten feet away was the fire exit. She figured five steps was all she needed. On trembling hands, she forced herself up from the floor and made a dash for it. Snarls and the scamper of paws in her direction filled her ears as she ran.
From behind, she felt a rush of wind as an immense form closed upon her. She dived and thrust her hands into the horizontal bar of the door. A slash of claw melted into her backside as the alarm rang out and echoed throughout the office.
Tina fell through the door and into the cool night air. A fur-covered menace plowed her into the ground and bounced Tina’s head off the pavement as she skidded to a stop. Warm streams of blood oozed from her wound as she came to rest, face-to-face with one of the shifters.
The wolf bared its teeth and screeched at her. Tina covered her face and readied herself for another strike when a cacophony of sounds erupted from inside the emergency room. Her assailant jumped off her and turned to face the source of the noise.
As Tina lifted her head, she looked to see the door to the emergency room door knocked from its hinges. As it burst open, two of the wolves closest to it fell on to their backsides. Jericho, in his shifted form, barreled through the entry and slid to a stop as they collapsed. Without a moment’s hesitation, he pounced on the shifter closest to him and sank his teeth into the center of the beast’s upper back.
Tina scooted to the side as the battle intensified. The pain from her attack ripped through her body as she adjusted herself. She looked on as Jericho’s wild brown body tore into the hapless wolf beneath him. It yelped as Jericho slashed and ripped into him with his long claws and sharp teeth. But the tide of the battle shifted. Just as it seemed as if Jericho had the edge, all four of the other wolves leapt at him and knocked him over.
Bloodied and injured, Tina readied herself for a shift. The math was simple. They outnumbered Jericho five-to-one. Without her help, he’d be dead in minutes. She staggered to her feet and, just as before, her torso started to buckle and bow as her transformation started. Tina’s head flung back as she looked skyward and summoned the magnificent gift bestowed on her by Nature.
Her upper body dropped back towards the pavement with a heavy thump as her transformation completed. Now on all fours, she snarled as she looked back into the room where her brother fought off his attackers. Tina dug in and reared back on her haunches, poised to strike. Her limbs crackled with energy as the strong muscles in her back and thighs twitched in anticipation.
Without one more second of hesitation, Tina bared her fangs and charged into the room. But just as she crossed the threshold of the doorway, two new wolves burst into the room near where Jericho had less than a minute earlier. Tina skidded to a stop as she dug into the floor with her claws.
She looked on in disbelief as two immense silver, almost blue, wolves tore in through the doorway and collided with Jericho’s attackers. They moved with a speed and ferocity Tina was not familiar with in all her years. She’d seen hundreds of fights in her lifetime and been involved in dozens of her own, but she found herself in awe of their ability.
Dumbstruck, she suddenly realized that it was Chuck and Max.
The newly-minted wolves made short work of the first opponents. The night air filled with the screams and the sound of fur being separated from flesh. The black coats of the enforcers grew shiny and wet with blood as the brothers tore into their hides.
As they fought, Tina looked over at Jericho. Now ambushed by the other three, he fell onto his back as they slashed at his exposed stomach. Tina charged into action and bounded across the room before she leapt into the melee. She snarled as she sailed through the air, jaws wide and prepared to strike. Tina managed a direct hit and collided with the largest of the enforcers as he stood atop Jericho.
The two tumbled and rolled into a nearby wall. Right away, Tina sank her fangs into the underside of his neck. The wolf screeched as it kicked and clawed at Tina. But his gyrations only made her bite more powerful and as he fought back, she shook her head in violent arcs.
All around her, the sounds of snarls and scratches from wolves bounced off the walls, while in the distance, frightened barks and terrified mewls from the kennels traveled up and down the hallway. Her nose buried deep into his fur, the scent of his defeat intensified her focus while the taste of his blood in her mouth sharpened her desire to finish him. With one final blow, he managed to kick her free. As he did, Tina tore away a chunk of his flesh.
Wounded, the wolf staggered away from her. The kill imminent, Tina lowered her head and glared in his direction. To her right, she noticed Chuck and Max as they stood over two motionless bodies. Right away, they turned their attention to Jericho who struggled against two other wolves. Tina shifted her focus back towards her quarry, but by the time she did, he’d fallen… dead.
In less than a couple of minutes, they fought off the two remaining attackers and almost as soon as it started, the fight ended. Tina, Jericho and the brothers shifted back into their human form and embraced one another in victory… and relief.
Tina stared at Chuck and Max.
“I can’t believe you… Why?”
Chuck moved towards her. “You know why,
Tina. We told you what we intended to do to protect you and we meant it.”
Max nodded his head and smiled.
Tina ran in their direction and flung herself between them. Her curves collided with the warmth of their hard bodies as they embraced her.
“Hey… hey,” Jericho said. “Later you three. We’ve still got business here.”
***
Over the next couple of hours, the four of them worked clean up the office. In the wake of the fight, the emergency room was a shambles, but by some miracle the injured dog the men brought in before survived. Tina managed to get him stitched up and on the way to recovery. Afterward, she got the boarders calmed down with treats and much needed bathroom breaks, while Jericho, Chuck and Max did what they could to repair the damage left behind in the fight.
Tina made her way back down to the emergency room where the men worked. Of the five enforcers sent, four were dead and laid in a row, side-by-side with one another. They’d tied the fifth one up and stuck him in a corner. The man sat there in his human form and drifted in and out of consciousness.
“Jesus,” Tina said as she placed her hand on her forehead. “I’m in deep trouble.”
Her stomach knotted as she tried to fabricate a story in her mind. Unless she could think of something and quick, at the very least she’d get fired and at worst, well, she didn’t want to think about it. Chuck walked over and put his arm over her shoulder. The feel of his skin upon her brought a little respite to her frazzled nerves.
“We’ll get it cleaned up,” he said with absolute confidence.
She scoffed and looked up at him. Everywhere she looked, she saw glass and fur and blood and chaos.
“How?” she said as she shook her head. “How are you going to get this cleaned up?”
“Max and I have some former Marine buddies. One runs a cleaning crew and another operates a glass repair business. They’re on the way right now. This place will be good as new by morning… if they ask, which they won’t, we’ll just tell them a few dogs got loose and had a scrap.”
“Oh,” Tina said as she glanced around and pointed to the bodies of the dead shifters. “What about them?”
“I’m going to handle them,” Jericho said as he walked over toward her. “And the one that’s still alive…”
“What are you going to do with them?” Chuck asked.
“Well,” Jericho began. “They’ll need to be returned to their pack.”
“Him as well?” Max asked as he pointed towards the semi-conscious captive.
“Yep.”
“I don’t understand,” Max interrupted. “Why send him back? Won’t your old pack just send more to finish the job?”
Jericho tossed his hair back away from his eyes.
“They might,” he said. “But among our kind, far more power is conveyed through mercy than murder. As much as they understand the use of force, they also understand the meaning of its restraint. The latter takes far more resolve than the former.”
Max looked at his brother. “Sounds like we have a lot to learn about pack politics.”
Chuck smiled. “Seems that way, doesn’t it?”
“They do have a point, Jericho,” Tina said. “I know that Albert, Mother… there’s no way this will stand.”
“You let me deal with them.” Jericho replied. “I have a score of my own to settle with them on behalf of our father. You have my word that you’ll hear nothing more from that group of thugs. And even if you do, well, you’ve got some serious protection of your own here now. You won’t need my help… that’s for certain.”
Tina smiled and hugged her brother. She pulled him close and nuzzled her nose in his soft, black hair. Tina held him for several moments, unsure of when the next chance to do so might arise. After a bit, they broke free of each other and he smiled back at her.
“As much as it pains me to say,” Jericho began as he winked at his sister. He gestured towards Chuck and Max and continued, “I couldn’t have done it without their help. I suppose humans aren’t all bad, especially when they’re smart enough to join us.”
Tina raised an eyebrow. A little smile curled up at the edge of her mouth.
Chuck and Max walked forward, shook Jericho’s hand and then they all embraced one another.
“Well… I think it’s time I get going,” Jericho said. He turned and looked at his sister. “I suppose the next time I see you, I’ll be visiting my nieces or nephews. Right?”
“Not unless you get pregnant from kissing,” Tina said.
“Hmm, I do believe that one hundred percent of all babies start with a kiss,” he said with a smile. “So, it’s a strong indicator if nothing else.”
“Good point, Jericho,” Max said.
“Yeah,” Chuck replied. “Your brother makes a lot of sense… for a wolf.”
Tina interrupted. “You know, I think I have a say in all of this. So you two keep that in mind. Just because you saved my life doesn’t automatically mean you know what.”
Jericho chuckled.
“Good luck with that boys,” he said. “I’m outta here.”
After they said their goodbyes, Chuck and Max helped Jericho get the shifters into his car. Just then, the cleaning crew arrived and they headed back inside to put them to work.
“Well,” Jericho said as he turned towards his sister. “I guess this is goodbye for now.”
He reached up and cupped Tina’s cheek in his hand. As he did, she leaned her head into it and a few seconds later wrapped her arms around his waist and moved in close for a hug. With her head pressed against his chest, she pulled her hair away from her eyes.
“When will I see you again?” she asked.
“Dunno,” he replied. As he spoke, vibrations from inside his chest tickled the outer edges of Tina’s ear. “But I can promise you this much… it won’t be ten years.”
Tina pulled her head away from his chest and looked up into his eyes.
“Better not,” she said. “I was thinking more like next week.”
Jericho chuckled.
“All right,” he said. “How ‘bout sometime between next week and ten years?”
“Jerk,” she muttered as she pressed her head into his chest once again.
Tina’s shoulders pressed into her brother as he hugged her tight. He leaned over the top of her head and kissed it. As they broke free of one another, Jericho headed towards his car and got inside. With the window down, he motioned for Tina to approach.
“I’m so proud you,” he said as he looked up at her. “Father would be too.”
Tina’s throat choked with a lump. Tears trickled in along the edges of her eyes.
“Thank you,” she replied. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” he said as he turned the key and fired the ignition. “Talk soon.”
Tina blew him a kiss and stepped aside as he drove away into the night.
***
A few hours later, Chuck drove Tina’s car as they followed Max back to the brothers’ house.
“I’m okay,” Tina said. “You really don’t have to do this.”
“Actually,” Chuck said. “We do.”
Tina glanced at him.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.”
A few minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of Chuck and Max’s home and went inside. Tina walked in ahead of them. As she did, the cool air of the room licked against her skin. Across the room, she spotted Bosco’s kennel. The poor dog lay sideways, dead to the world, his face pressed up against the steel grate.
Tina shook her head and smiled at Bosco’s painkiller-induced lethargy. Around the same time, she stopped and turned back towards the brothers as they came inside. Max closed the front door as Chuck stood next to him. Afterwards, they both walked right up to Tina and stopped.
“What?” she said as looked up at both of them.
Max nodded his head at her.
“It’s… time, Tina.”
Confused, her eyes
darted back and forth between them.
“Time… for what?” she asked.
Without a word, Max reached down and scooped her up into his arms. Tina’s head bobbed as he lifted her up and headed towards the marble staircase. Up appeared to be the direction he intended to go.
“Um,” Tina stammered. “Wait… please.”
Chuck reached out and grabbed his brother by the shoulder.
“Don’t you think…? I mean… shouldn’t we talk about this?” she asked.
Chuck nodded and shrugged.
“Okay, no problem,” he replied as he turned to Max. “Do you want her?”
“Oh yeah,” Max replied as he squeezed her waist. “Oh yeah.”
“Same here.” Chuck added. “So… I think we’re done talking about it… right?”
“No, I mean…” Tina stammered. “What I am trying to say is that both of you… the three of us… at once? Is that… what you are suggesting?”
Wordless, the brothers looked at her and nodded.
“We’re not real good at subtle innuendo,” Max said. “Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that… I…” she said as she searched for a coherent thought. “Do you mind if I… take a shower… I need to clear my head a little?”
Max leaned and down and placed her on the first step.
“Sure,” he said. “Be our guest. Towels are in the bathroom, to the right of the shower.”
Tina nodded and looked away.
“Thanks,” she said as she turned and began to walk up the stairs. To her, it seemed as if her footsteps thundered across the wide open space of the foyer as she ascended them. Her hand, dampened by nerves, slid along the oak banister as she walked. When at last she reached the top, she did a half turn over her shoulder back down towards the brothers.
“I… won’t be long,” she said.
Wordless, they looked up at her and nodded.
Tina turned and wound her way towards the master bathroom where she removed her clothes. After finding a towel, she wrapped her hand around the cool chrome handle of the glass shower door, opened it and stepped inside. After a quick adjustment to get the temperature where she wanted it, Tina stepped beneath one of the two oversized showerheads.
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