by Fay Walsh
Darren looked at both of them with bloodlust. When he was first turned into a shifter, he couldn’t shake this feeling out of him. With time though he had learned to control this. However, at that moment he would give in to the desire to kill both of them.
“What the fuck do you plan to do with me? Kill me?”
“Nah, that’s too easy. You’d like that. You probably wish I was just killing you. No, I’m going to make sure that you are completely kicked out of the picture. You and your useless Clan will be killed off tonight!” Thomas said.
“We actually want to repeat history, so you can figure out what I have planned for little Lisa there,” Jason sneered.
Thomas and Jason both grinned and Lisa looked at Darren with fear in her eyes.
“Stay away, Lisa. They plan to kill you,” Darren said.
“And put all the blame on you,” Thomas said.
“Yes, we want to repeat what happened with Tina. You’re going to be completely ruined by the time we are done. You’re going to wish I fucking killed you that night,” Jason said.
How dare they get Lisa involved! How dare they do this? Did they find this to be some sort of fucking game?
“Why do you care so much about revenge? Why do you do this? You have me, right? You could just kill me and be done with it,” Darren said.
“You’re not enough. We’re tired of these damn bear shifters. This is a part of the plan that she has, something greater than you can imagine,” Jason said.
“Who?” Darren replied.
“Oops, we can’t tell you that. Right now, let’s finish what we’ve started,” Jason said.
He headed over to Lisa, his fangs shining with a deadly glint. But then, Darren stepped in front of her.
“You’re going to have to go through me first before you even think about getting a chance to hurt Lisa,” he stated.
“Aww, look at this little bear. He thinks he’s got a chance against me. Isn’t that cute, Thomas?” Jason said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to take care of the other one,” Thomas said.
“Good. Because this is a long time coming, and I’m ready to take out Darren no matter what,” Jason said.
Darren knew that this could be his final battle. He felt his body grow stronger, and he hoped more than ever that eventually things would be okay. He felt strangely powerful and he was more than ready to get what he needed. This time he would fight for his whole Clan.
“Take this!” Darren said, lunging at Jason, attacking him immediately.
Jason parried the attack, and soon, the two of them were in a scuffle. Soon, Darren foculed less on Lisa, trying to take down Jason. The wolf was a formidable opponent. He was trying to find a opening, to have his claw make contact with him, but to no use.
Deep down, Darren knew that Lisa would be okay. He knew that she was strong and inventive. She would find a way to survive. He felt strangely reassured by his mate.
“Stay alive, Lisa. I’m taking you back with me,” he mumbled.
Darren lunged once again at the wolf, focusing only on giving him a finishing blow. This fight would only end when one of the two was dead.
Chapter 21
Lisa was coming back into conscience. She heard this Jason guy talk about how history was repeating itself and that she would be next. Lisa didn’t want to die. However, while she wasn’t the strongest one, she would try to help Darren.
Before she could understand what was happening between Darren and Jason, Lisa saw Thomas coming towards her. She hurriedly scrambled out of there, moving with difficulty from her previous hit.
“Stay the fuck away!” she cried out.
“Aww, the little princess is trying to fight me. How cute,” he told her.
She took the stapler, the only item she had to hand, and threw it at Thomas. He dodged it like it was nothing. He rushed towards her and as Lisa watched him, she realizes that she didn’t have much chance againsh a lion.
She didn’t know how to fight Thomas back, especially since she wasn’t a shifter herself. But, Darren was locked in battle with Jason, so she needed to find something. She couldn’t just could on Darren all the time. She rushed around, hiding behind desks in the other offices. She could practically feel Thomas scanning the place, trying to locate her.
Lisa had reached the small kitchen they had. There wasn’t much cover there for her, but she noticed something on the shelf.
A vial of pepper.
She grabbed it, knowing that this could be used as a mere distraction. When Thomas reached her, she took the vial of pepper, praying that this would work. She threw the content upwards into the air.
Thomas fallen into a sneezing fit, letting out one after another. Lisa took this as her chance she got out of there, while her own breathing was growing ragged.
“You little bitch!” Thomas cried out.
She could feel his footsteps behind her. She desperately tried to get out of there, as she could practically hear the sounds of this man following her. He was stalking his prey and he wouldn’t stop chasing her until he got her.
“Well, this isn’t a prey that you’re going to catch, that’s for sure,” she mumbled with determination.
She could feel Thomas catching up to her. There wasn’t any pepper left and she couldn’t think af any other way to distract him. Looking around, she noticed a name plaque here on a desk. Maybe she could use it as a weapon to ward off the assailant. Lisa wasn’t skilled in fighting, but her life was on the line. She would fight with everything she had. She had s much more to experience with Darren!
She grabbed the name plaque and held it in her hands as a stick. Her options were running out. She felt her entire body growing tired, the sudden realization that she was running out of steam getting to her. As she watched Thomas getting closer and closer, looking at her with the intent to kill, she realized that she was powerless against him.
She wanted to help Darren in some way. She knew the fight between him and the other shifter was long and hard. But, Lisa was in no place to fight. In fact, she was trying so desperately to get away from this guy that it was all that she could focus on. She tried to hide between furniture, but Thomas was just getting closer and closer to her.
She turned around, desperate to find something. She saw the bathroom closet, the one that was kept locked. She tried to keep herself calm, trying to breath evenly. At that moment, Thomas was behind her.
“Fuck,” she said.
“Oh come on, princess, you can put up a better fight,” he said.
Lisa wanted to think of something to say. She needed Darren’s help. When Thomas got close enough, she closed her eyes, hitting the lion in the head with the name plaque. Thomas let out a loud cry, as Lisa took this chance to scurry away.
She headed for one of the meeting rooms attached to her office. There Darren could find her easily. However, her hit didn’t stop Thomas. He footsteps resumed behind her.
But then, they stopped. Lisa tensed at first, but then she relaxed hoping that for the moment she was safe.
But, she wasn’t safe.
Suddenly, a big manly hand grabbed her throat. She tried to fight it, but it was too strong for her. Thomas had changed into his human form and his hands were tightly choking her neck. Lisa tried to hold herself together, but she could feel the plaque in her hand slipping away.
“Fuck…” she said with a wheeze.
“You really think your little game of cat and mouse would get me? Come on, Lisa. I can’t believe you’re as naïve as this. But, I don’t want to kill you like this. I don’t want to kill a human as a human, I want to kill you like an animal, and tear you apart limb from limb,” he stated.
He pushed her down, shifting into a lion. A powerful paw was now on her neck. It felt as if all his weight was on her neck, crushing her throat with each and every single passing moment.
Lisa could feel her vision starting to grow blurry. The lack of air was getting to her.
She didn’t want to die
. Not like this.
Lisa wanted more than anything to fight him. She desperately looked around for something, anything that could help her. At that moment, the only thing on her mind was to find some way out of this mess before it was too late.
She didn’t want to let herself lose consciousness once again. If she did, it would be all over for her. But her vision was growing progressively whiter, making it harder to see. From the corner of her eye though, she noticed something that she could use.
It was a miracle that she was able to reach it with her hand. It was a shard of glass from the plaque she had dropped. It was not be enough to kill Thomas, but it would be enough to at least hurt him.
She grasped it without caring if it might hurt herself and looked at Thomas.
“Bye,” she said with a raspy tone in her voice. It was barely audible, but that didn’t matter. What mattered, was what she did next.
She took the shard, pulling it over her head and towards the lion’s chest. She stabbed the thin layer of skin, causing him to fall back, loosening the grip on her neck. She coughed, sputtering and trying her best to catch her breath as quickly as possible. She knew that every second mattered.
When Lisa got up, she noticed that Thomas was still down. She approached him and kicked him hard, causing him to fall to the corner. He was completely down, but she knew that it would be for only a few moments. That meant, she only had a few moments to act and she needed to do so fast.
“Fuck, I need something. Anything would do,” she said considering her options.
She looked around, desperately trying her best to locate something. She needed to find something to fight him off with. It didn’t matter what it was, just something which could possibly be used as a weapon to kill.
The broken plaque was on the flour, but it would be of no use to her anymore. From a half-open drawer though, she detected a knife.
It was a small knife, more like a decorative one. However, she figured that the blade would be strong enough to kill if she stabbed in the right area. She wondered if she had the strength to do this in order to save her life. She recalled how Darren was doing the same thing, and she had to be the one who helped herself. This man had hurt her. He planned to kill her and had actually tried to do so. This would definitely be called self-defense.
She grasped the knife as Thomas was still struggling to get up. Before she gave him the chance to becaome threatening again she took the paperweight and smacked him with it. Immediately, red gashes formed on his muzzle. He cried out, taking his paw and extending it forward.
“You… bitch!” he cried out.
“Get off of me,” she said to him, kicking him down.
After this hit, Thomas couldn’t fight back. His whole body was weakened. Lisa looked at the knife again, the shiny blade practically calling out to her.
She could feel the fear wallowing in her body, the worry that she might not do this right. However, this was about her survival. It was either kill, or get killed. Her body moved on instinct and her hand brought the knife right up against his throat.
“Don’t,” he wheezed.
“The game’s over, sir. You mixed me up in your deadly game. I’m not taking it.”
She took the knife and threw it down straight into his throat. He let a loud cry out, letting out one last final wheeze before he became still with a pool of blood starting to form where the body was. She looked at it, and for a moment, she felt remorse.
She didn’t want to kill him. She wasn’t a monster who enjoyed this violence. However, she had to do it. There was no way around it. She had to kill him, or she would die.
All this while, he had been working to get rid of her and Darren. Now, she would make sure that he was gone for sure.
She doubted that this was the perfect plan, or that there was need for her to do it. However, she would be damned if she sat down and let this happen again and that’s why she did what she did. She took the knife out of Thomas’ throat and dug it once again where she figured would be his heart.
“I can’t look at that anymore,” she muttered.
She stood up and walked into where the fight between Darren and Jason was going. She noticed that both of them were fighting into equal terms. Darren was hurt, and so was Jason.
Both of them looked at one another with a look that screamed killing. Lisa considered of doing something to stop it, but she was well aware that for her own safety and wellness they would have to fight till the end.
“You’re pretty good, Darren. I can see that you have changed. You’ve become quite the formidable shifter. It would be a shame if a had to fight a weakling,” Jason said.
“Back then, you took advantage of the fact that I was a fledgling and you left me for dead. But this time… this time I’ll make sure that you’re taken down,” he said.
The two of them looked at one another and Jason smiled.
“You know, I was thinking about killing Lisa, and then blaming it on your ass, but right now I think that I’m just going to kill you first, and then her. It’s more satisfying, and something I should’ve done decades ago,” Jason said with a snarl.
Darren locked eyes with Lisa for a second and Lisa tried to give him a reassuring grin. She would be his strength.
“You’ve got this, babe. I believe in you,” Lisa mumbled.
Darren smiled back and Lisa could tell that he believed it.
“Thank you, Lisa. I’ll make sure to get rid of him so that the two of us can live in peace,” Darren said.
As she was trying to get closer, Lisa noticed that the place had changed. There was a barrier surrounding her, preventing her from taking another step forward. This battle was being done on a different level. She wasn’t a shifter, so she wouldn’t be able to help. This was Darren’s fight and only his to win.
Chapter 22
Darren was already breathing heavily when he looked at Jason. The two of them were in a deadlock and both of them were hurt.
They lunged at one another, attacking again and again. It was strange that they were so equal of strength. It made it all harder for Darren to completely overwhelm him.
Darren pushed his paws down, smacking the other shifter, but Jason responded by scratching his chest. Darren let out a low growl. Falling back, he snarled at Jason.
“What’s the matter? Are you done already?” he asked with a cheeky grin.
“Nah, I’m just getting started.”
“Well, I am too. In fact, I think it’s time I pull a small trick out of my sleeve. You’re going to love this,” Jason said.
Jason’s eyes turned orange, and Darren realized that he was tapping into the moon’s energy, which explained why he attacked at night. Darren braced himself for however this attack might damage him.
At this point, Jason’s attacks on Darren were practically too much for the shifter. Darren cried out, feeling the scratches and bites hit him hard. He cried out, while each attack was hitting him deeper. Darren could feel his opponent’s claws tear up his body. He could feel himself losing this battle.
He didn’t want to lose though, because he knew that she was watching. Clearly, she had managed to beat her boss, so it was only up to Darren to protect her from Jason.
He knew that Jason had used Thomas in order to attack them. He needed to end this personal vendetta once and for all. He needed to put all the years of pain that he suffered because of this behind him.
“You’re not going to win. Not on my watch,” Darren said.
“Oh really? You’re already losing Darren. You haven’t gotten a hit on me since I showed you my little trick, so why don’t you just give it up,” Jason said.
Darren felt like giving up. He knew that what Jason had just said was right. But he couldn’t abandon the fight. He was the only thing that kept Jason away from Lisa and he couldn’t let him have her.
Instead, he focused on the abilities as a bear shifter and that’s when he remembered one of them.
The bear shifting energy. His who
le body started changing on a whim. His fur, which was normally black as the night, started to become lighter. Darren could feel his power growing, and soon, his fur had turned into a brilliant gold.
His fur was standing on end and Darren felt a surge of energy. His wounds were healing and Darren wondered how he got so damn lucky. He knew that this was a rare ability that only a few shifters could pull off, and yet here he was with his energy growing, and his desire to defeat him at its peak.