Never Die

by N. L. Hoffmann

  The car took off down the driveway a lot faster than it should have, considering the holes. My head hit the floor of the trunk several times, despite my trying to avoid it. I groaned, reaching around for something that could help me figure out how to get out. I pulled the bag off my head and looked around. There was some light coming in through the cracks of the trunk’s lid, but other than that, I didn’t see a button or pull tag that could help me get out.

  Moving around, I tried to aim my feet for the taillights of the car. Just as I was about to kick, the car jerked around a corner, and I went rolling. Swearing, I corrected myself and tried to aim again. This time, I managed to hit it. Kicking it again, I watched in relief as is popped out, banging against the side of the car. The car braked, but then sped back up. They heard what happened, but couldn’t stop to take care of me. If I didn’t find a way out soon, they would certainly punish me for the escape attempt.

  Headlights hit the back of the car, so I scooted closer to the hole to reach my arm out. But then they were gone. The car turned off onto another road. Swearing, I tried to figure out where we were going, but it was too dark to tell. Small towns weren’t as well-lit as cities.

  The car was starting to slow down. It made another turn down a dirt road. My heart started pounding hard, echoing in my ears. I didn’t know what to do. Did I kick my way out? Did I cooperate?

  Suddenly, the car came to a stop. One of the doors slammed, so I braced myself for what was going to happen next. When the trunk popped open, one of the men swung down, punching me in the face. My head bounced off the floor of the trunk. Vision going black, I blinked several times, trying to focus to stay awake. He was about to slam the trunk shut, but I kicked out, striking him in the chest. He fell back as I struggled out of the trunk, hoping I could keep my adrenaline going long enough to escape.

  Hearing the other door open, I hurried out and began to run down the road. One of them was chasing me, his shoes scraping over the rocks on the road. I didn’t bother to look back, even though I was tempted to. What if they were getting closer? Calling to my werewolf speed, I ignored the shooting pain of the rocks digging into the bottoms of my feet. Only, I wasn’t fast enough. The guy tackled me, my face scraping against the road as we slid. He turned me over onto my back. I swung, slapping him in the face. Trying to buck him off, I raised my knee to hit him in the crotch, but he blocked it. Grabbing my wrists, he pressed them down in the dirt.

  “Stop fucking moving, bitch!” he snarled. Moving fast, he swung a fist, hitting me on the side of the head.

  My world was spinning. As he got up, I had to roll over on my side to vomit from being so dizzy. “Why are you doing this?” I gasped.

  “Get back in the fucking trunk.” He grabbed my arm, jerking me up to my feet. I stumbled forward, heading in the direction of the car. The urge to run was there, but I could barely walk straight after he hit me.

  The other man was waiting for me. He took my head and slammed it against the car. I cried out, falling to my knees. Warm blood trailed from my forehead down the front of my face. Angry, I spun around, swinging my fist until it connected to the side of his head. He grunted, stumbling back in surprise. When the other man came toward me, I kicked out, hitting him right between the legs. He fell to his knees, holding his crotch as he groaned in pain.

  Grinning, I kneed him in the face, pleased when blood spurted out from his nose. The other guy was leaning against the car after I punched him in the side of the head. I was about to swing at him again when something crashed into my head, knocking me out.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Coming to, I looked around, hoping to figure out where I was. I laid awake for a few minutes, just listening to the noises around me. There were voices outside of the structure I was in, but it was too hard to hear what they were talking about. Not knowing what was near me in the dark had me hesitating. What if I kicked something and made a noise? They would know I was awake then, and I wasn’t sure that I was ready to fight them off yet.

  Rolling onto my knees, I pressed my hands flat against the cold floor. It was hard and smooth, like concrete. My nostrils flaring, I took in the scent around me, immediately regretting it. It smelled like a bathroom. Stale urine and who the hell knew what else surrounded me. Where the fuck was I?

  There was a rattling noise behind me. I climbed to my feet, standing in a fighting position. Only, when light came into the room with me, I was blinded, and then struck by bolts of electricity that shook my entire body. I stiffened, unable to move as the pain tore through me.

  “Get her outside. She wants to see her,” a man instructed another.

  Too weak to move, I just laid there as he drug me by my feet, pulling me outside. It was still dark, which meant that it was possibly the same night still. I looked around to find a bunch of people staring at me in a circle, looks of disgust on their faces. Why were they just standing there, staring? I wanted to huddle into a ball to hide, but my body was still fucked up from getting tased.

  “Well, look who we have here,” a female voice said, coming from behind me. It was familiar, and it only took a second for me to realize who it was.

  Annie.

  She leaned over to peer into my face, dark eyes gazing into mine. I was in complete shock. Had I been able to talk, I’d ask her why. Only, she answered my question for me. “All these years, you let me suffer in this shithole of a town. You lived your happy life in Chicago, while I was used and forced to do—do things!”

  I opened my mouth to say that I never knew she existed, but no sound came out. My only choice was to lie there and listen to her talk about how I’ve failed her as a sister. If I had known she was in Luna Hill, I would have come for her. But no one even told me about her.

  “Now you’ll pay, though. You will suffer the same way I have all these years. I punished everyone else. You’re the last one left.” She smiled, baring her teeth at me. “First, you will watch Luke and Lance die. Then you’ll die, too.”

  “I didn’t even know I had a sister,” I croaked out, trying to turn onto my side.

  Annie came over and kicked me back down. “Don’t fucking lie. Mom and Dad tried to lie, too, but they paid.”

  “You killed them?” I stared at her in surprise. The last thing I expected from her was murder. She seemed so innocent and happy that I couldn’t picture her taking someone’s life. Yet, here she was, wearing a mask of hatred as she held me down with one foot.

  Nodding, Annie put more of her weight on me, crushing my chest. “I did, and it was easy. After Tina changed me into a wolf, I never even had a second thought. It came so easy! Dad died by the heel of one of these babies.” She gestured to the new shoes I had asked Betty about. “Aren’t they gorgeous? Gifts from Tina.”

  “Who’s Tina?”

  The woman who had pretended to be Mary appeared next to Annie. “Pleasure to officially meet you, Riley.” She flashed her white teeth at me. Her red lipstick made them appear really bright. They basically glowed in the dark.

  I wanted to get off my back. It felt like I was being dominated, and it was a terrible feeling. My wolf was getting angry, and she wanted me to attack to show who was in control. Only, I knew that I was at a disadvantage, so I calmed myself. Eventually I would have my chance, and they would be punished for what they were doing. I didn’t know how I would take on a whole Pack of wolves, but I would die trying. Luke and Lance would be on their way soon. The fight wasn’t even supposed to take place until the next day, but it seemed like they were prepared for the earlier visit. Taking me had been planned so they could throw Lance off.

  Annie swung her foot, kicking me in the face. I groaned, my head pounding even more than it had been. The people around us cheered, trying to get her to do more damage. I grabbed a hold of her foot and twisted hard until there was a loud pop. She screamed out in pain, falling to her side on the ground. I was kicked in the gut by Tina, her eyes blazing with anger.

  “You bitch!” Annie moved fast, straddling me as
she began to swing her fists. “You think you’re stronger than me, huh? I’ll show you who the head bitch around here is!” She began to choke me, her small hands going around my throat.

  I gasped for air as she crushed my windpipe. Kicking my feet, I tried to pry off her hands so I could breathe, but she held on fast, smiling as I suffocated. Everyone began to cheer again, urging her to end it. “I should gut you.” She revealed a knife from the holster on her thigh.

  “This will kill you. Do you know why? This isn’t just a normal knife. No, those wouldn’t kill you. Not unless they’re made of silver.” She ran her tongue over the blade, pleased with her advantage over me. “You didn’t know that, did you? No one has told you anything about being a wolf, have they?”

  She got up, kicking me as she stepped away. “Silver is the only thing that will kill a werewolf. You can burn one of us alive, and we would still breathe. It’s really sad.” Annie leaned down and grabbed a fistful of my hair. “That’s just one of the things I plan on doing to you. You’ll suffer to the point of begging. You’ll beg me to give you mercy.”

  “Make her bleed!” someone shouted from the back of the crowd. Everyone roared in agreement, chanting for her to do it.

  Grinning, Annie looked up at Tina, who just smiled in return. They were sick. Annie was damaged, and it was probably our parents’ fault. She wasn’t able to cope and adapt to life like I had. I didn’t have anyone to blame for my life, other than my parents. She felt like I should have been there to save her. Had I known she existed, it would have been my first stop years ago. I would have returned to Luna Hill just for her.

  Someone else had put it in her head that her terrible life was my fault. Annie just wanted someone to blame. I was the easiest target, next to our parents. Her plan was to eliminate every single person that had abandoned her. If only I could get her to believe that I didn’t do it intentionally. Would she even listen? The crowd was getting her riled up. She was walking in a circle, staring at me while clutching her knife. Her eyes were nearly black, dead—as if her life had been stolen away.

  “They’re here!” someone shouted from the back again.

  Fear made my whole body stiffen. Luke and Lance had arrived. They knew exactly where I’d gone. At least Luke knew that I wouldn’t abandon him. Even through our tough times, he knew. Part of me wished he stayed away, though. I didn’t want him to die because my sister was a raging psycho. Lance was here for his daughter. He would have come no matter what. This had been a trap. They had no intention of following the rules of challenging an alpha.

  Tina motioned for two of her men to come grab me. “Take her back into the bathrooms.”

  One of the men lifted me up, and the other put my arm around his shoulders. We were at the lake, from what I could tell. Unfortunately, I saw no escape. The entire Pack was surrounding us, watching for me to make a dumb move. I didn’t want to go back into the bathrooms, but there was no other option for me.

  “Wait! She must watch the fight.” Annie snapped her fingers, signaling the men. “Take her to the spot where the fight will happen. Guard her. If Luke or Lance even comes close, snap her neck.”

  Nodding with approval, Tina followed Annie toward the lake. The Pack split into two so they could walk through them like queens. Was Annie the alpha, or Tina? Could they both be alpha? I was confused, but what did it matter, considering I was about to meet my maker?

  The men dragged me across the grass to a wide-open field that was surrounded by trees and the lake. The moon shone down on the lake, reflecting off of it brightly. It would have been beautiful, had I not been about to die. I looked up at it, my eyes taking in the shape and the clouds around it. Silently, I prayed that we’d make it out alive. Would Lance bring his Pack with him? Did he have enough people to fight their Pack? Afraid to see the carnage that was about to happen, I swallowed hard.

  We came to the far side of the field, opposite the lake. The man let me fall to the ground. I gasped as my ankle bent awkwardly, popping as I took a tumble to the grass. Glaring up at the men, I gritted my teeth through the pain. They just smirked at me, standing several feet away so they could keep an eye out.

  From a distance, I could see a large group of people coming toward the field. Annie’s Pack went to the north side of the field, watching and waiting for Lance’s Pack to come closer. I looked to see where Luke was. He was a few feet behind his brother, eyes scanning around for me. At least I hoped he was looking for me. I wanted to wave to him, but the men were watching. One was large and bulky, twice the size of Luke. His partner was thinner and shorter, but he had been able to carry me across the field easily.

  A feeling of warmth came over my entire body. I looked up, and my eyes met with Luke’s. I smiled to show him that I was okay, and he nodded once to let me know he understood. Becoming nervous, I watched as the Pack came closer to Annie’s. I was afraid to see what would happen. Would Annie fight Lance, or would it be Tina? All I knew was that it was a trap. The plan was obviously to surprise Lance. To somehow catch him off guard.

  Afraid, I rubbed my ankle, wincing when I touched it in the wrong spot. It was starting to heal, but not fast enough. I didn’t like feeling so vulnerable. When I looked up, I spotted Annie coming in my direction. Looks of confusion crossed Lance and Luke’s faces. It dawned on them in that moment that Annie was on the other team.

  In Annie’s hand was her knife. She came up to me, yanking my head back by the hair. She put the knife at my throat and smiled down at me. “You move, and the little girl dies. Know that I have someone in there with her. One signal from me, and she’s dead.” With a quick motion, she slashed the knife over the side of my face. I hissed as it burned deeply, causing my eyes to water. Since she used silver, the wound probably wouldn’t heal.

  Luke jumped to come in my direction, but Lance held him back. They needed to keep a level head—otherwise, everyone would be doomed. I turned to watch Annie walk away, the knife hanging from her fingers as my blood dripped from the tip. She was a completely different person from the one I knew just the day before. How could someone so easily fake an entire personality?

  Lance came out to the center of the field, waiting for the alpha of the other Pack. He looked around, smiling, as if he found the entire thing amusing. Tina stepped out, the wind whipping through her blonde hair like she was in some fashion shoot. She didn’t look like she belonged in a werewolf Pack, let alone as their alpha. The expression on her face said different, though. Her eyes began to glow as she started to circle around Lance, who reciprocated the movement.

  It was hard to believe someone of Tina’s size was going to take down a large man like Lance. Judging by appearance alone, my first thought was that he could easily break her in half. Then, out of nowhere, she was on him. Her fists were flying so fast at Lance, he barely had time to defend himself. He dropped away from her, bloody in the face. But if he was surprised, he didn’t show it. The man just grinned broadly and put his fists up.

  “You won’t surprise me next time, honey.” He chuckled, waving for her to come at him again.

  That’s when I began to notice Lance’s Pack moving toward the other side. They weren’t angry, but smiling as they went. Did Lance tell them to attack the other Pack while he fought with the alpha? Luke was trying to see what was going on. He tugged on one man’s arm, asking what appeared to be questions. The man just jerked his arm away and continued to the other side.

  What the hell was happening?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lance suddenly looked over to the side when he saw people passing him during the fight. Tina kicked him hard in the chest. He went flying back, mouth open in surprise. When he fell to the ground, he slid several inches. The force behind that kick was definitely supernatural. I couldn’t believe the mound of grass that piled up behind him from sliding across the field.

  I went to get up and see if I could do something. Sitting on the sidelines was out of the question. I had to help in some way. Only, when I stood
up, one of the wolves in front of me glared threateningly. “Sit your ass down,” he growled.

  “Or what?” I shot back, ignoring the tingling of fear in the back of my mind.

  Moving fast, he threw a punch, but my reactions were purely instinctual. I grabbed his hand and began to squeeze as the bones broke beneath the pressure I was applying. He howled in pain, his partner coming at me. Releasing the man’s hand, I shoved my hand at him, smashing his nose with the heel of my hand. He stumbled back, grabbing a hold of his face. Blood fell from his fingers as it came pouring out of his nose.

  The man whose hand I crushed came at me again. He grabbed me by the hair, but I stomped on his foot and then kneed him in the groin. The guy fell to his knees, eyes rolling back into his head. “You bitch!” he wheezed.

  Chuckling, I lifted a fist and swung down, knocking him out cold. Werewolf strength really came in handy. His other friend was too worried about his nose to do anything. He was hunched over, groaning as he tried to survive the pain. I looked over to Lance and Luke, finding that they were completely surrounded by the Packs. All of the Packs. No one was fighting. They were all on the same side. I realized then that the Pack had betrayed their alpha, Lance.

  “Fuck.” I swore, not sure what to do. It wasn’t like the three of us could take on a gigantic Pack of werewolves. We were vastly outnumbered.

  It was then that I heard shots ring out. They were coming from somewhere that I couldn’t see. Should I hide somewhere? Who were they shooting at? One by one, people were falling to the ground. It was the rival Pack. Annie was in the middle of the group, smiling at Lance as he was down on his knees, about to take the final blow from Tina. I was too busy fighting my own battle to watch the one he was going through on his own.

  Luke was being restrained by two other wolves, each holding an arm. He was straining against them, trying to get to his brother, who was about to die. I started running in their direction, hoping I would be enough of a distraction. It worked for Annie, anyway. She turned to look toward me, her face paling as she realized things could possibly go bad if I got to her.