The Last of Her Kind

by B F Worlds

"Okay, everyone uses the bathroom right? But when you go, do you leave the door wide open? No, you don't. Because you want privacy."

  "That is not the same thing!"

  "It is!"

  "Is not!"

  Viktoriya threw up her hands. "Can you just finish so we can get on with it?"

  Rachel rolled her eyes dramatically and finished undressing. "You just want to stare at my ass and you know it." She ignored the other girl's sputtered response and turned her focus inward. Sensing her attention, the tiger that shared her mind stretched, coming to attention. It's all you. With a deep breath, she dropped the barrier and the cat prowled to the front of her mind, her body following suit.

  Over the years, as her control got better, the time the change took shorter and shorter. In less than a minute, she was in her fur. At first glance, she looked like a normal Bengal; reddish orange fur with black stripes going along her back. An observer would have to be really close to notice that she was fifty pounds heavier and see the intelligence behind her eyes.

  She yawned, flashing her considerable maw and then stared at Viktoriya with a bored expression that said Get on with it.

  "Get away from the car," Viktoriya hissed.

  Rachel flopped down and licked at her paw.

  "Red..."

  The tiger snorted. It didn't want to move but Rachel urged it to stand and walk a few feet away, putting the car at its back. Viktoriya hurried behind the car. Rachel could hear her stripping and fought down the cat's instinct to peek, amusing herself by counting ants.

  She was close to a hundred when a yip brought her out of her thoughts and a wolf came trotting around in front of her. It was small and lean; a black coat, tipped with white on its ears and paws. It's muzzle was gray, which spread down its throat. The eyes were even paler than Viktoriya's normal irises, going from pale blue to gray.

  Viktoriya chuffed and then got busy sniffing again. The wolf caught the scent and took off at a lope, yipping when the large cat didn't move quick enough to follow.

  -

  Rachel was getting annoyed. They circled around in the middle of nowhere for nearly an hour before the trail led straight back into the direction of the city. They had to wait for the sun to finish going down before they could even think about entering the city again and it was still difficult to go unnoticed. Every changer was a master of skulking, but there weren't many places a tiger and a wolf could hide when the odd pedestrian passed by.

  More than that, she had no idea why Dean would be all the way out here. Their missing mate hadn't headed for the Freewood house, or the school, the two places she knew. Instead, the trail was leading them to the north end of the city.

  The area was an old industrial zone that was slowly being cleared away to make room for low income housing and retail. It was ugly to look at. Only the seedier half of the city's population hung out on those streets. Nothing good was going to come of Dean being there.

  They were creeping behind a warehouse when a shadow dropped down and landed in front of them. The two animals growled at the same time, their hackles rising.

  "That is hardly a polite way to greet your elders." The shadow came closer and revealed itself as Addison, though she looked nothing like her school persona. Her glasses were gone and her well cut suit was replaced by leathers; skin tight leather pants, a black t-shirt and a thin leather jacket on top. Her blonde hair was loose and her lips were painted a bright blood red. "You two shouldn't be out so late on a school night."

  The two of eased their aggressive stances, eyeing the vampire with suspicion.

  Addison tsked at them. "I suppose it can't be helped. You're looking for your third mate yes? Honestly, it would be great if you could take her home. She hasn't caused any irreversible damage but the newlings are on edge. That girl does not like vampires very much. Go down the street and make a left. Third warehouse with a faded blue sign over the door. She's made a den out of the top floor. I'll see you two tomorrow." Then she walked away, quickly molding into the darkness.

  The two of them looked at each other and then broke into a run. The warehouse was easy to find and Viktoriya let out a victorious yip at the door. Rachel was about to enter but Viktoriya jumped in front of her. The wolf groaned as it's back arched and it's legs straightened. A moment later, she stood on her feet, a hybrid between wolf and human. "I smell blood," she said in a voice several registers deeper than her own. "Vampire and human."

  Rachel tried to push ahead of her, but Viktoriya blocked her again. "I'm the one with training Red. You follow me, two steps for one. Watch the corners."

  The cat hissed but backed up, letting the other girl take point. Viktoriya squared her shoulders and stepped inside.

  CHAPTER 21

  It was anti-climatic.

  The blood Viktoriya smelled had been spilled hours before and there was no evidence of a present threat. Dean wasn't even hard to find, not that her massive frame could go unnoticed. Their lost mate was curled in the middle of the floor, her head resting on her front paws.

  A hole in the roof allowed moonlight to spill in, lighting the room in shades of gray just bright enough that the she-wolf could make out the corpses scattered about the room. Those had to be the newlings Addison had mentioned. Freshly turned vampires were nearly indistinguishable from regular humans.

  "Dean," she called and the animal stirred, one of its eyes opening a fraction.

  Rachel slinked past her and crawled toward Dean, keeping her body as low to the ground as possible. Even as a tiger, her mate still had a hundred pounds on her easy and she didn't want to make any sudden moves. She brushed her nose against Dean's muzzle and the larger animal huffed at her, its eye opening fully.

  Viktoriya dropped her caution and hurried forward. There was no room for her large frame so she shifted back down to a wolf before squeezing in between Rachel and Dean. Dean laid a front and back paw over them, pulling them into an awkward hug

  -

  Green Coat laid down his binoculars and turned to Gold Coat. "Sir, the target has made contact with two unknowns."

  Gold turned from the table where he and the two other members of his squad, Red and Blue Coat, were cleaning their guns and running a final check on their equipment. Hunters, humans who hunted the supernatural, worked in four man cells. Red and Blue as commandos, Green for communications and surveillance, and Gold for control. Names were never used. That made them personal to each other and hunters weren't known to last long enough to get personal. "Specs?"

  "A cat and a dog."

  Gold tapped his finger against the table. "There's a local pride and pack in this city. This might be a problem."

  "Hey now fearless leader," Red snapped. "Don't tell me we're backing off. We've been chasing this freak of nature for months!"

  "If our target is involved with the packs, this may be our only opportunity. Tomorrow, we could be wading through dozens," Blue chimed in more reasonably.

  "Relax cowboys," Gold said tersely. "Did you forget what we are chasing? Adding two more targets to the list isn't going to make this easier."

  Red snorted. "You afraid of getting hurt, fearless leader?"

  "No, but I'm not jumping into my death either. Green, grab your rifle and hit the roof. Aim for the dog. They're quick but not as durable as the cats. One shot through the skull. Then the three of us will come through the front. Red, did you bring smoke or tear gas?"

  "Both."

  "Good. Throw the gas and check the masks. Blue, you got the flash bangs?"

  "Half a dozen."

  "Throw them too. We need to knock out as many of their senses as possible. We've got a two minute window, maximum. Red, take the cat. Blue, you're with me on the target. No body shots, that will only piss them off. You aim for the throat and the eyes."

  "Roger," the other three yelled. They moved into action, but Gold lagged behind. He had been doing his job for nearly a decade and had developed something of a sense for his missions. Right now, that sense was screaming somethi
ng was off, that this job was going to go horribly wrong. Not that his bosses cared about his instincts. He was cannon fodder and he had accepted that reality when he signed on. "And if it all goes to shit, today's a good day to die."

  -

  The three of them were like shadows as they crept across the street. Gold halted them by the door. Changers had exceptional hearing and the door opening would alert them before they were ready. His plans was to disguise the sound with gunfire.

  Pulling a small pen light from his pocket, he shined it in toward the opposite building's roof. Another light was shined back at him. That was the signal to start the ten second countdown…Four, three, two, one...

  Gold's boot hit the door just as the rifle's report echoed on the street. They stormed in, rushing to the stairs. Red and Blue threw their respective grenades, filling the floor with thick green smoke. Growls answered the explosions, followed by a roar. The sound shook him to the bones, but Gold still ordered his men to proceed.

  Red and Blue went first, spraying wide. Gold bolted in a second behind and had to duck a swing aimed at his head. He rolled backwards, his back colliding with the door as he brought his gun up, but it was snatched out of his grip. Gold pulled his silver tipped knife from his back sheath and lashed out with it. He buried it to the hilt in muscle, but was smacked across the face.

  The blow knocked him to the ground and was followed by a second blow to the chest that knocked the wind out of him. Sharp teeth locked into his shoulder, picking him up and throwing him clear across the room, into the opposite wall.

  The smoke was starting to clear, allowing him to see the room. Red and Blue were down, lying next to each other. Standing over them was a wolf, its upper lip pulled back in a snarl, the fur on its neck puffed out dramatically. The door was blocked by a tiger that prowled the entrance, its green eyes bouncing between the three attackers menacingly. And, in the middle of the room, stood the target, his face reflected in its ruby eyes.

  He was down an arm and it felt like at least two ribs were busted. There was a spare pistol on his ankle and two more knives tied to his waist. He didn't like his odds of reaching them before the red eyed monster took out his throat.

  The wolf made a series of yips toward the tiger and the cat moved forward taking its place. Then, it shuddered, its fur retreating to show skin and its spine cracking as it straightened. Moments later, the wolf was replaced by a dark haired girl with severe features.

  She knelt in front of him. "Don't attack me or I'll break your fingers. We won't kill you." Then she quickly removed his gas mask and searched out all his weapons, tossing them away. Her hands lingered on his abdomen, pressing down until he winced. "Damn. I don't think they're broken but we're going to have to be careful moving you. Red, I need you."

  The tiger growled and the girl turned around with a scowl on her face. "Will you leave the two of them alone? They'll probably bleed out before they wake up. Now change back before Dean kills our information pump."

  In a second, a brunette stood in place of the tiger, rolling her shoulders stiffly. "For future reference, cats don't just shift back and forth like that. It hurts!"

  "Will you get over here and help me?"

  Together, the two of them lifted him to his feet. Gold bit back a scream. "You're wasting your time," he hissed through his clenched teeth. "I won't tell you anything."

  "I don't expect you too," the dark haired girl responded. "But you will talk to my alpha. Stop squirming or you'll aggravate your wounds." She turned her gaze to the remaining animal. "Dean, or Dean's wolf, whatever animal you are, um…if you're in control right now, I need you to give Dean back. We need her help getting this guy back. There's a fourth shooter somewhere out there and you can't follow us like that without causing some issues. So, um…please?"

  The animal blinked at her before ducking its head. It's body rippled but the change was much slower than it was for them. Gold watched intently. For the months he'd spent chasing his target, his squad had never been able to find that one weakness every supernatural race had. The animal was immune to silver like other changers, eliminating their biggest weapon.

  This was one good thing about his capture. The target has prolonged transformation time, making it extremely vulnerable during the change. Green better be recording this. Not that he knew how they could use this information, not unless there was a way to forcibly induce its transformation.

  The animal finally straightened and the rest of its fur fully receded, leaving behind a dark skinned girl with a confused look on her face. She looked over the room, her brow furrowing as she took in the bodies and the blood. "Gods damn it! Didn't I ask you two to keep me out of trouble?"

  "Chill chocolate cake," the brunette bit out. "We can hash this out later. First off, we need to get out of this building. These idiots weren't using silencers and I don't care how remote this place is, someone heard those shots."

  "After that, we need to get a hold of the Franklin," the dark haired girl added.

  "And my mother! She's going to kill someone over this."

  CHAPTER 22

  Whenever a pack moved into a territory, they always set up a series of drop off locations for changers stuck in the city with nothing. Discretely hidden bags, stuffed with clothes, protein bars, water bottles, and a disposable cellphone. Part of training was memorizing all of their locations. Viktoriya led them to a drop off where they all got dressed and she bandaged Gold's wounds. Then she dialed Franklin.

  It took less than half an hour for the black SUVs to show up. Franklin and Dugen were the first ones out, followed by Franklin's personal Guards. A dozen others Viktoriya recognized from training poured out of the other cars and took up positions around the building.

  "Volkov," Franklin said, all business. "Report."

  She snapped a salute. "Sir. We were out for a run when we were attacked by hunters. Red and Blue are in a warehouse two blocks over, blue sign over the door. Green escaped."

  "I'll find them," Dugen said before quietly slipping away.

  Franklin nodded without looking at him. His eyes moved to Gold, who was quietly seething in the corner. "Gold?"

  "Yes sir. We detained him for further questioning."

  "Put him in the backseat." Two Guards surged forward and grabbed him; one by the head, the other by his legs, and deftly carried him out of the room. "Good work Volkov, Dean. Though, in the future, I would prefer if you didn't choose obscure locations for your runs…for obvious reasons."

  "Of course sir. Sorry."

  His gaze moved to Rachel. "Rachel Salvatore, I believe? Do you need a ride home?"

  She shook her head. "No, my mother is on her way. But thank you for the offer."

  Franklin's jaw clenched, but it was too brief for anyone to notice. "You're mated to one of my wolves. It's natural for me to look out for you." He glanced between the three of them. Viktoriya and Dean were standing closer together, Viktoriya running a hand over the rogue's arm. There was no hesitation between them like before.

  Rachel was standing a bit apart from them but every other second, Viktoriya would look over and the two would share a loving gaze. He could see Kyle's problem. It would be tough to separate them. "We better get going. Rachel, I could have a few Guards wait with you."

  "Sir," Viktoriya spoke hesitantly, her eyes pinned to the floor. "I would prefer to stay with Rachel myself."

  It wasn't refusing an order and she was being entirely respective, but Franklin couldn't help feeling challenged. A pup is challenging me. How am I supposed to rule the continent when I can't even control the wolves in my pack? For a moment, he considered doing something irrational. He could order his wolves to grab Viktoriya, execute the rogue, and run the cat up a tree.

  He should do it. He should have done it the moment Morgan found the girl in the alley. His father always told him that he thought too much. Wolves settle things with their fists. "Viktoriya, this place is dangerous. I'm not leaving you here."

  "Sir-"

&nb
sp; "In the car Volkov," he ordered and her spine stiffened. Rachel's eyes narrowed and Dean stepped closer, her head bowed, but her body tensed. They stood in ever going tension until Rachel pulled the other two into a hug. "It's alright. I'll see tomorrow."

  "You sure?" Dean questioned quietly.

  "This isn't the time to start an argument," she whispered back. "Go. I'll be fine."

  Rachel gave them a final squeeze and then pushed them toward the cars. Franklin nodded for two of his Guards to follow. "I have a request to make of you, Ms. Salvatore."

  "Well, Mr. Freewood, I don't know if I can help but feel free."

  "Is there any chance I could convince you to renounce Viktoriya as your mate? Keep Dean if you want. I wouldn't be at all opposed to the pride adopting her even."

  Rachel's eyes narrowed. "No. And not just no, hell no. What kind of request is that?"

  "A reasonable one."

  "Maybe in whatever imaginary world you live in but in reality, you can't ask me to give up my mate. You nuts? You finally snapped, didn't you?"

  "I am quite sane, Ms. Salvatore. And my request is reasonable. What's nuts, as you put it, is three female changers being mated to one another. It isn't natural. Now, Dean is a rogue. My loyalty to her is fleeting. Viktoriya Volkov though is the daughter of my former commander, one of my best friends."

  He waved a hand and his two Guards stepped forward menacingly. "She is important to me. Important enough that I will not allow her to fall into the sway of a cat. I will rephrase my request. You will renounce Viktoriya as your mate and you will stay away from her. I will have nothing else."

  She glanced between the three men, working hard to keep her nerves off her face. "You wouldn't attack me. It would mean war."

  "Not right now, no. A war with the pride would decimate both sides. But you know what my plans are. Your mother can fight off a hundred wolves but what happens when a thousand wolves are knocking on her door? What then? Do you want to be on my bad side when the time comes?"

  "All I'm hearing is a lot of what ifs and empty promises. You aren't king of the jungle yet, Franklin."