pitchfork and she lifted it. Listening to the voice inside, she hefted it and whistled to get the attention of the men below.
They spun around, looking up and matching looks of surprise crossed their faces. She didn’t hesitate, and hurled the pitchfork with all her might. It flew straight and true, to embed itself in the chest of the smaller of the two wolves left. He cried out as the impact drove him backward to topple over the parked bikes. They went down, falling on him with a horrendous clatter.
Instinct drove her. Within a heartbeat, she leaped over the small barrier at the edge of the loft and dropped to the floor below. The fact she could never have done that jump without breaking her legs before didn’t register. Instead, she focused on getting herself between the kids and the single remaining wolf.
Straightening from her crouch, she cast a glance over her shoulder at the two cowering children. “Up!” she yelled, and they needed no further encouragement, both scrambling for the ladder at the side of the barn.
“You!” The word was growled, a snarl at the end. Ce turned to face the last biker.
He was tall, with shoulders wider than a semi. Hell, the size of him, he’d probably eaten a couple of semis. Seriously? Wolves came that big… or was there some kind of werewolf steroid shit that nobody had told her about?
“Me.” As a reply it was short and succinct but didn’t really add to the conversation much. Not that she thought her partner would be a brilliant conversationalist. “You wanted me. Now you got me. Your precious brother, by the way, had busted up a restaurant and attacked first. If you want to kill me for doing my job, then bring it on, asshole.”
Sudden nerves assailed her. What the fuck was she doing? She was armed, but facing off with the biggest damn werewolf she’d ever seen. She’d seen first-hand how fast the things were.
Keeping her gaze on his, she didn’t let her fear show. With any dog, that was the worst thing you could do.
“Yeah… Now you’re gonna pay, bitch.” Without warning, he leaped, arms outstretched. She watched his talons punch through the ends of his fingers, slicing the skin as it changed to fur and screamed—This time it was her for sure since Tom wasn’t around—and reached for her gun. As soon as the familiar grip fit into her palm, calmness flowed over her. Seconds later, the weapon was in front of her and she had the wolf in her line of sight. Reflex and years of experience took over, her hands squeezing the trigger. Two… Three shots rang out. The wolf jerked but kept coming. Sunlight broke through a gap in the roof, a beam of gold that picked up his fur and gave him a blazing halo.
Shit. Swearing under her breath she backed up, still firing. She had no idea how many were in the clip… Or if they were silver or not. Silver bullets were supposed to kill wolves, weren’t they? But she’d scored three solid hits, and still he kept coming, fully shifted to his wolf now.
The door behind him burst open, figures exploding through the gap who she didn’t have time to identify. He was almost on her, the angle of her arm changing as she followed his progress, the Glock spitting bullets. He leaped. His paws slammed into her shoulders and knocked her to the ground.
Sharp teeth snapped inches from her face, droplets of drool splattering her neck. She was dead. Her life didn’t flash before her eyes so much as one, clear thought filled her mind. She hadn’t told Riley she loved him. Hell, she hadn’t realized herself until now, looking death in the fanged face. Now she’d never get to tell him, and that was a regret that would haunt her for the rest of her life. All the remaining seconds of it.
She drove the gun up under the creature’s jaw, snapping it shut with a clack. Uppercut with a gun. At the same moment, his claws pierced the sides of her ribcage, sliding deep within. Agony and fire filled her veins, but she fought it.
“Say hi to your
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham