Page 27 of Flesh and Fury

He frantically glanced around, noting that the chief was directing everyone to spread out. Ari pointed at Edward trying desperately to get Washington to notice the young wolf was about to be attacked by a second werewolf. Alvin’s grandson had been holding his own until now, but the fight had gone on for more than ten minutes; they all had to be exhausted. Washington looked at the melee but turned back, shaking his head, gesturing again. He was the senior marshal on the scene and, though, Ari was obligated to follow his orders, he knew they were stupid. Edward couldn’t take on two wolves at once. Ari shook his head knowing his job was on the line and for the first time in his life, ignored a superior officer’s order. He shouted loud enough to be heard over the vicious snarling.

“Edward! Behind you!”

The larger of the two Alphas instantly looked up and broke away from his opponent, rushing for Edward and his two attackers. The opponent snarled and turned right toward Ari and Eoghan who stood fifteen feet apart, flashing yellow eyes at them before dropping his head and pulling his lips back. His canines were two inches long, looking razor sharp. They were stained red with blood, ready to rip a man’s throat out with one deadly bite. The wolf’s growl sent chills racing up and down Ari’s spine as the were came forward.

He pulled his gun and aimed it. “Stop!” The werewolf charged him, and he fired. It hit the were in mid leap, striking him in the hip. The creature screamed and smoke billowed up from the wound. The werewolf landed on the ground and rolled, howling in pain as it became evident that hitting a werewolf in the leg was not going to kill it. He hadn’t knownwhat to expect…maybe for the animal to explode, shooting guts and fur into the air with great fanfare. Instead, the wolf lay there howling in pain. It struggled to three of its feet, keeping one off the ground as it turned and faced him. Ari turned and looked over at Eoghan who was staring back at him in shocked panic.

“That should have worked!” he screamed at Eoghan. He scrambled for the can of werewolf deterrent and pointed it at the beast.

“Yeah!” Eoghan cried, looking back at the advancing werewolf who was trying to limp toward them. When a howl suddenly went up, the animal lifted his ears, turned away from them, and ran back toward Edward.

“What ammo is this?” Eoghan shouted, clearly still focused on the near-useless ammunition they’d somehow been given.

“Full lethal!” Ari yelled over the din. “You saw the box, Eoghan!”

Several other gunshots from across the parking lot went off and they both turned to look. One of the werewolves fell but he got right back up. Snarls rent the air as the supes continued their fight. Edward fell onto his back as the wolf he’d been fighting got the better of him. It was the same one who’d he’d shot in the leg and he was already healed.Fuck.Ari watched in horror as Edward shrieked when his attacker swiped his belly with a claw, ripping it open. The gray of his intestines was instantly made red by the blood that covered the exposed organs.

Ari aimed his gun and shot the attacker as it lifted his claw for the killing blow. The bullet hit the werewolf in the chest, momentarily knocking him back and off his feet as he howled in pain. The wolf healed fast but hopefully his intervention would delay another attack until Edward wasable to heal. Ari watched the brave werewolf struggle to all fours, blood pouring from the wound. He stood panting, head hanging low as he tried to recover.

A gurgling yelp drew Ari’s attention to another fight going on about twenty feet from where Edward waited for his body to heal, and he slid the can back into his pocket and held his gun at the ready. The werewolf who’d been fighting the larger of the two Alphas, lay on its side, blood pumping from a vicious neck wound where his throat had been torn out. The Alpha who Ari guessed was Juan, had a piece of flesh in its mouth and he was shaking it like a dog toy. Blood poured down both sides of his mighty jaws and dripped onto his furry chest as he stood there on two legs, clenching his clawed hands into fists. With horror, Ari realized he was watching Juan play with the trachea he’d just ripped from the body of its former owner as the werewolf on the ground shifted to a very naked, very dead human right before his eyes.

He looked over at Eoghan who was watching the fighting alongside Carly and Evan who trained their guns on the wolves. At the sight of the trachea, Evan lowered his gun, stumbled about ten feet away, and vomited the contents of his stomach onto the sand. Ari felt sorry for the marshal but there was no time to think about his colleague. Not when a battle of life and death, good and evil, was happening right now in front of all of them. He turned to look back at the combat zone.

Both Alphas, the injured Edward, and three other werewolves remained. He glanced across the parking lot at the chief who stood off to the side, also with his gun trained on the skirmish. Juan dropped to all fours and ran to Edward, pressing his nose into the neck of his injured lover. Edward whimpered at the touch and visibly leaned into his strength for a few seconds before nodding his large wolf head up and down. He sat on the bloody ground and panted. Juan looked up andflashed yellow eyes at them, canting his head to Edward before turning and running back into the fray to help Alvin defeat the three wolves who had the older Alpha surrounded.

“What in the hell should we do?” Eoghan asked.

Ari looked at him and shrugged. “I’ve got no idea. I wish we had full lethal ammo. I have no idea what the hell this is,” he said. “How could Wordy have given us the wrong boxes? Do you think they were switched somehow?”

“Never. I’ve known the man for nearly seven years. He’s never ever failed me.”

“Then I don’t know what happened.”

“What are you talking about?” Carly asked. “Who’s Wordy?”

“Freddy Wordsmith, our weapons master,” Ari said, watching the fight. “He always loads our backpacks before we leave the office.” He winced as Alvin took a claw to the back, hearing the wolf howl as he spun around and swiped at his attacker with a long claw. He missed by an inch or two.

Edward started loping toward the fight. Alvin and Juan were in earnest combat with Tyler’s bikers, but it was clear that the older Alpha was tiring faster than normal from the blood loss. The swipe of his claws was slower as was the way he lumbered along on two feet, dropping constantly to all fours and panting hard. It shouldn’t be a surprise. He’d been fighting for more than fifteen minutes and the man was in his sixties after all. Holding his Alpha form might be taxing as well, though, Ari had no way of knowing. The moment the thought crossed his mind, Alvin crashed to the ground, crushed under the weight of the largest opponent who lost his own footing and fell on him. Ari realized the werewolf had to be Tyler. He was the heaviest of the three remaining challengers.

“Son-of-a-bitch!” the chief shouted. He was twenty feet away, pointing his weapon toward the six remaining werewolves.

Ari held his breath as Tyler fought to get to his feet while Alvin howled and squirmed beneath his bulk. A second later, he watched Juan bat a huge, clawed hand at the wolf he’d been fighting, hurling the smaller animal onto the parking lot ten feet away. The beast rolled, got to his feet, and took off running into the darkness of the desert. Ari watched for a few seconds and then turned back to the melee.

Juan ran at Tyler and leapt, falling upon the large biker’s back and rolling him off Alvin. The Alpha struggled to his feet. Ari’s heart raced with adrenaline, and he looked over at Eoghan who was staring back at him wide-eyed, probably thinking the same thing he was…whether the involvement of the I.S.R. was even necessary. The werewolves seemed to be taking care of the situation all by themselves. If it weren’t for the snarling and howling as wounds were opened and blood flew into the air, the fight wouldn’t have seemed real. But three dead werewolves testified to that.

Chills ran down Ari’s spine as a bloodcurdling scream came out of the darkness behind them. They all turned toward the restaurant. Emerging from the darkness was the shadow of two people, one, an unidentified female, and the other, the smaller biker who’d run off into the desert after being clawed by Juan. Now he was in human form, carrying a large butcher knife and pointing it directly at a bundle in the female’s arms. Ari frowned as the snarling and howling ceased behind him. As the man and his captive came closer, Ari realized the woman was human, her teeth chattering in fear, and the bundle she held was an infant. The child remained quiet, oblivious in sleep to the danger at hand.

“Stay calm, ma’am,” Washington said gently. He lowered his weapon and walked toward the pair.

“Don’t talk to her!” the werewolf shouted. “Talk to me!”

Ari looked around. All the werewolves from the field of combat had shifted to human. Tyler, Juan, Alvin, Edward, and one other of Tyler’s bikers stood in the parking lot covered in blood with chests heaving as they watched…and waited… to see what would happen.

“Who’s that young lady you have with you?” Eoghan pressed.

The werewolf leaned down and spoke in her ear, keeping the knife point pressed against the bundle in her hands. She visibly trembled as she nodded to whatever he’d said. She looked up at them.

“I’m Antonio’s wife. This is our baby,” she said in heavily accented English. She glanced back at the restaurant. “I came to pick him up from work. He works there…at Pepper’s.” She clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob as she shook her head. They all held their breath as she tried to compose herself. “This man…he says if you don’t give Carmen back to Tyler, he will kill my baby. Please. Please help me.” The desperation in her tiny, shaking voice made Ari sick to his stomach.

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