"Shhh," the leader hissed and slowed down.

One of the enemies was scared enough to speak out loud, confirming they weren't part of the same pack, which would make the situation even more problematic long-term—but in our current circumstances, it would help.

If multiple packs were working together, they’d have more resources at their disposal. That thought made my stomach sour. At some point, we had to get on even ground with them. They knew a whole hell of a lot about me, but I knew very little about them. If we wanted a chance at succeeding, we needed to figure all this out…and fast.

The crow flew several feet above my head, making a ton of noise. He was giving away my exact location. That bird was the gift that kept on giving. I couldn't wait to return the favor. I still relished the idea of plucking out each feather, one by one. After all of the pain and suffering he’d put us through, that kind of torture seemed fitting.

The footsteps sped up now that they had a little bit going in their favor again.

That damn bird has got to go,Griffin rasped.

A loud gunshot rang out, and the crow screeched before dropping. His dead body fell right in front of my face, landing mere inches from my body.

Holy shit. Griffin had shot the bastard…and he’d hit him on the first try. He was a good shot, after all.

Comforted that we might have a chance, I focused on the trees the enemies would soon be crashing through. I was a littledisappointed that I hadn’t been the one to kill the crow, but at least he was dead. That definitely leveled the playing field.

The enemy was upon us, and the first one stepped through the trees. I growled, bringing his attention to me and not Griffin. The fur at my ruff stood up as I let every bit of my anger shine through.

He swung the gun at me, aiming for my shoulder, but Griffin shot immediately—the bullet hitting between the man's eyes. He fell hard with a resounding thud.

"What the—" someone gasped from behind the tree.

"Don't just stand there," another one said, "move."

Chaos descended among them, and two men charged into the area.

Knowing they would be looking for the gun, I lunged toward them, forcing them to pay attention to me. One guy tripped over the man who was already dead, as the second guy swung his gun toward me and pulled the trigger.

Move right!Griffin yelled, and I listened, jumping to the side.

The bullet missed me by inches, and Griffin fired two shots, one after another, each hitting its mark. Both were kill-shots in the same place as the first. Griffin had taken out three men.

"What do we do?" one guy blubbered.

"Attack, dumbass," the leader barked. "Now!"

Get behind a tree and use it as coverage, because they're going to try to take you out now.I needed to know he was protected. I pivoted in his direction as Griffin raced behind the largest nearby tree. Most of his body was covered—the only part visible, his hand holding the gun.

Three more enemies stumbled toward us, and, as I’d suspected, neither glanced my way. That worked, too, because I could get closer and take a few out. If we injured them to the point of not fighting, we could get the hell out of here.

I wished there was a way to handle this without killing, but if Griffin didn't shoot to kill, we'd be overrun in seconds. My dad always told me that the fact that we didn't relish killing made the silver wolves different…and after going through all I had, I agreed. I couldn't kill that bear shifter when he was lying on the ground all vulnerable; I couldn’t kill maliciously like that. Granted, he still wound up dead, but that was a whole different scenario.

The taller of the three had his gun aimed at Griffin the quickest, which meant he was the one I needed to take out. He fired a shot at my mate before Griffin could respond.

Are you okay?I asked, as I lunged at the guy's gun hand. The other four men were already moving in this direction, probably realizing that coming one by one was allowing us to pick them off more easily.

Griffin fired as he responded.Yes, thank God you told me to get behind the tree.

The taller guy looked at me right as my teeth sank into his wrist. His eyes widened as he yanked his arm back, but it was too late; he released his hold on the gun, and it fell. His other hand came around and punched my face, causing my jaw to slacken enough for him to pull his wrist out.

I snarled as his blood dripped down my chin. My jaw throbbed, but with my shifter healing, I'd be better within minutes. All I needed to do was weaken as many of them as I could so Griffin could take them out.

Arms wrapped my neck with the butt of a gun digging into my throat as another enemy attacked me. He tightened his arms, trying to cut off my oxygen. I grew dizzy, and if I didn't get out of his hold soon, I'd faint.

Extending the claws on my hind legs, I kicked the asshole in the stomach, digging the nails in as deep as I could get them to go.

He grunted in pain and released his hold. I slashed his skin as I stood back on four legs, and the guy tripped over a tree root and fell. With shaky arms, he raised his gun, and my instincts took over. I bit into his neck, ripping it out.