Page 82 of Meant for Them

What a shame. However, Preston might be worried if Paul Franklin were his boss. The barn door opened. When Preston glanced behind him, Benson emerged.

“I can give you the money tomorrow,” Benson announced.

“Sure. You do that. But I have another problem,” the man said as he looked at Preston.

Here it goes.“What’s that?” Preston asked as he puffed out his chest.

“You’ve been asking a lot of questions. I know you’ve been following me, and I don’t like it.”

Preston wasn’t about to say that it was Benson’s cousin who had been tailing him. “It wasn't us. Maybe one of your boss’ men was asked to make sure you don’t do anything else to draw attention to him.”

In an instant, all six men were in their wolf form. Clearly, antagonizing them hadn’t been the smartest move. Expecting this response though, Preston and Benson shifted and raced toward the woods. He listened for the barn door to open again and more paws to charge after them, but there was only silence. Liam and Alex must have something else in mind.

As much as Preston wanted to signal where they should run, he didn’t want to telepath his intentions. With his head, he looked to the right. As soon as Benson took off, Preston shot left. It would be a divide and conquer plan, though there was no way he or Benson could fend off three wolves at a time.

Preston had been in this wooded area many times and knew the best hiding places. The other day Liam had pointed out one particular rock. He claimed it would be a good place to hide for a moment if Preston needed to catch his breath.

If he were being honest, it was more than his breath he needed to catch. It was a bit of luck.

Hammer and his men slowed, probably trying to decide the best strategy. Two headed in Preston’s direction, while another went away from where he and Benson were hiding.

He liked those odds a little better. Liam and Alex should be there shortly. Preston could hold out for a few minutes at least, especially if he used the technique of making sure one wolf was between him and the other wolf.

Looking around the rock, he noticed a light-colored wolf was the smaller of the two. That would be the one Preston would attack first.

Come on. Just a little bit closer.

The smaller wolf was about three feet in front of hisfriend. Wanting to surprise him, Preston crouched low, and when the first wolf came into view, Preston sprang.

As much as he wanted to think about how to attack this wolf, there wasn’t any time. Preston went for the throat. He missed, clawing the wolf’s flank instead. The wound would heal quickly, but because his claws went in rather deep, the wolf couldn’t get away without damaging himself further if he tugged too hard. Remembering what one of his instructors had told him, Preston made sure the smaller wolf was between him and the remaining larger, darker wolf.

That worked well until the larger wolf shot around to Preston’s side and dug his teeth into his side.Son of a bitch, that hurt.

The larger wolf yelped. What from? Preston glanced behind him. Liam had come out of nowhere and had attacked the second wolf. Yes! Preston should have sensed his teacher’s presence or at the very least, seen him sneak up on them, but he hadn’t.

Preston wouldn’t count the victory just yet because the smaller wolf had managed to get out of his grasp, turn around, and bite him on the side of the face. Had Preston not moved a split second before, the wolf’s teeth might have found its mark near his throat.

Blood dripped down his cheek and flank. As much as Preston wanted to wait for Liam to kill or cripple his wolf, he seemed to have his hands full—or rather his paws full.

The smaller wolf had to die. Preston had never killed anyone, but these wolves had attacked first. Having them run off and heal, only to return later, would not be wise.

Making sure not to move any closer to the larger wolf, Preston circled the smaller one. The wolf bared his teeth that were stained red with Preston’s blood. Not good. If he hadn’t sparred right before this, he might have had more energy.

Alex had told him about one strategy that seemed rather dicey, but it was worth a try. If he failed, Preston might die, but if he waited much longer, it would give this wolf a chance to gain back his strength. Then it would be Preston who suffered.

Preston circled the wolf, pretending as if his leg was broken. After two steps, he collapsed to the ground and rolled onto his back. Preston's neck was exposed, but if the smaller wolf went in for the kill, his enemy’s neck would be just as available for attack.

The wolf must have been too eager to finish the job, because he pounced on Preston. When the wolf opened his mouth to tear out Preston’s throat, Preston was the one who was able to lift up enough to bite the light brown wolf right where it would do the most damage. Blood filled his mouth, but he hung on. Preston had been told he needed to rip out the throat in order to ensure death. While the whole idea was repugnant, he did it. Three long seconds later, the wolf collapsed on top of him.

Preston only took a few more seconds to catch his breath, even though reinforcements might have come.

Preston wiggled out from under the dead wolf a second before the animal transformed back into his human form. Preston looked around. The animal Liam had tackled was also dead. That meant Alex, Liam, Benson, and Preston only had to take on four more wolves.

When he rushed back to where the other fighting was taking place, many more wolves had arrived. Were they Benson’s brothers or members of Franklin’s Clan?

Normally, he’d be able to tell which were Benson’s brothers, but most were covered in blood. It even took a moment to spot Benson, and his friend had a unique white patch on his face.

Preston might not be in perfect shape, but he was used to fighting—with his fists, of course. He charged the wolf Benson was grappling with. Benson and this clan member were moving around so much, it was hard to get in the mix.

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