Gabriel stared at the Sapphire Alpha. "If that was my only choice, then yes."
Ben began to laugh. "One versus nineteen. That should be interesting."
"I agree," Ajax said, stepping out from the bushes to the right and coming up to stand next to Gabriel.
Kent, the Opal Alpha, rolled his eyes. "Oh goodie. I've been looking for a rematch." He turned to look at Ben. "That one's mine."
Ben began to nod, but stopped abruptly as another figure walked out of the bushes.
"Who do we get then?" Garrett said fiercely, his voice carrying across the entire formation. Russell appeared a moment later, coming to a halt next to his brother.
"Save some for us," Raphael said, emerging from Gabriel's left alongside Uriel.
"Oh, this is just too perfect!" Ben chortled, though some of his earlier bluster was dimmed as the odds became closer to even. Although the Stone Bears were each only one person, their training would make them fearsome foes-easily equivalent to three, perhaps even four in Gabriel's case-of his own bears. In addition, Gabriel knew the Sapphire Alpha had to be aware that not all of "his" shifters were willing to fight. He could see some of the Sapphires shifting back and forth uneasily.
A branch snapped behind the Sapphire formation. Ben and Kent spun at the same time just as the Bear Bluffs shifters emerged from the forest, where they had taken the time to sneak around behind the Sapphires. All four of them had already taken their animal forms and were ready for a fight.
"Who the hell are they?" Ben asked. "They aren't from around here."
In response, one of the bears pawed at the ground, his huge claws leaving long furrows in the soft earth.
"They're with me," Gabriel said, taking command of the situation once more. He didn't feel the need to explain exactly who the Bears were, or why they were there. It seemed likely that Ben wouldn't have understood anyway.
"Let Caia go, and stand down, Ben. This doesn't have to end messily."
He laughed. "Unless I count wrong, there's still only eleven of you. You're somewhat outnumbered."
Ajax shook his head. "If that's how you truly see it, then you're an even bigger idiot than you look, Ben Groll."
Dammit.
"Watch your tongue Ajax, or I'll rip it out for you," Kent said, throwing his challenge out in defense of Ben.
The sky was darkening rapidly, and the high beams from the truck illuminated the clearing easily for everyone to see. It also showed Kent the venomous stare that Ajax was giving him.
"You will be no more by the time we are done here, Unfound. Mark my words."
The solemnity of the threat and the sheer confidence that he would make it happen slammed into Kent, whose eyes widened in surprise at the term. Being labeled as Unfound in the Valley meant that one had no status. Whoever was given that label was destined to be hunted until they were caught and summarily ended by the first shifter available to carry out the task. It was, in effect, a death sentence. A shoot-on-sight order, to draw a parallel to the human world.
"Get out of here Gabriel, or you'll regret it," Ben shot back, grabbing Caia and bringing her to the front.
"I'm prepared to spare your worthless carcass Ben, but if you lay a hand on her, you're going to join your buddy over here." Gabriel jerked his thumb in Kent's direction. "Let her go."
Ben looked at him for several seconds, then shrugged. "Have it your way," he said with a laugh, then planted his foot in Caia's rear and sent her face-first into a wet muddy patch.
Gabriel saw his mate go down. He saw her hit the ground roughly and cry out with pain as she slid halfway across the distance between the two shifters from the sheer force of Ben's kick. He saw her look up, blood streaming down her face from a multitude of cuts. He saw the blood.
He saw red.
Gabriel couldn't contain his rage any longer. A roar of anger ripped from his throat as he took two strides forward and launched himself up and over Caia and directly at Ben. He didn't change, hoping-in the sliver of his mind that was still processing things logically-that his lack of shifting might throw Ben off.
It worked. He hit the Sapphire Alpha square in the chest and the two of them went down hard. All around him, his allies closed in. Raphael and Uriel stayed in human form, charging straight in amongst the stunned shifters. Garrett and Russell were right behind them, though they spread out and shifted on the run, veering off to slam into some of the more ardent supporters of Ben and Kent, who were already changing themselves.
Ben slammed an elbow into Gabriel's face as they rolled, stunning the Stone Bear for a split second. The Sapphire scrambled to his feet, lunging after Caia, who had gotten to her feet and was trying to escape behind the parked truck as carnage broke out everywhere. Gabriel moved lightning-quick however, and his flying tackle took Ben down once again. This time the Stone Bear landed on top and used his position to ruthlessly pummel the other shifter's head, slamming big, meaty blows into both his temples.
He raised his fist high for a big blow, but something very large and very solid hit him like a wrecking ball. Gabriel went flying. He curled into a ball mid-air, and when he hit the tree, his side took the brunt of the impact. At least one rib crumpled, and the air was driven from his chest.
Falling to the ground, he caught a glimpse of what had hit him. It was the same shifter, now in his bear form, that had been holding Caia's restraints earlier. That knowledge was enough to spur Gabriel to his feet. In the blink of an eye, his bear ripped from his skin, the massive grizzly letting loose a blasting battle cry that washed over the melee.
The shifter who had hit him paused in his charge as it slammed into him, the roar so powerful it was almost a physical presence. Gabriel saw the knowledge of his stutter-step pass through his eyes, but by then it was too late. The Stone Bear hit him full bore, following up his cry with the titanic physicality of his bear. He plowed into the side of his smaller foe. Huge, raking claws opened wounds within its side as he bore the other bear to the ground, repeatedly stabbing his claws at its vulnerable underside and ignoring the warm stickiness as blood poured out, coating his paws as he ripped his opponent open from throat to stomach without hesitation. At some point he realized the bear had stopped struggling and was lying still, the fight fleeing it as rapidly as his blood. Gabriel looked down at the shredded remains before turning his attention back to Ben.
The entire assault had lasted less than thirty seconds, a testament to the Stone Bears brutality and the rage boiling within Gabriel.
Fear flashed through the Alpha's eyes and he turned to flee, but the longer, more powerful legs of Gabriel caught him in seconds. He shouldered Ben aside, taking a few gashes from flailing paws as Ben went down.
Gabriel loomed large over Ben, rearing up on his hind legs, taking in the scene before him. Uriel and Raphael had finally shifted and were tearing a swath through the assembled shifters. Ajax and Kent were battling it out, both covered in wounds, though there was a smaller bear lying with its neck at an unnatural angle nearby, which suggested Ajax had been hit by two shifters and already taken one of them out. Through his peripheral vision Gabriel saw him go in and rip another huge chunk from Kent's throat, blood spraying everywhere. He had hit an artery.
Beneath him, Ben tried to scramble out of the way, but Gabriel landed on him, his paws collapsing ribs as his entire weight landed on the other shifter. From his side, Gabriel saw yet another bear charging him. Annoyed, he swatted another of Ben's paws out of the way, darted in with his snout, and ripped Ben's throat out. The Sapphire Alpha's eyes went wide as he began to cough up blood. The wound was mortal, and Gabriel spat the torn flesh out in the direction of the oncoming shifter.
Seeing his leader lying on the ground, life fading from him rapidly, the other bear stopped in its tracks. In the blink of an eye a human was there. Gabriel shook his head.
It was too late for that.
Darting forward, he took the shifter's head in his jaws and snapped it back up and over, breaking the neck in one swift motion, before tossing the now-dead shifter to the side.
All around him, the fight was coming to an end.
There had been nineteen combined Opal and Sapphires at the start. Corpses, both human and bear, littered the field now. That number was down to two Opal, three Sapphire in a group, guarded by Calan, Jet, and the others. Elsewhere he saw Ajax with his jaws around Kent's head, the other shifter having submitted. Seeing the Emerald Alpha looking his way, Gabriel shook his head.
Ajax's head twisted violently, and Kent's neck went with it, the loud snap of bones echoing through the clearing.
To his other side, Garrett was helping Russell set his arm, which looked badly broken enough that Gabriel thought it might need surgery.
"Gabriel." It was Raphael.
The Stone Bear spun, seeing his second-in-command kneeling next to a figure covered in blood.