“Take care of them, okay?” I didn’t need to tell him who they were. He knew me as well I knew him. “They’ll need you, not Zombie Charlie.” The forehead against mine bobbed slightly. “I need to you promise, Charlie. Promise me you won’t go all silent and disconnected again.”
“I promise.”
This time it was my forehead doing the bobbing thing.
No one interrupted as we stood there, taking warmth and comfort from each other for the last time. The thumb of Charlie’s free hand, the one not still attached to the back of my neck, traced my bottom lip. It was soon replaced by his lips. It was a soft and sweet kiss, but not one of lovers. It was two friends who existed together for so long they were woven into the fabric of each other’s very soul saying goodbye. Then I was being pulled into a hug so ferocious I couldn’t breath.
“See the tree straight ahead with a knot in it?” Nothing more than a breath against my ear. I found the gnarled trunk and nodded. “Run that way as fast as you can.”
And then Charlie released me so quickly I almost fell onto the ground. I don’t know when he’d grabbed the gun, but he managed to fire off two shots before Hashim tackled him.
A half a heartbeat later, I was grabbed from behind, two arms the size of my thighs wrapping around my waist. Something deeper and more primal than the instinct of a fighter had me wrapping a leg around to jerk my foot against the back of an ankle as my head slammed back to crush a nose but finding a throat instead.
This time I did tumble to the ground upon being released. Thanks to the handcuffs, my fall was broken by my already sore face. I had to force my eyes open against the pain. When I did, I found the world awash in muted colors.
I felt instead of saw Travis coming at me again and rolled over. Rocking back to gain momentum, I sprang up to meet him face to face. The move wasn’t anything I could have done as a normal human girl, no matter the amount of training, but the wolf was running the show at this point. And unlike when she skirmished with Jase, she was fighting for her life.
Travis threw a punch, but I darted to the left just in time to save my jaw from being shattered into a million little bits. The next one, however, landed in my lower ribs. The kick to my hip also managed to connect, and with it I went flying backwards. I fell hard on my hands, an audible snap letting me know at least one bone was broken. Then a booted foot slammed into my side. The pain was so intense, I blacked out.
When I swam back to consciousness, Travis was no longer standing over me. I knew my thumb was broken, if not literally crushed, and at least a few of my ribs were also no longer in one piece. I was outnumbered and in handcuffs. And if I did manage to win this fight, then what? There was still a building full of Shifters who thought me a traitor, and there was no doubt the rest of the Alpha Pack, who was holding down the fort in Romania, would come after me like the pack of wild dogs they were under a full moon. It was a hopeless situation, one I had no chance of coming through alive.
But then I found a reason to keep fighting. He was holding his own between three of the most lethal Shifters in the world, moving with such grace it was hard not to just stare in awe. I might have still given up if hope hadn’t come in the form of a scent on the wind.
I tugged on my handcuffs, trying not to draw the attention of the men fighting Charlie. My broken thumb made them loose, but not quite enough to pull my hand free. Convincing myself the pain would be bearable, I pulled against the metal with my preternatural strength, breaking the knuckle of my pinky finger and pulling my hand through. Somehow, I managed to stay conscious as I pulled myself up with considerable effort.
The trek, however, garnered the attention of the Shifter who still saw himself as being on Scout Duty. Travis came at me full force. As his fist slammed out, I stepped forward, sweeping by his outstretched body. The gun came out of its holster with ease, although I almost lost it when an elbow planted into my stomach.
The next thirty seconds went by at the speed of light, yet I was able to take in every action - My finger squeezing the trigger. Travis’s body jerking from the impact before crumbling to the ground. The gray wolf launching itself over his fallen body and onto Hashim, who had come up behind me without my knowledge. Hashim and the wolf plowing into the earth. The wolf ripping out all the important stuff in Hashim’s throat with one quick bite. The sound of a snap that had me turning to see Charlie releasing Mandla’s head, which was now attached to his neck at a completely wrong angle.
We were all covered in blood. I could taste it on my mouth, which was probably as stained as the wolf’s. Charlie looked like the lone survivor of a zombie movie, the simple white button-up shirt he’d worn for the trial half untucked, ripped in various places, and sporting more than one red stain. His face was bruised, his arm bore deep gashes, and I felt certain his left leg was broken, but he was still standing.