The Legend of the Werewolf (27 page)

“Annie!”

Anne’s head shot up and her eyes widened.
Bud was running towards her, a mountain bike thrown carelessly to
the ground behind him.

She rushed down the porch steps to meet
him. “Bud, what are you doing here?” She couldn’t stop her grin,
maybe he had a message from Mike.

“Was looking for my brother. I need to
talk to him. Where is he?”

Maybe not.

She hated being the bearer of bad news,
could already see his disappointment in her hesitation. Anne wet
her lips. “He’s—”

A rough scream halted her. She turned
her head just as the humans of her pack ran in one direction while
the werewolves shifted to their wolf forms and ran in the other,
only to be blasted by a red light and sent flying.

Bud jumped in front of her. “What the
fuck!”

Her mouth dropped as Hadrian came into
view, in broad daylight, with no shadow men to guard him. His body
glowed a raging red while ruby colored lightning crackled and
sparked around his body.

He stood erect and proud like a king; like
he owned everything he was destroying.

Where did he get all this power
from?

Anne grabbed Bud’s arm. He couldn’t be
here! He’d get hurt. “Bud, run away from here. As fast as you can.
Don’t come back.”

The kid didn’t move. He stood
transfixed as though hypnotized. “Who’s that guy?”

Hadrian licked his lips, repeatedly. He
wanted blood. He wanted Mike's blood. Because he thought that Mike
was his enemy and the enemy needed to be destroyed.

But he wasn’t. It was her grandpa. If
he figured it out, Hadrian would go for Bill.

“He’s not a friend, Bud. He’s a bad man
with power. Now run before he sees you.”

Bud tried to surge forward, towards the
blasting, but her grip tightened and she yanked him
back.

He looked at her as though confused at
her strength. “I can help!”

Was he insane? “No you
can’t!”

“I’m psychic like my brother! I can
help you!”

Anne gaped. Psychic like Mike? Was Bud
hit by a car too?

"
Where is he?
" Hadrian shrieked, another bolt of red
lightning flew from his hand and clashed with the little cottage
that she and Mike first shared. It exploded under the assault, a
mushroom cloud rose into the air as though a miniature nuclear bomb
had been set off. "
Where is Edward? I want him now!
"

He flung out his arm again, targeting a
pickup truck. The lightning struck and the gas tank exploded. The
truck hopped into the air with the force, came down and— stopped
about two feet off the ground and stayed there.

What the—?

Bud’s arm was outstretched, his fingers
crimped as though he held something in them.

The truck.
Anne couldn’t believe it. Bud
was serious. But, he wasn’t psychic, he was telekinetic.

Hadrian's eyes found Anne's, as though
an invisible force pulled them there.

Anne's body tensed under the stare. She
didn't know if it was his magic or her fear that kept her legs from
working.

His lips moved. Not a sound came out
but she could still read them.

"You."

He started his sinister march towards
them.

Bud flung out his arm. The truck shot
towards Hadrian as though it had been thrown by a giant with a
major league pitcher’s arm.

Some kind of shield made contact with
the truck before it could touch Hadrian’s body. He kept moving,
undeterred and focused.

Bud had the decency to look
afraid.

Her legs caught up with her brain and she
grabbed Bud’s arm. “Time to go!” She launched herself away from
Gordon's cabin and in the opposite direction of Hadrian. Pulling
her shirt off, she threw it away with her bra, preparing to change
into her wolf form.

“
What are you
doing?
” Bud
yelled. His eyes were round as they bulged down at her nipples.
Anne didn’t have time to explain that mind readers and psychics
like him weren’t the only things in the world. She needed to go
wolf and she needed to do it now.

Hadrian teleported directly in front of
her as she worked on her pants.

Too close! She couldn't stop! Anne
screamed as her entire body collided with his. The weight of her
impact didn't jar him. It was like crashing into a
boulder.

His fingers curled around her arms in a
crushing grip. Anne threw her body weight into yanking herself
free. She felt like she was fighting against a cyborg with all the
good it did her.

"Undressing yourself for me already?"
Hadrian leered. He bent his head to stick his crooked nose in her
hair, inhaling deeply before pulling away. "My love, you shouldn't
have."

Jesus. He thought she was
Luna!

“Let her go!” Bud threw his arm out,
willing his telekinetic energy through his hand and to her
attacker.

Nothing happened.

He scrunched his face and tried
again.

Still nothing.

Hadrian put out his hand this time,
pointing his open palm at Bud. Terror spiked in Anne’s
chest.

“Child, you bore me.”

“No!”

An invisible blast flew out of
Hadrian’s hand and knocked into Bud’s chest. He went into the air,
soared as though he were flying, then came down hard across the
compound. His body rolling and skidding, his limbs limp and
lifeless as though he were a puppet with its strings cut
off.

Anne sobbed at the sight of his
unmoving body. With renewed effort she struggled in Hadrian’s grip.
"Let go of me, you freak! I'm not Luna! I'm not Luna!"

“
Oh, but you are.” He laughed, a
maniacal thing. “He wed you, so you must be. I thought there was a
resemblance when I first laid my eyes upon you. That you could be
born into this shell to attempt to find him had never occurred to
me.”

His cold, spidery hand gripped her bare
breast.

Anne went nuts. She thrashed. Screamed.
Forced her change. The jeans she wore might suffocate her but she
would take the risk.

Her fangs came first, hair grew from
her body as her fingers turned into claws. She went for his
eyes.

Hadrian shook her once. The force snapped
her head back and made her bite her tongue when her teeth cracked
together. She tasted blood in her mouth and moaned, the change
reversing without her concentration to keep it going.

Hadrian's face held no more love for
her. He sneered at her as though he wished to beat her. "I'm using
the last of my power to come here. Do not insult me by transforming
into that disgusting creature, or I won't be so gentle with you in
the future."

In the future when his power was gone
and her strength would outmatch his, Anne would break him in half
for what he was doing to her.

"Now," Hadrian started, taking a
breath. "Where is that pathetic little peasant? Where is
Edward?"

An image of her grandfather came to
mind, but it replaced itself with Mike right away.

He still doesn't know that
Mike isn’t the first werewolf.

She shook her head. She wanted to tell
him that Mike went to Mexico to hide but her swollen tongue and
blood in her mouth made her feel as though she were trying to speak
under water.

"Where is he?" Hadrian shook her again.
Anne clamped her teeth shut so she wouldn't bite her tongue
again.

Hadrian gripped her arms so tightly they
went cold before she lost all feeling in them. The spots where his
nails dug into her skin drew blood, burned, and stung.

She shook her head again and opened her
mouth, forcing the words passed her tongue. "Gone ... he's
gone."

"Gone?" Hadrian spat the word. "Where
did he go?"

A strong voice answered for her.
"Michael is not your cursed serf, Hadrian. And my granddaughter is
not Luna."

Anne's eyes widened. Bill? No! What was
he doing?

He stood there, barely five feet away,
holding the glowing moonstone in both hands as though it would
protect him from the crazy wizard bent on destroying anyone who so
much as looked like the man he cursed a thousand years
ago.

Hadrian glanced at him before turning back
to Anne, deciding the older man was not worthy of his time. "You
know naught of what I seek, you old fool. Place that stone on the
ground and leave before I have you killed."

The shifting sound of a shotgun being
cocked drew his attention two inches to the right. A long, steel
barrel pointed at his eye.

Gordon held the weapon with authority,
his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Hadrian.

Anne cheered inside her head. As long as
Bill got out of here alive, she would never question Gordon for his
worth as a pack master again.

"Nice how you stop to pay attention when
there's a giant gun pointed at your head," Gordon said.

Hadrian kept his eyes on Gordon's face,
his long fingernails were removed from the skin on Anne's arms as
he released her.

With no one forcing her to stand, her legs
gave out. She landed on her ass. A pair of hands went under her
armpits, picked her up, and pulled her along. She struggled against
the pulling. "No...Bill."

"I'll get him next. You're
hurt."

Anne stopped struggling at the sound of
Brock's deep voice. She looked at his face, one side bruised,
swollen, and split open right under the eye from the attacks
Hadrian launched.

"Your jaw. It’s exactly the
same."

Anne stopped,
ref
using to
be pulled along so she would see what Hadrian was talking
about.

Despite the gun in his face,
Hadrian advanced on Gordon. His eyes staring and unusually wide. It
was creepy.

Brock growled as their master backed up
a step.

"Take one more step and I'll shoot you in
the face," Gordon warned, eyes flashing yellow.

Hadrian shrieked and raised his hand.
"You look like him! You look like Edward!"

Gordon pulled the trigger. The barrel
exploded but the blast backtracked without scratching the target.
The force of the pellets at close range knocked Gordon off his
feet. He landed on his back, bleeding through his buttoned
shirt.

"Gordon!"

Bill was at his side first. He put down
the moonstone and pressed his hands flat against Gordon's soaking
chest. Brock forgot all about delivering Anne from harm and went to
him as well, taking her with him.

She didn't care. She wanted to be
there. She fell to her knees with Brock, who pressed his hand down
on top of Bill’s, trying to stem the blood flow.

Would it even do any good? Blood leaked
from his mouth and nose. Not good. Not good at all.

She dragged herself to Gordon's head and
his eyes followed her, they were wide and alert. She sensed his
fear of death rolling off him in waves.

She wiped the blood from his mouth with
the palm of her hand and forced a smile that trembled. Her mouth
didn't seem to hurt as much once she found she needed to speak.
"You're gonna be alright. We'll get a doctor. A real
doctor."

Deep down she couldn't hide her fear
that the shot would kill him. She knew he could sense that in
her.

His breathe came out in a hideous, gurgled
rasp. Anne had to calm her thoughts and concentrate before she
realized that it wasn't his breathing that she heard, but his
voice. "Whe... shley...'m shrry ..."

Anne gasped, immediately understanding her
mistake. The fear she felt in him wasn't of his oncoming death, but
of not seeing his son, not apologizing before he died.

"I'll tell him," she promised, her voice
cracking with a sob. Twin tears slipped down her cheeks. Gordon was
dead before they splashed on his forehead. The stench of death came
immediately after.

More tears followed. The glazed look in
his eyes turned on a faucet and the water refused to stop. More
hands came down to touch him.

Anne flinched away, looked up, and saw
Zeke. His arm was scorched and bleeding, but he paid no attention
to his wounds as he stared at his dead leader. Fanny leaned her
head against his back, sniffling softly and moaning in
despair.

Anne raised her head to look over them.
Every wolf who survived Hadrian's attack crawled lamely and naked
towards the lifeless shell of their leader. The ones with no energy
to make the shift stayed in their wolf forms, whimpering at the
loss.

She didn’t see Bud among the crowd of
injured.

Bill lifted two fingers and closed
Gordon’s eyes. The members of the pack who were still wolves,
raised their heads and howled.

"Shut up! Shut up!
Shut
up!
" Hadrian
raised his hands and launched another round of red lightning. The
wolves scattered to avoid being struck. "I hate that sound! I hate
wolves!"