“No!” I rushed forward, reaching Jack just as he hit the floor. His eyes were open but glazed. Bright red liquid was already pooling on the floor underneath him.
“Jack,” I said, choking back a sob.
“Tara. I …” His words were garbled with the sound of liquid in his chest. A small trickle of blood escaped his mouth.
“Finally, that boy does something right,” Leo said.
My head snapped up. “You. Shut. Up.”
“He actually thought he could turn you,” he said, ignoring me. He was getting worked up now, spitting when he spoke, saliva pooling at the corners of his mouth.
I squared my shoulders. “I’ll never join your side. I’m a Hunter, not a Werewolf.”
“You’ve got enough of both in you,” he said, his eyes gleaming wildly as he spoke.
Beside me, Jack’s breaths were coming in labored wheezes. I wanted to do something to help him, but I had no idea what. And Leo was advancing. I cast one last glance at Jack and then rose, stepping over him, to face Leo. This was what I could do. I just hoped Jack could hang on long enough.
“Not a freaking chance,” I said, letting the anger and fury wash over me and wipe out the fear that gnawed at my gut.
“I figured you’d say that. We’ll do it my way, then.” Leo surged forward, teeth bared, in a jerky move meant to take me by surprise.
I blocked him and angled my body away, giving him a shove from behind, so that his momentum took him into the wall behind me. His shoulder took the brunt of it, but it wasn’t hard enough to slow him down by any means. The space wasn’t big enough to do that. He turned to come at me again, but now I’d caught him off guard. I swung out and punched him—hard—in the face, sending his whole body jerking to the side. I watched in satisfaction for a split second. Then I swung out again, same hand, before he could recover.
He managed to duck under at the last second and came up, teeth first. Fangs caught my wrist and scraped away my skin. I pulled free and backed up a step, quick to get out of range and recover from the sting. I had to get out of this room. There was no space to maneuver, and I didn’t stand a chance against those teeth if I stayed. My wrist began heating up, and I knew I had to be quick.
I whirled and ran for the door, my feet pounding hard on the metal floor of the hallway. I made it several feet down the catwalk before I turned, knowing he’d be right on my heels.
He came at me again, but I managed to knock him away, his rear end knocking up against the metal railing behind him. This space was just as small, but a long stretch of metal hallway behind me would at least allow me to sidestep or retreat if necessary. I was completely realistic about my chances. I knew it was entirely possible I’d have to run. But then I thought about Jack, lying bloody and half-conscious in the other room, and I knew running was out of the question. If I did, he’d die.
With that thought, I steeled myself against doubt and focused on Leo, letting the Hunter in me completely take over my muscles and senses. As soon as I gave into it, I forgot all about the wound on my wrist. I felt no pain, nothing but anger and the hunger to see Leo without a heartbeat.
Leo felt the same. I could see it in his eyes. They were wild and fierce, locked on his goal. Me. His determination might’ve even been greater than mine. He seemed almost desperate about it, the way saliva pooled at his open jowls and his growl had become a cross between a howl and a whine. I hoped that meant he would make a mistake soon. I wanted this over. Still, some long-dormant Hunter part of me had awakened—as it did in every fight—and provided me with what I hoped was enough energy and supernatural strength to continue. That part of me wanted to draw this out.
Leo lunged again and, this time, I didn’t step out of the way. Just before he reached me, my right hand shot forward and caught him around the throat, squeezing tightly and stopping him in his tracks much like I’d seen Grandma do earlier. He choked in surprise and his body went still for a minute, probably from the shock of being caught.
Then he was moving again, and I could feel the force of his contracting muscles as he tried to shake my grip. I only squeezed tighter, cutting off his windpipe. He choked again and his yellow eyes went wide. I needed a weapon. There was no way I could end this without one. My stakes were long gone, but there had to be something around here.
Leo twisted and snarled against my hold, though it came out guttural and more like a cough. I glanced around quickly, looking for anything nearby that I could use, but there was nothing.
Then Leo jerked his head hard to the side and took a step back, forcing me to move with him or let go. It was just far enough to make me loosen my grip. A furry paw swung out at me and I didn’t see it in time. It connected; the claws scraped across my cheek, hard enough to drive my head sideways, as though I’d been slapped. I felt my grip on his throat give way, and he stepped easily out of it as I struggled to right myself and get my bearings. I leaned into the railing, grabbing it with one hand, to steady myself. My cheek burned and I dabbed at it gently with my fingertips, already feeling the raised welts left behind.
I blinked to clear my eyes of the tears, and stepped back, trying to get a feel for Leo and what would come next. I didn’t really have time to brace myself before he sprang again, sailing through the air, covering the entire distance between us in a single leap. His paws hit my shoulders, sending me flying. My back hit the metal railing with a painful thud.
We were further down the catwalk now, and this side of things was in a lot worse shape than anywhere else in the building. The welded rods that made up the railing were corroded and rusting. The joints that joined them were crumbling in places, and when I hit, I felt a tiny amount of give. I pushed off, afraid it would snap and send me plummeting to the first floor. Even my quick-healing muscles wouldn’t forgive that.
But Leo was on me before I could get clear, shoving me back against the railing and snapping his teeth at my throat. I managed to hold his head away, using fistfuls of his fur to pull him back, but with both of us pressing on the crumbling railing, I could feel it buckling under the stress. Putting all my weight into it, I leaned and shoved as hard as I could against him, but he didn’t budge. Something behind me creaked and then snapped. Whatever had been holding me up gave way, and I fell with a thud onto my back, my left shoulder hanging off the edge of the catwalk. Leo went down with me, his weight actually helping to hold me on the floor instead of wobbling over the edge. I was almost afraid to push him off, since the momentum might be all I needed to complete the fall.
Maybe it was because of that thought, but my grip on him faltered a little, and his teeth snapped closer, scraping along the skin on my neck, and leaving a burning in its wake. I cringed but tried to push harder against his snapping jaws. Something about the singeing heat in my neck seemed to awaken the same pain in my wrist, and both of the wounds burned to life. I strained away from Leo’s fangs, craning my neck as far from him as I could. When I did, something metal and gleaming caught my eye, just behind Leo’s head.
A jagged piece of railing stuck out awkwardly from where the rest of the rods had given way and fallen to the first floor. It was rusted and crumbly, and I wasn’t completely sure how loose it was, or if it was even within reach, but it was all I had. Using my entire right forearm to brace against Leo’s weight, I let go and reached for the metal rod with my left hand. I was just able to grasp it with my fingers, but had to move closer and get more of my body over the edge of the catwalk. I was half on, half off. If this didn’t work right, I was going over for sure. My fingers closed tightly around the rod and I yanked and twisted until it was free. The strain of it was causing my grip on Leo to lessen, and I could feel him pressing closer to me.
“It’s almost over,” he rasped. “Stop fighting it.”
His hot breath blew in my face like a cloud and I gagged at the mangy animal stench. Saliva dripped from his jowls to my shirt. He strained closer. My stomach rolled.
I brought the metal rod around and u
p, arcing toward Leo’s chest, just as his teeth broke through my flesh.
I vaguely felt the slide of the metal as it entered and sank deep inside through muscle and tissue and into what was hopefully, his heart. Then all I could really feel was the burning of Leo’s teeth as it lit like wildfire through my veins. My vision blurred until all I saw were dozens of pairs of Leo’s wild, yellow eyes.
That was when the vibrations began. It started in my hand—the one still holding the tip of the rod. The metal gleamed and glowed, heating under my palm like I’d shoved it into an oven. Smoke hissed and rose from the point of entry, and I wasn’t sure if it came from the metal or from Leo’s flesh. When he began howling, I knew it was his flesh. I jerked my hand free of the metal, and the heat faded some, replaced with a vibrating shock that shot up my arm and into my chest. My insides echoed with it, and I began to shake.
It took me a minute to realize Leo had stopped moving and was slumped over, completely pinning me underneath him. The vibrations were shaking me so hard now; this was what it must feel like to have a seizure. Leo’s lifeless body shook with me. I squirmed against him, but I was afraid of making the wrong move and toppling over the edge. The vibrations finally ebbed enough to gain some sort of control over my limbs. Now, everything just burned.
As the fire spread through me, I began caring less and less about being pinned. My vision blurred and a voice inside me screamed and wailed against the flames that were boiling my blood. I brought my left hand up and gingerly touched my fingertips to the wound on my neck. I could feel the torn skin and yanked my hand away. It was covered in blood.
I thought I heard someone calling my name but it was muffled and unrecognizable. Maybe they couldn’t see me, pinned underneath Leo’s body like this. Maybe they’d never find me …
It all happened in slow motion. Slender hands reached out and grabbed at the matted fur on Leo’s back, dragging him off me with a strength that didn’t seem to fit the slim arms that wielded it. I tried following the arms to the face that went with it, but everything blurred to red and black dancing dots. The hands returned, and grabbed the fabric of my jacket, pulling me away from the edge of the walkway. I tilted my head and saw Leo lying beside me, twisted and awkward. His eyes were open but glazed, unseeing. Dried saliva coated the sides of his mouth and mixed with blood that still oozed from his throat. It dripped onto the metal flooring underneath him, and then further below to the first floor. The metal rod stuck out of his chest, a large ring of red staining the fur around it. I felt a small wave of relief and satisfaction, and then I shifted away.
My rescuer’s face was bending over me. Maybe close enough to see now. I blinked and the edging of red receded and brought the face into focus. My mother.
“Tara? It’s me. It’s over, honey. Are you okay?” she asked. Her voice was strained. Her eyes flicked back and forth between my face and my arm.
“Yeah,” I managed, though it came out more like a sigh. I was breathing heavy against the pain and any attempt to talk only seemed to make it worse. “Are you sure Leo’s dead?”
“Positive. You used metal,” she said, surprised. “Did it—are you sure you’re okay?”
The burn traveled all the way through to my vocal cords; everything hurt. I remembered what had happened the last time I’d been hurt like this. “I’m—going to—pass out,” I whispered.
“Okay. I’m getting us to the car. I’ll take us home.”
“No, not home. Not yet. Jack.”
“I know.” Her expression clouded. “We found him when we went looking for you. Wes is with him now.”
“Is he—”
“He’s alive. Barely. Fee might be able to help.” Her face clouded over. “I don’t know if we caught it in time,” she whispered.
I just nodded. Was she talking about Jack? Or me?
My mom smiled. “Tara, you did it. Leo can’t hurt us anymore.”
“Good.” I tried to smile back, but my face felt tight for some reason. “Mom. It hurts.”
“I know, those scratches look pretty deep,” she said.
I felt a fresh wave of fire wash over me, licking at every single nerve ending. My body jerked and my head rolled to the side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom’s eyes widen, and her hand went to her throat.
“Oh! I didn’t see! You’re bit—I thought it was just the scratches.” She glanced up. “Wes!”
A second later, I heard heavy footsteps and the metal underneath my back vibrated. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s bit,” said my mom, a hint of panic creeping into her voice.
He hurried closer, and I knew the moment he bent over me. I could smell him. A wild, animal version of woods and wind. But his hands on me let me know he was definitely human again. “Are you sure? I thought you said she was fine,” he said. “You said it was just scratches.”
“I didn’t see at first,” she said, her voice breaking. “Look.”
I could hear everything they were saying, but it hurt too much to turn toward them. I lay there, feeling like a science experiment while Wes peered down at my neck. I didn’t need to see his expression to know it was bad.
Wes cursed and then crouched lower and scooped me up in his arms. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. “Jack’s already being loaded into Derek’s Suburban, and my car’s too small for her to lie in,” he said.
He began making his way toward the stairs and my mother followed. I could hear her lighter steps hurrying to keep up with Wes’s heavier, longer ones. I struggled to keep silent against the pain and squeezed my eyes shut with the effort.
“I’ll ask Edie if they have a vehicle,” my mother said.
I felt the shift of descending the stairs. I must’ve made some sort of noise because Wes whispered, “Sorry, almost there.” At the bottom, Wes hurried forward, careful to keep me still.
“Edie!” he called out, picking up the pace. “Edie!”
“Oh my goodness,” I heard her say. “Is she all right?”
“He bit her on the neck. It’s not good,” Wes said, his voice grim.
“What can we do?” I heard Grandma ask.
“Fee can help her better than anyone,” he said. “We need to get her there.”
“But she’s going to be working on Jack,” said my mother.
“She’ll have to do both,” Wes answered. “Edie, do you have a car?”
“Yes, yes, of course. Come on, this way. Quickly,” she said.
We began moving again.
“Sophie,” Grandma called as we walked, “tell everyone to finish cleaning up here and meet us at the address I gave you. I’m taking the Hummer.”
Hummer? Grandma drove a Hummer?
“Since when do you drive a Hummer, Mom?” my mother said.
“There’s a lot about me that might surprise you, Elizabeth. You’ve had your head in the sand a long time.”
I felt the jostling of Wes climbing into the car, still with me in his arms. I winced, biting my lip harder against the scream that wanted to escape. He settled us in and wrapped his arms securely around me. Someone pressed a towel against my neck and held pressure to the wound. A second later, I felt the car lurch forward. The roar of the engine was dull in my ears, against the roar of the fire inside me. A moan escaped my lips after the fiftieth pothole in three seconds, and Wes’s hands stroked and soothed my heated skin.
“It’s going to be okay,” he murmured, sounding way more confident than I felt at this moment. I kept my eyes squeezed shut and managed a nod.
“Did you get a head count for your people, Wes?” Grandma asked from the driver’s seat.
“Yeah. Everyone was accounted for but Miles. Derek got bit but it wasn’t bad, and Fee treated it before we left.”
“Miles?” my mother asked.
“Yeah, Miles Ducati,” said Wes. “He’s a Hunter. Did some side work for Jack a few times and then got accepted a few months back. Tall, dark hair. Did you see him at all?”
??
?No, I didn’t. Maybe he’s back at the house already.”
“Miles.” I knew the word came out muffled and weak, but I had to try. They didn’t know, and they needed to. Before he hurt someone else. “He … shot.” I broke off, knowing if I opened my mouth again, any words I formed would be accompanied by a manic scream.
“No, Tara, Jack was shot. Miles is missing,” said Wes.
I felt myself shaking my head, trying to tell him what I meant. Then the fire peaked and everything went black.
~ 38 ~