This story is fictional, I'm sorry (actually I'm jelous) if it resembles your life in any way shape or form. Constructive criticism is welcome. If gay relationships offend you, then "How did I manage to start reading this story?" is a good question to be asking yourself. However you're still welcome to read it!
This story is owned solely by Gaco and may not be copied by any means by any unlicensed individuals, groups, or organizations.
Copyright 2020 Gaco. All Rights Reserved.
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Chapter 27
"Alexi, Jackson?" I whispered into the darkness.
"Here." I heard Alexi respond.
"Here." Jackson said a second later.
I flicked the flashlight at the end of my rifle on. Before the lights went off every one of Seth's men had been visible. When I scanned the large warehouse with my flashlight I couldn't spot a single target. A gunshot rang out from the left side of the space, and I heard the bullet zing past my head.
"Take cover!" I yelled to Jackson and Alexi as I dove for safety myself.
The equipment on the front of my vest dug into my chest and stomach as I slid behind an ancient forklift. I looked to my right and saw that Alexi and Jackson had likewise hidden behind a massive engine that was seated on a pallet. Each of us took a second to catch our breaths and check ourselves over for any damage before cutting our flashlights, returning the area to pitch dark. The only source of light was the faint glow of the city beyond the now unmoving plastic slats covering the entrance at our backs.
Alexi pulled flares from the satchel he was still carrying. He ignited four flares, tossing each of them from left to right as soon as they were lit. The flickering red glow gave an ominous feel to the dark open space of the warehouse as our eyes quickly adjusted to the change.
I peered around the edge of the forklift and swore quietly when I saw a horde of weres cautiously bearing down on our position. Jackson, who had also took the chance to survey the situation turned to me from his position and gave me a grim nod.
"Justin." I said into my microphone softly. "If you don't hear from us in ten minutes take the rest of the pack and get to safety. Hopefully Alpha Johnson or one of your other contacts will be willing to offer you sanctuary."
"Tom!" Justin yelled into my ear through the tiny earbud imbedded in it and I winced in pain from the shrill noise. "What's the situation? The rest of us can be there in a few minutes."
"A couple extra wolves won't change the situation, and we don't have minutes. You have your orders. Take care of our family." I demanded.
"Tom wait! We're not leaving you." I heard him yell again as I removed my earbud and leaned my rifle up against the side of the forklift.
I quickly shucked all of my gear and clothing and took my rifle back in my hands, seating it against my now bare shoulder. I turned to Alexi and Jackson and was glad to see that they had not followed suit, and were still in their gear. Unsure of the last time I reloaded I pulled a fresh magazine from my discarded vest and, after putting the used one in my vest, tossed it across the open space to Jackson.
"On three." I said, keeping eye contact with the pair.
I counted down on my left hand from three. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out until I reached one, turning around the edge of the forklift and firing at the were that was very nearly on top of me. I fired half of the magazine into his chest and as soon as he began to fall I switched targets to another were who was attempting to overwhelm Jackson and Alexi. Three weres had charged their position at once and they could only focus on one target each at a time. My rifle clicked, out of ammunition just as the one I had been firing on began to fall. Jackson and Alexi had both managed to bring down their targets as well. With the four we had taken down that still left five armed gunmen, seven more weres, as well as Seth.
"Last mag." Alexi said grimly as he peered over Jackson to look at me.
"I'm out." Jackson said, digging into my vest containing the pair of half used magazines.
It took at least half a magazine to bring down a single were, assuming all shots hit directly on target. That meant that even in the best case we would end up against three weres, five more men who could shift into them, and Seth himself.
Thirteen on three weren't good odds, but I had resolved myself to not leaving without revenge for what Seth did to Bryce, to me, and to our pack.
"For Bryce!" I growled loudly as I shifted into my own were.
As I rose I saw another were approaching quickly through the cab of the forklift. I reached down, gripping the frame of the machine, and snarled as I used all of my strength to toss it into the approaching beast. The forklift tumbled into the were, crushing him as it fell with a loud rumble, tossing dirt and debris as it slammed into the ground.
I turned to check on Alexi and Jackson and noticed that Jackson was now rapidly removing his gear and clothing as well. I kicked my pistols over to them and nodded when Jackson gave both to Alexi. As I watched Jackson shift a bullet tore through my left shoulder and I roared as I attempted to see where it had come from. Another bullet hit my leg and I fell to the ground for a moment before attempting to take cover behind the overturned forklift. My shoulder and leg were pouring blood, but did not appear to be serious. I heard snarling all around and looked up to see seven weres closing in on my position.
I felt my wolf pushing images to me in my mind. He showed me our time with Bryce, running in the forest, the lovemaking we had enjoyed, the excitement of seeing our mate in his wolf for the first time. Then my wolf's thoughts turned dark. He showed me Zeke covered in blood, our other packmates when Bryce had brought them into hotel room also critically injured. Finally, my wolf pushed a replay of the video of the truck hitting Bryce's car into my mind and I finally understood what he was trying to do.
I allowed all of my pent up feelings, my love, my grief, and my rage out of that little place in my head where I had been keeping them locked up. I watched as all of the packing crates dotting the floor of the warehouse were blasted away from my position and slammed into one another, shattering into tiny bits of wooden shrapnel. The wolf who was almost upon me burst into flames, his screeching yelp echoing in the vast emptiness of the room as he rolled on the ground and attempted to put out the fire. I launched myself at the next closest were and felt myself shifting and growing even more while in the air. I landed on him and slammed my hand through his chest and into the concrete below, my claws rending all in their path.
I stood to my full height, now over ten feet tall, more than a full head higher than the average were of nearly eight feet. The remaining five weres took a few steps back, unsure if they wanted to attack such a foe but stopped their retreat when a bark came from behind them.
"He's only one wolf!" I heard the staccato barking of Seth's own were from behind the group. "Attack him all at once and overwhelm him!"
I roared back in challenge and charged, intent to get to Seth and end this. Another charging were on my left burst into flames and I clawed through the neck of a were on my right. The other three, however, made it to me and began to rip into the flesh of my legs, belly, and back. Jackson charged the were at my back and slammed him to the ground, using his powerful jaw muscles to bite into his neck and rip it open. As I faced off with the two final weres I heard the soft pop of Alexi firing the suppressed pistol he carried, eliminating the threat from the unshifted gunmen he had snuck up behind. Seth had taken the moment of the attack to escape and I heard metal grating on metal as a door in the back of the warehouse slammed closed.
I glared at the two final obstacles that had prevented me from reaching my quarry. Jackson stepped forward to attack but I reached out a clawed hand and pushed him back as I continued to stare at the two silently. Suddenly the pair began to whine and shift uncomfortably and began to back away. The smell of burning fur began to rise from their bodies as I glared into their eyes as if trying to find their rotted souls that lay within. Moments later they howled in pain for a second before their bodies ignited in a brilliant flash of white light. It was over in the blink of an eye, only small piles of ash remained where they stood before.
I charged towards the door I had seen Seth enter, Jackson and Alexi at my back begging me to wait for them. I no longer had any desire other than to end Seth's existence and could not allow him to escape. Already, I realized, I had waited too long and may have lost my one chance to destroy him.
I barreled into the metal door, ripping it from its hinges as the metal frame around it warped and shrieked in protest as it gave way. I rode the door to the ground as I slid into a smaller room, realizing quickly that it was a freezer. Seth was in the center of the room, human again, his pistol to the head of one of the four restrained forms in the chairs between us. Each of the men in the chairs appeared drugged or unconscious. I stood, preparing to charge him and finish this at long last.
"He's not dead yet." Seth smiled maniacally, grabbing the hair of the man in front of him, yanking his face up.
I froze, unable to move a muscle as I looked upon the battered face of the man I loved. My wolf howled in joy and fury that our mate was alive, and that he was in the grasp of a psychopath.
"Shift back." Seth said, smile still plastered on his face and waving his gun at me to hurry.
"Both of you." He added after a moment, seeing Jackson enter the room.
"Bryce!" Alexi yelled as he also entered the room, pistol aimed at Seth's head.
"Slide that over in the next three seconds or he's dead." Seth said as soon as he spotted Alexi.
"Do it." I ordered quickly, having shifted the moment Seth had demanded it.
"This is a bad idea." Alexi said, but had already set the gun down and kicked it over to Seth.
Seth began to laugh great bellows that shook his entire body, pistol still aimed at the back of Bryces head, worrying me that he was going to accidentally kill Bryce in his convulsions.
"He's right you know." Seth said after he got his laughing under control, pointing his weapon back at me. "I'm going to kill each and every one of you, and then I'm going to find what's left of your pack and kill them as well."
"Say goodbye to your alpha." He snarled, bringing the pistol to Bryce's head and the deafening sound of a shot rang out inside the confined space of the freezer.
I howled in agony and charged. Seth's eyes went wide as he dropped the pistol and collapsed to the ground, the life leaving his eyes before I could cross the distance. I skidded to a stop next to Bryce, looking between Seth's body and Bryce who was still alive in shock. I quickly shifted my hands to paws and slicing through the silver laced rope that held him to the chair with my were claws. Bryce fell forward onto my naked shoulder and I wrapped an arm around him protectively. When I looked over my shoulder to see what had happened I saw Justin walk into the freezer, sniper rifle in hand.
"I told you we wouldn't leave our pack behind." He nodded while making room in the doorway for Zeke and John to enter as well.
"Is he alive?" Zeke asked, nodding toward Bryce.
"I think so." I sobbed as I turned back towards him. "I still can't feel him in my head though. I'm not sure if he's in there."
The rest of the pack pushed further into the room and began to examine the other guys in the chairs who were similarly restrained and beaten like Bryce. I focused on Bryce and began to focus energy on him the way I had seen him do when he had attempted to heal Justin after the vampire attack, and as he had done for me after training before my first shift. I watched as some of the bruising faded but he did not wake up. I had to stop before I collapsed as I could feel myself quickly becoming weak from the exertion of the task and the fight that had led up to that point.
"Uh... Guys?" I looked up when I heard Zeke's fear filled voice.
"What's up?" Justin said after using his knife to cut through the rope holding the male in the chair he was next to.
"You better come over here and take a look at this." I nodded for Justin to take care of it as nothing could pry me from Bryce's side until he was well again.
"Fuck." Justin breathed out.
"We've gotta move now!" Justin bellowed loudly a few moments later.
Jackson, John, and Alexi quickly grabbed the other three men who had been tied to the chairs and beaten. They each threw a man over their shoulders and headed for the door.
"RUN!" I heard Justin scream as I shifted to my were and picked up Bryce's limp form in my arms, cradling him as if he were a baby.
I loped quickly past the rest of the pack, the fear in Justin's voice spurring me on. I reached the exit first and jumped down from the edge of the loading dock, my powerful legs cushioning our landing so as not to jostle Bryce overly much.
The rest of the guys came running out and paused at the edge of the loading dock, turning to see Justin bringing up the rear.
"Hit the deck!" He yelled, diving to the ground below.
Multiple explosions began near the rear of the building, shaking the ground as the rest of the pack dove for cover. I ducked down as well, covering Bryce's body with my own as the explosions quickly grew in speed and scale. Suddenly one near the entrance we had just come through thundered out, rattling the ground and covering us all in debris and dust.
"Fucking hell." Alexi coughed out. "That bastard was going to blow himself up with all of us in there."
"Guess it's a good thing we came when we did." John said, standing and dusting himself off.
"The battle didn't seem to draw any attention, but I have no doubt that this will." Justin said quickly as he took in the scene.
An inferno raged through what was left of the warehouse. Clearly some sort of accelerant was added to the explosive to cause such a blaze. The roof began to collapse inside and more dust and debris was pushed through the loading dock door that we had entered through.
"We need to get out of here quickly before anyone arrives." Justin reminded us as we all stared at the gruesome death we barely escaped.
"At least we won't have to worry about the bodies." I said, picking Bryce back up and holding him in my arms. "At least Seth did us that favor."
"Somehow I doubt he intended for that to help us." Zeke said as we quickly headed towards the cars parked around the corner of the building.
We hastily threw our remaining gear into the trunks of the two vehicles, not bothering to notice what went where. It was a tight fit, but we managed to get the ten of us into two cars. Justin took the driver's seat of John's car, and John climbed into the passenger seat after we managed to stuff the three battered shifters from the freezer into the back seat.
Alexi took the front seat of our car, Jackson the passenger seat, as Zeke helped me load Bryce into the center of the back seat, the two of us on either side of him. Our two cars had just pulled around the corner, exiting the warehouse's drive, when a couple police cars followed by two fire trucks roared around the corner ahead of us, heading towards the blaze. We all breathed a sigh of relief when they continued driving and turned into the drive but did not follow us.
I took Bryce's hand in my own, still unable to feel him in my mind, and focused on pushing more healing energy into him now that we were safe. It was not as good as full body contact, but the tight confines of the back seat would not allow for anything more.
I felt his hand twitch in my own just before I passed out from the exertion.
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