This was the distraction I needed. Going with pure instinct, I clamped down on the wrist of
Goatee’s hand that was holding the knife until my teeth hit the bone. This was my opportunity to even out the fight.
He hissed as his blood dripped down my chin, mixing with that of the lanky guy I’d killed only minutes earlier and my own blood where Goatee had cut me. My mouth tensed as I waited for him to yank in desperation to free his hand, but his face only contorted into rage.
Shit. I’d miscalculated. Maybe he had some brains after all.
His free arm moved toward my body as he aimed for my bullet wound, but since I was in wolf form, I was a little faster.
I released my hold on him and rolled out of the way as his hand only skimmed my fur. I stood on all fours, placing most of my weight on the three uninjured legs.
The three other men began to move toward me, but Goatee yelled, “Stop! This bitch is mine.”
He wanted to make a statement, not only with me but with his men too. He could take down a silver wolf all by himself.
“You got lucky.” Goatee clutched his injured hand close to his body as he bent down and grabbed the knife. “But don’t worry. I can use my left hand just as well.”
I had a feeling he wasn’t bluffing, which meant I had to injure that hand too.
Game on.
I snarled, wanting him to know that he didn’t scare me. We were on even ground, even though I didn’t like to admit that my hind leg was as much of a strategic liability as his injured hand.
He swung his knife at me, making it clear that he wasn’t scared. This wasn’t only a battle of skill but of proving something to each other.
Breaking me was his end goal, whereas mine was proving that he couldn’t.
I stumbled back, avoiding the blow, but that had been his real intent. I placed more weight than I
could handle on my back leg and almost fell.
Goatee scowled when I managed to stay on all four legs.
My silver wolf healing abilities worked faster than other wolves, which worked in my favor. My leg still hurt like a son of a bitch, but I could already feel it knitting together and was able to put more weight on it. Unfortunately, the bullet was still lodged inside, which meant that I’d have to reopen the wound to get it out, but that was yet another problem for later.
Needing to strike first, I charged his right side. He would be weakest there and not able to counter as well. Before I connected with him, I noticed a tree with a low-hanging branch a few feet away and changed my plan mid-stride. At this point, I didn’t care about making him suffer, I only wanted this entire thing over so I could help the others.
I lowered my head and bulldozed him into the branch. The sound of ripping skin and a groan of pain told me that I’d hit the mark. I took a few steps back and saw the end of the branch sticking through his shoulder. My intent had been to skewer his heart, but at least, he was worse off than me now. Even though the wound seemed to have missed the main artery, there was so much blood his subclavian may have been nicked.
“Attack her!” Goatee demanded. “She can’t get away. As long as she can survive, do whatever is necessary to make her leave with us. Take them down and kill them if she doesn’t yield.”
The three enemy guards sprang into action like they’d been waiting for this moment. Additionally, one guard from both Killian and Griffin spun in my direction with hunger in their own eyes. Each one wanted to have a claim on taking down the almost extinct silver wolf line. At least, that helped both Griffin and Killian with their own battles.
One pointed his gun at the side of my body that wasn’t injured. They were going to try to weaken both sides.
Shit, I didn’t know how to get out of this. I scanned the woods desperately for an idea, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could think of. My best bet was to run and make them chase me. It might hurt like hell, but as long as I survived, that was okay.
I took off running toward the water as more gunfire echoed farther away from where Griffin’s and Killian’s additional guards were coming in.
Someone fired at me, missing by mere inches. The bullet lodged in the dirt, making it splatter.
I had to run faster.
Trees blurred by as I pushed harder. With each step, my leg grew a little stronger, which was a blessing in this hellish situation.
When an opening between two trees came into view, I made a sharp left, planning to double back to where Killian and Griffin were. The five men chasing me were falling behind.
As I rushed toward Griffin and Killian, one of the enemies yelled, “I’m going to shift. Otherwise, she’ll outrun us.”
Even though that sucked, at least, it would be one less person with a gun or knife.
When I broke through the clearing, an enemy had a gun to Killian’s head while two others were laughing despite one of their own being dead at their feet. It was as if their friend’s life had meant nothing.
My world wanted to stop, but I pushed through the mental block, racing toward the enemy. I growled low and threatening, making him pause and glance in my direction. His mouth dropped in shock like he hadn’t expected to see me, and the other two stumbled back a few feet.
They weren’t so cocky when they were the ones being surprised.
That was the distraction Killian needed in order to spin around and pounce on his attacker. The man screamed in agony as Killian ripped him apart while his two friends stood there and watched the gruesome attack with open mouths.