My heart hurt to see so much death and destruction, but this was the cruel necessity of war. I blew past Killian, heading toward Griffin and the others. We had to level the odds as fast as possible. The longer they outnumbered us, the more deaths there would be on our end.
Three feet away, Griffin was fighting two men who had knives instead of guns. He’d managed to take down two during my run, which meant our numbers were getting more favorable by the minute.
Gunshots were still firing not too far away. The fact that the enemy fighters hadn’t returned meant that Killian’s and Griffin’s guards weren’t being decimated as I feared.
My eyes flicked to where Goatee had been to find him gone. The branch remained covered in his blood and pieces of muscle and skin. The bastard had been determined to get free, I had to give him that.
But right then, I needed to help Griffin. I struck at the enemy nearest me, biting into his leg. The guy screamed as he turned his attention to me. He swung his knife toward my side, but Griffin attacked, sinking his teeth into the guy’s jugular. The man’s eyes widened as he dropped the knife and grasped his throat as if that was going to prevent the fatality of his injury.
The other man used our distraction to pick up his friend’s discarded knife. I released my hold, allowing Griffin to finish the job, and turned my attention to the uninjured guy, taking advantage of the angle and biting deep into his side. The wound reminded me of the one they’d given my father.
Poetic justice.
Griffin sniffed me over, focusing on my wound. His hazel eyes filled with concern as he nuzzled his head against me. His closeness centered me, bringing me back from the horrible memory. The comforting tug of our connection made me feel whole.
“Aw, how cute. You think you might actually win, but my men and I have been holding back.” Goatee croaked and waved to his men to come toward him as he stepped into view along with the remaining four men in human form and the lone wolf. “But this is over.” Blood trickled down his shirt, soaking it.
Killian growled and stepped in front of me, sides heaving. Griffin flanked my injured side, baring his teeth through the blood coating his muzzle. Those two were showing that they would protect me no matter the cost.
The two men that had been fighting Killian joined Goatee as they regrouped and stared us down. Each one tensed and poised, waiting for their instructions.
“Fuck the orders. Kill them.” Goatee glanced down at his fatal wound, and his nostrils flared. Pure hatred reflected as he locked eyes with me. “I want her to watch them die.”
At this moment, there were seven of them and only one wolf against our three. At the rate we were going, we could have kept chipping away at their numbers as long as we continued to hold on. But we’d foolishly given them time to regroup, and they circled us with weapons.
I shook my head no. I would do anything to be sure Griffin and Killian lived. At least, they would have a chance at happiness, and I’d figure out a way to escape. It might take days or months, but eventually, these people would let down their guard.
“No?” Goatee walked to me and grabbed my snout. “You going to behave then?” Griffin growled as he inched toward the prick.
“Don’t come another step closer or you’ll regret it,” Goatee threatened.
Griffin ignored him, but I bumped him away.
“I tried to warn you.” Goatee sighed as he wrapped his uninjured hand around my leg, jabbing a finger into the healing bullet hole.
Intense pain coursed through my body, and even in animal form, my stomach revolted from the intensity. A whimper wanted to escape, but I clamped it down, refusing to show weakness.
“I gotta say, I do enjoy that you force me to do these things.” Goatee smirked as the engine of a boat purred toward us. “You gave me a plausible excuse for my alpha when he demands to know why I had to do this to you.”
Dammit, the getaway vehicle was on its way. If we didn’t figure out something fast, then I’d be going with them.
Goatee dug his finger deeper into my wound, determined to make me cry out. He wanted these two guys to hear my pain. He was messing with me, trying to make me believe that they might get out alive if I cooperated.
Gathering all of my strength, I pushed back the pain and focused. That was when I realized that he’d actually opened himself up to an attack. He’d been banking on me being too overcome with pain to try to attack him.
Arrogance was a blessing.
I bit into the shoulder of the arm he had wrapped around me and shredded his skin, biting as deep as possible. This time, he couldn’t ignore it, and his hand slipped out of my wound as he yelled and jerked forward, trying to stick the bloody finger into my eye.
“Jimmy,” one of his men called out. “What do we do?”
Their uncertainty fueled my adrenaline, and I bulldozed him over onto his back, knocking the breath out of him.
A loud howl hurt my ears as I watched Griffin attack one of the enemies who was holding a gun.
The weapon fell, and when the guy reached down to get it, Griffin lunged, slashing his teeth through the back of the guy’s neck with a sickening cracking noise. The guy crumbled.
Goatee used my distraction against me as his finger connected with my eye. As the pressure increased, my heart sank, and I realized that I could lose my eye.
Killian attacked another man with a gun while Griffin ran toward me.
I hated that he was running to me instead of attacking the other guard, but right now, I was at a huge disadvantage, and the guard seemed confused as to whether he should help Goatee or fight Griffin.
The boat motor grew louder, and the pungent smell of gas wafted around us. It was that damn close.
“Shoot her other leg before she kills me.” Goatee cried as his voice began to slur from blood loss. His finger’s pressure reduced on my eye as his strength finally began to fade. “Now!”
The gun clicked as it was cocked, and I braced for the pain. I only hoped that the guy missed his mark and killed me.
Death would be more welcome than living through whatever they planned to do to me.
A loud, heartbreaking howl pummeled my ears as Griffin jumped in front of me.
No, what was he doing? The guy was going to shoot!
As the gun fired, I jerked away from Goatee, desperate to get Griffin out of the way. Considering the angle at which the enemy guard was trying to shoot me and the way Griffin landed in front of me, it would be a kill shot for him.
But my legs fell out from under me, and Griffin’s wolfish body took the bullet in his chest. The momentum knocked him backward, and he fell hard next to my legs.