Trevor would have given anything to have his normal SIG 10mm with him, but bringing a handgun hadn’t been an option for the trip out here, even if he had thought about needing one. Normally, not having a weapon wouldn’t have been a major problem. As a werewolf, he came equipped with his own weapons.
Unfortunately, with Jenna right beside him and the unhoused woman in the creature’s grasp, it wasn’t like he could wolf out right there in the middle of the alley. He glanced around, looking for something he could use as a weapon, but didn’t see anything.
As if the creature knew exactly how limitedTrevor’s options were at the moment, it began to drag the struggling woman farther down the alley, ignoring her futile punches and kicks.
“Stay back,” he said over his shoulder to Jenna, praying she paid attention to him this time.
Then he was off and running, charging forward at full speed. Well, as fast as he could go without shifting. He slowed just long enough to scoop up the heavy piece of wood lying on the ground in his path. It wasn’t much, but the makeshift stake was the only thing in the alley that even came close to a weapon.
The creature must have taken Trevor’s charge seriously because it tossed its would-be victim aside like a rag doll and moved to close the distance between them. At the same time, it spread its long, muscular arms wide and let loose a gut-twisting shriek that reverberated off the buildings to either side, echoing back at them over and over again.
Trevor launched himself at the creature, coming in high as he brought the wooden stake down toward the thing’s chest. He didn’t like the idea of taking out a living thing he knew absolutely nothing about, but the creature’s actions in regard to the woman had clearly been harmful. Trevor couldn’t take the chance of letting this thing go.
The creature tried to slash him on the way down but missed. Trevor’s stake didn’t, the roughly shaped point striking dead center in the middle of its chestwith all the force his werewolf-enhanced strength could apply. The piece of wood, as blunt as it was, should have still pierced right through the creature’s chest and come out the other side. Instead, it shattered into a dozen splinters right in Trevor’s hand, not even scratching its pale and mottled skin.
He and the creature went down in a pile of limbs, the thing slashing out at him with claws that whistled as they cleaved the air. Trevor got an arm up just in time to block the incoming blow, and the move damn near broke his bones.
A punch to the creature’s face felt like hitting a brick wall, with no damage to show for it. In desperation, he shoved against the thing’s chest, sending it flying, only to see the creature bounce gracefully off the nearest wall to land on all fours a little farther down the alley. The thing’s lips pulled back from its fangs once again, almost as if it was challenging Trevor to try again.
Trevor jumped to his feet, his back to Jenna and the injured woman she was dragging to safety. Realizing he was going to have to do something extreme to stop this thing, he let his body partially shift, fangs elongating and claws extending. He let out a low growl as the muscles of his shoulders and arms spasmed, twisting as they attempted to gain a drastically different form. The sound rumbled up softly through his chest, but he had no doubt the creature heard it.
The creature took a step back, eyes widening in alarm and confusion. Trevor knew his eyes were blazing yellow gold by now, which undoubtedly made him appear even more intimidating.
After another low growl from Trevor, the creature turned and ran.
“Stay with the woman,” Trevor shouted at Jenna, not daring to look over his shoulder at her because he was afraid that she’d see his fangs in the dim light.
Without another word, he took off running, letting his nose lead him as he chased after the creature. Now that he didn’t have an audience, Trevor could use his size, strength, and claws to deal with this thing.
The creature was unbelievably fast, leaping over dumpsters and piles of trash, bouncing off walls like some kind of parkour athlete. Whenever its claws hit brick or concrete, they scored long tracks in it, and all Trevor could imagine was what those claws would do to his flesh. Which prompted the question, what the hell was he going to do if he caught the damn thing?
That question was answered for him soon enough. One second, he and the creature were sprinting down a side street, and the next, the thing jumped into a hole in the ground and disappeared. Trevor didn’t even slow to consider if following it was a good idea. He simply leaped into the hole and hoped for the best.
He landed in a pile of soggy cardboard and kept going, continuing the pursuit through the pitch-black tunnel. Even down in a sewer filled with stagnant water and worse, his nose could still pick up the creature’s scent.
The trail ended at a small, jagged hole in the floor a few hundred feet later. Trevor would have thought someone made it with a jackhammer if it weren’t for the claw marks gouged into the floor. Crap. The creature had dug this getaway hole through reinforced concrete. He knelt down and shoved his head through the hole in the floor, not sure how the creature had fit through it. But the strong smell of oily musk coming from the opening confirmed it had.
The passage below the sewer was narrow and roughly hewn out of the stone, concrete, and dirt there. Trevor would have fit but would have had to crawl on his hands and knees the whole time. Not the position he wanted to be in if that creature came at him again.
Knowing it would be stupid beyond measure to keep going after the creature in its own backyard, Trevor retracted his fangs and claws, then turned and headed back the way he’d come.
It took him a lot longer to get back to the alley off Winston Street than he would have liked. He hadn’t realized he’d chased the creature for so long, and by the time he picked up Jenna’s scent, it wassurrounded by several others. Whoever they were, their presence made her heart beat faster. Trevor could almost feel her panic.
Adrenaline surging through his veins, he forced himself to keep his fangs and claws in check as he sprinted the rest of the way.
Four people were arrayed around Jenna as she knelt beside the injured woman. The new arrivals—two men and two women—were dressed like something out of aMad Maxmovie, right down to the heavy biker boots, leather pants, and black dusters that hung down below their knees. They were hounding Jenna and the woman with endless stupid questions about what they’d seen as one of the men pointed a video camera in their direction. The panic was clear on Jenna’s face, and she looked like she might start hyperventilating any minute.
Trevor didn’t think. He simply reacted.
Closing the distance between them, he shoved the two men away from Jenna and the injured woman. Even though both men were clearly startled, the guy with the camera got himself together enough to point it at Trevor while the other guy shoved a microphone toward him, getting in his face and asking who he was and what his connection was to theSkid Row Screamer.
Deciding he really didn’t like either of these guys, Trevor reached out and grabbed the one near him, shoving him and his stupid camera toward theclosest dumpster. He would have put himinthe dumpster but decided at the last second that might be a bit much.
Turning, Trevor knocked the microphone out of his face and got a handful of the second man’s duster, ready to toss the jackass across the alley, but then Jenna was by his side, putting a calming hand on his shoulder.
“Trevor, stop,” she said softly, her voice immediately penetrating the shroud of anger that had enveloped him. “It’s okay. I know them. They can be a nuisance sometimes, but they’re harmless.”
Trevor didn’t release his hold on the man’s duster. While he wasn’t sure the guy and his friends were as harmless as Jenna claimed, he’d give her the benefit of the doubt. Loosening his grip, Trevor let the jerk go with just the slightest nudge backward. The man immediately lifted the microphone again, but Trevor stopped him with a single uplifted finger.
