The second hyena got in close, its jaws snapping at Reese’s throat. Teeth scraped across his fur but couldn’t find purchase. Reese dropped his weight onto the creature, using his mass to pin it to the concrete. The hyena thrashed underneath him, its claws raking across Reese’s side. Pain bloomed hot and immediate, but his bear barely registered it.
Reese’s jaws found the hyena’s throat and tore it out. The creature’s struggles weakened then stopped entirely. Reese released him and turned toward the next threat.
Grayson was a golden blur of violence, his lion tearing through hyenas with ruthless efficiency. Blood matted his mane, made his coat slick and dark. Three bodies lay at his paws, their forms twisted and broken. A fourth hyena tried to flee, but Grayson’s jaws closed around its back leg, dragging it down. The crack of breaking bone echoed across the pavement.
Movement on the roof caught Reese’s attention. Malik, in cheetah form, was perched above the warehouse entrance, picking off hyenas trying to escape through the upper windows. Bodies fell from the roof, hitting the concrete with wet thuds. The cheetah’s speed made Malik nearly impossible to track, a golden streak against the dark sky.
Colton emerged from the shadows, his panther dragging a dead hyena by its throat. He dropped it onto the growing pile and turned back toward the side entrance.
More were inside.
More needed to die.
Reese entered through the front door, his bear’s senses overwhelmed by the stench of the place. Blood and terror and unwashed bodies. Fighting rings took up most of the warehouse floor, makeshift arenas surrounded by chain-link fencing. Empty cages lined the walls, stained with dried blood and other fluids Reese didn’t want to identify.
This was where they’d kept the dogs. It was most likely the same setup where Delilah and Hercules were forced to fight for entertainment. The thought made Reese’s rage burn hotter, made his bear thirst for more blood.
A hyena charged from the left, wielding a metal pipe. The weapon caught Reese across the shoulder, pain exploding through his front leg. His bear stumbled, momentarily off balance. The hyena raised the pipe for another strike.
Not happening, asshole.
Reese’s jaws closed around the man’s arm before the blow could land. He bit down hard, crushing bones like dry twigs. The pipe clattered to the floor. The hyena screamed, trying to pull away, but Reese’s canines were locked in. He shook his head violently, the way a dog would shake a toy, only this toy lost his arm.
The hyena fell backward, his high and panicked screams echoing off the warehouse walls. Reese stepped over him, leaving the man to bleed out on the concrete.
There were more important targets.
Three hyenas were in the far corner. Reese’s claws raked across the first hyenas belly, spilling guts onto the concrete.
The second hyena, its spotted coat bristling with aggression, lunged at Reese, jaws snapping at his throat. Reese caught it mid-leap, his larger mass slamming the creature into the chain-link fence. The metal bent under the impact. The hyena’s ribs cracked, its breathing going ragged.
The hyenas had wanted to see a fight. Reese was gladly giving them one. Minus innocent dogs. Just a bear on a warpath, eliminating multiple threats.
How does it feel being the main event for once?
His jaws found the back of the hyena’s head and crushed down.. He released the creature, and it slid down the fence, eyes unmoving.
The third hyena tried to run. Not tonight. Reese caught it before it made it three steps, dragging the creature backward. It clawed at the concrete in a futile attempt to escape. Reese ended the struggle. Permanently.
The warehouse was quiet. Reese stood in the center of the carnage, sides heaving with exertion. Blood covered surfaces, pooling on the concrete, bodies scattered across the floor.
Grayson padded through the entrance, his lion form equally covered in blood. Colton and Malik joined them moments later. The silence was absolute.
A door at the back of the warehouse creaked open. The bastard who’d come to the house, who’d tried to kill him and Sonny, stood there with a gun clutched in one hand.
The weapon fired. The sound was deafening in the enclosed space. Pain exploded in Reese’s shoulder. His bear stumbled, but the hyena fired again, the second shot catching Reese in the side.
Grayson roared and charged. The hyena swung the gun toward the lion, but Colton was faster. The panther’s sleek form tackled the hyena from the side, both of them crashing into the wall. The gun skittered across the floor, forgotten.
Hell no. This was Reese’s kill.
He forced himself forward, despite the pain radiating from his wounds.
The guy shifted, his hyena form larger and more muscular than the rest.
He was the alpha. The one in charge of the operation.
The alpha faced off against Colton, jaws snapping, claws raking. The panther was faster, but the hyena was stronger. They circled each other, both looking for an opening.
