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And learn, he had.
That night was a hunt like any other. There was a small cluster of seemingly rogue wolves causing havoc in the woods on the outskirts of town. So far, they'd attacked three hikers, as well as a woman in a parking lot outside a rural diner on the very edge of the woods. It was the first time I had taken Eddie so far outside the city, and while he had grown comfortable enough with the concrete jungle, the forests posed their own unique challenges.
The night air was electric, and while there had been no sign of the wolves that had last been sighted near the entrance to the national park, I knew better than to think that meant we were alone.
"Stay close," I warned Eddie. He didn't say anything, so I looked over at him and frowned when I saw the look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said in the tone he always used when he was lying.
I narrowed my eyes and stopped walking, turning him to face me. He looked flushed, and while he hadn't exactly been a bundle of energy earlier, he definitely looked rougher now. When I put my hand against his forehead, his skin was clammy to the touch.
"You're burning up," I muttered. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"
"I wasn't when we left," he replied. "And I'm fine. Let's just do this."
I was about to respond when I heard a low rumbling coming from the woods. Of course. I drew my rifle and peered through the scope, scanning the tree line for any sign of movement.
“Keep behind me,” I ordered before continuing forward. I couldn’t hear anything else, and his hearing was admittedly sharper than mine, but there was no telling how him being sick would affect that. A sick hunter was nothing more than a liability, even if I had gone out sick plenty of times. I never claimed to be anything other than a hypocrite.
Just when I was ready to double back and call for backup, I heard a twig snap a few yards to my right, and another sound straight ahead.
“Shit,” I muttered, looking through the scope again just in time to spot a blur of dark fur shooting through the trees.
“I’ll take the right,” Eddie said. By the time I looked up, he was already headed in that direction.
I started to go after him until a howl in the distance split the night air. It wasn’t the first time we had split up on a mission, and according to the scout, they were just regular shifters, but still…
I cursed under my breath and kept moving forward, determined to take out the first wolf and go after him. If he couldn’t hold his own for a few minutes, I had failed him anyway, and in a matter of days, he would have the autonomy to go out on his own if he chose.
It didn’t take long before I picked up on the wolf’s trail. There were faint traces of blood in the brush, but it smelled human and if it was still wet, that meant the fuckers had probably gotten in another kill while we were en route.
I lost the trail at a small creek and scaled the nearest tree to get a better view. As I scanned the forest floor through my scope from my perch halfway up the large oak, I caught sight of dark brown fur peeking through the bowing brush.
“There you are,” I muttered under my breath, squeezing my finger around the trigger and taking the shot the moment it was clear. I heard a yelp as the wolf’s trail through the brush came to an end, and the beast collapsed on the forest floor.
One down…
I looked around hoping to get a bead on Eddie, but there was no sign of him. I took out my binoculars for a better look, but while I was still searching, a familiar pained cry echoed through the forest and my heart stopped in my chest.
Eddie!
I leaped down and rushed in the direction of the cry. The sounds of a scuffle told me I was close. I was prepared to shoot when I came upon the scene, but it wasn’t what I had expected.
Eddie was face-down in the dirt, his primary gun lying a few feet away in the grass and the other on his hip, which was inaccessible considering that a massive alpha shifter was on top of him, his claws digging into Eddie's back hard enough that four red stains were forming on the back of his shirt. The beast's nose was buried in his throat, sniffing violently. There was another alpha close by, circling like he was ready to go in for the kill.
Shit.
I took aim through my scope, but there was no way I could get a clean shot without too great of a risk that I'd hit Eddie. I watched in horror as he struggled, and the alpha on top of him dragged its claws down his back, tearing off most of his clothing in a single swipe. The marks in his back became slashes, and he cried out in pain as the beast's massive clawed hand closed around his throat. It became clear from its movements, and the way the other alpha was leaning in close, breathing in his scent, they weren't planning on killing him. Not yet, at any rate.
Rage washed through me anew as their true intentions hit me, and the second I got a clean shot on the alpha that had him in its grasp, I took it, firing a silver bullet directly through its temple and out the other side. The beast seized up, as if it didn't know what hit it, before collapsing on top of Eddie. That was just as well, since its body would provide cover.
I took another shot at the other alpha, which was already snarling and looking into the woods for the source of the gunshot. The bullet missed as it lunged at the same moment, but at least its attention was off Eddie. I swung my rifle over my back and drew the blade at my side, ready to intercept it.
The creature lunged and cleared the entire distance between us, and I let it take me down, thrusting up with the blade and directly into its jugular. I yanked the serrated blade hard, tearing it open from the center of its throat to its chest right as its fangs sank into my shoulder.
Fuck!
A cry of anger and pain tore from my chest as I thrashed out of the beast's grasp. Its jaws were locked even as it collapsed on me, so I had to tear the wounds its fangs had left in me. I shoved it off me and it rolled onto the grass, its head hitting the earth with a heavy thump.
