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My eyes widened.
No, please…
I couldn’t find her. I couldn’t even sense her presence. That luscious invitation of lilacs didn’t linger in the air nor did the familiar musk of my offspring. Neither of them was outside of the cabin.
Which meant they had to be inside.
The stairs of the porch hardly slowed my pace as I raced toward the open window. Shards of glass decorated the wooden planks, stinging my paws while I rushed to find my family, my only source of happiness on this earth. The longer it took to find them, the harder my heart beat and the redder my vision became.
Come on, don’t hide from me, I begged as I searched the living room.Where are you? Tell me where you are!
Charlotte’s voice came as clear as day in my mind,Outside!
My claws scratched the tile as I slammed my shoulder into the rear door. The wood splintered under my assault until the door finally gave way to the backyard where my world came spinning to a halt.
And I couldn’t remember what I did next.
Chapter 8 - Charlotte
Pain radiated in my right side as a vampire collided with my wolf form. Darkness clouded the yard, nearly blotting out the little sun lamps decorating the area. No ordinary shadows could have done that. These vampires were receiving a magical boost. The jovial twinkle of the lamps, however small, contrasted with the wretched horror erupting around us as Henry yipped fearfully behind me. He could only do so much in his wolf form.
But he sure was trying to be menacing.
This can’t be happening. Thisisn’thappening. Why the hell did Adam leave us behind like that?
The type of fear that rose within me rivaled that of my most terrifying nightmares. Children were never in the cards for me. That had always been my strongest belief. I never thought myself capable of defending such a small creature, one that could be harmed so easily without intervention. My best training methods couldn’t have possibly prepared even the most dedicated kid for the bloodiness of this war.
Yet with Henry, every fiber of my being committed to preventing his injury. Call it instinct or whatever. It didn’t matter. All that kept my attention was the onslaught of vampires pouring from the trees like serpents slithering through a garden teeming with juicy rats.
Oh gods, we’re the rats, I thought while gnashing my jaws. Saliva dripped from my gums as I backed toward Henry to keep him guarded.They’re the snakes sent to devour us. We’re going to die here.
As my eyes scanned the area, I noticed a pattern. The vampires came in pairs without too much backup. It seemed like every time I took a couple of them down, more came in their wake. If I kept the two in front of me busy, then maybe I could prevent more from coming.
But what about the other side? Was there a whole flock? Or were these stragglers from the point of invasion?
Who cares? I have to fight.
The two vampires lunged at the same time, their shiny weapons reflecting the light bathing this part of the yard from the kitchen window. The yellow square illuminated the vampire's next steps, providing me extra time to prepare as my night vision took over. Behind me, Henry proceeded to howl loudly. I assumed he was calling for his father.
Once I had a vampire’s neck between my teeth, the other vampire swooped toward Henry. Like a dog chewing on the wrong toy, I dropped the vampire from my jaws and dove for Henry.
You won’t get away with this!
It was useless to scream in my head, but what other choice did I have? I was alone with a young kid who didn’t know enough about fighting in his wolf form to defend himself. While I wanted to shift back into my human body to wield my daggers, I knew the time it would take to do that would be wasteful.
Henry might die by the time I grabbed my knives.
We’re not going to end like this. We can’t, I insisted while snapping my teeth at the persistent vampires.It’s not fair.
Growls and barks erupted from the woods. The two vampires pivoted toward the noise, providing me three precious seconds to make a decision. As cowardly as it felt, I clenched Henry’s scruff between my teeth and launched in the opposite direction, rounding the right side of the cabin. The front yard wasn’t any better, inspiring me to continue in a giant circle.
One giant leap over the porch steps put me in front of the living room window. I crashed through without thinking about it, skittering through the house without a plan of action. This wasn’t like me. I was never caught unaware.
But there were too many vampires. And I had a kid to protect.
Still, maybe I could confuse those blood-sucking jerks if I trailed our scent through the cabin. After sprinting through every room, I high-tailed it through the backdoor—quite literally—and darted into the backyard.
Charlotte?
