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They shifted once again into their powerful animals and growled in unison, rising on their hind legs in the traditional form of celebration. When they landed on all fours, they turned their attention back to the remaining enemies that still fought …three men shooting blindly around a corner.
The clan had narrowed in on them, a few of them having taken hits from the stray bullets and retreating back into the shadows for recovery.
The group fused as one, merging in a charge with Hudson at the head of the pack. The expressions on the faces of the men who continued shooting at them were filled with utter terror. Hudson could see the shadow of death in their eyes before it had the chance to swallow them whole. It made him feel even more powerful and bloodthirsty.
All at once, their fangs and claws protruded, striking the throats of the men in a single quick swipe. Blood spurted out like a fountain, various shades blending together like the horizon at dawn. Death masks lulled them into silence, their bodies and guns clattering to the floor with a smash.
Then, an eerie silence coated the facility. For a fraction of a moment, Hudson thought all was well. Then a blaring shriek screamed through the PA system, accompanied by a shrill alarm spinning with an ominous red glow.
“Self-destruction mode activated. T-minus three minutes until implementation.”
Hudson and Logan looked at each other, and then Hudson roared orders to his clan to retreat, to save themselves, fear taking over like the rush of a horrible drug.
Bears rushed through the halls, searching for exits.
A countdown blared overhead, time sliding away like sand inching through an hourglass. Hudson’s mind was a carousel, unable to think clearly but needing to act even faster.
That was when he saw Nora dart past him and through a door that had Surgery One on it. He poked his head in and saw her vault up the steps toward a door without looking back. She pushed her way inside where a man stood, trying to shove his way past her.
The man wasn’t much, but he was determined. Nora braced herself, blocking him. Then the man promptly slapped her, the sound ringing out with stinging force.
Hudson sprinted into the room as Nora delivered a solid uppercut to the man’s chin. The two stumbled through the entrance, the door slamming shut behind them.
Hudson heard the crash as the duo fell to the ground. He was entirely too big to fit through the door in his bear form, and he had no time to calm down enough to shift back. He knocked the door open with his head, spotting Nora straddling the man with his arms pinned over his head and her hand on his crotch.
She screamed at him next to a control console. Hudson’s heart was riveted.
“What is the code? Tell me now, you piece of shit!”
The man screamed as she tightened her fist around his balls, initiating a mewling sound akin to a donkey being branded.
Hudson snapped to look at the digital countdown high on the wall.
“T-minus thirty seconds.”
Nora gritted her teeth and squeezed harder. The man screamed out in the most intense pain he had heard a human express. It was like she was ripping his nails out from the cuticle, or more accurately, testicles from his body.
“Now or we all die," she yelled, her voice peppered with sorrow.
The man spoke finally, his voice blubbering with anguish and agony. He gave her the code, and Nora leapt off his body, slamming his head against the ground for good measure. She frantically searched the panel for the numerical buttons, typed in the code with trembling hands, and ripped the key from its slot.
Everything once more went silent, but it no longer felt ghastly. It was the type of silence that washed over a field after a snowstorm, like tranquility and divine stillness.
The number one flashed on the digital countdown. Nora stood there, panting, sweat beading her head and body like tiny glassy raindrops.
If Hudson could smile in his bear form, he would.
Nora sank to her knees, her entire body crashing. She began to weep with joy, as well as the grief that had carried her to him, the grief that she had held inside her body for far too long.
Hudson shifted and ran into the control room. He restrained the doctor first, then scooped Nora into his arms.
She writhed against him with unleashed relief. He went to his knees and rocked her back and forth, amazed by the power of such a small person, blessed by the vulnerability she was sharing with him at that moment.
“You are safe now,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “Hannah is safe. You saved us all, Nora. Fuck, you're incredible.”
He let her cry on his bare skin for as long as she needed. He whispered words of kindness and tenderness. He would hold the weight of the world for her. That was what they would be for each other.
Eventually, she quieted, and he kissed the stains of tears from her gorgeous face.
