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She knew Ronnetta was alone in the living room, facing God-only-knows how many enemies. Lillian was desperate to help her friend. Ronnetta had stuck by her in her time of need, and now she would do the same.
The sound of a window breaking made her jump as she crept steadily down the hallway. There was no one in sight, but she could hear muffled voices coming from nearby.
She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it wasn’t Ronnetta talking. It was definitely male voices.
She knew Oliver was outside, she had seen his car approach. But there was no way she’d be able to hold her own outdoors. There were far too many shifters. It was a bloody mess out there.
Hoping he was all right, she continued to creep down the long hallway. The moment she was outside the doorway to the living room, she leaned against the wall, heart beating madly in her chest, and took a deep breath.
All of a sudden, she heard Ronnetta yell. Clothes ripped as bears shifted, followed by snarls and growls.
A bear came flying through the hallway, and Lillian used every ounce of strength to hit it over the head. Much to her surprise, the giant animal collapsed, blood oozing from a wound on the top of his head.
She stepped over the body and entered the room. Ronnetta was in her bear form, fighting off four shifters. She was winning the battle, which surprised Lillian.
With her cast iron clutched firmly in her hand, she attacked. She slammed the pan against the shoulder of another one of the bears. That decision was both unwise and ill-conceived, considering the bear she attacked turned furious eyes on her and roared in her face.
Her victory the first time gave her a false sense of ability. She figured if she could take on one, she could take them all. It was a misleading sense of conquest.
The bear rounded on her and prepared to attack. Through the open window that had shattered earlier, a cougar flew in, claws out and hissing its vehemence. It landed with a scream on the bear’s back and tore into its neck.
The moment the massive brown animal was down, the cougar rounded and turned to help Ronnetta. They fought with nails and fangs, hissing and spitting, snarling and growling.
The cougar sustained a swipe to its back but, with Ronnetta’s help, managed to kill the four remaining bears. As soon as the last bear’s body hit the ground, Ronnetta and the cougar turned toward the broken window and stood in front of Lillian, guarding her.
With her trusty frying pan, she stood in the back, waiting for whatever was to come. She couldn’t see much with Ronnetta standing in front of her. The massive bear blocked her from view and blocked her view from the violent ongoings outside.
Lillian didn’t necessarily think that was a bad thing. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to see the carnage that was waging outdoors. She could hear it loud and clear, and that was enough.
The screams and hisses of the cougars were worse than the low growls of the bears. To Lillian, the sounds coming from the massive cats were exactly what she expected. They were glorious in their ability to pounce and hang on.
Their fangs were easily two inches long and sharper than a razor. They tore through skin and bone easily, and they were killed without mercy. The bears were equally as ruthless, although they didn’t play with their prey. Their massive teeth clamped down on their enemies’ throats and killed them quickly.
Just once, Lillian peeked around Ronnetta. She saw blood spray into the air. With a little gasp, she pulled back, vowing not to look again.
The fighting seemed to go on for hours. Lillian was fairly certain it would never end. She couldn’t imagine the body count.
Who would Oliver lose? What if Ronnetta lost her husband? The thought made Lillian ill. She brought a knuckled fist to her mouth to stifle the bile that rose in her throat. The last thing she could bear to think about was those she loved losing more.
It was too much. That’s when the tears begin to creep down her cheeks. She brushed them away angrily and wished there was more she could do to help. She wished she was strong enough to fight.
But she knew Oliver was out there, and if she stepped out from behind Ronnetta and walked into the battle, it would cause a major distraction that could get him or others killed for no reason. She decided it would be better to stay put.
Even though the thought of being useless caused her major distress to her person. At that point, what could be done? With a sigh and another gush of tears, she stood trembling behind the massive animal form of Ronnetta and the sleek shape of the giant cat.
All at once, a massive roar sounded outside, and with it came a deafening but sullen silence. Ronnetta turned her massive, brown, shaggy head to look down at Lillian and nodded once. It was her way of communicating to Lillian that the battle was over.
Relief, to some degree, seeped into her veins. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the casualty count, but at least no one else would die. Ronnetta stepped aside, and Lillian looked up to see Oliver walking toward her.
With a sob, she ran and threw herself into his open arms. His embrace was a refuge, a safe haven from all the violence and destruction that had gone on around her.
There was blood, both dried and fresh, dripping down his side. Some of it was his, some of it not. There were teeth marks on his shoulder and a gash down the length of his arm, and he walked with a slight limp. But he was alive.
“Oh, God, Oliver!” she sobbed.
“It’s all right, baby. I’m here. It’s going to be okay. Everything’s okay.”
He held her while she cried, his arms like a warm cocoon of comfort around her. “I love you, Oliver. I’m so relieved you’re okay.”
