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Theo
The shifters who had been at eating at the bar left a few minutes before we did. I didn’t think anything of them, until we stepped out into the parking lot.
“I think you have someone that belongs with us,” The beefy one with dark hair and menacing eyes says as he steps around a silver van to stand in front of our group. The other guy, who is slightly smaller but just as muscled, steps behind us, a small canister gripped in his hand.
“Stop the games, Mike and just take her,” The second guy says. “The Master wants her back with as little fuss as possible.”
Beefy glares at the other guy. “Fine.” He reaches past me to grab Rebby’s arm and I lash out, my claws partially shifting to gouge his arm.
“She isn’t going with you,” I growl. I can’t shift here and reveal our presence to the non-shifters. Good old-fashioned fighting and claws will have to do.
“Look, we don’t want any problems. She needs to come with us, for her own good.” Beefy smiles, but it never meets his eyes. “Plus, you don’t want questions asked, do you? Like why so many of you come out to the Reserve the same time every month? Maybe a photographer will accidentally make it onto your lands...”
I growl and have to fight to keep my wolf from taking over and shifting. “They wouldn’t last a second. The pack would deal with them. Now let us by.” I try to push past him, but his large fist jabs at my face, causing me to jerk back. I can feel Rebby behind me; her breathing is elevated, and she scents of fear. Can’t blame her, facing going back to that place.
“Leave us alone! I’m not going back!” Rebby screams. Her hands touching my back as I shield her from Beefy’s hands.
“You’re not taking her!” I snarl, as I partially shift, claws ripping through the skin on my hands. I hold on by a thread as I swipe out with a clawed hand, ripping through Beefy’s shirt and slicing his chest. He hisses and jumps back, then swings out with his leg, catching me in the side.
A third man steps out from behind the silver van. I notice him in my peripheral vision, but I can’t take my eyes off Beefy. Even that little bit of distraction has Beefy landing a hit on my jaw that throws my head back and has me biting my tongue. Hot, coppery blood fills my mouth. My canines lengthen, and I snarl, my wolf about to come out. At this moment I am more wolf than human.
Rebby’s scream turns my blood to ice and I panic. We might practice fighting in the pack, but it is more to get aggression and energy out than to cause real pain. This is my first fight where something besides being called the winner matters, and I fear I am losing.
I swing at Beefy and he just laughs as he bats my hand down, then his other fist meets my temple and I go down. The lights around me dim, everything sounds like it is through a tunnel and my stomach is threatening to expel my lunch.
Spray hits my face and as I breathe in I start screaming and clawing as the pepper burns my nostrils and tears pour down my face.
“That should prevent them following us for a little while. Burns their olfactory senses for an hour or more. We will be back at the compound by then.”
***
Rebby
I STAND IN SHOCK, NOT taking in what is happening around me. What do these guys mean, come with them? Then it hits me. They are from the compound. I start screaming, my lungs are the only thing that seem to be working. The rest of me is frozen in place as panic courses through me. I can’t go back there.
Why is no one coming to help us? My eyes move rapidly from Theo to Tristan, both fighting with all they have, and then I see him. The sliding door on the van opens and a man steps out. He looks like he could double as a linebacker for the local football team, and I don’t mean the high school one. He must weigh at least 250 and that is not pudge, but pure muscle. He stalks towards me, arm outstretched, but my opportunity to run is gone.
His hand closes over my upper arm, spinning me around so that my back is to his chest. He picks me up, my feet kicking uselessly as he carries me to the van.
“Theo! Tristan!” I finally do something besides scream.
“Shut up! Unless you want me to tape that pretty mouth of yours shut.” Linebacker glares at me. In every movie and book that they use duct tape, it always seems painful to be ripped off. I am not into pain for pain’s sake, so I shut up, though I can’t help the occasional whimper.
I gasp as the man that Tristan had been fighting pulls a canister and sprays him in the face. Tristan screams and drops to the ground, his hands covering his face. The man walks over to Theo, who is down on the ground shaking his head, and sprays the solution in his face. He drops the spray bottle on the ground and walks to the car.
“Let’s get her back to the Master. He can deal with her.” Theo’s attacker gets behind the wheel. My eyes are glued to Tristan and Theo as the van backs up to leave. They blur as tears fill my eyes. They fought for me!