Oath Sworn - K.N. Banet Page 0,24

other two tried to pull me off. I made sure it was dead with a hard shake, breaking the neck of the wolf. I felt good now, blood in my mouth, my vision sharp.

I spun and grabbed another, who was too slow to get away now. It must have been one of the wolves I had already injured. I tore open its gut, roaring in satisfaction.

A scream was the only thing that pulled me out of the blood haze I was in. Carey. I had to get to Carey. Where was that wolf in human form?

Releasing the wolf without killing him, I just ran, heading for the staircase. I barreled up it, ignoring the hounds on my tail. I slammed into my apartment to see Carey trying to pull away from the werewolf holding her. With a snarl, I leapt, tackling the fool still not in his fur. They should have killed me before trying to take the girl.

Not her! She’s mine!

He was dead on impact with the floor, but that didn’t stop me from tearing him open, blood going everywhere. I even swallowed a piece of meat, just to prove my point to the wolves that followed me into the room. This was my girl and they were lunch if they didn’t start running.

Idiots never run, though, and I was fine with that. They both jumped for me, snarling as they realized their mission was a loss unless they ended this now. Carey was still screaming, therefore I still had a cub to protect. Nothing was going to take that cub from me.

It lasted only seconds. I met one of the wolves in the air, and it didn’t stand a chance. I was able to get my fangs into its gut and take it to the ground, ripping it open with a satisfied snarl. The second wolf jumped on my back, a safe place normally, but now there was nothing to stop me from rolling, forcing it off before my weight crushed it.

When it was off, I jumped back to my feet and went for it, so fast that it didn’t seem to have the time to react. Furniture was knocked around as I tore it open and half played with the body, making sure it was dead.

Panting, I realized I had won. I never thought I would lose, but there was always a pause at the end of a fight to breathe and take stock. I could feel the blood dripping from my jaws, hear it hitting the floor. I could hear the sobs of a little girl and turned, seeing her huddled in the corner of my living room. Her grey-blue eyes were wide with a petrified fear I understood but could do nothing about yet. I couldn’t shift with a silver bullet lodged in me, which meant there was no comforting the girl.

I sniffed around and found the gun, nudging it to her. She was shaking like a leaf but I needed her. I needed her to help me so I could help her. She was watching my every movement, which meant I at least had her attention, which was good. Then I went into the bathroom and gingerly pulled open one of the ground level cabinets and pulled out my first aid kit. It would have what she needed to get the bullet out. I just hope she understood the message I was trying to send her. I dropped it at her feet and took a moment to sniff her. There was so much blood in the room and on me that it was a bit amazing I could smell anything, but I needed to know if any of it was hers. Once I was satisfied she wasn’t truly harmed, I sat back and angled so she could see the bullet wound. I made a pitiful noise, hoping to garner any amount of sympathy from her to get moving and help me out.

It worked. She blinked twice and opened her mouth before closing it again. She grabbed the first aid kit and looked down at it, as if she was realizing what it was.

“The gunshot,” she said softly. “Oh! They shot you!”

I bobbed my big head and tried to nod towards the hole. It was on my left shoulder and I was hoping she could see it. I was probably covered in claw marks and bite wounds, but a bullet hole looks different from those.

“You…Oh. Okay. I’ve never done this. I don’t know if I