Bennett - Milly Taiden Page 0,49

For Vance. For Corey and Stuart.

Men with guns were firing at him and Dakota. A few others had made their way to the perimeter and were lying on their backs, clamping their injured and burned hands and arms.

There was only one way to describe the scene. It was a bloodbath.

Both sides were relentless. Bennett was sure they were going to win.

And that’s when it happened.

A huge hunting knife met with his soft underbelly. He cried out in pain, rolling across the way. Blood was steadily pouring out of him. He couldn’t decide what hurt more. A few gunshots, or being gutted. He lay there, panting. Every time he tried to get up again, his legs would give out. He could see Dakota and Vance still fighting for their lives, for the protection of the house and what it represented: the serum and his two friends.

Bennett laid his head down on the ground, deciding to close his eyes just for a few moments. Maybe if he could rest, he would be able to heal enough to continue on. Pain exploded in every part of his body. He growled, willing it to go away. Just long enough to recuperate.

There’s no time for that, a voice said to him in his head. You have to get up. I am here with you.

Bennett couldn’t move. He didn’t know how anymore. His entire body was in too much pain.

No. There is no more pain. Get up. Fight. You are the strength you need. Our mate needs us.

As if on cue, he heard Dakota’s roar. Was it true? Did she need him? Of course she did. She was in a fight for her life. Bennett got to his feet and staggered.

It was then he noticed that his paw was no longer orange, white, and black. It was pure black and much more defined. He opened his mouth, and a howl came out of his mouth.

We are a wolf. Now run. Fight for your pack.

Bennett wouldn’t be told twice. He didn’t know what had happened to the wound in his side, but he had changed from a tiger to a wolf. Feline to canine, as if it were no big deal.

His wolf was lean and ferocious. Ideal for stealth attacks on the remaining attackers. He tore at limbs, broke guns in half with a jaw he had no idea could be so powerful. He felt invincible.

Then it happened. A long howl overtook him, and he looked up to the sky, shouting out a primal call, telling the intruders to fuck off before he killed even more of them. It was a perfect haunting sound. The attackers froze in their assault at the echoing noise. It was wild and terrifying.

Bennett instinctively knew that his wolf was a great defender. That he was a leader.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a gray wolf and two others. One was brown and unsteady on its legs and a tawny one scampered behind. He didn’t need to see these men in their human forms to know who they were.

They were his pack.

Vance, Corey, and Stuart had all turned into wolves. As one, the geek pack attacked the rest of the intruders, driving them away and further down the road. It was starting to smell like victory. The sound of guns going off was less prevalent, much more sporadic.

“Hey, mother fuckers!” A very nude Dakota was standing on the hood of the car with a vial in one hand a bottle of sports drink in the other.

Everyone halted. It was an odd sight to see a woman so bare and calling for the attention of all fighters during a battle.

“I’m Dakota Alcott, protection agent. Tell your boss that all the serum is gone.” She smashed the vial onto the ground to the groaning and shocked gasps of the goons. There weren’t very many left. Maybe a half-dozen or so.

The last jar of the serum shattered on the ground. For good measure, Dakota uncapped the bottle of energy drink and poured it on the laneway, right over the serum.

“Just in case one of you psychos decided it would be a good idea to lick the ground. You seem the type to do weird shit. Now scram. These wolves won’t stop until they kill you are. The lion pride is on their way.”

Bennett immediately knew that the last part was a lie, but their attackers didn’t know that. Like a bunch of cowards, they hopped into one single vehicle and drove away like