Reed held them up. “I think Ariel’s nanos gave these to me.”
“Can you do the full out devil wolf thing now?” Brandi asked.
Reed stepped away from her and smoothly changed into the warrior form of his inner beast. “Not too bad the second time I could do,” he said through a mouthful of fangs.”
Brandi laughed. “Because of seeing Heidi in her form, I’m not afraid of yours. You look like a complete badass. I love it. Now go rescue Katarina.”
18
The entire pack village looked like someone had poured fake snowflakes everywhere. Many pack members had gotten a glimpse of the plane dropping the white substance. Some speculated that a local crop dusting pilot had likely been paid to drop the chemicals.
Several wolves in their human forms littered the streets as the powder sent them under. Which on the surface looked like a bad idea, but in reality it was all part of the plan.
An unmarked transport helicopter carrying their attackers touched down silently in same place they’d probably landed last time. No one heard them land, but Stewart had followed his gut, which had brought him to this field.
This time Stewart was watching their every move, and his siblings were keeping him company.
Not bothering with their assigned lodge accommodations, the three of them had stayed in the healing center with Terra. Yana had stayed there too, monitoring everything, but mostly the bear healer.
They’d left Terra in Yana’s care, donned medical grade face masks, and layered on all the clothes they could find that fit them.
The attackers unloaded from a side ramp. There had to be at least thirty of them. Many of them were wearing face masks, which likely was the sole distinguishing characteristic of shifters in the group.
Stewart quietly pulled his phone and sent a text to Ariel who always kept her phone close. He passed along the attacker's head count, explaining in detail everything
When each attacker was satisfied with his weapon and ammo check, they started toward the village as a group.
“Time to go,” Stewart whispered through his mask. Kent and Aggie nodded as they took a shorter route to get back to the village.
While the attackers were collecting all the white-covered wolves, wolves and bears with gas masks descended on them. The fight was bloody and gory. There was nothing much left of the attackers when they were done.
The bears trotted off with body parts dangling from their mouths. The wolves appeared with shop vacuums and soon the streets were free of white. The next rain would wash the remaining white off the houses and buildings.
Kent went to talk to Ariel and Jon.
Stewart tore a leafy limb from a nearby tree and used it to dust off a bench. He and Aggie sad down on it to wait for Kent.
“I want to become a healer. Do you think Aunt Heidi would teach me?”
“I’m sure she would. You’d be a great healer, Aggie.
They were silent for a few moments. Then Aggie laughed. She turned to her brother. “What do you think Kent will be when he grows up?”
“More dangerous?” Stewart offered with a chuckle. The cell phone in his pocket buzzed. He pulled it out and read the message on the screen. “Yana and Terra need help. Tell Kent where I went when he’s done.”
Aggie nodded and bit her lip. “Be careful, Stewart.”
He was running so fast that she doubted he even heard her.
Two attackers with weapons were standing guard outside the Healing Center. He had to get inside—had to. Bile rose in his throat. His face felt hot. Glancing down, he saw his hand had changed. Other body parts were changing too.
Stewart stood up and looked at the guards. He wasn’t good at weapons. He knew some carried silver bullets and some shot tranquilizer darts.
Whatever they had, he would still have to confront them to get inside. Taking a deep breath, he started forward. Two wolf cubs ran by him as fast as they could. Great. Now he had wolf cubs to worry about.
Stewart chose one guard to fight first. He ran quickly and was on the guy before he had time to react. He grabbed the male by the throat and slammed him into the building. He let go when the guy’s body hit the ground.
Then he turned on the second. The wolf cubs were dancing around the guy’s feet and snarling at him.
“Shoo,” he ordered the cubs. Then he snatched the guy’s weapon from his fingers and tossed it like a spear into the nearby woods. He picked the guy up and slammed him into the building just like he’d done to the other one.
The cubs ran into the building, yapping and growling to get Stewart to follow. He almost passed by Yana, who was tied to a chair. Stewart walked over and shredded her bindings.
Yana looked at him and shook her head. “You have nightmare form. Heidi has it too.”
His Aunt Heidi looked like this? Stewart shook his scraggly hair. It was hard to believe.
Together they made their way to Terra’s room. Terra was poking the attacker with one of her crutches to keep him away. Stewart’s howl of fury echoed in the room. The two cubs stopped and howled with him.
Yana clapped her hands. “You two are adorable,” she exclaimed.
Stewart grabbed the attacker by the neck and dragged him out of the room.
Terra huddled into a corner. Then she was sliding down the wall until her butt hit the floor. “Who were those guys? And what was that thing?”
Yana shrugged, but also grinned. The two cubs trotted forward and crawled into Terra’s lap to be hugged.
“Who are you two?” Terra asked.
When their heads turned to the room’s doorway, the freaky ugly wolf guy appeared in it. He hesitated, then walked inside.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” he asked.
Terra stopped crying to stare. She sat the cubs on the floor and stood. Hobbling over to the ugly creature, she searched his gaze. “Stewart? Is that you?”
The creature lifted his arms. “I was supposed to be a wolf—like them,” he said, pointing at the two cubs. “It’s not fair.”
Terra gasped. “Oh, my… those cubs are Kent and Aggie?”
Stewart nodded. “It happened last night, but I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”
Terra stared and stared. “Wow—that’s the only word that covers this.”
She moved in closer. “Can I touch your face?”
“You can touch anything. It’s safe. I’m sure.”
Giggling, she ran her fingers over stretched cheekbones and felt his large nose. She giggled harder when he smiled wide to show her his fangs and teeth.
“You’ve been my hero twice. I guess that makes me your girlfriend.”
“You just want to tell the world that you’re dating a freak.”
“That could be true. Maybe,” Terra said with a giggle.
Kent and Aggie bounded over and ran between them, romping around their legs. Stewart looked down at them. They were too cute to describe.
He moved his gaze back to Terra’s. “Will it make me an awful person if I prefer them like this?” Terra’s laughter over his joke was his best reward ever.
The phone in his pocket rang. He couldn’t get it out with his claws. Finally, Terra did it for him. It was his Mom. She held the phone for him while he reassured his mother that they had taken care of the attackers. Then she asked the loaded question. Were there any attackers left alive for her to torture into talking? His sigh was long and heavy.