into a wolf, I’ll make her my bitch.”
Elsa’s eyes flashed with anger.
“Let her go!” Howard removed his jacket and tossed it to the ground. “It’s me you hate. Fight me.”
“I will. After you suffer.” Rhett’s head shifted into a wolf’s head, and he opened his jaw to bite Elsa.
Behind him, the deer lunged.
Rhett cried out as antlers pierced his back. His knife plummeted to the driveway, and Elsa pulled away, running toward Aunt Ula.
A flock of birds flew straight at Pelton, and he screamed, releasing Greta.
The deer reared up, slashing at Rhett with their hooves. With a growl, he shifted and the wounds in his back healed. He charged after Elsa, but before he could reach her, Howard shifted and pounced on him.
They rolled on the driveway, bear and wolf, Rhett twisting and snapping his jaws. He landed a few bites, causing Howard pain but not any concern. As a were-bear, he was immune to the Lycan virus. He slashed his claws across Rhett’s torso, then another slash across his neck. Rhett tried to wriggle away, but Howard pinned him down.
“Stop!” Pelton yelled.
Howard glanced to the side and froze. Pelton, his face covered with blood, had managed to knock Greta out, thus putting an end to the bird attack. He and Rocky held Elsa and Ula with knives pressed to their throats.
A sharp pain pierced Howard’s arm as Rhett clamped his jaws onto him, ripping into his flesh with his teeth. Howard lunged back and Rhett scrambled away, retaking his human form.
Phil and Carlos attacked Pelton and Rocky from behind, and Howard, still in bear form, dashed toward the women.
“Watch out!” Elsa cried.
Howard stumbled to his knees as Rhett leaped onto his back and plunged a knife into his ribs. With a roar of pain and anger, he flung Rhett onto the ground. Rhett waved his knife about wildly, cutting Howard wherever he could.
With a swipe of his claw, Howard disarmed Rhett, then slashed him across the chest. The bastard had to die. He slashed again. Die for killing Harry. Another slash. Die for killing Carly.
Howard kept swiping and clawing till he succumbed to dizziness and fell onto his side. He was losing too much blood from the knife wound and all the cuts and bites. If he didn’t shift before losing consciousness, he could bleed to death.
He changed back to human form and slowly sat up. Rhett was dead. He looked around to make sure Elsa was all right. She was standing next to her aunts. Carlos was in panther form and sitting next to Rocky’s dead body. Phil had shifted and taken care of Pelton. The birds had flown away, but the deer remained gathered on the side of the road, watching Elsa.
The twins, still in human form, rummaged through the shredded remains of Rocky’s clothes till they found the keys to the handcuffs.
“You’re free.” Jimmy unlocked the cuffs on the women. “Go in peace.”
Jesse retrieved some extra sets of clothing from Howard’s SUV.
Howard dressed, noting his wounds had healed, though he still felt a little sore. The blood would remain till he could wash up.
Elsa stepped toward him. “Are you all right?”
“Don’t.” Greta pulled her back. “He’s still a berserker. You saw how vicious he was.”
“He was protecting us,” Elsa insisted. “He would never hurt us.”
Howard’s heart swelled. She still trusted him. Even though he’d been forced to kill in front of her.
She ran toward him. “Thank you, Howard.”
He took her hand in his. “Guardian of the Forest. I will protect you for as long as I live.”
She smiled, her eyes glimmering with tears. “Berserker, I will love you for as long as I live.” She touched his face. “With no regret.”
Epilogue
Five days later on Friday night, Elsa drove Greta and Ula to Dragon Nest Academy for the small party Shanna had planned.
“Oh my!” Greta peered out the window as they parked in front. “What a huge mansion!”
“It’s a school for special children,” Elsa explained.
“You mean berserkers?” Ula asked as she gawked at the impressive building.
“There are all kinds of children and adults here,” Elsa said. “As far as I can tell, they’re like one big happy family.”
Howard exited the front door and came down the stairs to welcome them. He looked dashing in a suit and tie. Ula kissed his cheek, and he grinned.
Greta shook his hand. “So you’re the head of security here?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be happy to take you on a tour later. But for now, we need to go to the party. It’s already started.” He took an aunt on each arm and led them along the front of the building.
Elsa walked alongside them, amused at how much he was buttering up her aunts.
He glanced at her and winked. “The party’s in the gymnasium. That’s the biggest room we have around here.”
“I thought it was going to be a small affair,” Elsa said.
He snorted. “When these guys party, everybody shows up.”
“And some of them are vampires?” Greta asked.
“Yes, ma’am. But they’re very friendly.”
Elsa bit her lip to keep from grinning. She and Howard had decided it was best to let her aunts know what kind of world she was marrying into. The women had taken it in stride, probably because they weren’t exactly normal themselves.
She gasped when they entered the gym. A crowd of people bustled about, talking and laughing. Colorful balloons floated along the high ceiling. She did a double take. Yes, that was Tino, floating in the air, laughing and batting the balloons around.
A buffet table ran the length of one wall. Round tables were set up, leaving an open area in the middle for dancing, and a stage had been erected at the end of the room. A band was warming up.
“We’re going to have live music?” Elsa raised her voice to be heard over the noise.
Howard nodded. “Those are the High Voltage Vamps. They play at all the parties.”
A wave of exclamations swept across the gym as everyone realized the guests of honor had arrived. They lined up to meet Elsa and her aunts.
Howard introduced one couple after another. Phil and Vanda. Austin and Darcy. Emma and Angus. The line went on and on.
“I’ll never remember all these people,” Elsa whispered to Howard.
“You will in time.”
“Welcome!” Shanna’s mother, Darlene, ran toward them and hugged Elsa. “I’m so excited for you. A wedding!” She turned to Greta and Ula. “Aren’t you excited?”
Ula nodded. “
Greta smiled. “I’m just relieved Elsa is safe now.”
Darlene nodded. “And you don’t have to guard her every day. Why, we could go shopping!”
“For yarn?” Greta’s eyes lit up.
“Of course.” Darlene grabbed Greta, and the two walked off to discuss knitting patterns.
“Hi!” Tino bounced up to them, a cookie in his hand.
Elsa hugged him. “I saw you on the ceiling.”
He laughed and looked at Aunt Ula. “You want to know where the cookies are?” He took her hand and led her toward the buffet.
