I placed both lasers on the third wolf and fired two quick blasts. There wasn’t a yelp, but I thought at least one bullet had struck. I fired again, one bullet toward each of the other wolves, and missed both times.
I’d almost reached the shotgun.
Movement obscured the light coming in through the new skylight on my left. I spun and fired without aiming as a furry mass slammed into me. I went over backward, pushing against the belly of the beast, firing both Colts into its body as I did. I hit the floor hard, but the wolf went sailing into the open kitchen with a crash as it hit the pots and pans hanging over the stove. I rolled, firing toward the place the wolf landed and, from the sound of metal on metal, put at least one shot into the stove. I rolled into the wall. Lying supine, I dropped Gail’s Colt and stretched a hand out for the shotgun as I fired another round into the center of the room.
When my hand touched the Mossberg, I gripped the forearm of the shotgun and pulled it to me. I shoved my own Colt into its holster, gripped the stock of the Mossberg with my right hand, flicked off the safety, and simultaneously turned on the tactical light.
The light illuminated a wolfish shape rushing me, low to the floor, on all fours, and six feet away. Bloody drool dripped from its open maw.
I fired between my feet and the wolf dropped in a spray of red. I automatically racked the slide, ejecting the spent round. I shifted my aim toward the kitchen. The wolf I had thrown there was getting to its feet. There were two smoking holes in its guts where the forty-five rounds had entered. I fired and the twelve-gauge, double-ought, silver shot dropped it.
I swung the barrel and the light across the room looking for another target. At least two of the wolves were down and unmoving; how many had there been? I saw at least three but was that all?
The one near my feet was already shifting back into human form, less the top of what had been a head covered with long red hair. For some reason, I hadn’t expected any of them to be female and for a moment, the surprise stopped me, just long enough to miss the wolf hurdling over the bed at me.
The wolf crashed into me. It pinned me to the wall and shook my grasp on the Mossberg. I felt teeth tearing at the leather on my arm. I shoved away from the wall, falling on top of the wolf and wrenching my arm out of its jaws. The animal was too close to use the shotgun. I dropped the weapon and sank both hands into the fur around its throat. I squeezed with all my might as it tore at my chest with its claws.
I tightened my grip. Thick fur and corded muscles protected the beast’s neck, but as I squeezed tighter, the creature shifted its attack to tear at my arms to dislodge my grip. I felt the flesh of my arms tearing as it tore through my leather jacket.
“God damn you!” I shouted into the beast’s face. I pulled the beast’s head off the floor and slammed it down, again and again, all the time choking it for all I was worth.
It stopped struggling against me, but I kept choking. Only when it went limp did I release my hold and stand. The shotgun’s tactical light cast enough glow for me to make out the creature I stood over. It lay still against the hardwood floor.
I swayed tiredly, my arms slack at my sides as blood ran down my arms and into my gloves, pooling there. I staggered to the corner, drew my Colt, and a fresh magazine. Hitting the magazine release, I dropped the nearly empty magazine and shoved the full one into the Colt in a shaky motion. Searching my jacket, I found the Colt’s tactical light. I unlatched the quick release on the laser sight, slid it off, and slipped on the light as I turned it on.
I scanned the interior of the cabin, searching for another threat. Gail still thrashed about, doing her best to break the ropes holding her to the bed frame. Nothing else moved. I stepped over the werewolf I’d choked and took three shaky steps toward Gail. My nose was tightening with the stink of cordite, blood, and wolf.
I stopped. I was missing something.
I heard claws on the floor behind me and knew what I hadn’t noticed.
The last werewolf hadn’t changed backed to human.
I spun and fired as the yellow-eyed monster leapt for me. My shot took it in the shoulder, but its momentum carried it into me. We fell to the floor together. I threw one hand up to cover my throat and pulled the gun’s barrel up to fire into the beast’s belly. I fired until the slide locked back as the magazine emptied. At some point during my fusillade, the wolf stopped struggling. I lay still, panting, as the body began to change above me. I threw the man’s body off me and gripped the curved logs of the sidewall to help me rise. I made it to my feet and swept my weapon and light about the room while grasping for another magazine and loading the Colt.
The only movement came from the bed where Gail appeared to be unharmed, at least I didn’t see any blood on her from where I stood, but she hadn’t stopped struggling. I swayed, used the wall to support my weight, and staggered to the Mossberg. It lay beside the woman who was missing a large part of her head. I held the stock under my right arm and used my
