They moved as one, quickly covering the distance back toward Kade’s cabin, a large man appearing to bar their path. An evil smirk on his face as Leia ran forward barking. Kirsty didn’t think twice, raising the shotgun and firing twice, straight through the chest. Two large, gaping holes appeared, blood splattering out behind him over the porch steps a second before his body slumped to the ground. Kirsty noted the surprised look on his face as she stepped over his corpse.
Once again, she thanked the lord for her father’s gun, and the large bore cartridges. Anything less and she doubted they’d do much damage to Shifters.
As soon as Fiona was safely inside she looked up at Muir. “What now?”
“We help as many as we can, and hope to hell Kade and the rest return before the rogues massacre the lot of us.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Kirsty smirked up at the huge man. “Not a great plan, but I don’t have anything better, so let’s go.”
“I’m not so sure you should.” Muir frowned down at Kirsty. “I’m sure Kade would prefer you stay with Fiona.”
“Aye, right.” Kirsty shook her head. “Like that’s going to happen. I am not sitting on my arse while there’s bairns out there being attacked by fucking Wolves. Are you nuts? Just shut up and let’s get going.”
Kirsty took a step then stopped. “Oh wait.”
Muir patted her shoulder. “Glad you saw sense, lass.”
“What?” Kirsty frowned. “No, I’m just reloading.”
She sorted out the shotgun then jumped down the steps to join her Shepherd, turning to quirk a brow at Muir. “You comin’ or what?”
She saw him hesitate for a moment but the sound of women screaming, children crying, and men fighting, soon had him by her side. She nudged his arm. “Let’s help as many as we can and try and stay alive. Deal?”
“Deal.” He looked around motioning off toward the left where a small group of women were attempting to shield some children from several rogues, both human and Wolves. “Let’s start there.”
“Oh goody,” Kirsty quipped, her mouth suddenly dry as a bone as they ran toward what looked like certain death.
The air she inhaled had a metallic odor, decidedly unpleasant, especially when she realized it was blood. There were other smells, nasty, disgusting, and almost causing her to gag, but then she had no time to think about the stench assaulting her nose as they drew closer to the group in front of them.
The kids huddled together, some barely toddlers, with the older ones trying to hold them, take care of them, while the women fought off the rogues. The damn bastards thought it was some kind of game, the men taunting the women, the Wolves reaching out with the huge paws and raking their claws along flesh to draw blood.
They could, obviously, have taken out the women and, god forbid, the kids too. But no, they were fucking playing with them. Having fun with them while inflicting pain on the adults and terrorizing the bairns. Kirsty’s fury ignited to levels she never knew existed, her stomach clenching, her heart almost bursting with indignation as she raised the shotgun.
“No fucking way,” she ground out, firing as she ran.
She zeroed in on a mangy grey beast that had been attacking the women, her first shot not hitting its mark. She’d been aiming for its head but ended up striking it mid-way on its side, causing it to howl and swerve toward her. That was its undoing, because in turning around, the second slammed right between its eyes, dropping the beast in a heap with brains and gore seeping from the huge wound left behind. Kirsty barely registered it as she kept moving forward toward the women and children.
They were still meters away but she didn’t slow down, or stop shooting. Her next target a huge man that she’d seen slapping a woman’s face so hard she fell to the ground, clutching her bleeding nose and mouth. Her aim was better this time, the shot searing into the base of his back, severing his spine and rendering him useless. Kirsty didn’t bother wasting another cartridge on him. She doubted even a Shifter could heal from that anytime soon.
That left two shells before she would have to reload. However, there were two Wolves, and three more men. Damn. That was not good odds. What should she do? She made a split-second decision, shouting to Muir. “I’m reloading. I need more than I’ve got.”
“Go ahead, lass,” Muir replied but he didn’t slow down.
Shit. She expected him to wait on her. Damn.
Kirsty stopped dead, skidding on the grass, Leia looking at Muir then back at her, barking wildly. “I know! I’m coming.”
She reloaded quicker than she ever had before, dropping one shell and leaving it where it was, not sparing the seconds it would take to bend down to retrieve it. As soon as she rammed home the last one, she took off again, closing the gun as she ran. Not exactly good gun etiquette, and she could see her father shaking his head and giving her a good telling off, but bloody hell, this was a fucking war zone.
Leia took off, sprinting ahead as Muir reached the first Wolf, his axe landing with a dull thud and sinking deep into its back. The blood-curdling howl that split the air made her skin crawl. Its head spun around, huge jaws gaping wide to snap at Muir; he barely managed to wrench his axe and arm free in time. She saw the razor-sharp teeth snap shut as Muir jumped clear, his axe already rising and falling again to lodge deep within the skull of the Wolf.
The remaining Wolf and men now turned their attention away from the women. Good. Well, good for the women and bairns, Kirsty thought, not so good for Muir and her. In her mind, the massive beast was the scariest thing she’d ever seen, its fur matted
