Muir cut her off. “Sorry, we don’t have the time, Kirsty. Look.”
She turned to where he nodded, a group of massive Wolves closing in on women who were bravely trying to shelter some small kids. There was also a Wolf on their side, but going by the size, it was young, nothing near the size of the rogues circling around them.
“That’s young Keir, he’s barely seventeen, he won’t stand a chance, Kirsty. We have to move now before they tear him to shreds.”
“I’m ready,” Kirsty said firmly.
“I’ll catch up.” Muir was pulling off his clothes. “The time for my axe is long gone. Keir needs my beast by his side. Just don’t shoot me, lass, okay?”
“How will I know it’s you?” she wailed.
“Because your lovely pet here will be with me as I come to join you. Plus, my beast is a lovely grey color, nothing like these mangy beasts. Now go.”
“Leia, stay with him, but don’t you dare get yourself into trouble.” Kirsty didn’t waste any more time, turning around and racing toward the filthy rogues.
As she ran toward the group her heart beating like a drum in her chest, lungs burning painfully, Kirsty thought briefly, “I really should go to the gym.”
The randomness of the thought, amidst the total chaos around her, caused a wild sound to tear free. It was part laugh and part sob. The madness and cruelty surrounding her like nothing she’d witnessed before and she prayed she never would again.
If she survived.
That was not certain. Not with the odds stacked against them. She’d yet to see another male. Apart from Muir, she had only seen women and children. Had the rogues taken the men out first? Or were they somewhere else fighting for their lives?
Kirsty’s brain was on overload. So many things stampeding through it at once as she closed the distance between her and the terrified children who were screaming and crying. She saw two of the women stepping to the side, their skin rippling, before they transformed. They hadn’t even bothered to undress, clothes tearing apart as their beasts materialized before her.
Shit, shit, shit! Their Wolves were large, much larger than a normal, run-of-the-mill beast, but they were so much smaller than the rogues they faced. Kirsty couldn’t believe their bravery in the face of the ferocious beasts before them, and, for a split second, she too wished she could throw off her human form and lock jaws with these assholes.
She soon changed her mind when one of them leaped toward the nearest rogue who’d swiped out its massive paw at Keir’s beast. The rogue’s jaws locked around her, bringing her down easily as they rolled on the ground. Sounds straight out of her worst nightmare filled the air as the rogue started to tear the woman’s beast apart.
Kirsty sped up, horror filling her, Leia catching up, barking like crazy as Kirsty screamed, “Nooooo!”
She ran on for another few yards, watching blood spurt high into the air before stopping to take aim. She couldn’t afford to miss so she steadied her stance and arms. This was something she didn’t want to do but also something she couldn’t not do. If she didn’t do it and do it now the woman was as good as dead. Fuck, she didn’t know if she was too late. There was blood everywhere already. Although the woman was still valiantly fighting back, her claws digging into the underbelly of the rogue and attempting to dislodge him.
“Hold on,” Kirsty whimpered as she held her breath and pulled the trigger, once, twice.
She took off running again, watching as the rogue jolted as the slugs hit, both at the back end, shattering its hind leg completely. The roar that tore free from the beast deafening as its head turned back on itself trying to figure out what had happened.
Leia ran straight toward the children, prancing around, guarding them with snarls and barks. Dear goodness, did she think she stood a chance against rogues? Kirsty’s heart ached at the thought of one of them attacking her beloved Shepherd. She wouldn’t last ten seconds.
Keir, the young Wolf, sneaked forward, grabbing hold of the ruff of the woman mauled by the rogue and pulling her away. Her whines of pain spearing Kirsty deep inside with jolts of so many emotions that they fought for supremacy.
Anger, fear, sadness, distress. The list was endless, but she settled on anger. That one would get her through for now. The others could wait until later: if she made it through this madness.
A huge grey Wolf loped up beside her, nudging her thigh. She almost screamed with fright until she looked into its friendly eyes. “Muir?”
Its incredibly massive head nodded once before it looked at the rogues. She smirked at his questioning look. “I won’t shoot you. Promise.”
He seemed satisfied and took off toward them. “Oh hell,” Kirsty ground out. “Kade, where the hell are you?”
With two more rounds used, she reloaded again her feet flying across the ground, her eyes on the catastrophe before her. Muir was now in battle against two rogues, his Wolf taking a beating, but so far, not going down. The sounds they made were otherworldly and ones Kirsty hoped she would never hear again. It was just . . . too much. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take.
“Man up!” she told herself loudly. “There’s bairns there that need you.”
She veered off to the right, going in to the group where there was a slight gap. Slight being the operative word. Most of the rogues’ attention focused on Muir’s battle but one was on Keir and the injured beast he was guarding. The rogue Wolf had his back to her as she ran toward it, not slowing down, she waited until the last moment, the muzzle of her gun touching the fur at the base of its head and fired.
It
