Stalking the Others by Jess Haines

Author:Jess Haines
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2012-05-24T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The gunshots would no doubt alert the neighbors that something was up, but I didn’t plan on this taking very long. I stepped over the corpse in the entryway, still twitching, the acrid stink of silver burn heavy on the air. A niggling thought rattled around in the back of my head that I should be sorry or horrified, but I ignored it.

Another Were was scuttling around somewhere beyond my line of sight, running away from me by the sound of it. There were also the stomach-churning wet cracking and groans, and the telltale rip of tearing fabric, coming from multiple sources somewhere in the house around me. The dominant wolves were pulling quick shifts, preparing for battle.

I paid no mind to the bottles of alcohol stuffed with burning rags that shattered the windows and set the furniture on fire, using the belt’s preternatural reflexes to dodge out of the way whenever one came too close. The picturesque, suburban perfection of the place was quickly being ruined by fire and ash. The added Styrofoam and dish soap we’d used would guarantee the house would be choked up with smoke in no time. The haze would provide cover, but could be more deadly than the Weres if I stayed inside too long.

Without hesitation, I pressed deeper inside, searching. There hadn’t been any gunshots or sounds of brawling from outside yet, so the monsters were all still trapped in here—with me.

Claws skittered across linoleum. I kept one gun in front of me, aimed low, the other held at my shoulder with the business end pointed at the ceiling. The clicking and scraping sounds grew louder as I approached. Turning the corner, I barely registered what I was seeing before the gun popped again, impossibly loud in the enclosed space.

A wolf—silvery gray fur, not big enough to be Chaz—let loose with a howl, charging at me, its paws slipping on the slick tile as it shot around the table that still burned with the remains of a shattered Molotov. There was blood on its shoulder, but clearly the silver bullet wasn’t enough to stop an enraged dominant Were. Jesus, the thing was huge—teeth as long as my fingers and a body that would put a St. Bernard to shame—and it looked like it was intent on latching onto my throat.

I barely had enough time to tuck the guns away before it bounded forward, knocking me back against the wall. It felt like the whole house shuddered under our weight. I got one arm under its mouth and the other hand buried in the fur on top of its skull, forcing its jaws shut. Claws raked down my chest, bruisingly hard, but the armor prevented it from flaying me open. Plaster dust drifted down around us like snow while we grappled.

The growls issuing from its throat were thunderous, so deep that my bones shivered in response. I voiced a low growl of my own, glaring into its yellow eyes with every ounce of hatred I could muster.

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