Hell Hound

As the sun sank below the horizon, the Wolves ducked into the bushes, removed their clothes and changed from their human form. They emerged from the bushes in Wolf form after only few minutes.

Crane was surprised at how easy it was to tell who was who. Mr. Reese was obviously the big salt and pepper Wolf, while Detective Carter was the much smaller black Wolf that was at his side. They were followed by Detective Fusco who was a grumpy-looking, stocky red-brown Wolf and then Shaw who was a small, medium-brown Wolf.

Abbie gasped when she saw the Wolves. "Joss you're gorgeous!" she exclaimed. To Crane, it looked like the black Wolf was quite pleased with the compliment. He watched as Abbie reached out to scratch Joss behind the ears while the black wolf sighed with happiness and leaned into her hand.

Crane's attention was averted from Lieutenant Mills and Detective Carter by the sound of Irving slamming a clip into his gun. Crane could not help but notice that Captain Irving seemed pretty happy with the very large weapon that Mr. Reese had given him.

"OK people," Irving boomed, "the plan is pretty simple, the Wolves will herd the Hell Hounds down to us and we shoot them until they die. Any questions?"

No one had any questions, so the Wolves bounded away into the woods to begin their hunt.

"I hope this plan works," Jenny said in a tone of voice that plainly conveyed that she didn't think it would work.

Abbie raised an eyebrow at her younger sister. "You got a better idea?"

Jenny sulked and kept quiet indicating that she didn't have a better idea. She really just didn't want to follow orders from Reese, or any of the New Yorkers.

Irving snorted. "Well since I'm not hearing any better ideas, I suggest we get ready for the Wolves to bring us a Hell Hound to kill."

Irving carefully arranged everyone in different areas of the clearing so that the entire clearing was covered. No matter what direction the Hell Hound came from, someone could start shooting immediately.

Crane stood next to Abbie, holding a huge handgun. Abbie had been drilling him on modern handguns and he felt comfortable enough with the weapon to feel he could be trusted with it.

"Do you think Finch's plan will work?" Abbie asked anxiously as her eyes scanned the brush.

Crane nodded. "From what I know, the idea is sound. Hell Hounds do seem to be susceptible to modern weaponry, and Mr. Reese does have experience in destroying them."

Abbie glanced over at her partner. "I sense a 'but' coming on."

Crane sighed, she knew him too well. "But the Wolves are taking a huge risk. Hell Hounds are vicious and unpredictable. Herding the Hound to us will put them in considerable danger."

Abbie's head turned to him, and despite the dark, Crane could see the worry in her huge brown eyes. He hastened to reassure her. "Do not worry Lieutenant, the Wolves are smart and Mr. Reese is experienced."

Abbie nodded and looked back at the brush, but Crane knew she was still worried. Truthfully, so was he.

John set a brisk pace through the brush. The Wolves normally were quite vocal during a run, but tonight was no ordinary run; they were hunting a deadly prey, so they needed to be completely quiet. John glanced over at his mate as she ran easily beside him. Silently, he said a prayer that she would remain unharmed tonight.

It took nearly an hour, but finally the Wolves got a whiff of brimstone. John paused, his nose testing the air as he determined the direction and distance to the demon. He turned to Shaw and Fusco and jerked his head to one side. They nodded to show they understood their Alpha's orders. They split into two groups─ John and Joss heading to the east and Shaw and Fusco heading to the west. They stealthily approached from downwind to assure that the beast would not realize they were there until it was too late.

They found the Hell Hound minutes later, ripping a deer to pieces. The beast was huge, nearly twice as a big as John who was the largest Wolf amongst them. Its fur was midnight black with no trace of shine. Its eyes and mouth glowed eerily red and its lips couldn't quite close over its enormous teeth. Its growls had an otherworldly quality that clearly telegraphed its supernatural origins.

This was the first time Joss had been in the presence of another supernatural creature who was not Wolf, and she was surprised to discover that she could feel the presence of the beast with her Wolf sense. Tentatively she reached out to get a better a feel for the beats and she instantly regretted it. The sensation she felt from the huge demon was overwhelmingly evil and she hastily pulled back. Won't be doing that again, she thought to herself and she made a mental note to ask John if he felt the creature too.

Swiftly, John charged the beast from behind biting furiously at its back legs. The Hound turned on him, but Joss raced in, ripping a chunk of fur out of its unprotected side. The Hound turned towards her, but Fusco and Shaw attacked from the other side.

The battle with the Hell Hound continued for several minutes with the Wolves each rushing in, biting and snapping at the Hound, and dancing away as it turned to attack another Wolf. By using this method of attack, they managed to slowly herd the Hound towards the clearing where Irving, Crane, and the Mills Sisters were waiting with their heavy duty firepower.

Just before they reached the clearing where the Sleepy Hollow team was waiting, the Hell Hound broke its pattern. It had been Joss's turn to attack the creature, but instead of turning to attack Fusco as he darted in, it continued to attack Joss, ignoring the red-brown Wolf desperately tearing at its side.

John watched in horror as the Hell Hound seized his mate in its jaws and pinned her to ground with one enormous paw. Shaw and Fusco viciously attacked the Hell Hound's unprotected flank, but the Hound continued to tear at Joss, completely ignoring them. John lunged at the Hound's head, snapping at his eyes and nose. The hound lifted its head to snarl a challenge at the Alpha, but did not release the black Wolf. John renewed his attack, slamming his body into the demon and physically pushing the Hound off his mate.

At that point, John lost all conscious thought and was running purely on instinct and anger. He simply went berserk with the need to save his mate. When Shaw asked him about it later, he honestly didn't remember much. The only thing he could remember was that everything had gone red. All he knew was that he had to save Joss; everything else was pure Wolf instinct.

Crane, Irving, Jenny and Abbie, hearing Joss's cry of pain when the Hound seized her in its jaws, came running with their weapons at the ready, but were unable to fire because they were afraid of hitting John. They watched in amazement as the salt and pepper Wolf attacked the larger Hell Hound in a blood-frenzy to protect his mate. The fury the Alpha Wolf unleashed awed the humans with its relentless ferocity.

The Hound and John slammed together, biting and tearing at each other until John sank his teeth into the Hound's neck. With a mighty effort, John braced his paws against the beast's body and ripped a huge chunk out of the demon's throat. The Hound screamed in pain, a sound that made the humans and Wolves shudder with fear. It thrashed a couple of times and then lay still. A couple of seconds later, the Hell Hound burst into flames and burned intensely for about a minute before the flames died out, leaving only a pile of ash and a circle of scorched earth behind.

John never saw the Hound die; he raced to his mate and morphed back to human form, kneeling next to her. She had reverted back to human form when she had sunk into unconsciousness. Her side was completely torn open and there were numerous bite marks on her neck, shoulder, and arm. John had several bleeding wounds on him as well, but he ignored them to tend to his wounded mate. He tried to staunch the bleeding from the gaping wound in her side while tears ran down his cheeks.

John gathered her in his arms. "I'm here, I'm here, hold on baby," his voice choked off as he kissed her forehead.

Crane took his coat off and threw it over the naked Wolves as Joss started to shiver violently. He saw the wound in Joss's side and shuddered. He was well accustomed to battle wounds and hers looked as bad as any he had ever seen. While he knew medical science had advanced greatly in the over two centuries he had been asleep, he still despaired for the life of the she Wolf. Judging from the reaction of her mate, John knew the wound was most likely fatal as well.

Then Crane noticed the bite mark on John's arm closing. "Mr. Reese… your arm," he gasped.

John looked at his arm in surprise and then pulled back Crane's coat to reveal the wound on Joss's side closing over as well. Joss's eyes fluttered open and she moaned. John held her tighter and bowed his head as he fought for control of his emotions. The Sleepy Hollow contingent quietly withdrew back to the clearing to give them some privacy.

"Lionel, please bring us our clothes," John said softly with his face buried in Joss's hair.

The red-brown wolf nodded and scurried off through the forest, followed closely by the smaller brown wolf, leaving John and Joss alone.

"How do you feel, love?" John asked cupping her cheek in his hand.

Joss looked up into his eyes in confusion. "Like I got bit by a pissed off Hell Hound. What happened?"

"The Hound nearly killed you, but your wounds healed when it died." Another tear escaped and rolled down John's check.

Joss reached up and gently wiped it away. "I'm fine baby, just sore right now."

John didn't say anything; he just held her tight until Fusco and Shaw returned with their bag of clothing. The two Wolves left to morph back to human form themselves and get dressed. John helped Joss get her clothes on since she was still stiff and sore from her ordeal, then swiftly pulled on his own clothes before helping his aching mate to the car. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as they entered the clearing where everyone was waiting for them.

John handed Crane his coat. "Thank you," he said.

Crane smiled and bowed slightly. "It was my pleasure."

Abbie came up to Joss her eyes showing her concern for her friend. "Are you OK?"

Joss smiled tiredly. "Considering a demonic dog used me for a chew toy, I feel pretty good."

Irving looked up the sun. "With the sun coming up, the other two Hell Hounds will be laying low until sundown. I suggest we all get some rest and meet up at the Archives later to begin tracking the witch that summoned these demons. Hopefully, Mr. Finch will have something for us by then."

"See you around lunch time then," John said as he scooped Joss up into his arms and started walking to the car.

"John, I can walk!" Joss yelped.

"You nearly died!" John snapped as they vanished into brush in the direction of the vehicles.

Fusco slowly started following them. "Great, they're going to argue all the way back to the hotel now," he grumbled.

Shaw fell into step next to him. "How do you think I feel? I have the room next door to them, they'll probably argue half the morning," she said glumly. "And then if that isn't bad enough, they'll start kissing and make up. I'll never get any sleep then."

Irving and Jenny followed Fusco and Shaw. Both of them looked like they were trying suppress their laughter.

Abbie walked slowly behind everyone else, her face pensive. Crane noticed and fell back with her. "Is everything alright, Lieutenant?" he asked with some concern.

Abbie nodded. "I'm fine Crane. Just thinking how much John cares for Joss. Even my own parents never cared that much about me or Jenny."

Crane took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Wolf pairs have a very powerful bond. However, I can promise you that if you are ever mauled by a Hell Hound, I will carry you to the car."

Abbie giggled. "I'll hold you to that, Crane."