Nicole was surprised by the fact that she could feel her canines protruding and was sporting sharp claws. Based on what Kendall had taught her, this was the first stage of a wolf shifting, and damn did it feel good. Nicole felt powerful, strong, and ready to draw blood from the Widow in front of her for hurting the woman she loved.
The Widow threw a punch towards the red head, one that Nicole quickly dodged. The red head threw her right hand out and used her claws to slice at Beth's side, electing a scream from the Widow. Beth made a quick recovery as she spun around and used her elbow and thrust it backwards, hitting Nicole's right eye.
Beth tried to strike Nicole's face again, but the red head was able to dodge it yet again. Nicole moved swiftly and threw her right fist up striking the other woman across the face with full force. Widow Beth recovered then moved and made a quick swipe with her metal nails, lightly cutting Nicole's side.
Widow Beth hissed as she moved forward, grabbing Nicole by the front of her shirt and exhaled in an attempt to use her paralyzing venom to subdue the red head. The Widow stopped her breath and was met with a smirk from Nicole.
"Surprise bitch!" Waverly yelled as she smacked the Widow in the back of the head with the axe handle, causing Beth to let go of Nicole and stumble backwards, clenching her head tightly in pain.
"Nice hit babe," Nicole said with a grin as she raised her hand and got a high five from the brunette as Waverly walked back to her side.
"Thank you sweetie pie," Waverly said with a wink as she dropped the axe handle and went back to holding her side, clearly in pain.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Widow Beth screamed in frustration.
"Trust me, that paralyzing shit got real old real fast," Waverly said with a glare towards the Widow as she tried to breathe slowly, the pain in her ribs intensifying. Waverly went to move but the pain sent her down to her knees.
Nicole was quick at her side as she helped Waverly sit back in the snow, the Widow then speaking and drawing their attention.
"You will die, you ALL will die!" Beth screamed as she rubbed the back of her head, "When my husband comes back, he is going to slaughter you all! And you Waverly, oh trust me, I'll make sure he takes his time with you! You stupid girl, YOU'RE NOT EVEN AN EARP!"
Waverly's breath hitched as the Widows words hit her, slight fear rising at the threat of Demon Clootie torturing her and also the reality of someone else knowing she wasn't an Earp; how many people knew about her DNA? Why did all of these evil and demonic forces seem to know about her not being an Earp.
Waverly was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of Nicole's voice; the tone was one that sent chills down her spine at the coldness dripping from every word. Waverly had never heard Nicole sound so… scary.
"What did you just say?" Nicole growled in a low voice as she stepped forward.
Widow Beth threw her head back and laughed, "You heard me mutt! I'm going to make sure that my husband tortures your little bitch! He's going to make her scream his name over and over again! I'm sure he won't be gentle with her like he is me," the Widow finished as her eyes turned black and she licked her lower lip while grinning.
Nicole roared and rushed forward tackling the Widow into the snow. The red head used her right hand and gripped Beth around the throat tightly, pushing her deeper in the snow.
"You or your husband won't lay a fucking finger on Waverly," Nicole said in a stern and low voice.
"Oh but we will you stupid dog," Widow Beth choked out, "Just wait, I'll make sure that there is something special in store for you and Waverly, want to hear what my husband and I will do to you and your little girlfriend?"
Nicole was starting to feel her anger build up more and more, the emotions seeming amplified; Kendall had warned her that she could lose control of her emotions and hurt people. In an attempt to regain some control of herself, Nicole glanced over to Waverly, who was clutching her side in pain and gazing at the red head with those gorgeous green eyes full of love. Nicole could tell that Waverly was listening intently on every word the Widow was saying.
Beth seemed to notice that Nicole was trying to calm herself by focusing on the youngest Earp, and with what the Widow had in mind right now, that was simply unacceptable. Widow Beth knew she needed to keep fueling Nicole's rage to accomplish her goal.
"Come closer Nicole, I'll tell you exactly what's going to happen," Beth wheezed out, "Wouldn't want your little girlfriend to hear what I'm about to say…"
Nicole let out a low growl and squeezed Beth's throat a little tighter in a form of warning the Widow to tread carefully. Curiosity winning out, Nicole kept her glare intact and hand around Beth's throat but leaned down closer to hear the rasping woman's words.
"I'm going to make sure my husband leaves you alive long enough to watch Waverly die a slow and painful death. We will make sure we bound you in the chair with heavy chains and I will personally cut off your eye lids and hold your head still so you can watch him take Waverly by force as he ravishes her over and over again. You'll have to listen to her screams, watch him touch what's yours… And you won't be able to do anything but sit there and watch. When she finally can't take anymore and she begs for death, we will make you kill her… Then we will force you to shift into a wolf so we can skin you alive…" Widow Beth said quietly as she smiled from ear to ear, "I've always wanted a wolf rug for the bedroom floor."
Listening to Beth's words shattered the small amount of restraint Nicole had left and the red head unknowingly let her wolf take full control.
Nicole screamed in rage and reared back and brought her fist down, smashing into Beth's face with as much power as she could. Nicole moved and stood up, bringing the Widow up and now holding Beth off the ground.
"Holy shit…" Waverly whispered as she watched her usually sweet and warm girlfriend lift the Widow in the air. The brunette couldn't hear what Beth said to Nicole, but the Earp could see that whatever it was triggered something inside Nicole that neither of them knew even existed.
Nicole growled and threw the Widow in the air and Beth went rolling across the ground. The red head was now panting, her heart feeling as though it was about to beat out of her chest. Nicole threw her head back and let out a loud howl then turned and looked at her girlfriend.
"Woah…" Waverly said as the air left her lungs. Her girlfriend's face was no longer the sweet 'puppy dog' face that melted her heart but now she was looking at what Kendall described as the "beta stage" of the wolf shift. Nicole's nose and cheeks were morphed together and her ears now had points to them.
"God that's sexy…" Waverly whispered as she clenched her jaw and looked at her girlfriend in awe and amazement.
Kendall was running about 20 yards ahead of Wynonna when she heard the howl come from Nicole. Kendall's wolf fell forward and she shifted back to her human form and went rolling across the snow gasping.
"SHIT! BOTTLE BLONDE! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Wynonna screamed as she held her belly and rushed over to the now naked human Haught sister.
"Nicole…" Kendall panted out as she clutched her heart, "Oh God NO! It's too soon! What the fuck?!"
"Hey!" Wynonna said as she slapped Kendall's cheeks trying to get the blonde to focus, "Use your words Haught-Dog!"
"Nicole… Something has happened," Kendall said as her eyes locked in on Wynonna's and the blonde grabbed the Heir's hand, "Nicole… She is shifting… But it's too early, something has happened…" Kendall coughed as she tried to stand.
"Come on get your naked ass up!" Wynonna grunted out as she got Kendall on her feet and the two started moving forward, "Walk and talk Kendall, come on!"
Kendall stopped walking and leaned over grabbing tree to stabilize herself.
"Wynonna," Kendall said as she looked to the Heir, "Something has happened, something has triggered Nicole… Something has pissed her off enough where she has lost control of herself and the wolf is in charge… She's shifting."
"Okay shifting good though right? Like she's probably tearing up a bitch in black?!" Wynonna said frantically as she waved her hand around. All Wynonna could think about right now was getting to her sister and stopping to listen to Kendall was not making her anxiety level decrease any.
Wynonna grabbed the blonde and slung her arm over as she drug Kendall forward, "Come on with your super model body naked self, as much as I love grabbing all your goods we need to move, NOW! Come on we are almost there and I cannot carry you and this tiny human and my stomach so MOVE!"
"EARP!" Kendall yelled as Wynonna stopped and looked towards her, "If a new wolf pushes their abilities before their body is ready THEY DIE! Nicole hasn't even had her first full moon and 23rd birthday yet! If she starts shifting SHE WILL DIE! She SHOULD NOT be able to shift! She is going to be fucking strong and she is going to want to kill anyone in fucking sight!"
Wynonna's eyes widened as she realized the severity of the situation. The brunette let go of the blonde and gave a swift slap to her arm, "Dude that is information YOU TELL SOMEONE BEFORE A LIFE OR DEATH MISSION! She's with my fucking sister you ass-hat! And now you're telling me she's an unleashed killing machine who is shifting?! WHY IS SHE ABLE TO SHIFT?!"
"I DON'T KNOW! It's never happened before! No wolf is supposed to be able to actually shift before their first moon! Just the eyes changing!" Kendall said as she took a few deep breaths, "Look I'm going to shift back and try to get to Nicole, if I don't stop her from her rampage she will die! Get there and get Waverly and make sure she is okay and for the love of all that is holy you two stay away from Nicole until I can get her under control!"
"And if you can't?" Wynonna asked in concern as she frowned.
Kendall didn't say anything but she looked down at Peacemaker on Wynonna's side.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Kendall said as she turned and launched herself forward, gracefully transforming into her large wolf and taking off through the woods.
The pregnant Heir was right behind her, waddling as fast as she could, grumbling, "Damn you Nicole Haught I swear if you make me shoot you today I am taking my maternity leave early!"
Beth went to push herself off the ground, but Nicole walked right over kicked the woman across the face, causing her to roll onto her back. Nicole quickly pounced down and was again gripping Beth's throat, although this time Nicole intended to rip it out.
Beth coughed up blood but continued to speak, "We will win and the words I have spoken will come true. Even with your hell hound roots you can't stop me…"
At Widow Beth's words, Nicole raised an eyebrow in obvious confusion.
"You don't even know yet do you? You don't know all about where you come from?" Beth asked as she started to laugh, hearing the Widow's laughter caused the officer's to tightened her grip, "You and your stupid little lover don't even know what the hell you are… And you really think you can beat us? Fools."
"We can and we will," Nicole growled out as she leaned forward snarling with her teeth on full display.
"You stupid naïve bitch," Widow Beth said with a grin as blood trickled down the side of her mouth from her earlier wound.
The look in Nicole's eyes told Beth that her plan was now in full swing, she had the soon to be werewolf exactly where she wanted her.
"You know what happens to a new wolf who pushes themselves past their limits? When they shift before they are ready?" Widow Beth said as she started to gasp for air, clearly running out of oxygen as the red head crushed her wind-pipe, "They… Die…" Beth wheezed out as she began to lose consciousness.
Nicole heard Beth's words but they didn't seem to register, all the red head could think about now was crushing the Widow's throat with her bare hands for what she had said about torturing Waverly.
Nicole was thrown from Beth when a large wolf tackled her to the snow and the pair went rolling.
"KENDALL!" Waverly yelled as she slowly stood up and tried to stumble forward but was stopped by a very pregnant big sister waddling towards her.
"Baby girl! Don't get involved in the Haught sister showdown!" Wynonna screamed as she waved her hand in the air panting.
"Wynonna?" Waverly asked in confusion as she moved as quick as she could towards her sister, "What the hell is happening?"
"Are you okay?" Wynonna asked as she reached her sister and noticed the brunette gripping her side.
"Yeah, fine Widow Beth she…" Waverly said as she turned and looked where the Widow had once been, "She's gone!"
"Huh?" Wynonna said as she looked around.
"Later," Waverly grumbled as she shook her head and looked over to her girlfriend and the blonde wolf that were now circling each other in a predatory manner, "Explain! Why is Kendall attacking Nicole?!"
"Okay baby girl but don't freak out it's-" Wynonna was cut off when there was a loud roar coming from Nicole towards the blonde wolf.
"WYNONNA!" Waverly hissed as she started taking steps forward but was quickly stopped by Wynonna's hand on her arm.
"Okay so whatever the hell happened over here set off Nicole and now she's starting to shift and apparently that's not supposed to happen because if a wolf pushes their bodies too far then they die and right now…" Wynonna said as she held her sister tightly, "Your girl is maybe a blood thirsty wolf who is out of control so Kendall is going to try to stop her before anything happens."
"That bitch…" Waverly grumbled as she shook her head.
"I mean I wouldn't say she's a bitch, maybe a little bossy, but this whole wolf thing IS kind of new to her…" Wynonna said as she watched Kendall growling at her sister and moving closer to Nicole.
"What?" Waverly said as she looked at her sister, "No, not Nicole. Beth… Or Widow Beth I guess. She kept provoking Nicole, she said something to her about how the Demon Clootie would kill me…"
"What the hell did that bitch say?" Wynonna growled lowly.
"I don't know, she had Nicole lean in and she whispered it to her and when she was done Nicole changed and kicked the shit out of her," Waverly said as she turned her attention back to the Haught sisters who were now rolling in the snow in what appeared to be a wrestling match.
"The trigger to lose control of her rage…" Wynonna whispered as she tightened her arms around Waverly.
"What?" Waverly asked as she scrunched her brow.
"We will talk later and I'll explain more… Kendall said that right now Nicole has no control and will rip anyone in sight apart so she told us to stay back, just trust her baby girl," Wynonna said as she watched the sister's rolling to the ground.
Kendall had Nicole pinned down with both paws on her chest and was leaning forward snarling.
Nicole, I know you understand me. You need to stop. You are letting the wolf control you and if you don't calm down you'll die.
Nicole barked and snapped her teeth at her sister, snagging Kendall's left paw and causing the blonde to pull back. Seeing the opportunity, Nicole brought her legs up and kicked Kendall backwards.
The two sisters were now standing about 15 yards apart and engaged in a staring death match.
Kendall quickly regained her footing and crouched down releasing a loud roar. It was a common and well known custom in wolf packs that when a higher-ranking alpha roars, those under the command of that alpha shall bow down. Usually with newer wolfs that lost control if one of the Haught leaders roared it would stop them in their tracks and they would shift back to normal; this was often a demeaning act and one that was used as a last resort, especially amongst family members.
Nicole closed her eyes and felt herself shake lightly, but the wolf inside of her refused to bow down to the alpha before her.
You have no authority over me Kendall! I will NOT bow before you! You are NOT my Alpha! Nicole said with a growl.
Kendall's eyes gave away the shock she felt from Nicole's defiance, which caused the red head to grin.
Kendall realized this was escalating quickly and she would need to knock her sister out, without thinking about any potential consequences the blonde wolf rushed forward but was caught off guard when Nicole countered the attack.
As the wolf lunged forward, Nicole ducked low, throwing an elbow into Kendall's stomach and then lifting the wolf on her shoulder and spinning to her left as she grabbed her sister's back paws and threw her across the snow with surprising ease from her new found strength.
Kendall went rolling across the snow towards Wynonna and Waverly. As the blonde bounced painfully on the ground, her body shifted from it's large wolf form back to a bruised and beaten human form.
"Shit! Barbie!" Wynonna said as she raced over to Kendall's side.
Wynonna kneeled down in the snow behind the blonde, who now had a cut to her head and blood trickling down her face, and lifted Kendall's head to rest on her lap, "Hey Haught-stuff, come on, stay with me…"
Kendall opened her eyes and went to speak and it came out in a low voice, "Nicole, won't stop… When I roared at her… It usually causes the new wolves to stop and bow down… But it challenged her wolf and now… She is going to kick my ass…" the blonde panted out.
"Dude she already did that," Wynonna said with a frown as she brushed some of Kendall's hair out of the blood dripping down her face.
Nicole was growling and had her sight locked on Kendall and was marching with purpose towards the blonde and Heir.
Waverly came walking right past Kendall and Wynonna and was heading straight for her girlfriend.
"Waverly!" Kendall yelled as she tried to sit up but the pain in her side made her unable to move fast enough.
Wynonna reached out trying to grab her sister but Waverly was moving with a purpose, "Waverly! NO! Damnit!"
Wynonna grabbed Kendall and the two were trying to move forward to stop the youngest Earp, but Kendall stopped when Nicole looked over Waverly's head and growled, threatening them to move.
"Wait…" Kendall whispered as she lowered her gaze and her head slightly, showing Nicole that she was submitting. The blonde grabbed Wynonna's arm tightly and held her back as the two older sister's watched the young couple.
Waverly walked right up to her girlfriend, who was in the second stage of a shifted werewolf, and gave a warm grin.
"Hey baby…" Waverly said in a sweet voice, letting those green eyes sparkle.
"Hi…" Nicole said lowly with a slight grin.
"Calm down, okay? Kendall is just trying to help. This isn't you sweetie…" Waverly said as she took another step forward and brought her right hand up to Nicole's cheek and used her thumb to rub softly, "Come back to me baby…"
Nicole reached up and grabbed Waverly's hand gently and brought it down as she grabbed the brunette's other hand and laced their fingers together. Nicole then lowered herself so that she was now down on both knees in the snow. The red head then lowered her head, closed her eyes, brought Waverly's hands to her lips and kissed them softly.
Nicole took several deep breaths and could feel herself calming down Waverly's perfume surrounded her senses. Nicole's face shifted back to normal, her canine fangs had sunk back and her claws reverted back revealing her normal short finger nails. Nicole looked up at Waverly now with loving brown eyes and a small smile.
Waverly felt like a weight had been lifted off of her now that she saw her girlfriend back to normal. Nicole slowly pulled her hands from Waverly's and reached around as she leaned forward, hugging Waverly as she stayed kneeling and resting her head against the brunette's stomach. Waverly's heart was melting and she quickly dangled her arms over Nicole's shoulders and reached up to tangle her fingers in her girlfriend's red hair, lightly stroking the locks.
"What the hell is happening?" Wynonna whispered to Kendall, as the Heir glanced over to the blonde. Based on Kendall's wide-eyed and jaw dropped expression, Wynonna could tell that whatever was going on between Waverly and Nicole right now was big.
"Nicole is submitting to her…" Kendall said quietly, obvious shock dripping from her.
"I'm sorry… Do what now?" Wynonna asked as she scrunched her brow.
"Nicole wouldn't submit to me as the Alpha…" Kendall whispered, "When I roared, I challenged her wolf and used my position as the higher ranking Alpha which based on everything that our breed is, should have made her stop and shift back… But she fought it… She refused to bow to me and respect my Alpha and submit like wolves are suppose to, it is pack law, it's literally our natural instinct… She wouldn't do that to me and instead she wanted to rip my heart out… But right now…"
Kendall glanced to Wynonna giving a small warm grin and Wynonna gave a breathless laugh as the meaning of Nicole bowing before Waverly in her shifted stage sank in.
"Waverly is her Alpha… She follows her… Not the pack," Wynonna said as she gave a small grin.
"Nicole's wolf has chosen to follow Waverly," Kendall said as she glanced over to Wynonna, "You all are her pack..."
Wynonna never took her eyes off of the couple, but she squeezed Kendall into a small hug, before she stopped their sensitive moment and laughed lightly, "I keep forgetting that you're butt ass naked and this is probably very inappropriate."
Kendall laughed lightly before she rolled her eyes, "Between you helping me walk in the woods and holding me up now, pretty sure you've made it to second base several times today, a naked hug is hardly inappropriate."
Wynonna shrugged and shook her head in agreement; "Yeah actually it's really not that weird anymore, I feel like I'm getting use to seeing your naked ass."
"It's not leaving any time soon Earp," Kendall said with a eyebrow raise and smirk as she glanced at Wynonna.
"Can't say I'm complaining just yet fur-ball," Wynonna said quietly with a small smile as she looked the blonde up and down, "Thank God you aren't fat."
Kendall choked as she tried to stifle a laugh.
The Earp Heir and blonde looked back at the young couple, genuine smiles on their face as they let the two have their moment.
"Okay love birds, can we find Dolls? We kinda have one of those bitches in cuffs and the other is on the run so…" Wynonna said as she and Kendall cleared their throats.
Neither woman replied but Nicole stood up but as she did she started swaying. Waverly quickly reached out trying to catch her.
"Woah, baby what's wrong?" Waverly said in concern.
"Nothing I just… I don't feel so good…" Nicole said as her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out. Waverly attempted to grab her but with the brunette already being injured, Nicole slipped down and fell into the snow.
Wynonna and Kendall were racing forward and were quickly at Nicole's side.
"Baby?!" Waverly yelled as she kneeled down beside her girlfriend.
Kendall reached down and checked Nicole's pulse, "She's passed out… Which isn't shocking considering how much she pushed her wolf today…"
"What did I miss?" Dolls asked as he scrunched his brow and looked at the passed out red head, Dolls looked around at the other woman and quickly threw his hands up to his eyes when he got to Kendall, "WOAH! Sorry, uhm, yeah… Everyone okay?"
Dolls asked this as he removed his jacket and stuck his hand out waving it around. Wynonna rolled her eyes and grabbed the coat, handing it to Kendall.
The blonde put the jacket on and Wynonna then said, "Okay, she's covered you prude."
Dolls took his hands down and gave a grin.
"Hello! My girlfriend, passed out in the snow… Little help here?" Waverly said as she finally got everyone looking down at her again.
"I got her," Dolls said as he walked over and lifted Nicole up into his arms.
"We have to grab the box I grabbed from the basement," Waverly said as the group walked over and each of them started grabbing several of the books so the box wouldn't be as heavy.
As they were walking back to through the woods, Wynonna piped up, "Hey, did you guys find anything else other than books in the basement?"
"Ohhhhhh fudge nuggets I forgot that you guys don't know yet!" Waverly said as she gasped, "Shit! Uhm… Yeah… We found Mercedes… Like the real Mercedes body… Uhm Nicole carried her to the SUV earlier just… Don't freak out when you see her cause it's kinda sorta bad."
Dolls, Wynonna and Kendall were all starring in mild shock that the couple had apparently found a body in the basement of the Gardner house; with all the events that followed they hadn't had time to debrief.