Grady barely had time to observe the new land before he spotted them. John tried to warn him to hide, to run away. He said he'd been selfish by bringing him here, and he should've run off without dragging him along. But he barely had time before the werewolves showed up.
Grady didn't know how he had ever thought they were human. Despite being much younger than John, they glared up at him, their teeth glinting under the sunlight and their glares vicious. Cassie's green eyes glinted menacingly, several shades lighter than John, and Will's dark hair was disheveled and matted.
"Look who's come back—" Will trailed off as he spotted the boy next to him. His glare turned predatory, along with Cassie's. Grady hid behind John as they stared hungrily at him.
John tried to return the attention to himself. "Do whatever you want to me," he said, wincing. "Go on, get your revenge. I won't fight back."
"Like you didn't fight back last time?" Cassie pointed out coolly, her green eyes flashing into his.
"I won't," John insisted, stepping up to them. "Have your revenge. It's kind of a relief, honestly. I don't like my condition, unlike you."
"Well, we were about to do just that," Will admitted, his grin returning. "But now, I don't think I'll bother. Look who you've brought for us."
John turned to Grady and gestured frantically, but it was too late. The two werewolves advanced towards him, ignoring John.
"Very generous of you," remarked Cassie. "You've brought fresh prey for us. This time, we'll share, won't we, Will?" She cast an accusatory glance at her companion.
"Oh, yes," Will agreed. "We've made up for our little fight earlier, but we haven't made up with you. Sorry, you won't get any, but that's a small price to pay for us leaving you alone, isn't it?"
Grady felt a shudder go down his back as John stepped in front of him again. "No!" he yelled. "Leave him alone. Kill me if you want, but don't harm him. He didn't do anything to you."
"Oh, how touching," said Cassie mockingly. "Don't tell me you've actually grown to care for the boy."
"What will you do if we touch him?" Will asked.
"You'll have to go through me first," John insisted. Grady shook his head briefly. "I fought you off before, and I can do it again."
"Oh, come on. Do you really want a repeat of what happened all those months ago?" Cassie demanded. "I thought you were trying to avoid that."
"Anyway, you aren't in werewolf form now," Will added. "That's how I dealt with the blow of losing to an older wimp who doesn't even deserve to be called a werewolf. I thought it was just your werewolf instincts finally taking over for once."
"But you're a human now," Cassie continued, advancing towards them. "No way you can take us on."
"I will," John insisted. "If you even think about laying a hand on him."
"No," Grady tried to whisper, but nobody seemed to hear him.
"I'd like to see you try," Will chuckled.
They started to advance towards him, clearly thinking he wasn't serious and intending to brush him off easily. But John pounced forward and swiped his hand over their faces. They staggered backwards in surprise, not expecting him to do that. Grady spotted blood on their faces. John's fingernails were sharp, he had noticed, if dulled by all the dirt in them. John took advantage of their temporary shock to pounce on them again. But this time, they were prepared. They made John stagger back, almost knocking him to the ground.
"Grady, run!" John yelled as they advanced on him again.
Grady knew he should've done just that, but he couldn't. He couldn't abandon John. He knew he would probably be fine. He was a werewolf and Grady was a human, he didn't need his help. But he couldn't leave. He watched the fight between the three werewolves with a combination of horrified shock and morbid fascination. It was two against one, even if the two were considerably younger and smaller. Even though they looked human, Grady could imagine them as vicious, hairy werewolves. It didn't look like humans fighting.
Grady turned away, trying to block his ears to the growls and snarls. If he turned away, it sounded exactly like a group of animals fighting. But then he looked again as he heard a shrill cry of human-sounding pain.
John was on the ground, his face scratched up and bloody. His arm hung at an uneven angle. The other two towered over him, undisguised glee on their faces. John looked terrified for a moment, before closing his eyes, a look of peace crossing his face. He had clearly accepted his fate, knowing he had no chance of winning this fight. He had gotten lucky last time, but he couldn't expect that twice. He briefly opened his eyes and looked over at Grady, not urging him to do anything, but simply locking eyes with him as he accepted his fate.
But Grady had to do something. Frantically surveying the area, he picked up a huge, long stick lying on the ground, almost dropping it from the weight. As quietly as possible, he approached Will and Cassie, swinging the stick up behind his head. John didn't see him, his eyes closed in acceptance. Thankfully, the other two took their sweet time, enjoying seeing him vulnerable before finishing him, even if they didn't get to see his expression of terror.
When he was right behind them, Grady almost backed away. They really did seem like feral beasts. Even their hair looked like matted fur. But he raised the stick high above his head and sent it down on their heads with a crack.
It wasn't that hard, due to his nerves dulling the blow, but it caught them off guard. They staggered to the ground, lowering their heads. But it only lasted for a moment before they got up and turned their vicious glare to Grady. Their faces almost made him run away. John had done a good job on them, even if he had ultimately lost. Their faces were scratched and bloody, chunks of their hair torn out and blood running under both of their feral eyes, making their expressions even more terrifying.
Grady couldn't hesitate. He raised the stick again and aimed it at one of their eye sockets, seeing how John had especially done a number on them. Will howled and backed away, and Grady felt sick as he spotted more blood running down his eye, which tilted slightly out of its socket. He did the same to Cassie with his eyes closed. He didn't aim perfectly this time, but he heard an animalistic cry of pain anyway. He opened his eyes and spotted them both writhing on the ground. John had opened his eyes, staring in shock at Grady. But he needed to make sure they were fully down. He kept bringing the stick down, over and over. The more he did it, the more adrenaline he gathered. The blows landed with a sickening crack. Grady stopped once he heard the popping sound of bones breaking.
He glanced down and found them lying completely still on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding them. Horror filled him. What had he done?
John got to his feet, limping slightly. "You should go," he managed to choke out.
But Grady didn't. He sunk to his knees, the smell of blood making him gag. He had been acting just as viciously as them. He couldn't believe what he had just done.
"You... you saved me," John realized. "They would've finished me off if you hadn't stepped in. Maybe... maybe you should've let them."
Somehow, hearing that sickened Grady even more. "No," he insisted weakly. He didn't know what he was saying. He felt bile rise in his throat. He kept his eyes closed, not being able to stand looking at the bodies.
He felt John's arms around him. He raised him up, despite being weakened himself, and carried him away. Grady felt relieved as he lay him down against a tree, but he could feel the blood on his hands, hear the sickening blows.
He didn't know how much time passed. He heard John leave, and felt his head spinning and going numb as the horror set in. When he opened his eyes again, John was over him, an equally terrified expression on his face.
"They'll think I did it," he whispered. "They'll think I..."
He trailed off, but Grady knew what he was going to say. Killed them.
"No," he whispered, tears of horror filling his eyes.
"It's not your fault," John insisted. "You wouldn't have been able to if I hadn't already damaged them so much. But you should've left."
"I couldn't let them kill you," Grady insisted.
John wrapped his arms around him as he began to weep.
