Chapter 31
Dean
I was on my back under the Wagoneer, making sure the belts were tight enough before I headed out to get Serra. We needed to be able to get away in a hurry if it came down to it. Hearing footsteps, I paused and glanced at the feet, trying to see if it was Doug or Eric. I didn't recognize the shoes, so I pulled myself out from under the car and greeted the man standing at the foot of the truck.
"Hey, man," I said, "sorry. Customers aren't allowed back here. Safety is a big thing here." I stared up at him momentarily and narrowed my eyes as realization hit me. He smelled different. I didn't know if it was The Mark or just my years as a hunter, but I knew he was a werewolf before I actually had the conscious thought. I pushed the ground with all my might and sent myself flying on the creeper under the Wagoneer, clear to the other side and rolled, throwing myself to my feet and grabbing the tire iron from my tool chest at the end of my garage.
He was on me, just as fast, shifting in mid-air as he jumped. I watched in awe as he transformed in mid-day, in a waning moon cycle. "Oh, you're some new kind of freak, aren't you?" I asked, backing up and trying to figure out how to get my gun out of the trunk of my Impala. "Where are the rest of your thugs?"
Growling menacingly at me, he lunged, trying to get a piece of me as I jumped away. I swiped the tire iron as he dove, slamming the metal on the back of his skull. It hit with a thud and the wolf yelped, jumping away from me. Circling me, he growled and lunged again, going for my throat. I jumped out of the way, slamming the beast into my tool chest, causing quite a scene.
Doug came running out of his office, yelling, "Dean! Deano, are you okay?" He came to a stop in the middle of the bay, staring at the werewolf, raising his eyebrows. "Holy shit, what is that?"
"Doug! Run!" I yelled, trying to tackle the wolf from behind as he took off after my boss and I just about slammed my head into the cement as I missed. "Doug!" I shouted, getting to my feet and tearing off, after the werewolf. It cornered Doug in his office and I came to a stop in the doorway. "Don't let it bite you, Doug. There's no cure."
"Are you fucking serious?" he yelled back, circling behind his desk. The werewolf snarled and lunged as I threw a desk chair into his path. It turned on me again and all I could think as I prepared myself for the attack was that my wife and kids were home alone, not knowing that they were coming for us before we had a chance to come after them.
…
There was a scratch at the back door and Grace didn't even consider it an issue. She reached for the sliding glass door with Everett in her arms and Johnny barked from the run he laid on, in the middle of the living room. Gasping, Grace took a step back, realizing that it wasn't the black lab. The scratching persisted and Grace took a step back as the breeze picked up through the house, blowing the curtain away from the window.
There, staring back at her, were three sets of eyes. "Shit," she said, turning towards the kids and running to scoop them up from the ground. "Liberty! Come here!"
Libby stood from her spot on the couch and looked at her mother, confused. "Momma?"
"Now, Lib! Right now!" Liberty ran to her mother's side, sensing the distress. Grace shot a look to the slider and realized that there was a slim chance of her being able to carry all three infants at the same time. She extended her arms, shoving Everett into Liberty's hands. "Hold onto him. Get him downstairs, now. Go to Auntie Jody's room." Liberty struggled under Everett's weight and he began to cry as his sister attempted to lug him down the stair well.
Bending down to pull Levi and Glory from their spots on the rug, Grace could hear glass break as the werewolves let themselves in. She had just enough time to put the kids in the crib inside of the panic room and push Liberty through the door and slam it behind her, leaving herself exposed at the bottom of the steps as she heard the glass crash to the floor.
Breathing hard, she listened for footsteps above her. She could hear the panic room's master lock slide into place automatically, sealing the kids inside. Smiling lightly to herself, she took a deep breath. "Alright, assholes. Let's do this."