“You ever fought a vampire before?” Sean asked as he spun an electronic tablet between his fingers.

Derek was crammed into a large van with Sean and Stephan, Richard manning the driver’s seat. The city skyline passed by the windows as Sean talked. He had all but literally dragged Derek out of the factory once he’d agreed to go with him on this strike.

Derek shook his head. “No, though I’ve heard stories.”

Sean snorted. “Fighting them ain’t gonna be like your stories, okay? These fuckers are vicious when they’re cornered. Now since you’re one of us, I’ll skip the whole explanation about crosses or whatever it is humans think work. Vampires are weak to fire and sunlight for sure, so if you can toss them into one of those things, go right ahead. Now, we’re stronger than them, but it don’t mean we’re faster. Their claws and fangs are almost like silver to us, but not quite as bad. Now if you don’t have fire or sunlight handy, that’s where us being able to go full werewolf comes into play. They might be a bit quicker and sneakier at times, but if you got them in your hands, all it takes is pulling a few body parts off to end the fight.”

“Sean makes it sound easier than it is. Vampires aren’t easy to catch, in or out of a fight. Don’t let them get on you, and if they do, don’t let them stick to you. A vampire’s bite might not be as bad as ours, but they can tear you up if they get too good a hold on you,” Stephan warned from beside him.

“You gotta be a better fighter than them is all it comes down to. Best thing you can do is end it quick. Get them by the head and rip that sucker off, and the fight’s over. Those assholes can take almost as much of a beating as we can, but even they can’t live forever without their heads,” Sean said with a snicker.

“So, that kills them then?” Derek asked for clarification.

Stephan shook his head. “No, but they can’t do anything with their heads pulled off. They’re still alive, but without the brain, the body is useless. Without the body, the head is just a container for the brain.”

“Once you get them all ripped up nicely, you throw them into a pile and let the fire rip,” Sean added.

Derek wrinkled his nose at the thought but didn’t say anything. He’d thought it was gruesome enough that the vampires lived through decapitation. Was it really worth living forever if you had to survive something as awful as your head being ripped off? He didn’t want to know if they were technically conscious when they were thrown into a fire to be burned. The idea of being aware of your own pyre being built with your body parts and those of your comrades was a bit too morbid for his taste.

“You said they’re hard to find outside of battle?” Derek asked, eager to change the topic now he knew what he’d have to do.

“Yeah. They’re tricky assholes who like to hide in plain sight. They usually hang out where there are humans around so we can’t do anything to them unless we find them in private. Thing is, they keep their private shit really private, so finding their hiding places can be hard. Every now and then though, we find a good hiding place and burn them out,” Sean told him with a wicked grin.

“What sort of place are we going to?” Derek asked.

“We call them ‘bloodhouses.’ It’s where a few leeches get together to hide in one place. They like to make it their home, and they’ll keep a few humans there to feed on. That’s where the name comes from,” Stephan explained.

“I…can’t imagine a human would survive long in those conditions,” Derek said slowly.

Stephan grimaced. “A skilled leech can keep them alive for weeks. They keep enough of them around that they aren’t just draining the whole pack of humans at once when they need to feed. Spend a bit of money for food, water, and whatever else the humans might need and they have a somewhat healthy supply of humans to feed on for awhile.”

Sean sneered. “They call them ‘herds.’ Like they’re cattle. It’s sick.”

Derek was inclined to agree. “And this ‘bloodhouse’ only requires the four of us to raid it?”

“Eh, there ain’t that many leeches in this one if our intel is right. No need to throw more werewolves into the mess if it ain’t necessary. Don’t need to draw more attention than we probably already will. Plus, you ever been in a small space with a lot of us running around? It gets cramped,” Sean stated with a laugh.

“We’re here,” Richard called back to them.

Sean clapped his hands together, looking eager. “Alright boys, let’s go see what kind of mayhem and death we can bring on these bloodsuckers.”

After Sean flung open the doors, Stephan reached to stop Derek from following him. “It’s going to be a bloodbath in there. I don’t think you’ve ever seen anything like what you’re about to. Whatever you do, don’t stop to think about what’s happening. Go for the vampires, do what needs to be done, and save the thinking for when the fighting’s over, okay?”

Derek looked back, smiling gratefully. “Thank you. Stephan. I’ll try to do that.”

“If you need to retreat, do so. It’s better to be alive to fight another day than to die because you were too stubborn to back off,” Stephan warned as they hunch-walked out of the back of the van.

The building in question was even more run-down than the factory Sean’s pack was living in. It was at the far edge of town, in another part of the industrial district. It looked as if no one had touched it in a couple of decades. Rust coated the outer fence and the metal doors. Rot spread along the wood boarding up the windows, adding to the desolate and lonely feel of the place. Hardy weeds sprouted up through the hard dirt and concrete, the only signs of life in the otherwise barren place.

“It looks so much worse than the place you all stay in, even though it’s not that far from it,” Derek commented in amazement.

“It’s the vamps. Something about them seems to poison everything around them,” Stephan said.

If that was really the case, then Derek had a newfound respect for the war the City Wolves were fighting. He hadn’t been too fond of the lack of natural life around the factory, but at least it didn’t feel like the air around this building did. Sean’s pack’s factory felt low in life, struggling, but this building, and the area around it, felt poisoned and dead. He had to resist the urge to cover his mouth so he didn’t breathe in some deadly vapor.

“Our entry point is around the side, but we’re gonna want to transform first. This is a straightforward exercise. We turn, break the door down, run in and fuck them up before they realize what’s hit them,” Sean explained as he led them through an opening in the rusty outer fence.

“I imagine ambushing them can be quite effective,” Derek commented as he followed after the Alpha.

“Yeah. They don’t do too well with being surprised. Arrogant bastards always think they’ve got the upper-hand, so it helps to catch them by surprise, and during the day,” Sean said, motioning up toward the afternoon sun.

“The daylight will make them confused and easier to attack,” Stephan explained as they stepped over the cracked ground.

“Wouldn’t they make it so the sunlight can’t reach them?” Derek asked in confusion.

Stephan shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if they can see the sunlight or not. Just being awake during the day makes them loopy. We think it has something to do with whatever they are; their bodies can’t stand being up during the day, but that’s just a guess.”

“Whatever the reason, it makes them a lot easier to kill,” Sean said.

“At first, anyway. Once they get their heads on straight, they’re just as vicious as when they’re awake at night. Worse actually, because it usually means they’re cornered since they can’t go outside. Nothing fights harder than a wounded, cornered animal,” Stephan cautioned.

Sean looked hesitantly at Derek as he nodded. “Make sure to kill them quick. Don’t let them recover or we’re gonna end up bleeding a lot more than I want to.”

Richard pointed to a set of double doors, as rusted as the rest of the metal on the building. “That’s the one.”

Sean motioned to Derek. “Guests first. You shift and we’ll keep watch.”

Knowing there was no point in arguing, Derek kicked his shoes aside as he pulled the rest of his clothes off. He shivered as the cool breeze in the shadows brushed against his naked skin, closing his eyes to focus. There was a rush of energy as he found the power of the beast within him, coaxing it outward. His training had him wrapping his consciousness around the power, willing it to serve his purpose, his direction.

He grew to nearly ten feet tall as his limbs extended gracefully. His fingers elongated, the bones of his body shifting and claws sprang into view. Fur sprouted, black as night, and glittering in the light of the day as his mouth stretched into a muzzle. A tail pushed out from his spine just as the fangs in his mouth grew, wicked and deadly. As the last of the transformation passed through him, he stood, towering above the still human-looking werewolves, an onyx colored war machine.

Stephan looked up at him in interest. “I’ve never seen anyone turn like that.”

“They teach you how to make that shit look fancy in the sept?” Sean asked with derision.

“It’s probably an art form or something,” Stephan said curiously, apparently ignoring Sean’s foul mood.

Something about the way Stephan said it brought a sharp tooth grin of thanks from Derek. The man was more right than he knew. The sept did place some emphasis on a “graceful” transformation. It didn’t matter what form you were turning from or which one you were turning into; the smoother and less unnerving the transformation, the more respect you garnered. It was one of the few things his father had tried to instill in Derek that he had taken to with ease. It was also one of the things that Aron had yet to best him in, and it warmed his pride to hear Stephan’s almost complimentary statement.

“Aww, you went and made him feel good,” Sean teased.

“Don’t be an ass. u gonna turn next, Oh Fearless Leader?” Stephan asked with a huff.

Sean grunted as he began to pull of his clothing. After his transformation Stephan went next, and then finally Richard. Derek watched them each change, and realized why Sean had made the comment he had. None of the other three werewolves had changed with any finesse or even much control, shifting and growing at random until they stood at their full height. The end result was the same, though, and any human who might happen to wander by would think they’d wandered into a horror movie. Four hulking werewolves stood just outside the building, all of them primed to charge in and begin the slaughter.

“Get around behind them,” Sean told Richard in the thick, harsh voice that came with the form he was in.

“You want Derek with me or with you?” Stephan asked in the same guttural voice.

“It doesn’t matter to me, so long as we get these bastards and quick,” Sean snarled, looking to Derek.

Stephan spared him from having to answer. “I’ll take him with me.”

“Fine, then you two cover the right side of things. Don’t let anyone get through to me,” Sean growled.

That was the closest they were probably going to get to a signal for them to get started. The thought had Derek drawing in another deep breath, hoping Sean didn’t notice his tension. He’d never seen a vampire before, let alone fought one. There were too many unknowns and he was relying on three werewolves he hardly knew to support him in the coming fight. His anxiety rode within him, alongside the eagerness for the fight, and the impatience of waiting.

When the others moved, Derek instinctively moved with them. Richard was the first to the doors, his bulk slamming into them and tearing the worn metal off the hinges with a shriek of protest. Sean was next, and Derek followed him with Stephan right behind. They plunged into the darkness, and as furious shrieks echoed through the dark halls, Derek felt, as well as heard, the fight begin.