CHAPTER 23
Atticus watched from his vantage point on the small hill beyond the farmhouse as the lights to the place went dark, shrouding the building and the partiers around in a deep darkness, the deafening thumping of the music shutting off abruptly, the silence of nature reasserting itself.
The generator has been a simple set-up, and looking over the equipment, he saw that it would be easy to rig the thing to shut off at a particular time- in this case, a half hour. His brothers and the rest of the pack were given orders to infiltrate the party, to take up positions in the crowd, and to be ready to shift and strike when the power shut off.
He looked over the crowd, trying to spot the members of his pack, but it was simply too dark.
But the roars and screams that sounded seconds later signaled to him that the plan was underway.
Atticus was pleased that all seemed to be going according to plan, but this feeling was quickly replaced with a sense of urgency. He knew that Lucas was smart enough to realize that the power outage wasn’t a mere coincidence and that it almost certainly meant that Atticus and the rest of the pack were gearing up to make an attack. And Atticus knew that as soon as Lucas realized this, Tessa’s life would be in danger.
Atticus took off into a run, his legs pumping with wild abandon as he closed the distance between him and the house. As he drew closer, he could begin to make out the shapes of the pack among the crowd, tall, fearsome night-shrouded shapes that filled the air with deafening roars, the crowd in a mad rush to escape them.
He kept running towards the house, now getting closer and closer to the partygoers who had made the quickest escapes, the faces of them painted with fear and shock as they ran past Atticus and into the woods beyond.
Then, the flashing and popping of gunfire began to sound, the pack now doing their work of neutralizing the guards of the house. Atticus gave the men strict orders to not harm anyone who wasn’t a direct threat to them, but he knew that things could get chaotic in the middle of a battle.
As Atticus ran closer, more and more of the junkies rushed past him and he could now make out clearly the forms of the members of the pack as they set upon the armed gang members, roaring as they swatted them away with massive, fearsome claws.
Atticus knew that they needed to have the element of surprise on their side and having the pack ready to shift and fight the gang from the inside out was just the way to do it.
He finally closed the distance between him and the house and Atticus was now among the teeming throngs that were in a mad, frenzied dash away from the building. He guessed there easily was hundreds of people there, all running from the bears that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. The place was becoming more and more of a scene of chaos by the second.
Looking to his right, Atticus watched as two members of the pack set upon a pair of guards, swiping them away effortlessly, only to have another trio of gang members approach them from the back, all brandishing pistols. They began cracking off shots at the bears, the pack members roaring as the bullets impacted their thick hides. As Atticus drew closer, he recognized one of the bears as Clyde, his bulky, powerful form easily identifiable even in his shifted shape.
Atticus rushed towards the three guards, slamming into them at an incredible pace, knocking them off of their feet and onto the ground. Now that the gang members were stunned, Atticus looked up at Clyde, who flashed him a look of appreciation as he turned towards the gang members, all holding their hands up and shouting in fear as Clyde and the other bear loomed over them.
Atticus turned his attention back to the house, watching as party-goers streamed out of the entrances, some even jumping from the windows and landing in the sparse bushes before breaking into a run. He pushed his way past the throngs of people, making his way into the farmhouse.
Once inside, he saw that the scene was just as chaotic was it was outdoors. The rest of the pack was among the crowd and all were shifted into their fearsome bear forms. Atticus spotted Ian and Roland, who were busy fighting off the guards, taking care not to harm any innocent members of the crowd. The gang members shot round after round at the bears and Atticus sighed in relief as he realized that they didn’t seem to be armed with silver-tipped bullets. Though enough regular shots could take down a shifter, especially a well-aimed one- Ian, Roland, and the rest seemed to be handling the panicked, ill-trained guards with ease.
Atticus rushed through the house, his eyes settling on the stairs that led to the second floor. He didn’t know exactly where he’d find Tessa and Lucas, but he figured that up and away from the chaos was a likely place.
He ran up the stairs, weaving through men and women who streamed down, and arrived at the second floor. It was a large, expansive space, and his eyes settled on the door at the end of the hallway to his right, which he guessed led to the master bedroom. Atticus stormed down the hallway, rage building in him as he realized that Tessa was close.
He could feel it.
Reaching the door, he threw himself into it with a mighty kick, ripping the thing off of its hinges. Once he entered, he was greeted with the sight of Lucas, one arm wrapped around Tessa, the other holding a gun that was pressed against her temple. A pair of girls were also in the room, and as soon as Atticus entered they ran past him screaming, out into the hall.
“Surprised to see you here, shifter,” said Lucas, his grip tight on Tessa.
“What, did you really think your meth-head flunkies would do their job?”
“Maybe, maybe not, but it doesn’t matter- now I’ve got you right where I want you.”
Atticus’s eyes fastened on Tessa and the gun, rage boiling within him at the sight of his love being held in danger.
“You OK, Tessa?”
She nodded, Lucas’s thick arm crossed over her neck, her eyes winced in pain and fear.
“Here’s the deal,” said Lucas, moving towards the large window in the bedroom. “You and your pack leave now. Leave Bear Mountain and never come back. Tessa stays with me, but I guarantee you she won’t be harmed.”
“And leave you to ruin this city even more than you already have? Not a chance,” said Atticus.
Lucas scoffed, his eyes fixed on Atticus as he kept the gun trained on Tessa.
“I had a feeling you might say that.”
He rattled the gun in his hand.
“My guards weren’t smart enough to make sure they were loaded up with silver bullets, but I was. One shot from this right to your gut and I’ll take care of this shifter problem real fast.”
He pointed the gun at Atticus, whose body tensed as the weapon was trained on him. He knew that Lucas was right- a shot from that to the limbs wouldn’t necessarily be fatal, but a solid shot to the torso or head would kill him on the spot.
“Of course,” said Lucas, pressing the end of the gun to Tessa’s head. “These work just as well on non-shifters, too.”
Tessa let out a whimper as Lucas tapped on her temple with the tip of the gun.
“You wouldn’t,” said Atticus, his body ready to pounce.
“I would if it meant you left and didn’t come back,” said Lucas.
“You kill her and you’re next,” said Atticus.
“You know what?” asked Lucas. “I think it would be easier just to kill you.”
Before Atticus could react, Lucas trained the gun on him and fired a shot. Atticus moved at the last minute, jumping towards the side of the room as Tessa let out a scream. The shot slammed into the wall just behind where Atticus stood only seconds ago.
Then, Lucas aimed the gun at Atticus once more, and Atticus knew in that split-second that he wouldn’t be able to avoid this one.
But before Lucas could fire, Tessa extended her arm and drove her elbow right into Lucas’s gut, the air rushing from his lungs as the second shot went wide. His hold on Tessa broke, and she ran towards Atticus, who rose to his feet and drew Tessa close as she approached.
“You bitch!” he yelled, snatching the gun from the ground and heading out of the window.
Atticus followed him, rushing to the window just as Lucas scrambled out of it, following him up onto the roof.
Another shot rang out over the din of the crowds below as Atticus pulled himself up onto the roof.
But as Atticus finished climbing, his eyes fixed on Lucas as he stood on the roof, the farmhouse land stretching beyond, the night black above and Bear Mountain looming in the distance like a silent observer, he knew it was time to finish this.
With a mighty roar, he shifted into his bear form, his clothes ripping as he changed. He watched as Lucas trained the gun on him once more and cracked off a shot, this one connecting with Atticus in his upper left arm. But Atticus closed the distance and with a killing swipe of his paw, he slashed Lucas across the chest, the impact sending him careening off of the roof, his body slamming into the ground below.
Looking down at Lucas’s now still body, Atticus shifted back to his human form, the night wind cool on his skin. Turning, he saw that Tessa was now climbing onto the roof, and seconds later was at his side. A tear fell from her eyes as she looked down at Lucas’s body, she realized that it was finally over.