Maximus

He turned his back on Haley, moving to confront the oncoming car. Around him he saw his brothers moving in the dark, taking up flanking positions.

Bring it on, you dumb bastards. We’re gonna make you regret this.

The big black sedan roared up the driveway, seemingly uncaring about the unevenness of it. Maximus’s eyes narrowed as it kept building speed, heading straight for him. Shit. They were gonna ram.

“Out of the way!” he bellowed, diving to the side.

Haley should have been long gone by then, but a shriek told him maybe not. He looked over his shoulder and saw her go rolling off into the dark as the silver SUV crashed into hers, propelled by the collision with the Institute vehicle.

Maximus desperately wanted to go after her, jumping over the cars and running to her side. But she would be okay, and even now he saw her body stir in the shadows. He needed to deal with the Institute shifters before he could do anything more though. Otherwise they prevented a threat. Turning, he watched as they exited their vehicle. All five of them.

“You have got to be kidding,” he muttered. “What is that thing, some sort of clown car?”

The nearest heard his words and growled angrily. “Watch what you say, you uncivilized dog.”

Maximus bristled. “Reashallow really picked a solid bunch of lackeys this time. Did he tell you what happened to the last brownnosers he sent our way?”

He and his brothers stood together, facing the Institute guards. Shoulders rolled. Necks cracked and knuckles popped as they all readied themselves for battle.

“Well come on, then,” he taunted. “Come show us how bad-ass you are, and how much better than us you are.”

He was still trying to figure out which one of them was the leader. None of them had so far done anything that gave it away, but he needed to figure out who it was. The leader would be the biggest threat, and he was the one Maximus would go for.

Was it him, with the curly mop of hair on his head, standing off to the side? Perhaps it was Loudmouth, who was standing at the front. There were only five to pick from, and the one on the right with the huge eyebrows kept darting his eyes left and right like he was scared.

Maximus ruled him out.

“Surrender.”

His eyes fixated on the shifter who had spoken. Until now he’d stayed at the back of their cluster, but now he stepped forward.

Tall bastard, Maximus though, eyeing him in comparison to his comrades. He was several inches taller than the rest, rivaling Maximus’s six-foot-eight stature at least, if not adding a few more inches. He carried himself calmly, but not arrogantly. His hair was cut in a very meticulous manner: short on the sides and slightly longer on the top. Thin lips and eyes that seemed to take in everything, even in the dark, stared back at Maximus.

This one is dangerous. It was immediately noticeable to all of them, and he figured his brothers would all be smart enough to leave this one to him. Except perhaps Gavin. He was near the same size as Maximus, and not prone to backing down from a fight. As he watched though, the last shifter stepped forward as well. He was bald, and nearly the same size as the one Maximus had tagged as the leader.

In fact, he thought, looking around, all of them were big. Huge, even. His brothers were in for a fight. He had a feeling it was going to get a little bit wild before it was all said and done. Unless he could land a quick blow by eliminating one of them quickly. Then the numbers would be in his family’s favor, and he could dispatch the rest with relative ease.

“We’re not really the surrendering kind,” Pierce said from Maximus’s left flank.

“Maybe it’s time you tried something new then,” the bald one replied.

Maximus pegged him as the second-in-command.

“Not really good at that either,” Kean said from far to Maximus’s right.

“Is there anything you are good at?” Loudmouth sneered, speaking up again.

“Come and find out,” Gavin said quietly, stepping up just to Maximus’s left.

Loudmouth hesitated.

“Are we going to just stand around all night?” the leader asked. “Either come peacefully, or we’ll have to drag you along. Alive, dead, whole or in pieces, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Maximus smiled. “See, I just can’t let you do that. I’d feel bad. I’ve put on some weight recently, you know?” He patted his stomach. “So I’d just feel dreadful if you had to carry all of that around. It’d be rude, is what it would be. I’m just going to have to decline your offer. It’s the only polite thing for me to do.”

The leader snarled at the banter, and without warning all five of them charged. Maximus had been ready for that. His brothers had been ready for that. It’s what they’d been expecting, and planning for. What he didn’t plan for, was to have all five of them charge straight at him.

“Yipes!” he yelped, and flung himself to the left, even as Gavin went to the right, leaping far clear of the oncoming pack.

Loudmouth got there first. Maximus watched mid-leap as he slammed a fist into the trunk of the so-far untouched white SUV on the other side of Haley’s car, grabbed a handhold, yanked with all his strength, and tore the door right off. Metal shrieked and protested, but it eventually gave way to the tremendous strength.

A moment later he flung it in an arc right toward Maximus’s landing spot.

Aw shit.

Maximus landed, braced himself, and absorbed the hit from the piece of car. It slammed him back and down onto his back.

“Ow,” he muttered. There was no time to waste though. He was currently looking up through the glass part of the door.

Hmm, interesting. Reaching out to the sides, he grabbed the edges of the door and got to his feet. Instead of tossing the door aside, he held it there. As the leader ran at him, big black coat billowing behind him, Maximus leaned his shoulder into the door and used it as a blocker. The leader crunched into the door, but the metal absorbed most of the impact. Maximus meanwhile kept his legs churning, and with a mighty bellow he hurled the door—leader and all—back the way he’d come.

The hapless shifter flew through the air, landing on the rear window of Haley’s car, crushing it. The trunk landed on top of him, but he batted it away angrily. The rectangular piece of metal flew through the air and embedded itself in the side of the silver SUV.

All around him his brothers fought, each having chosen an opponent. Maximus didn’t have much time to look, but he could see that Gavin had thankfully managed to square off with the bald-headed second-in-command.

There was a yelp and Maximus was forced to duck as one of the Institute shifters went flying through the air, landing on the far side of the cars. For an instant Maximus was worried about Haley, but seconds later the same shifter came flying back out of the dark. After that he had no more time to focus. The leader came at him, and all he knew was the dance of the fight.

Fists flew. Some were blocked. Some landed. Others were feints and pulled at the last second. Maximus connected with a kick to the inside of the knee, but took a forearm to his jaw in return. He was bleeding from several places, and pretty positive he’d broken another rib where he’d taken a ferocious blow.

Maximus was momentarily distracted by more movement by the vehicles. He ignored it at first, until he saw brown hair falling messily from a high bun on the back of the figure who darted toward the silver SUV.

Haley?!

His opponent took advantage of the distraction, pushing him hard. It was all Maximus could do to fend him off. Backing away, he tried to regain his balance, but the Institute leader never let up. His leg found a pothole behind him, twisting his knee. Maximus grunted in pain, trying to stand up. The wounded limb betrayed him though, and it collapsed under the weight. At the same moment the leader darted forward. Knowing he was going down, Maximus did the only thing he could. He reached out, grabbed the other shifter, and brought him down with him. The pair collapsed on his wounded knee and this time he roared in pain. White-hot agony lanced up through his body, exploding stars across his vision.

The enemy shifter took advantage of that, knocking aside his defenses and getting a hand around his throat. Maximus clubbed him as hard as he could with his fists, but the other shifter had all the advantages. His vision began to dim even as he struggled to win free, to roll, anything that might dislodge his foe. Nothing worked, and he felt himself grow weaker. His eyes met his attacker’s, and he saw victory painted in them as a smile blossomed on his face.

As his vision faded, he saw the face of his killer turn to a frown, and then go slack with a sudden abruptness. The iron vise-like grip around his throat loosened. Maximus had no idea what happened, but he didn’t waste the opportunity. He flung the shifter free, gasping for air as he sat up.

His eyes narrowed as he saw small shoes in the dirt perhaps five feet in front of him. Nervously he followed the once-white shoes up, noticing the way the shapely legs attached to them looked familiar, clad in dark denim jeans. Light was shining from several sources now, and it allowed him to view Haley’s face in normal vision as she stood there.

“Well, aren’t you going to get up?” she asked.

Maximus flung himself to his feet, looking around the battlefield. Several others were down, and other women were standing nearby, guns in their hands. As the change in the situation registered, the two remaining Institute shifters—still clad in darkness, far from the light sources—came to a halt, stopping their attacks on his brothers.

“Are you insane?” he hissed angrily. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“From what I saw? Saving your life,” she returned, looking down at the enemy leader.

Maximus had already seen the dart stick out from the shoulder of the unconscious shifter.

“It was you coming out here, turning on the lights and things that put me in that position in the first place,” he said angrily.

Haley looked hurt, and he could sense he’d just said the wrong thing, even if it was the truth.

“Sorry,” he said, still breathing hard. “We needed that assistance anyway, though it could have come at a better moment for me personally. But these guys are good,” he said, gesturing at the downed bodies. “So, we’ll call it even. I won’t be mad at your idiocy, and you don’t get to rub it in that you saved the day. Deal?” He stuck out his hand.

Haley eyed it for a moment, then batted it out of the way as she threw herself at him. “I was so worried about you,” she said into his ear. “I’m sorry if I fucked up, I really I am. I just wanted to do something to help.”

“I know,” he assured her, returning her hug and giving her a kiss, vowing to himself to do a more thorough job of it later once things were sorted.

“Can I borrow that?” he asked, stepping back and gesturing at the gun she still held in one hand, her finger wisely away from the trigger.

“What? I can use it,” she said. “Believe it or not, I’ve fired guns before.”

He smiled. “Sure. Do me a favor then, hit those two?” he gestured at the two conscious shifters.

Haley grinned, brought the rifle up, and dropped the two Institute shifters with darts right into their chests before either of them could protest.

“I like her!”

Maximus watched as Mila emerged from the darkness, admiring the handiwork. “I like her a lot.” Mila was their resident firearms expert, so he figured she was referring to the marksmanship Haley had shown.

“Me too,” he said, meaning each word. “Me too.” Then he turned to Haley. “Okay, you head on back inside while we finish up here.”

He saw her eyes narrow, and then widen as realization dawned.

“You’re going to kill them,” she said.

He closed his eyes. “Yes,” he said gently. “We are. They’re evil. They work for the Institute. Who knows how much harm and damage they have caused to others? It’s safer for everyone this way. Come on, Haley, you knew this was going to happen the moment they started following us.”

“No, I didn’t,” she said angrily. “I thought you had said you were past that.”

“What am I supposed to do then?” he asked, frustrated at her attitude. This wasn’t her world; she didn’t understand! “Just let them go? They’ll just keep pursuing us, until they kill us. I know you don’t like it, but this is the way it is among my kind.”

He was clenching his hands now, and his face had to be going red with anger, but Haley didn’t back down. Instead, she poked him in the chest, advancing on him as she spoke.

“Well, guess what. We’re in human land now. Not in your shifter world. Here, in the real world, we don’t just kill people who attack us. So there will be no more.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she jabbed him hard with her finger again. “Do. You. Hear. Me?”

Maximus drew in a breath to fight her some more, and then all of a sudden he let it go, exhaling. His smile grew as he watched her face, saw the set of jaw and the fire blazing in her eyes as she stared him down. She was a foot shorter than he was, but there was no hint of give in her. Haley wasn’t going to back down.

“Why are you smiling at me?”

“Because, you’re just as stubborn as I am,” he told her. “And I like it.”

Haley paused, ready to continue her rant, and he watched her features soften as his words registered. “Oh. So, no more killing?”

“No more killing,” he confirmed, feeling happy with his choice.

“So what do you want us to do with them?” Gavin asked, looking between the drugged bodies and his older brother.

“I dunno,” he replied, taking Haley by the arm. “Figure it out.”

Gavin spluttered helplessly, but Maximus ignored him as he strolled toward the barn with his mate.

Mate. Well, there’s a conversation that we’re going to have to have. I wonder if she’s ready to hear that yet…