We dragged everyone inside, even the bodies, plopping all of them onto tarps spread on the floor. I stood over the men, and when one shifted, I sprang on him and wrapped my mouth around his leg.

“Cat,” Portia said. “Wait.”

“Please don’t,” blabbered the man. “Please don’t. Please don’t.”

“Cat,” said Karen, “drag that one over here. Don’t cripple him yet.”

I shifted my hold around his ankle. He began screaming, but I didn’t know what the big deal was. I dragged him across the floor right to Karen’s feet, then let go. He continued to scream.

What a baby.

Karen, now dressed, knelt down, rolled the man over, and yanked his face towards hers. “You fucked with the wrong people.”

“We didn’t know! We didn’t know!”

“You’re going to answer my questions. You pause, and the jaguar is going to rip a foot off. Cat, show him your teeth.”

I opened my mouth. I didn’t roar, but I gave him a good snarl.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” he screamed. “Keep her away from me! What are you people?”

“What were your orders?” Karen demanded. He babbled for a minute, so she grabbed his hair and slapped him, although it didn’t seem that hard. “What are your orders?”

“We were supposed to secure the bunkhouses!” he said.

“What else?”

“That’s it! Secure the bunkhouses.”

“Cat.”

I lunged for his closest foot. He began screaming. “Wait! Wait!”

“Cat,” Karen said.

I froze with my fangs pressing against his anklebones. I felt them grinding. The man didn’t scream, but he whimpered.

“Cat, let him talk.”

I relaxed, slightly.

“Tell me the rest.”

“Prisoners!” he said. “We’re supposed to take prisoners. Leave the teenagers, but take the youngest kids and any particularly small adult women.”

“I saw tranquilizer guns.”

“For any dogs. Leave the big ones but take any little ones.”

“Exit plan?”

“Black Hawks. They’re on standby. We were going to call them in once it was secure.”

“Did a warning go out?

“I don’t know.”

“Cat.”

“I don’t know! I don’t know!”

“Who would?”

“I don’t know!”

Karen pushed him onto his back. “Drag him back.”

He screamed the entire way. I flipped him onto his stomach and then offered a small roar.

Just a small one.

“Cat,” Lara said. I looked up, and she gestured with her nose. Michaela had her hands over her ears. I bobbed my head and decided I wouldn’t roar inside anymore, at least not when Michaela was there.

Michaela dropped her hands and cocked her head back and forth then nodded. “Serena, go get our other guest.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Serena said.

“Cat, pick another one.”

I grabbed one at random and dragged him to Karen.

She interrogated three more by the time Serena returned with Deirdre. Deirdre took it all in then moved to the one Karen was talking to. She knelt behind his head, put her hands on either side, and then her hands began to glow.

We all watched.

Well, I watched the prisoners, but I kept glancing at Deirdre.

Deidre moved from prisoner to prisoner after that. She went down the entire line then backed up four and pointed. “This one.”

I didn’t wait. I grabbed Karen’s by the ankle and dragged him back, then grabbed Deirdre’s and brought him to Karen.

Karen rolled him over and smiled. “What is your name?”

“Fuck off you monster,” he said. “You can just kill me.”

“That’s all I need,” Deirdre said. “That one.” She pointed to another.

I didn’t bother dragging him. I rolled him over. Then Elisabeth was there. “What is your name?”

“Dean! My name is Dean!”

“Last name, Dean?” Elisabeth asked gently. “You can still come out of this relatively unharmed.

“Michaelson. They call me Mick.”

“That’s enough,” Deirdre said. Then her voice changed, and she sounded just like Elisabeth’s prisoner. “They call me Mick.” She changed again and said, “Area secure. Two prisoners. Everyone else is dead. What the fuck are these people?”

“Dean,” Elisabeth said, “What is his name?” She pointed to Karen’s prisoner.

“Shut the fuck up, you idiot!” said Karen’s prisoner.

“Cat, take that one’s foot,” Elisabeth said.

I didn’t wait. One pounce, and he was screaming even before I landed. Then he was really screaming. Portia was there with a torch. A torch! And she cauterized the stump of his leg.

Then the screaming stopped, and I decided he’d passed out.

“Shame to waste a bandage,” Elisabeth said. “See to it, Portia.”

“On it.”

“Oh fuck,” said Dean. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck.”

“Now, Dean,” Elisabeth said. “What is his name?”

“Sergeant Jasper McClaren,” Dean rushed to say. “He makes us all call him Sarge or Sergeant.”

Elisabeth straightened. “This is how it’s going to work. We aren’t going to kill anyone else, but we don’t promise a thing about blood loss. However, we want to know who hired you. If you all want to walk away from this, you’re going to tell us.”

“We don’t know!” Dean said. “That’s not how it works. You know, that’s not how it works.”

“You work for someone. Are you freelancers?”

“Chasen!” he said. “We’re all with Chasen. I think you killed him already. He would know.”

“And your extraction team? Are they also with Chasen?”

“No. They’re supposed to take us to the buyer. We don’t know where. There’s a bounty for young children, small women, and small dogs.”

“How big a bounty?”

“A half million each. Who pays a half million each for a dog?”

“Think about it, Dean,” Elisabeth. She knelt back down and pulled him to a sitting position. “Do you really think they sent you for dogs?”

He looked at her, then his eyes grew wide. “They knew. Oh fuck. They knew.”

“Yes, and they didn’t tell you. How does that make you feel?”

He looked around. “You’re not really going to let us go.”

“That isn’t clear yet. We have ways to ensure your silence without killing you. You could have a perfectly good life.” Elisabeth straightened. “All of you. Whoever hired you sent you against a pack of werewolves, and whoever came up with this plan was trying to get you killed. We saw you an hour out. What a shitty plan. You were set up. We want to know who would do something like that. As you can imagine, we’re going to have a nice talk with them.”

“We don’t know,” one of the men said. “We don’t know. Chasen would know, but I saw that cat thing kill him. What is she?”

“A nice, friendly jaguar,” Elisabeth said.

“Jaguars aren’t that big.”

“Neither are wolves,” Elisabeth said.

“The Black Hawk pilots know where we’re going,” someone said. “They were on channel, but it was all over so fast. They might not have scrambled. It’s not our fault.”

“You came here to kidnap women and children,” Elisabeth said. “If we were as harmless as you thought, that makes you a pretty fucking disgusting human being. But I’m feeling merciful. So here’s the deal. If we can lure the Black Hawks here, you might walk away. If not, none of you will be walking for a long, long time. The jaguar doesn’t mind helping with that.”

“No! Please, no!” one said. “We don’t know anything. Please.”

“All of you shut up,” she said. “Let’s get them locked up and get a radio on Deirdre. Leave my buddy Dean here.”

I let the enforcers handle it but instead sat down in clear view of Dean and began cleaning blood from my fur. He stared at me the entire time, not saying a word. It was only a couple of minutes, and then Karen was fitting Deirdre with a headset. They talked quietly for a minute, and then Portia joined them.

Elisabeth knelt back down again. “Here’s how it works, Dean. You’re going to be absolutely quiet, but if I ask a question, you’re going to whisper the answer. Think about how the people who hired you sold you out, and think about how much you’re going to enjoy knowing we’re going to pay them a visit.”

He nodded frantically.

“We should start outside,” Karen said. “Leave that one here for now.”

“Angel, how are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Angel said.

“Fine enough to help Rory guard this one?”

“Yes, Head Enforcer.”

“Let’s do this,” Elisabeth said.

The rest of us moved outside, just in front of the lodge. Portia stepped over to the pile of equipment and grabbed a few things. Then Karen said, “All right. Everyone quiet. Plugging this in.” A moment later, she nodded to Deirdre.

“Oh fuck,” she said. “Oh fuck. I lost my radio for a minute. I think everyone is dead. Sarge? Sarge?”

She paused a moment then changed her voice, whispering. “Mick, shut the fuck up. I’ve got a bead on one of them. How many do you see?”

“Three,” Deirdre said in Mick’s voice.

“How’s your ammo?”

“I’m almost out, but I think I could crawl to Masters. He went down early.”

“Do it.”

She was silent for a minute then said, “I’m good, Sarge.”

“I’ve got the big one.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? They’re all big.”

“I’ve got the really big one, you idiot,” said Deirdre in the sergeant’s voice. “You get the middle one.”

“Ready.” Then she slowed her voice. “I might get a twofer. Waiting. Waiting.”

And then Portia fired one of the guns, pop-pop. A second later, she did a final pop.

“Got mine.”

“Well, I got my two-fer,” Deirdre said in Mick’s voice. “I don’t see any others.”

“More inside. Move up.”

“Fuck that. The choppers bugged out ten minutes ago. Chasen is down, and I’m not risking my life if we’re not going to get paid.”

Then Deirdre paused and began to smile. She held up her hand, the thumb pointed to the sky.

“You heard that, Mick?” she said in the Sarge’s voice. “Get to that door. I’ll cover you.”

I watched, amazed, as Deirdre ran both sides of a two-person discussion. The two mercenaries approached the front door. There was another pop-pop from Portia, and then, “We’re in.”

I expected us to move inside, but we stayed where we were. But I listened as Portia “took down” four more wolves, even going through the sounds of changing ammo once more.

“They were guarding a bookcase,” Mick said. “Who guards a bookcase?”

“Idiot,” said Sarge. “It’s a panic room. Don’t you watch movies? We need to blow it.”

That took two minutes to set up, or that’s how they played it, Karen whispering into Deirdre’s ear. Portia found what she wanted, moved far from us, set something on the ground, and walked back. Karen nodded. Deirdre yelled, “Fire in the hole!” And Portia held up a clenched hand.

And out in the field, there was an explosion.

Impressive.

“Go! Go! Go!” said Sarge. “You! On the ground.” Pop-pop went Portia’s gun.

“We’re not kidding! On the ground!” Mick yelled.

We listened as Mick and Sarge got the hostages down, Elisabeth, Serena, Angel, and Lara providing background voices.

“Where are the kids?” Sarge yelled. “Where are the kids?”

“Fuck you!” Lara said. “Long gone.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Pop-pop went Portia’s gun.

“There aren’t any kids,” Mick said. “Fuck. All we got is that dog at the beginning. It crawled under the deck.”

“I hope it’s alive,” said Sarge. “I’ll hold them here. You get that dog out to the field and holler when they’re thirty seconds out. I’ll come running, so don’t fuck with me.”

* * * *

We had minutes, but we spread the dead mercenaries around the field, and then several of us joined them, a few of us in fur, more in skin, lying down as casualties.

Rory, dressed in the gear from one of the mercenaries, carried Michaela. I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation Deirdre had, but then Rory set Michaela down and lit several blue flashlights, tossing them in a circle in the field.

I lay on my stomach, my eyes slits, and watched.

And then I heard a helicopter. Two helicopters. They came in from the south. Rory bent down and picked up Michaela.

And then I saw Eric, also dressed like one of the mercenaries, running from the house. He turned and fired his gun backwards, then spun and continued running.

One of the helicopters headed for the field. The other stayed up, circling the field, fifty feet off the ground. I marveled at the quality of the flying.

The helicopter touched down, and as soon as they were solidly on the skids, everyone began moving. It took about three seconds to secure the helicopter. The other one circled once and then hovered in place.

“Rory!” Michaela screamed. “Eric! We need that other helicopter. You can throw me that high. I know you can! Do it!”

She shifted fox and didn’t wait, leaping for Rory. He caught her, and then Eric was there. They ran out from underneath the rotor blades of the first helicopter, judged it, and then swung the fox.

“No!” screamed Lara. “No!”

Their aim was impeccable. Michaela flew in through the open door. Two seconds later, a body tumbled from the open door, and another one a second later. Both men screamed and then thumped into the ground, growing silent.

The helicopter turned east and began to accelerate away.

“Anna!” Screamed Lara. “Anna! She needs help! Don’t let them take my mate! Anna!”

I looked. I judged. And then I ran for the house.

It turns out I could out-accelerate a helicopter. I wondered if it were the military version. I wasn’t sure how to tell the difference.

I banked off the house. By the time I banked off the tree, the helicopter had almost caught up. I leapt for the roof, and this time, I didn’t care if Michaela would need to repair the shingles. I let my claws dig for traction, and I ran up the slope of the roof just as the helicopter flew right over the top.

I jumped. I jumped for all I was worth.

And I had enough time to realize I wasn’t going to make it. It was close, but I wasn’t going to make it.

This was going to hurt.

But then Michaela appeared in the doorway, dropped down, and reached out an arm. She clasped one paw, and my claws instinctively dug in, puncturing her deeply.

I scrambled, and then I knew my weight was going to come down on her, and I’d pull her from the door. We’d both fall. I began to retract, ready to fall, but she screamed.

“I’m anchored, Anna! I’ve got you. Don’t let go. I’ve got you.”

And she did.

I hung there for only a few seconds, and I knew I was tearing her, but she held.

“Do it, Anna! I can’t lift you. You’re going to have to do it. I’ll heal.”

I didn’t wait. I could cry later. I reached with the other paw. At first, I tried to hang onto the skid. As human, I could have, but my claws found nothing to grab. And so, wincing myself, I dug claws into Michaela’s arm. She pulled, and I pulled, and then I clambered over her, half ripping her muscles in the process, but then we were both lying on the floor of the helicopter as it hurried away from all the wolves, everyone who could protect the fox.

“Anna,” Michaela yelled. “You need to get me into one of the front seats. And you need to do it fast without killing them. We need them. Can you do it?”

I looked at her. She was torn to pieces, but then as I watched, she began to heal.

“Anna!” she yelled. “Can you do it?”

I bobbed my head.

The back of the helicopter was empty, and apparently the crew either didn’t know or didn’t care we were there. They were both facing forward, doing what, I didn’t know.

“Do it!” Michaela yelled.

I started with the one on the left. I wasn’t subtle. There was a door, but it was thin, and it was nothing to rip it open. I jumped through, clamped my mouth around the nearest shoulder, and then went to work on the seatbelt, ripping it to shreds in a few moments.

The copilot began screaming. I imagined it hurt. But from start to finish, it took about three seconds to rip the man from his seat.

The pilot put the helicopter into gyrations, but I had expected that, and apparently, so had Michaela. I braced against the door with my rear legs and roared. Michaela slipped underneath me and into the copilot’s seat. She set her hands on the controls and screamed, “Do it, Anna!”

The pilot wasn’t substantially more work than the copilot had been.

The helicopter began doing, well, I didn’t know what, but then after a moment it settled down and grew steady.

“Secure them, Anna,” Michaela screamed, hard to hear over the sound of the helicopter.

Five minutes later, we were on the ground. It wasn’t a gentle landing, but the helicopter seemed whole.

I couldn’t say the same for our latest prisoners, but I thought they might live.