The Beast Within (Book One of the Changes Series)
Operation Wolf's Bane (Part 23.2)

-Killian’s POV-

McPherson had a way of stating the obvious. As I cleared the exit, I heard the fireworks begin. A deafening boom sounded as the ground shook underneath, almost bringing us to our knees.

Then I was actually airborne. The force that hit me from behind felt like it was trying to rip me in two. Luckily I was already in motion. Instead of fighting my fall, I went with it, grabbing my sidearm before rolling to a stop.

I barely registered the dark from in the pre-dawn light before I squeezed out a double-tap; right after, I felt my breath pressed out of my diaphragm. It took me another moment to realize that a werewolf had landed on top of me. Its weight was slowly lessening as I squirmed my way out from underneath it.

The sound of gunfire rang out. It sounded as if McPherson had some unwanted attention of his own. That thought made me work harder for my freedom, just in case more of them were on their way.

After finally freeing myself, I took aim and fired, catching the last of the three that McPherson had on him. He must’ve opened fire before I did and drew the attention to himself. That was close, a little too close. Dr. Chaplin wouldn’t be getting any new specimens today.

I walked over to McPherson’s hunched frame, “Are you okay?”

His breaths came out of him in labored huffs, “Yeah, I’m just fucking ducky. How about you? You really took to the air, man.”

I turned my back towards him so he could assess the damage.

“You seem to be in one piece, but are you sure you’re okay?” McPherson started towards me.

I put my hand up to stop him, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

We looked back at the building, or what was left of it, before my attention went back to the task at hand. “Where are the girls?”

“I don’t know. She took her friend from me, and I pointed in the direction she should run to. She must lift weights or something because she was booking it pretty fast. Then I came back to help you,” he boasted.

“Someone from the team didn’t take them to the Osprey? I ordered you to keep an eye on them. They’re civilians with possible intel in a hostile zone! Where are they?”

The smugness drained from his face as he lifted his hand, pointing toward the way he had sent her. I started jogging in the direction given. It wasn’t until that moment that it registered McPherson and I weren’t the only ones who had been shooting. McPherson had given me his assault rifle, so he had to be using his sidearm. I know I heard gunfire going off in another location during the commotion. That thought made me run faster.

McPherson trailed behind me. I wasn’t trying to break his spirit, but the lack of sound decisions couldn’t be tolerated. Orders had to be followed and kept to the best of a soldier’s ability, even if I hadn’t always followed that rule myself.

“Danielle, it’s Killian. Where are you?!” I hollered as I entered some dry bushes.

With the facility down, this area looked to be the only place to take cover close enough for her to have run to.

I turned my head in McPherson’s direction, “Give the team our coordinates but tell them to stay put. We’ll be on the way in less than five.”

I heard McPherson on the radio, letting the others know we survived the blast. I looked around, still unable to locate Danielle.

McPherson butt-in “Wait, they should be close.”

“Are you sure you didn’t send them in another direction?” I asked while I continued to survey the area.

McPherson was right. Danielle couldn’t have gotten too far, especially with Porsh in tow. They may have been taken by one of the werewolves, which would explain the gunshots. I was happy I didn’t need to entertain that thought for long when I found drag marks.

After reloading my weapon, I walked into the brush. It didn’t go unnoticed that I had lost one of my clips, making the one I loaded my last for my sidearm. McPherson copied my actions. I still had his assault rifle but no extra ammunition for it.

“How much ammo do you have? This is my last. It got a little dicey when I broke off from the others,” McPherson solidified our worries.

I felt a tug at my pant leg. Glancing down, I stared right into Danielle’s hazel eyes. Her friend was there, covered by the bush she hid under. From the expression on Danielle’s face, I knew something was wrong. I dropped down, signaling for McPherson to follow my lead.

“What going on? We need to get to the aircraft and get you two to safety. Is Porsh—?”

“Shhh. I scared them off, but they haven’t gone far.”

Immediately I started to inspect our surroundings, nothing. I looked back to Danielle; her eyes were trained in the same spot I had cleared just moments ago.

“I don’t see anything.”

She didn’t say a word as she continued to stare intensely at nothing. Maybe the stress of the situation finally made her snap. I took the gun I had given her. It was empty.

McPherson piped in, “Look, lady, if anything was out there, we would have known. So let’s get back and get you and your friend the medical help you guys need.”

A tremble started in Danielle’s hands, quickly traveling to the rest of her body. Her eyes rolled back. Shit, she was going into shock. I grabbed her wrist to check her pulse. It was going a mile-a-minute.

“McPherson, get over here! Pick her up and get her back to the Osprey. I’ll carry her friend.”

Our focus went back to the nearby area as a rustle sounded in the dry grass. I was still unable to see anything, but we knew that the sound had come from something this time. I looked down at Danielle; she was now lying on the ground vibrating as she held a fetal position.

“Holy shit!” McPherson shouted out, moving up a few feet before shooting the area in front of him. I raised my gun, joining him.

Three burly beasts were on the attack. McPherson took out the creature in the lead. Still, the other two separated, swerving, making it impossible to secure a shot. We didn’t have any experience fighting wolves out in the open. I pulled the trigger. It clicked but didn’t fire. Fuck. From all the times for my sidearm to jam. I dropped it to the ground and reached for the assault rifle, letting out a hail of bullets. Just nicking one of the two, it wasn’t enough to stop it from coming at us. One of the werewolves went far left as if it planned to flank us. I gave a quick glance in McPherson’s direction, seeing that he had gotten a couple of shots into the other were before it collapsed.

I swiftly turned around, trying to keep the crafty fucker in my sights, but it was too late. The beast was gone.

We had to get the girls and ourselves out of here fast. I ran back a couple of feet, ending up in the place I had left them. What I saw was familiar but wholly unexpected.

Fucking hell, she was one of them! I trained my rifle on her transforming body. I was only moments away from riddling her with bullets when I heard a blood-curdling scream coming from behind me. Impulse won over, turning to find the clever werewolf on McPherson.

A few well-placed bullets caused it to let go of him, but now I was the beast’s primary objective. It made ground, swiftly dodging all my attempts to stop its charge. With only a few more mammoth steps, it would be on top of me.

I ran out of ammo and didn’t have time to find and unjam my sidearm. I braced myself for death. A force brushed past me. Before I could realize what it was, the beast charging me moments ago was under attack from an enormous black were.

My eyes were glued as the monsters twisted and tumbled over each other. The black werewolf predicted the clever one’s every move. Before I could gather my wits, it was over, and the black werewolf stood victorious.

The mammoth creature’s mouth gaped open with half of the loser’s massive neck in it. Pieces fell away into a puddle at its feet. Our eyes met for a quick moment before the beast went back to its food, severing its prize’s head completely.

The very dead werewolf started to convert, bringing the champion’s attention to lie in my direction. Its glare, accompanied by its teeth and claws, woke me out of my stupor. I raised my emptied gun in its path, but it didn’t seem fazed by my bluff.

For reasons unknown to me, the black werewolf turned and walked away. I began to urgently search for my dropped sidearm. McPherson couldn’t be heard from where I stood, and from how that monster had pounced, he was most likely dead.

I held my breath as the nose of my pistol came into view through some dead brush. I dove toward it, feeling the cold steel at my fingertips. I managed to quickly unjam the weapon, jumping up and pointing my firearm in the direction I believed McPherson lied. I didn’t have to look very hard. McPherson was on his way towards me, nestled in the arms of the massive black werewolf.

I wasn’t sure of my next move. Maybe I was just fooling myself into believing I had any other moves to make.

I knew the werewolf was Danielle. It could have been wishful thinking, but I didn’t believe she, the creature, wanted to hurt us. I put the gun down at my side, keeping my eyes on the approaching animal. Her colossal presence was barely a few feet away from me. There was nothing left to do but wait and see what would happen.

I lifted my gaze past its gigantic frame and continued over its monstrous canines, ending at her hazel eyes. There I could see her humanity within her gaze. Maybe that was just what I wanted to believe, but they were the same eyes I looked into when we first met.

She broke our stare when she snapped her head toward the path McPherson and I used earlier. A deep low growl escaped her muzzle. All at once, the world around me regained its sound. The radios on both McPherson’s and my side were sounding off.

“…repeat, this is Davis and Hernandez at the last coordinates given. McPherson, Killian, do you copy?”

Before I could respond, I saw Hernandez come into view. Danielle noticed too, backing up behind me with McPherson still in her grasp. Hernandez already had his target in sight, and in moments he would take the shot. With only seconds to spare, I kept to trusting my gut.

“Stand down! Put down your weapon Hernandez, it’s not a threat!” I yelled out while I did my best to shield the massive creature.

Davis joined us, both of their weapons still trained on Danielle.

“What’s going on, Killian, and why is that thing holding McPherson?” Hernandez demanded.

I needed to get control of the situation and fast.

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