Chapter 7

His skin crawled, and the urge to shift and duck his tail was strong, but Manu resisted. He'd never had that experience before, his wolf wanting to leave, and that had him hesitating. If his wolf wanted away, then they were heading toward something dark and dangerous.

Preston had his back. Manu was certain of that. He'd worked with Eli, and Eli had vouched for him. Manu might not be able to trust his mate in some instances, but this wasn't one of them. Preston was military, and they were a team.

"Would you think less of me if I said I kinda wanted to leave?"

"My wolf wants to run away." Manu saw Preston's eyes widen. "Yeah. That concerns me."

"Ever had that happen before?"

"Never. Not even when I was trapped inside a dugout and being shot at by militia. We've always been on the same side, but right now, I'm going where he doesn't want to go. It's a fight."

"I have your back."

Manu nodded, appreciating what Preston said. Between one step and the next, the sound returned, and they both paused. Manu closed his eyes and even though his wolf was still restless and agitated, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it had been.

"Atmosphere feels lighter." Preston shifted his hold on his weapon. "I still don't like it though. Feels like whatever is out there is toying with us. Testing us."

"Let's check the area out and see what we can find." Manu moved forward, his eyes constantly searching the area. Nothing stood out. No scent, no tracks. Nothing. Until he found a broken twig.

As he crouched next to it, Preston murmured, "Whatever it was broke those on purpose. I'm certain of it. It felt like it was letting me know it was there."

"Taunting you."

"Yeah, and then we figured out there were two, and they were trying to move us away from the vehicles."

"You had two surrounding you, yet your tires were slashed." Manu stared at the twig, them back at Preston. "Potentially three."

Preston hissed, but nodded. "Or more, but yeah, three at least. Playing with us as well. Knew where we were at all times and kept us distracted while another dealt with the vehicles."

A shot rang out in the darkness, and Manu growled. They both waited, and Manu glanced at Preston, whose narrowed eyes searched the area. Another shot followed by more silence. And silence truly descended. No sound at all. Everything stopped, and Manu's wolf whined. It wanted out, to be gone, to run away, and Manu had to grit his teeth to stop a shift occurring.

"Manu."

Manu glanced at Preston, who was frowning at him, and then he pointed to his eyes. Yeah, Manu's eyes glowed, but only because he was fighting his instinct to run. A twig snapped to their left, then a low dark chuckle whispered through the air.

Preston hissed and shouldered his weapon as Manu moved closer to where the sound came from. Preston followed, and they moved quietly. Another low chuckle and another snapped twig, but this time behind them, and Manu had the feeling they were being circled.

Preston bumped into him, and Manu glanced over his shoulder, noticing they were now back-to-back. "Truck."

Manu nodded, and they moved back toward the car, staying low to the ground. A cry filled the air, a scream, and several shots. "Run."

Preston took off, and Manu followed, hearing the sounds of pursuit. "Following us." Preston carried on, and Manu heard a shot, then went down. Pain exploded in his leg, and he gritted his teeth, rolling onto his back with his gun up, ready to face whatever was heading toward them.

Preston grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up. "Not far."

"Fuck, I need to shift. The bullet burns."

"We'll make it."

Manu pulled out the panic button and pressed it. They needed back up and now. He should have used it earlier. Fuck. "The truck I came in. It's security, so has all the shit it needs to keep us safe."

"I'll get you inside, then I need to find Albie and Fabien. You call for back up."

That wasn't what Manu wanted to hear, but it was expected of a military man. You left no one behind. "Be careful."

Preston grunted as he moved Manu, causing Manu to growl in pain. "You be careful. Anyone would think you cared for me."

"I can change my mind about that. How about you get found and eviscerated?"

"Now that's more like it." Preston suddenly stopped and lowered Manu to the ground. Ahead of them lay a body. Albie. Alone. In a clearing. "Trap." Manu tended to agree with Preston's assessment. Albie was still alive, but he wouldn't be for long.

Manu could scent the blood on the air, and there was plenty of it too. Focusing on the movement of Albie's chest, Manu could see how quickly he was breathing. Alive and awake. The air filled with the scent of fear and death. If Albie wasn't dead…

"Fabien. Can you see him?"

"No." Preston inched forward, checking the ground, then looking up. As soon as he did, he stopped and hissed. "Above."

Manu looked up, too, and saw what had made Preston pause. One of the branches on a tree on the opposite side of the clearing was low, too low, bowing down as if a heavy weight sat upon it. A sound behind them had Manu tensing, the pain in his leg pulsing. They were being circled.

"I need to shift, but as soon as I start the process, we'll be vulnerable."

"How long?"

"Only a few seconds, but enough if they rush us."

Preston stared at him for a couple of seconds, shouldered his gun, then nodded. "Do it."

Kicking his sneakers off, Manu shifted, his clothes tearing. His sense became heightened, and in doing so, he became aware of four individuals all moving. Gun shots rang out, and he shook his head, then charged the nearest thing.

It looked like a cross between a bear and something and Manu attacked, claws raking the thing's side but doing little to no damage. The fur covering it was so thick, his claws almost became entangled, and Manu faced it, watching it, and it chuckled. How the mouth on that thing could make that sound made his wolf whimper.

Manu reached out with his senses, but there was nothing. Nothing at all coming from it. In fact, it was hard to detect a heartbeat, and there was no scent at all. The fur rippled, and the thing disappeared, replaced by what could only be described as something from a horror movie. It looked similar to a cat, but instead of fur, it had sharp spikes that moved. Manu jumped out of the way as those spikes shot at him, and he ran back to Preston. They needed to get out of there and now.

Preston knelt next to Albie, gun up and firing. Manu skidded next to him and spun so they were back-to-back. He howled long and loud and waited. A second later, several other howls came to him, and he knew back-up was closing in, but would it get there in time?

"What the fuck are those things?" Preston fired again as one of the spiked cats ran at them. The bullets appeared to do nothing as it kept charging them. Preston didn't stop firing even as the distance between them and the thing shortened. "Fucking die!" Preston screamed. A boom deafened Manu, his ears lying flat, and the thing flung to the side. It lay there for a few seconds, then slowly got to its feet, shaking its head. It lifted its snout and sniffed the air, then shimmered into the bear thing and chuckled before disappearing into the trees.

A second boom filled the air, and Manu stood guarding Preston as he checked Albie's body. "Alive but barely. He needs emergency surgery to survive this."

Manu padded next to Albie and whimpered. Albie's chest was wide open, ribs exposed. How the fuck he was still alive amazed him, but he knew Albie was a fighter. If anyone could survive this, it would be him. Shifting, Manu tested his leg and even though it hurt, he crouched next to Preston. "Fabien?"

"Not found him, but not had a chance. As soon as the one in the tree attacked, I moved to cover Albie and stayed here." Preston panted and stared at Manu, eyes wide. "What the fuck were those?"

"Manu!" Eli came running over, a rifle in his hands. He saw Albie and assessed him. "Fuck."

"Fabien is missing, presumed dead."

"Costas is here, but we had to make sure the area was safe."

"He needs a hospital and now if we're going to save him." Manu stood, ignoring his nakedness. "I've never seen anything like that before. My wolf wanted gone."

"Costas came in the ambulance. We'll stabilize then move him to Salutem. They have the experienced staff there."

Manu grabbed the bag Rand threw at him and dressed as he watched security secure the area. Minutes later, Costas was treating Albie and on the phone to Salutem General. Once he had sweaters and a long-sleeved top on, he pulled on some sneakers that were too big, but he didn't give a shit.

"Albie?"

Costas didn't say a word but shot a look at Eli. Eli closed his eyes and blew out his breath. "He doesn't know. It's touch and go."

"Fabien? Anyone found him?"

"Still searching, but we found a pool of blood. A large pool of blood."

Manu ran his hands through his hair. "Shit."

He didn't know how long they stayed there while Costas worked on stabilizing Albie, but at some point, Costas nodded. "Let's go. He's stable for now."

Manu dropped his head, hands on hips, closing his eyes. He was certain Albie was going to die. The wounds inflicted on his body were horrific. As Albie was carried away, Rand appeared. The look on his face said all it needed to.

"Where?" Eli asked, his voice quiet.

"Up a tree, stashed in the branches. Gutted, and he had these spikes embedded in him too. No scent at all on him or the surrounding area." Rand glanced at his brother, Jim. "I've left him where he is so forensics can do what they need to. They have my prints on file, so I can be eliminated."

Manu rubbed a hand over his face. He liked Fabien, and now, he was gone in a way none of them had foreseen. "What the fuck were those things? I've never seen anything like that before."

"I didn't get a good look at them. Saw one and fired as it charged you. The light appeared to shimmer of it." Eli pulled his phone out and sighed heavily. "Deac. Yeah. Costas is with him. It's about Fabien." Eli's voice trailed off as he moved away, and Manu didn't want to hear what he had to say, anyway.

Preston turned and walked away, and Manu followed. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to my car, and then I'm going to change. I'm going to bag my clothes for forensics and then head to Deac's office, so I can give them my statement. After that, I'm going home and getting drunk."

Manu licked his lips and nodded. "Thanks for helping me back there."

"Never leave a man behind," Preston murmured.

"Yeah." That stung a little. Manu had thought Preston had helped him because they were mates.

"What? You thought because we're mates I would save you? You said we weren't mates, so I saved a team member." Preston turned and walked away, and Manu let him. He wasn't in the mood to argue with him, though he did agree getting blind drunk would help. Today had been bad.

Today, they'd lost one of their own.