Without Mercy (3 page)

A loud howl echoed and was followed by an
angry growl of warning. Gary turned to see Jasmine launch herself
at his back. He raised the gun and fired.

The shot thundered and time seemed to stop.
All I could hear was my shallow breathing and the sound of a body
thudding to the ground.

“Nooooo!” an agonizing scream erupted from
my throat as I pushed the shell shocked Gary off me and scrambled
over to where Jasmine now lay, still in wolf form.

A pool of blood was steadily formed
underneath her and my fingers frantically tried to find where the
bullet entered so I could stop the bleeding. All I could see was
fur and blood as tears blurred my vision.

I lowered my head down to the wolf’s body
and could hear Jasmine’s heart slowly giving out. She seemed to
shudder a little as if her body was trying to rally one more time
before she was finally still.

“Don’t you dare die, Jasmine. Fight!” I
started to shake her but had to stop as the change reversed itself.
In the event of death, anyone who died in wolf form would revert
back to their human selves. As I rolled Jasmine to her back, I
administered CPR.

Was it thirty compressions and two breathes
or two breathes and fifteen compressions? I couldn’t remember. My
brain wasn’t able to calm itself long enough to remember.

A memory pierced the moment. “It’s better to
do something than nothing, Darcy. Do what you can.” It was the
voice of the instructor advising me after I’d asked what to do if I
forgot.

I began pushing down in the middle of her
sternum, not stopping when I heard one of her ribs pop. I kept
repeating the numbers over and over in my mind like a mantra.

Nothing was happening. Jasmine continued to
lie still on the ground, each moment passing becoming colder and
colder as her body’s heat started to leave her. Hysteria threatened
to explode from me.

I would’ve kept working on her if I hadn’t
heard a noise behind me. I was so focused on saving the life of my
beloved friend and future sister, I’d forgotten about Gary.

Part of me hoped he’d taken my advice and
left. My wolf, she hoped he’d stayed. Grief tormented her and she
demanded justice for the death of her fellow pack mate. She begged
to be released so she could execute him and in my weakened state, I
took down the walls and set her free.

I tried to do this the civilized way and it
ended in disaster. I should’ve let her out at the very beginning,
let her destroy the threat. If I had, Jasmine and I would be on our
way home right now, laughing about ways to torture Mason.

I took a deep breath as I leaned forward and
closed Jasmine’s eyes. I kissed her softly on cheek and whispered
I’d be back for her.

Something within me finally snapped, my wolf
was in full control. Placing my hands on the floor to push myself
up and turned to face my enemy.

The gun was on the ground a few feet away,
useless. The enemy stood a short distance away, shaking from shock
as it stared at Jasmine in disbelief.

It didn’t have the right to look at her. It
had no right breathing and if I had anything to do with it, it
wouldn’t be in a few short moments.

I took a measured step forward, power
soaking my cells as I called on the change to happen. “You will pay
for this.” My voice was an octave deeper, but steady as a rock, as
I sized up my enemy. “You killed her so your life is forfeit. So
says pack law.” A hungry smile covered my face. “I told you to
stop. You didn’t. I told you to run yet you stayed. Because of you,
my sister is now dead. Run as fast as your vampire laced body can
because when I catch you, you’ll wish you’d never been born.”

“It was an accident, Darcy. I didn’t mean to
shoot her. I loved her! I never meant for this to happen.” My enemy
was frantic and began to back up slowly.

He mimicked the submissive gestures I’d
shown Jasmine earlier. His hands held up in peace, but there would
be none now. The wolf was here and she was without mercy.

I took another step forward and jerked as my
muscles and joints moved. It had been slow and painful for Jasmine,
but Mason and I had been working on my changes. As the mate of the
Alpha, he told me there would be times I’d be challenged and it was
important I could change fast and often. If my enemy thought he had
more time, he was sorely mistaken.

“You really should’ve run” And with that, a
savage pulse pushed through my body. One minute I was Darcy and
next I wasn’t.

Standing in all my wolfish glory, I saw my
enemy cower as he watched me change into two hundred pounds of
aggression and raw energy. I may not be as spectacular as Jasmine,
but my chocolate brown fur was thick and luxurious, my fangs sharp
and eager to shred.

My humanity whispered in my head, trying to
convince me against attacking, but my grief held too tight a grip.
Somewhere else inside I could feel Mason was close by but I shut
that off too.

This was personal and something I wanted to
deal with. By killing Jasmine, my enemy had crossed a line human
Darcy couldn’t argue with. Pack dictated retribution and the thrill
of it set my senses ablaze.

I stalked towards my enemy as it backed up,
looking over its shoulder for help. Hoping for privacy to enact its
kidnap, it had gotten just that, but that also meant no one would
be coming to its defense now. No one would hear it scream in
terror.

I faked lunged and it squeaked in terror.
Head back I howled, the noise jolting the enemy before me. It
finally turned and ran.

My enemy became prey.

I paced back and forth eagerly, allowing it
a few moments head start before leaping into action. Barking out a
war call, I loped after it, careful not to catch my prey too
quickly. I wanted to draw out the uncertainty. Torture it.

Down the street I chased, pausing to test
the scent on the air. I knew exactly where my prey was, but also
smelled the pack. They wouldn’t get here in time. Even if they did,
this was my kill, my sentence to execute.

I skidded to a halt at the opening of an
alleyway. Instead of running into a populated area or flagging down
a passing car, my prey chose to hide where there could be no
escape.

If he thought the filth that littered the
ground could disguise his fear riddled odor, he was about to be
disappointed. The trash crunched under my feet as I entered the
alley and stood for a moment, taking in my surroundings.

I ignored the rats rummaging around. Howling
out the equivalent of “ready or not, here I come” and slowly began
stalking through the alley. It took only a second to narrow down
where the coward was hiding – a boarded over doorway. His sweat
drenched body radiated a “here I am” sign. I crouched down and
waited.

Moments passed. Silence filled the air. I
wanted it to think danger had passed it by and everything was safe.
I wanted it to relax before I pounced and ripped it apart.
Slowly.

Cautiously, I saw it begin to move, testing
each movement for a reaction. When it seemed appeased, my prey
stood up and peered into the alley way, scanning its surroundings.
It relaxed, releasing the tense breath it had been holding, and as
it stepped out I growled. I snapped at the strangled response as my
prey jumped back into its hiding spot. The smell of urine was
strong as it wet itself.

Stalking to the opening of the doorway,
anger and retribution drenching me, I faced the cowering lump in
front of me. I could drag this out, make it suffer more, or I could
end it.

Springing from my hind legs, I soared
through the air and landed on top of it. With a feral bark, I
demanded it look at me.

Recognition of its impending death filled
its eyes and my prey mouthed a silent prayer, a plea for divine
intervention. I pounced, my paws digging into its chest, pinning it
to the floor. I leaned in to take one last sniff.

This is for Jasmine,
my mind shouted
as I opened my jaws and ripped at its body. Blood sprayed over the
walls and gushing into my mouth, causing me to gag but nothing
could distract the wolf.

The sounds of shredding flesh and of limbs
being brutally torn from the body filled the air, as well as the
heady scent of copper. Agonizing screams pierced my ears but I
tuned it out as I focused on annihilating the pack enemy. One quick
move and I ripped its throat out, silencing it forever.

It didn’t take long before it ceased moving
and there was nothing left but carnage - blood and gore covering
every surface. I stopped long enough to shake out my body, sending
bits of flesh flying from my fur.

I nudged the lifeless mass with my snout,
growling a challenge for it to get up and fight some more. There
was no movement.

Adrenaline still coursed through my body,
but I knew it was over. Justice had been served, with a side of
ruthless vengeance and it was time to change back.

I reached inside and called on the change,
but my wolf refused to relinquish control.

I pushed and she pushed harder.

I begged and coerced. She ignored it
all.

I panicked. It had been a long time since
the wolf had been this strong and there was no budging her. She was
adamant that if she had been in control to begin with, this all
could’ve been avoided. We stay a wolf and everyone will be
safe.

Realizing arguing would be futile at the
moment, I began the journey back to Jasmine’s body, hoping no one
had moved her.

My slow steps became huge bounding lopes as
I pushed myself to get back to where it had all started.

Nearing the scene, my hackles rose and I let
out a warning growl. Some of the pack had arrived and were hovering
over Jasmine’s body. I barked for them to move as I roughly pushed
my way through those who’d come. Daniel. Jonas. Eric.

The looks on their faces were a mixture of
anger, grief and shock. Violence was something mostly seen amongst
the dominant pack members. It was rare for it to touch the females
so the death of Jasmine would shake them to the core.

Each of them looked at me cautiously, trying
not to make eye contact and backing away slowly. They could see my
aggression, hear it in my soft growls and tried to show they
weren’t a threat.

Crouched over the body of his sister was
Mason, his head bowed as silent sobs wracked his body. I longed to
comfort him but couldn’t as a wolf.

I nudged him with my snout, ignoring the
blood stain I left on his not so immaculate t-shirt. His hand
reached out and ruffled through my fur. It came back sticky.

“Hi babe, you doing okay?” He gave me the
once over, waiting to see how I would react to him. I leaned in
slowly, taking my time to pull his scent into my lungs.

Mason sat still and a feeling of security
washed over me. I nudged him again. He threw his arm around me,
pulling me in close.

I could feel his strength permeating into my
body, trying to soothe away my anger. I began to whimper, trying to
tell him all that happened, my body shuddering against him.

“I can’t understand you, Darcy; you’re going
to need to change back. We need to move Jasmine and get back to the
house. Come on, sweetheart, as soon as you’re ready.” He gestured
with one of his hands to Eric and Daniel and they moved forward to
pick up Jasmine.

Instantly my wolf reacted and I nipped at
them. Standing guard over my fallen sister’s body, I forced them to
back up - Mason included. No one was going to touch her, not until
we could figure out how to bring her back.

“Darcy, you can let go and change back. No
one is going to hurt Jasmine. Eric and Daniel need to pick her up
so we can take her home. She can’t lie here all night. She needs
the pack. She needs the rituals.”

Everything he said made sense. There were
things that had to happen now, but I couldn’t let go of the belief
if we waited just a little bit longer, she’d wake up and be
alive.

The guys moved to step forward again and
this time, I lashed out biting at the pant leg of Daniel.

“Darcy. Stand down.” The Alpha command
battered against me, ruthless in its primal demand. No one could
resist it, but I sure as heck could try.

“She’s fighting it!” Jonas exclaimed in
shock. “Look at her. She’s got that hard set in her eyes, Mason. I
don’t think she’s going to listen.”

“Darcy. Don’t make me force you.” Mason
ordered, sadness filling his eyes. Pure Alpha compulsion coated my
body and soaked into my bones, forcing me to relax. Pain caused me
to yelp as I struggled to hold my position. I didn’t want them
touching her.

“
Darcy
!” and with that one word, I
crumbled. Eric and Daniel quickly stepped in, sweeping Jasmine up.
As I watched them carry her away to the waiting car, I couldn’t
help the grief stricken howl that began in my stomach and released
itself into the night.

On and on I howled, understanding all hope
had been futile. She truly was gone and that the only “magic”
ritual to perform now would be a burial one. I collapsed to the
floor and buried my snout into my paws.

I barely heard the voices whispering.
Footsteps came and went, followed by the sound of a car engine
starting and the vehicle pulling away. I gathered everyone had
left, all but Mason. He still sat beside me, his hand gently
stroking my fur. There was an almost soothing rhythm to his
movement but my wolf was far from being calmed.

I don’t know how long we sat there or why we
weren’t found. I didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore and nothing
made sense.

Mason’s voice jolted me to awareness.
“Aren’t you able to change back, Darcy? Is that why you’re still in
wolf form? She won’t let go?”

I raised my head and looked into concerned
eyes. Mason lifted his hand and gently stroked the fur on my face,
each touch filled with love. I nodded slightly, the best I could do
to communicate with him. I knew this was serious; I needed to
regain control, but didn’t know how to convince my wolf it was
okay.