Lady's First Knight: Royal Scales, #2

By Stephan Morse

A reluctant bodyguard, Jay now faces a lofty challenge, protect Kahina—his no-longer-an-ex-girlfriend—during her transformation into a full-fledged vampire. Sounds simple enough, except the odds are stacked against him; angry wolves, partial vampires, human extremists all seek to destroy her before she completes the change.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephan Morse
• Release date: Sep 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540198655

Stephan Morse

Stephan Morse was born the year 1983 in San Diego. The next fifteen years were spent slowly escaping California and surviving a public education system. Thus far he's made it to the Seattle (WA) region with little desire to go further. When not trying to shove words together into sentences Stephan spends time reading, catching up on sleep, and otherwise living a mundane life.

Book preview

1

Decapitation and a Cross

Vampire weaknesses aren’t advertised. Only a few limited shapes have ever caused them real issues: crosses, ankhs, the Star of David, items of that vein. Grade schools avoid addressing these items due to possible harassment.

Children who find out their neighbor is a vampire tend to not think friendly, well mannered, polite, or rich. More importantly, they don’t understand grudges that last for generations. The young hear bloodsucking and equate bleeding with pain.

As well they should.

Things weren’t always stable between the Church and other races. It took nearly 2000 years of good will to progress this far. Vampires running most charity organizations helped. In any case vampirism, the virus or curse, has always been panic-stricken about holy symbols being shoved in their faces.

Everything else though?

They suffer no repercussions when stepping into a church. The ground could be consecrated and blessed down to the rivets in each pew. Even sprinkles of dew from the Pope’s own piss bowl meant nothing. They have no problems swearing on the Bible, provided there’s no cross, or saying Grace over a Kosher meal.

Nor, apparently, problems with saying, ‘Oh God’ until they nearly black out.

A pretty woman owning that two-word vocabulary had collapsed right next to me. She basked in the same glow I did. It was a welcome distraction from our looming challenges.

Anyone else would notice the fangs under her top lip. They had grown prominent in the last few months. I noted her eyes first. The whites were nearly swallowed up by crimson irises. Dark skin stood out against the cream-colored sheets. Picking her out in an unlit room would have been difficult for almost anyone else.

For me, it became second nature. Every move she made would graze against my senses as if I were the one moving. Each sigh of nearly pointless air that crossed her lips was tantalizing.

Kahina was taller than my six foot four. I had eighty pounds on her. Not because she was thin or lacked obvious curves. That was just me; her frame was athletic. Mine was grumpy pro wrestler.

A friend told me I looked like a man perpetually recovering from street brawls. That could have been referring to any part of my image. The glare I gave everyone, short-cropped hair, broken nose, or rare smiles. To most people’s eyes, I was a large towering brute.

Not to Kahina. She saw something in me. Every move of her body brushed against my mind in some way. It had been difficult not to engage in ‘interpersonal relations.’ I tried to avoid getting back into the sack for a full month. Scout's honor.

She wore me down promptly. Willpower against females wasn’t a strong trait of mine. Vampires had crosses, wolves had silver, elves had cold iron. For me, it was this almost princess. Not that she was royalty, or that princesses were a real weakness.

Her fingers moved down my chest. The action itself was only one expression of a bodily desire to feed. We had just shared a physical high and still she craved more. I felt her body pulling toward mine like the tide toward the moon.

There was no chance of me being a delusional puppy who only saw the humanity. She wanted blood. Mine. I had no way to claim ignorance of her desire. None of her body’s cravings were outright visible, but there was no mistake as her fingers trailed major arteries.

That same friend who called me a chronic fighter had also warned that when you date vampires, blood’s always an issue. In 2000 years no one had proven that vampires required blood. They merely craved it due to their nature. The way most races instinctively propagate.

Kahina was after my protection, love, and blood, and not in that order. For now, I had only given her one of those. The other two would be settled eventually. Not that the whole dilemma had put up much of a roadblock to resuming bedroom activities. Love and lust were very different things.

Jay… Her voice trailed into an enthralling hum. How long had she been saying my name?

Jay… Fingertips turned to nails with brief digging pressure.

Jay! Her voice was a little louder but wasn’t harsh. Finally, I gave in and said something.

Kahina, I can’t think with you distracting me.

She laughed quietly. That rarely happened outside of these unguarded moments. In public, she was one person, cold, tough and a powerful presence in any room. In private, with me, she acted like the woman from years ago, quiet, funny, and playful.

I’ve got to go back to work. You can rest if you’re tired, she said.

My hum resembled her earlier one. Kahina slid to the edge of the king size bed, which was a delightful show, and gave a huge stretch before standing. A quick tug yanked the sheets out from under me. Her near vampire condition provided a lot more strength than a normal human. The air whirled around the room carrying the scent of crushed peppermint leaves. That smell followed her everywhere.

Hey! I feigned offense.

She flashed me a playful smile then strutted off toward the oversized shower in the bathroom. My gaze tried not to follow her and my other senses didn’t even bother with avoidance.

I did have some gifts. One of the main ones was feeling other objects like they were extensions of my own skin. It was all tactile senses and required certain perceptions from me. I had to believe that the person, place, or thing, was mine.

She had met all the requirements. I gave her leeway when stealing the sheets. There was often no sleep at night anyway. During the day Kahina preferred her secure location, leaving the bed for exercise. It took her exactly one minute and thirty-two seconds to wake up and drag me to a bedroom, often barely clothed.

Her lust for blood had killed my after-sex buzz. I relaxed and flipped on a history channel. Later Kahina exited all dressed and clean. Her hair had been semi straightened but didn’t completely remove the natural waves. She didn’t say good-bye. Either her mind was already in business mode or I made the wrong choice in not getting into the shower.

Four years of separation and imminent trouble with her transition had contributed to our relationship being what it was. Kahina was willing to give me a lot of emotional space as long as there wasn’t any physical distance. I had a feeling that was about keeping her craving for blood under control by distracting herself through other desires.

That left me and an oversized shower to spend some alone time. I made my way over and hopped in. The setup was ridiculous. All I really needed was a nozzle to stand under with scalding hot water. Instead, there were jets, clear glass frames and at least five showerheads with different settings. Which in the right situations, such as joining Kahina earlier, could have been entertaining.

However, it was only me, three unused showerheads and one blonde female elf holding a stack of poster boards. If Kahina was one of my major problems, elves were another.

Candy. This wasn’t her first appearance these last few weeks. Visitations occurred every few days. Always the same distance away. Always facing me. I wasn’t delusional. This was an elven illusion, pure visual trickery. Candy wasn’t here physically.

Last time I walked around the projection to see if she was naked. Turns out what came across as three dimensional, wasn’t. It could have been rounded, but this elf loved to tease.

Tonight Candy’s hair was done up in pigtails with a pair of comically thick-framed glasses. The combination reminded me of a naughty schoolgirl. Lines of tattoos spun from her eyes down to her toes. Maybe they were ivy or thorns. It was hard to tell. Either way, she seemed like a well-kept twenty-six, which meant she was near fifty or sixty. Elves cheat when it comes to aging.

Hello, Jeff

The first sign was always a greeting to one of my pseudonyms. Candy flipped it over to the next one. Meanwhile, I fiddled with the controls and tried to turn on a stream of water where the elven lass was standing. Maybe I could disrupt the image.

Was the bloodsucker sucking?

I almost answered until I remembered the phantom never seemed to hear me. She let that sign fall and revealed the next message.

I’ll bet she was

Her body tipped forward to cast away the latest message board, almost revealing something more interesting than bare shoulders. One hand draped down, the other at the top, making sure her midsection was covered.

She’s going to kill you

Barely any pause between the messages now. The elf must have a way to know if I read her signs.

She’ll lose control

The sign flipped down quickly.

I’m better in bed

Each time the message shifted wildly between trying to force me away from Kahina and trying to lure me back to the elf. I had no idea why. I did my damnedest to avoid her. Candy had rather firmly ruined portions of my life.

She just lays there during the day

The next sign was guaranteed to be a follow-up comment.

You know I don’t just lay there

The elf and I had a rather wild one-morning stand that ended in Candy betraying me for reasons that didn’t make complete sense. Not to mention that if Kahina ever found out about the whole event, my balls would end up on a shelf. Vampires, even incomplete ones like Kahina, were possessive.

If you ever need a ride, come see me…

Her top hand came up and covered her lips in a playful pantomime of a kiss and a wink, almost letting the last sign slip away. Every one of these illusions had been an exaggerated vaudeville act. Gestures, words, each one larger than life.

I could use one myself… Bye, Jeff…

Candy glanced down at her signs and pursed her lips. She brightened up as the last sign dropped. The elf’s image grew fuzzy and disappeared before anything good was revealed.

It did serve to bring my problems back into focus. There were three major troubles.

One, Kahina was nearing the final stages of her transition. It was the most dangerous time for a new vampire as the chances of her dying during this process were high. Until she completed the change, she would only be partially converted and denied many of the rights that came from the Tribunal. The Tribunal was the vampire form of government here in Western Sector.

Two, the female elf with poster boards, nicknamed Candy, was trying to get my attention for unknown reasons. Last time I saw Candy, in non-illusion form, had been at the other end of a swinging tree branch. Followed rapidly by being kneed in the crotch and having dirt shoved in my face. Though she honored our deal and got me where I needed to be. I couldn’t decide how to feel about our limited relationship.

Lastly, the root of it all. There was a reason behind Kahina’s strange craving for me. A reason Candy had gone to such lengths to hurt me. Something that explained how I could feel other objects and people as if it was my own skin and track down missing items across miles.

I wasn’t human.

Water helped me focus. Past the interpersonal relations with Kahina and the struggle of moving to a new location, I had finally decided to deal with Candy instead of admiring her personal peek show. I just had to find a way to get to Evan. He was a scrawny and depressive fellow that had been bound by Candy. Being bound prevented Evan from telling me anything about who I was, but maybe he could tell me why Candy was sending me these illusions.

While I showered one of the servants staffing the house straightened up the bed and set out a suit for me. They clearly thought my intelligence was low because the suit was laid out piece by piece on the bed. A neophyte would put them on left to right.

Having my wardrobe redone ruined my self-perception. My usual simple jeans and T-shirt had been replaced by a higher thread count and professionally tailored items. Kahina’s other employees insisted that I was intimidating. They were only trying to console me.

I hated it all. Part of me wanted to go back to my apartment and do my old job. Being a big dumb thug who was a part-time bouncer, part-time collection’s agent for a loan shark. It was a persona that took two decades to perfect. Four months of finery wasn’t much stacked up against that kind of time.

The tie was the worst part. Thankfully someone tied the knot for me already. I just had to slip it over and cinch the noose closed. Kahina’s dark purple theme didn’t clash against my suit’s shirt.

My feet barely touched the hallway outside our bedroom before a voice spoke.

Morning, Mister Fields, a female greeted.

Hi, Shaggy. Shaggy had been the latest thing to come to mind when assigning her nickname. It bothered her and that was all that mattered.

Sir. Good. She sounded as exasperated with me as I felt with her. Maybe because she had to call me sir. Normally Shaggy only attempted it once or twice during the night. After that, she broke down and stopped calling me anything.

Yes? I said.

Ann, please. For the fifth time this week. Ann. Shaggy kept count for me. Last week I insisted her name was Brownie. The week before that was Mouse, before that it was Hamster. The brown creature theme would go on until I went crazy.

Shaggy was a shadow assigned by Kahina. Her hair was a carefully ironed and shoulder length brunette, the cut longer in front than in back. How she kept it out of her eyes was beyond me. She carried all that on a tiny frame that had thrown me around during a sparring match months ago.

Her clothing was similar to mine but feminine. Collar slanted in different places, the vest was cut differently, her pants flared out slightly. A line of purple laced up one side. Everything in the household had the same theme. It was Kahina’s cattle brand for all items hers.

We’ll leave soon. I wanted off the property. Shaggy also drove the car for me since I never felt comfortable with cars or learned how to drive.

Might want to hold onto that thought.

Why?

Nighttime raid practice planned. She pulled out a small device and scrolled through to a message. At the western gate, sometime between now and sunrise.

Tonight? The one night I finally decided to get out of the house? To stop putting things off? Fantastic.

Yes, sir. Over the next few weeks, he’ll up the practice classes as well. He, the household’s main instructor, a man I only heard called Sensei by nearly everyone at the compound.

Great.

I don’t know why you care, you conned a free pass. There was something in her voice that acted like one of the guys. Her tone wasn’t cute, or tiny, or deep, just normal.

The free pass she mentioned had been gained by virtue of being big, scary, and Kahina’s. Not because I was any good at this security stuff. It was the same reason they didn’t invite me to their daily practice downstairs.

They were doing a sort of Mixed Martial Arts in preparation. I took it seriously once in the last few months and broke another man’s leg and fractured two knuckles. Not because I knew anything about martial arts but because I was willing to get hurt. Our teacher had declared it a good demonstration of what an unshifted wolf could do.

Nighttime raids were done with the same focus in mind. To prepare for an attack.

Any guess on what time it’s happening? I couldn’t exactly use the phone to call Evan. Most elves lived in houses like everyone else. The one I wanted was lost in the middle of a huge forest.

No. I’d never tell you anyway, they’re less effective if anyone knows. Shaggy just wanted to see me squirm. The last time a practice had gone off I couldn’t make it back to Kahina in time.

I closed my eyes and pictured her. Pictured her as mine, which she was. Gradually a portion of my senses activated. This always felt like giant sheets of silk were sliding off my back. Those extensions fanned wide and took in the feel of local objects. Each weight, vibration of sound, shift in the air betrayed details. Then there were links, paths I could follow to objects farther away. Each belonging had a thin thread of energy that connected between me and a destination.

Shaggy wouldn’t see any of this with her eyes. No one ever did. The only clue about what was happening was an unfocused look on my face.

Vision dims. Feel the world around. Feel cords. Each different texture. Feels like colors. Multiple, a rainbow that connects to Incomplete Servant. Trails far northwest.

The thoughts felt muddled like my brain was shifting gears and thinking in another pattern. None of this was visible, not really. My mind was translating the sense of touch and tactical feedback into a spectrum I could make sense of. I imagined it to be similar to bat echolocation forming a picture of the world.

Another line nearby. Numerous small threads bundled together. Rubbery. Draws south. Home. Sanctuary. Last one, connection closer. Pulls toward Dangerous Mate. Can feel the purple, feel the red splotches unevenly splattered along the cord.

Threads showed up to objects that I had claimed. Kahina gave herself to me and that was more than enough to create the bond. Then there was the name thing. My brain couldn’t think of names right while tracking. Kahina became Dangerous Mate. It was a dead on title. Often, when I had worked collections, my mind called nearly everyone ‘Prey.’

Follow connection. Tug along line. Travel through building, through walls and floors. Ceilings and doors. Far wing of house. Closer to Dangerous Mate. There.

She sits in a chair. Smiles briefly. Might feel me, normally does. Sun long gone from this room. Remains of heat hang in the walls. The room feels of Dangerous Mate.

Six other bodies are here. Their mass swirls the air as they move. Words rebound off objects in the room. Each pitch creates different impressions as they absorb into plaster and wood. Words bore like all business conversations.

The connection released. A moment later I mentally returned to my body, secure in the knowledge that Kahina was safe and nearby. If there was a practice tonight getting to her would be easy. Her office was one of the main ones and I finally knew the place well enough to make it there quickly.

My job was to ensure I was next to Kahina when the alarms went off. During the first few drills, I had been lost trying to find my way through the house. A few embarrassing remarks from the household staff sobered me, along with my promise to protect her during the change.

We’ve got time. I shrugged.

You could do actual practice with the rest of us, Shaggy said.

No.

She encouraged me to truly spar against the others. The defeated sought rematches. I didn’t. They were all training in a number of different abilities on Kahina’s dime. Almost all her extra money went into improving their skills. I was an oddball to the whole situation. No one seemed quite sure how to deal with me or what skills I might need. That would have required getting to know me. Nothing about my demeanor said friend material. While everyone else studied, I wandered the grounds or lifted weights.

Well, I need range time. My scores have been dropping over the last few months. She implied that being assigned as my shadow had caused her skills to get worse.

Sure. I didn’t really care.

Some of us actually earn our keep. That one was an insult. It helped justify calling her anything but Ann.

Drills, training, shooting ranges, hand to hand and other skills. Gentry topics weren’t shirked either. Kahina provided lessons in social grace for those who needed it. At first, everything confused me. Why would anyone waste that much money training people on such dated topics? There were roughly twenty people under her employ devoting extra hours to this material.

I learned it was standard for richer people who were converting to vampires. After a few months, it made more sense. Vampires didn’t have other pack members to rely on; they weren’t kids sheltered by an elven clan. At most a vampire would have two or three of their kind nearby.

No one else would protect them. She built loyalty through wealth. There was money to be made if you passed the background checks needed for employment in a vampire household.

Kahina was geared up to go big. She knew it. Her people knew it. Even I, dense as a brick, knew it. This was a long-term game. Their success was hers, and the reverse was true. It was symbiotic.

Let’s go. Shaggy wanted the shooting range, and that was fine. Not that anyone would ever catch me with a gun. My only experience with them involved being shot.

Okay, I said. I’m not shooting, though.

Good. You can sit there.

We headed down to another part of the grounds. Some of the old buildings had been converted into more useful structures. How many pools did a giant estate need? According to Kahina, only one. The place vaguely resembled a military compound.

A few minutes later and we were in the range itself. Shaggy wasted no time checking out a gun and loading in ammunition. She slapped in earplugs and threw me a set. Moments later the female was unloading bullets into a stationary target. There were a few different styles. One was a standard cutout. Another randomly moved positions at high speeds. The final test recorded how fast you switched bullet types and hit specific targets.

Wolves had reflexes. Vampires had speed. Humans had to be prepared for both.

Shaggy finished firing a warm up clip then started another with the dot. Everyone scored low on that since it required predictive skills. I knew it, she knew it, everyone did. Knowledge was useless without attempted application.

You’ll never improve like that. A new voice instantly grated on me. It was male with a slight crisp of professional asshole.

Don’t worry about me, Shaggy responded.

The person in question was somewhere behind Kahina in the transformation process. His white jacket and gelled hair said one word. Snob. At least he never slicked the hair back. The partial vampire was also Kahina’s Second. In many houses that also meant that they would be lovers.

I would have killed him.

Are you ready, little one? The other voice was quiet. Another partial vampire with short hair and a suit that practically hung off his thin frame.

Both of them liked to pretend I didn’t exist. I regularly hoped they would fail to wake up one night.

As ready as it gets, Shaggy said while tracking the red dot and squeezing off additional shots. Some of them hit according to the targeting computer on the other side.

That’s good. There’s not much time, the quiet one told us.

We know. Shaggy fired again.

If only everyone was as dedicated as you. Anthony was Kahina’s smug sounding Second. His clever inflection directed the comment at me.

A few months ago I had gotten into a scuffle with Kahina’s Second. I remembered his head in my hands, horror painted unflattering wrinkles around the eyes. The damage from mild burns hadn’t recovered, but he smoothed it over with makeup.

It’s not for me to question the Lady’s orders, Mister Rays, Shaggy responded.

My dear, Anthony, please, the blond vampire said. She should punch him in the face.

If you say so. Shaggy didn’t like Anthony any more than I did. I wasn’t even a girl and his flirting creeped me out.

Ann moved on to the third type of training. Targets shifted at random times. Outlines of people popped up, each one meant a different race and required different methods to score points. Headshots and hearts counted for extra. I wasn’t sure what kind of machine they had back there but it distinguished the three kinds of practice bullets.

Silver coating for wolves. Iron for elves. Vampires took regular bullets and lots of them. The only things that worked in a real fight were decapitation and a cross. Or piercing their heart. Shaggy switched between the targets, seeming to prefer the vampire ones over others.

Anthony stood there staring at Shaggy’s backside. No doubt dreaming up creepy fantasies. Vampires in thought, even partials, became statue like. After numerous times of seeing a fanger frozen over the meats in a supermarket, the wonder of it faded.

Alarms kicked in with a sudden blast causing my heart to jump. The alert was designed to be subtle, but I was on edge waiting for the noise. Beeps would sound everywhere but the intruder’s location.

The history magazine I had been reading dropped slowly. My mind tracked Kahina. Then it registered that neither of the other three had moved. They blinked in confusion.

That’s the drill? I asked.

True to form Mister Rays and the other vampire ignored me. Both zipped out the door. My eyebrow raised as I glanced at Shaggy.

We should go, I said.

Yes. Her face had turned ashen.

What’s wrong?

That isn’t the drill alarm. She spun and went out the door.

History had proven my delayed comprehension in times of panic. I struggled to compare these noises to the ones we were trained to recognize. The drill alarm was a short series of chirps, high pitched and only three.

This had been four, and the final note was longer than the others were. No, that wasn’t the kind of mistake anyone could just make. Either this was a drill of a more serious nature, or…

Kahina.

My hand left an imprint on the wall as I burst out of the room like the vampires. Tactical sensations went on high alert, underlying my extra senses. Water seeped into my shoes from moist grass. Heavy air brushed through with a tiny breeze. Footsteps slapped forcefully against the dirt.

I spent these last few months practicing, remembering how to trust my senses without needing to see. My body ran forward on autopilot with my eyes closed. Kahina. She was still in the same room upstairs, in her office.

Gunfire rang out from the walls. Someone was trying to breach them, and either it was a real attack, or it was a diversion. This was why Kahina insisted I remain by her side for practices. Shaggy was somewhere behind me. To her credit, she wasn’t yelling for me to wait up.

I moved quicker than normal. Not as fast as a vampire but well above human speeds. My speed and strength shifted up a notch when something I owned was in danger. Kahina was the second person ever to have ownership applied to her.

The first was Evan, the male elf in the woods far northwest. The same one I had wanted to go out and visit tonight. He wasn’t in danger but Kahina was. Additional gunshots thundered from behind me and an explosion lit up the area. This certainly was not a drill.

I barged through one of the side doors and sprinted up the stairs three at a time. My other senses extended outward. Brief wavering of extra mental limbs reached out to feel everything. Tactile feedback poured in on a level so detailed that it replaced eyesight.

Rail jerks as I grab it. Pressure flattens the wooden carvings slightly. Thin layer of paint crinkles under my grip. The Stalker’s feet hit the doorway. Sharp-soled boots shift from cement to hardwood floor. In front, toward Dangerous Mate, a beam cracks. Attic shifts slightly around the weakened spot. Another shudder. Feels like chair clubbing someone.

My feet carried me up the stairs, around a corner and halfway down the hall. Men in suits were running past me. They were the business partners from her earlier group. Only three went by and I remembered counting six before.

Three? In the room with Kahina? What were they? Humans? Vampires? Both would make sense. It didn’t matter what race they were; a single cross would cause her to panic. There had to be one. No one in their right mind would attack a vampire so close to transformation without a cross. Even I knew better, and my life had revolved around intimidating all races.

The door to Kahina’s office slammed open as I shouldered into it. A quick count revealed two people. One recovering from being thrown into a wall, he had a blade as long as his forearm in one hand. The second man bore a cross down on Kahina. She struggled, trying to overcome the overwhelming fear it must be giving her.

Where was the third one?

Hyper-attentive senses had enough time to provide a visual of metal flying in from the side. It was warning enough to tilt slightly and prevent a chair from smashing directly across the front of my face. Instead, it collided from temple to ear sending me backward into the hallway. Pain rippled through, but I suffered it with the help of my protective instincts.

I was analyzing. The blow had a lot more strength than a human could manage. Whoever the third person was didn’t waste any time coming out after me. His shoulders rolled. Ears were uncovered and not pointed, so not an elf. The three attackers felt heavy and one’s back twitched as he walked.

WOLVES! I shouted over a shoulder.

The shout itself didn’t help my ringing ears. Ann would be here soon with the right type of bullets. Her footsteps were still trying to get to the top of the stairs. Too far away for Kahina’s safety.

Let’s go, you pampered lapdogs. At least, that’s what I tried to say. Really, the only words to make it out of my mouth were pampered lapdogs, and those two were loud. If there was one thing that set off a wolf, it was insults.

And any smile that showed more than the front few teeth. Wolf instincts screamed challenge from the right sort of smirk. Maybe it was just me.

My expression set off the one who smacked me with a metal bit of chair. I scrambled to my feet and ran back down the hallway, luring them closer to Shaggy and farther away from Kahina. Behind me, I felt two sets of footsteps.

Third trespasser doesn’t move. Feet press heavily onto floorboards.

In a single movement, I slipped one hand into a pocket and donned a glove. I brought the equipment back up and tightened down the Velcro fastening with my teeth.

Shaggy could be felt just ahead, around the corner I blitzed past on my way up the stairs. I sidestepped into one of the other rooms. The wolves were enraged enough to miss the fact that I had stopped running.

The footsteps from both wolves pounded my senses like drumbeats. Their cadence freakishly synchronized as they got closer. Pack, they were from the same pack. Was it a local one? No, probably not. They might not have forgiven me, but they wouldn’t try to kill Kahina.

There, the footsteps felt close enough to launch my attack.

I swung an arm out right below head level. The first wolf connected neck first with my modified glove, which contained silver molded into razorback ridges to take advantage of wolves’ weaknesses. Dragging the weaponized glove one way would slice; pulling it backward would rend.

Feel the moment of connection and the world pauses in celebration. Feel back of my clenched fist tear. World resumes as I smile in triumph. Small Prey. Weak. Will remind them of their place.

The resulting fist to neck connection attacked my perceptions twice. Once through normal visuals, the other via tactile echoing. I grabbed his head with my other hand and forced the rending motion across his neck, dragging out the molded silver, a weakness to any wolf.

My position was