Wolves among men (38 page)

“
When the time comes to
make a choice, remember who you are,”
Robert’s words echoed through my mind and in that moment I
knew what I had to do.

“
I’m not a murderer.” I
growled, my fists clenched at my sides.

“
Is that so?” He sneered.
“Then what is all this?” He motioned toward the battle that waged
without me as a sick smile twisted his lips.

“
You attacked us!” I
roared. He scoffed and shook his head as Sam came to a stop at my
side.

“
Is that what you think?
Is that what this dog has told you?”

“
Malik.” She gasped as his
eyes turned to her.

“
We’re not dogs,” I pulled
his attention back to me. “And no that isn’t what I think that’s
what I know.” He sneered as he took a step toward me. His face was
inches from mine as he stared down at me with a fierceness that
threatened to drop me where I stood.

“
Do you have any idea what
you’re up against, dog?” He barked as I glared up at
him.

“
Yeah,” I smiled. “You
might have spent the last hundred years or so masquerading as the
bogyman but you don’t scare me.”

“
You’re in far deeper than
you think, boy.” He sneered as a deep growl escaped his chest. “You
can end this, right now. Join me and I’ll call off this
war.”

“
No you won’t.” I scoffed.
“Why should I believe anything you say?”

“
You have my
word.”

“
Only a fool would take
the devil at his word.” I stared him down as he watched me
carefully, his eyes burning with a kind of proud rage.

“
Spoken like a true
imbecile.” He smirked as he stepped back. “Fine. Go back to your
friends, Ethan,” He growled. “Fight your little war and when you’re
ready to consider my offer we can talk about returning what is
yours.” He sneered. “Until then.” He nodded before turning and
quickly taking off down the little dirt road.

“
No!” I screamed as he
crawled into the large silver van at the end of the drive. Sam
grabbed my shoulders and held me back as the van came to life and
Malik slammed the door behind him. “Let me go!” I growled, shifting
in her arms and struggling against her.

“
Ethan, no!” She pleaded
with me but it was no use. I knocked her away and took off after
them running as fast as my legs would carry me past the gate and
out onto the highway. They turned the corner and floored it, taking
off into the distance and leaving me far behind. I could hear Sam
behind me, I could feel her following close at my heels as I ran
into the street and followed them as far as I could. Cars honked
and screeched as I weaved through them, quickly losing sight of my
target.

I leapt over a black SUV as it swerved
to avoid me and just as my feet touched the asphalt below me, I
felt Sam’s massive frame as it connected with mine, knocking me out
of the street and into the woods that surrounded it. We rolled down
the steep hill coming to a stop at the rock bed below. Sam ran to
my side, her body shifting back as she knelt next to me and rolled
me onto my back. Stubborn as I was and lacking in all ability to
care I simply lay there, staring at the night sky as it glowed
above us.

“
Ethan, say something,”
she begged as she checked me over for any sign of life. A slight
whimper escaped my chest as I crawled to my feet and stared her
down. “I know you’re pissed off but you can’t run into traffic like
that.” I growled baring my teeth, the hairs on my body standing on
end. “Ethan, you have to be smart about this.” I didn’t care, I
couldn’t care. I should have killed him when I had the chance.
Blind rage took over where reason and rationality once stood and I
reared my body back throwing my head to the sky and howling into
the moonlit night hoping like hell that he heard me and hoping like
hell that he knew no matter what that I was coming for him and I
would do everything in my power to make sure that the next time we
met I would rip the black heart straight from his chest.

P
enelope Sweet is a lifelong believer in magic and
monsters and it’s this belief that drives her to search within the
shadows for the darkest of tales. A lover of all things horror and
all things macabre, Penelope’s passion is to bring you the stories
that send chills down your spine, keep you awake in the night and
most of all keep you coming back for more.