Without Regret (Pyte/Sentinel #2)(40)

When shifted into their animal form they might be more obsessed with food, fighting and f**king, but they were still very much in control of their actions. They had to be. If they f**ked up in any way that brought the attention of the humans they were swiftly dealt with by their own pack, other shifters, vampires, demons or Sentinels. No one wanted the humans aware of the real world since they’d just f**k up everything and start witch hunts. When someone truly f**ked up and endangered their world everyone stepped in to help clean up the mess and for good reason.

If humans knew there really were vampires out there their blood supply would be in danger. They’d be hunted down, their blood stolen and they’d be experimented on. The same could be said for demons, shifters and even Sentinels. Humans were not known for tolerance. History had proven that time and time again.

The leader crouched down ten feet from Chris and let out a menacing growl that would no doubt scare the shit out of a human and apparently his little mate if her cry of alarm was any indication, but Chris didn’t back down. He wouldn’t, especially with a truly leaderless pack. While the large beast was preparing to take a shot at him the rest of his pack was slowing backing up, reminding Chris of the only good thing about dealing with a leaderless pack.

Without an Alpha to keep them under control, lead and protect them they were useless, dangerous, but useless.

If this had been an Alpha-led pack there was no f**king way he would have been stupid enough to confront a dozen werewolves on a full moon with only his father and his untrained mate. He would have called for the Sentinels stationed two miles away at that bonfire to haul their asses over here. A properly led pack would have him and Izzy ripped apart in minutes and would be doing their damndest to take his father apart.

“I said get back!” he heard his father roar seconds before two large dull gray wolves went sailing through the air, landing on top of the large fire. Chris wasn’t all that surprised when the beasts remained on the fire.

He’d be willing to bet every cent he had that his father’s strike had broken both their necks on impact.

There were a lot of things shifters could recover from and a broken neck was certainly one of them, but it required time and rest. Right now the two shifters were knocked out cold and would have lived if his father hadn’t set them on fire. Fire was one of the things that could kill them.

Instead of trying to drag their companions out of the fire the rest of them moved back, growling viciously as they inched closer to him and Izzy, probably figuring that they were the safer bet. Since it was what Chris wanted he didn’t do anything to stop them. He needed Izzy’s abilities to be triggered and this was the only way that he knew that would work.

He wasn’t too worried about her getting hurt. Between him and his father they’d be able to keep her from any real harm, but she probably wouldn’t be leaving here tonight without a few minor injuries. The idea of his little mate getting hurt didn’t sit well with him, but he knew there was little choice in the matter now. Besides it was part of the job description and she’d heal quickly enough.

Chris chuckled as the “leader” followed him at a low crouch as he stepped away from Izzy, who couldn’t seem to stop shaking. For a moment he felt guilty about bringing her out here with absolutely no warning, but he knew there was no other choice.

Forcing his eyes away from the small terrified woman he focused on the large beast stalking him. He was a large son of a bitch, there was no doubt about that, but he lacked the confidence needed to go up against an enemy of equal strength, which was probably why the bastard liked to deal with little girls, Chris thought with disgust.

A slight shift of the beast’s eyes to his right was the only warning Chris had before two smaller beasts lunged for him. He dropped to his back before either one could reach him and brought his feet up, slamming into the beast closest to him and knocking him into his partner, sending them flying through the air towards the fire, but somehow they managed to miss the fire.

They landed a few feet away and quickly scurried to their feet to make another go at him.

“Goddammit!” He didn’t need this bullshit tonight. His eyes shot over to his father to find the man tossing a beast into the fire as he kicked a large brown wolf trying to take a bite out of his side.

“Chris!” Izzy screamed, drawing his attention as three large beasts, including the leader advanced on her.

“Fucking bastard,” he said, pulling out his gun and shooting the two beasts that were coming back for more in the head, instantly killing them both. He got to his feet and shot the next bastard that made a move in his direction as he ran to Izzy.

As the bastards moved closer she did something that shocked the hell out of him and he probably would never forget as long as he lived. She dropped to the ground and got into the fetal position. Hearing about it and seeing it in action were two totally different things.

He couldn’t f**king believe what he was seeing.

“Get up!” he yelled, stepping back and shooting a brown and grey stripped wolf that came charging towards him, jumping over it before it dropped to the ground.

“No!” Izzy screamed, over the load roars and snarls.

“Get up and do your f**king job!” he snarled, grabbing the beast that was closing in on her by the hind leg and yanking him back so he had a clear shot to the head. He didn’t hesitate in pulling the trigger.

“Go to hell, you jerk!” Izzy yelled, curling tightly into herself.