Hank halted as he realized the same thing I did. The other two Wolves, the ones Granny had been trying to reach, were challenging the ones that had her down. They were silver gray and huge. Foam and blood dripped from their fangs as they advanced on the black Wolves. Granny's limp body was tossed behind the black Wolves as they dove at the ones trying to get to her. Was it a fight for the kill or were they trying to stop the black ones?
"What's happening?" I asked Hank as he inched closer, only to get thrown violently back by the larger of the silver Wolves.
"It looks like they're trying to defend Granny," he grunted as he struggled to his feet. "It makes no sense."
"Is she food?" I asked, horrified at the thought.
"Normally I'd say no. Wolves don't eat each other, but today I'm not sure," he said as he approached again. "I'll distract them. You try to get to Granny."
I'd seen Wolves fight. I'd seen Wolves fight to the death, but I'd never seen anything as vicious as the battle raging over Granny. The Vampyre blood coursing through my system made me an unstable monstrous killing machine, but these Wolves were downright barbaric. They were going for eyes and jaws, not directly for the kill. The damage they were inflicting was meant to cause humiliation and physical misery. My stomach churned as I attempted to circle the perimeter and get to Granny. How had I killed any of them? Had I fought with that kind of depravity just moments ago?
I pushed the thoughts away and tried to close in. If I could get to her I could drag her to relative safety as the blacks and silvers destroyed each other.
"Hank, stay back. None of them need our help. They're doing fine on their own with annihilating each other. Circle around and meet me at Granny."
"On it," Hank said gruffly as he inched along the far side of the assault.
The sounds of death mixed with eerie howls suspended my forward motion briefly. The silver grays had won. The black Wolves lay torn and mangled on the ground. Blood flowed and the silver Wolves appeared pretty torn up. As they made their way to Granny I increased my trot to a sprint. There was no way in hell they were going to eat her. It would be over my dead body.
I reached her very still body before they did and turned and growled. My teeth gnashed and I felt a blast of surreal and deadly rage rush through me. I stared straight into their red eyes with aggression and hatred. If they took one more step they would die. I might die with them, but I would not go out alone.
Hank's shoulder touched mine and the snarls and blinding sparks that swirled around his body were mesmerizing. They gray Wolves halted and watched with eyes narrowed to slits.
"I don't know if you can understand me, but if you take one step closer to my granny it will be the last thing you ever do," I hissed savagely. I held my bleeding head high and kept eye contact. "I don't know if you can understand the concept of love or family, but she is mine. She is all the family I have left in the world. If you go for her I will crucify you and send you straight to hell."
Time felt suspended as we stared at each other, waiting for one pair to make the first move.
"She's dying," the larger of the gray Wolves said in a deep and melodic voice. "Go to her. We are leaving."
With that they turned and walked away. Several times they glanced back. Hank and I stood our ground and didn't move a muscle until they had reached the far edge of the property and disappeared.
"What was that?" Hank whispered.
"They understand our language and they can speak it," I said as I scanned the tree line for proof they were truly gone.
"That makes no sense. Why would they leave?"
"I don't know. Are they definitely gone?" I asked. I saw no movement in the tree line, but I didn't trust they had left. These Wolves were far different than any I'd ever dealt with.
Hank lifted his muzzle to the wind and sniffed. "They're gone, but we don't know if they're coming back. We need to get Granny inside. Shift."
As I shifted and turned, my stomach dropped to my toes. Dwayne's agonized screams bounced in my head and I closed my eyes hoping when I opened them the horror before me would be different.
It wasn't.
Dwayne held a lifeless looking Granny in his mangled arms and rocked her while he wailed. This was not happening. She was going to walk me down the aisle. Granny was going to babysit my children some day and teach them bad words and how to play paintball without safety gear. She was going to feed them ice cream for dinner and they would tell her secrets Hank and I would never be privy to. She was supposed to ground me when she realized I got Hank's name tattooed on my ass. I hadn't even had time to get inked so she could be pissed and tackle me. This was wrong. This was not supposed to happen.
Speech left me as I dropped to the ground and felt for a pulse. It was a whisper, but it was there.
"Shift, damn it," I screamed at her unconscious body. "You have to shift to heal."
I grabbed her from Dwayne and shook her. She simply had to wake up and shift. "Wake up," I cried out as my own blood and tears rolled down my face.
"She has to wake up," I shouted at Dwayne. "Make her wake up. Please God, please God, please God," I muttered hysterically as I continued to shake her.
"Essie, stop," Hank said in a raw and pained voice as he squatted down next to me and tried to take Granny out of my arms.
"No," I hissed and slapped him away. "Can't you see? I just have to wake her up. Then she can shift and she'll be okay. Just let me wake her up. You'll see. She'll be just fine," I sobbed as I buried my face in her bloody hair. "She has to be fine. I need her."