The Familiar || ONC 2022

Chapter 5

"Disgusting." The red-headed woman covered her nose as if Mordecai's smell was the offensive one. "Where's the restaurof your pack, mutt?"

Mordecai raised his hackles and lowered into a crouch over the human.

The woman smirked. "It's just a lone wolf. I say we get rid of him."

"Shut your mouth. Sari," said the vampire facing Mordecai, causing the female's mouth to snap into a thin line. He had clearly sired his companions, meaning he was of high rank in a coven.

The vampire turned his gaze to Mordecai. "We have no quarrel with you if you let us have the girl."

The alarms that had been going off in Mordecai's head since the scream finally quieted as he felt the hair on his belly brush against an insulated black coat and heard a groan. The human was alive.

He should not have felt that much relief at the discovery.

"We did not mean to intrude on your territory. As soon as we retrieve the human, we will leave. This need not result in your death, Lone Wolf."

What the hell are you doing? We can always come back with the rest of the pack to take them out. Maximilian reminded him from behind some brush. I've already alerted them.

I can't. It was the truth. It will be too late by then.

Is your life really worth that of a human's?

I can't explain it, but I'm not totally in control. Every one of my senses is telling me to protect her. Mordecai let out a frustrated growl as he battled with his emotions. The beast within him deepened the sound at the thought of the human being taken away. What the hell was going on with his inner wild? Why did he feel a desperate need to protect this woman?

The vampire attempted diplomacy one more time. "At least change into a form with which we can properly communicate, or have you gone feral?"

Mordecai remained in wolf form. He may have been impulsive in his positioning, but he was nowhere near stupid. He spun in time to intercept the third vampire's attempt at an ambush.

They descended on him in a blur of claw and teeth. Mordecai howled in pain. Though their individual blows weren't very strong, the vampires' speed was unmatched. For every nip or scrape he got in, they replied tenfold.

It was clear they were toying with him. Mordecai was at a disadvantage because he couldn't leave the human's side, and the increasing darkness made their movements hard to track.

He was going to die.

Kai! A fully transformed Max jumped into the fray, taking the female vampire by surprise as he clamped his jaw around her shoulder and dragged her away from the trio.

"Handle him." The high ranking vampire ordered before following after the light grey wolf and his coven member.

One vampire was much easier to deal with than three, but Mordecai was exhausted from the blows he had taken from his twin and the group of bloodsuckers. He shifted his weight to better follow the vampire's speed and lost his footing. The moment was enough for the monster to pin him to the ground, shoving Mordecai's face into the damp stone.

"You should have never interfered, you flea-bitten dog." The vampire hissed in his ear as he broke one of Mordecai's front legs. "I'm going to enjoy this." He broke another limb.

Mordecai released an involuntary whimper and fought against the bloodsucker's hold, his head twisted towards the human he was trying to protect. He could only make out the dark hair escaping her winter cap and the oddly familiar brown eyes that stared at him in fear. She was awake.