Chapter 30

Her paws felt as if they didn't touch the hard damn grass as she sprinted toward the van. She kept her head and tail low, wanting to get in a close as possible before she was noticed. Thankfully, these hunters seemed to think they were safe. They were not on guard and were joking about the children as Ariel slowed and crept up along the side of the van.

"Its too bad we had to kill off the older ones. I wouldn't mind having a pet or two." One of the men, an older man with light hair that was graying in the edges and smelled of blood and cigar smoke, jokes as she turned to his companion. This was a younger man, with broad shoulders and tanned skin. He scoffed, looking disgusted.

"They are monsters, Mark." He sounded quite offended, but before he could say anytji f kore, Ariel darted out around the older man and lunged for the you get one. Her front paws fought him in the chest and pushed him back as her head dove in and she sunk her teeth into his neck. The flesh of humans was not as tough as the wolves she had fought before, and her mouth almost closed completely as they landed. She didn't take the time to think and simply ripped her head back, jumping to the side and spinning in time to see the older man level a gun on her.

These were hunters, so their bullets were going to be silver. She knew this as he pulled the trigger, but she managed to dive to the right and avoid getting hit. She drove in and grabbed his left leg, yanking it to the side and toppling him over.

The man shouted and tried to get his gun up and ready, but Ariel snapped her head to the side and grabbed his wrist in her teeth. A quick shake of her head snapped the bones, the scream from the man causing her to let go, but she spun toward him and planted her paws in his chest, pushing him down.

She shifted then, ripping the knife he was carrying from the shieth on his hip. The handle was not silver, an oversight. She brought the knife to his neck, but he chuckled, attempting to mask his fear and pain.

"Can you feel it?" He asked, Ariel narrowing her eyes at him. "That burning in your throat? The haze in your mind? We have wolvesbane in our blood." He seemed quite proud of this revelation, but Ariel would not be deterred.

"I didn't swallow your friend's blood. I could taste the poison as soon as I bit him. I know the taste well, as I was forced to take it every day of my life." He growled, his eyes widening as her words sunk in.

"You're one of the saved?" He asked, the phrase making Ariel feel sick.

"Saved? You kill our families. Destroy our homes. You feed us poison and experiment of us! And still the moment we show any sign of resistance, any time we embrace who we are, you torture and kill us! You call us monsters, but you are the ones attempting genocide!" She shouted in his face, a grin still on it. He still thought he was winning. He assumed he was going to get out of this.

"We've already won here. Once someone figures out we haven't left with the kids, they will but a bullet in that pretty little skull of yours and leave." He sounded so confident.

"I learned how to drive." She growled. Confusion marked his face first, then was quickly followed with horrified understanding. Before he could say anything more, Ariel drove the knife into his throat, all the way to the hilt. The man jerked from the pain, reaching up with his good arm in an attempt to push her off or free himself of the blade, but his strength was fading fast, and she still had plenty.

Ariel looked into his eyes as he fought, his mind racing to find a way out, but there was no way out. Ariel held the blade firmly as his struggling slowed. His eyes focused on her, fear glinting across them before they unfocused, and the pupils displayed. Ariel swallowed hard as she leaned back, pulling the blade free.

Tears stung her eyes as she freed the shieth if the knife from the man's belt, and walked to the back of the truck. Inside, more than a dozen children were strapped into carseats, all mounted to the walls and floor in some way. Some were crying, others were asleep, and some just stared at her with a distant, empty expression. She had to get them out of there.

She closed up the back and walked back to the men. The younger man wore a button down shirt, which she took with some difficulty. Once she was wearing it, she climbed into the drivers seat. The keys were in the ignition, which she was grateful for. She turned on the car, and with one last look towards the towering inferno that was once a thriving wolf community, she back the car into the woods.