17 Ambush

<p>***WARNING: This chapter contains elements of sexual assault and might be triggering for some readers!***<br/> "Lou?" Alaric frowned. She was acting really weird, and he was getting frustrated with her vague responses.<br/> "Let's just get going," Lou sighed. "No sense in making things easy for them."<br/> "Them who?!" Alaric demanded. "Lou, tell me what is going on?!"<br/> "We're being hunted," Lou replied.<br/> Alaric stared at her as he awaited further elaboration. She gave him none.<br/> "Well?" He finally asked.<br/> "Well what?" Lou replied while scanning the surrounding area.<br/> "What do you mean well what? Aren't you going to share any more information?" Alaric exclaimed in exasperation.<br/> "Like what?"<br/> These two word responses were beginning to grate on his nerves.<br/> "Who's hunting us? Why are they hunting us? How do you know they're hunting us? What should we expect? Do you have any orders?" Alaric figured spewing questions might annoy her enough to actually coax some information out of her.<br/> "Alaric…" she suddenly looked quite tired.<br/> "Do you know these enemies well then? Don't bother lying to me, you've been on edge all day!" Alaric pressed.<br/> "I know them, and their tricks," Lou sighed. "Bastards probably have an ambush ready for us at the old pack house. Likely took hostages too, like the fucking cowards they are."<br/> "So what, we're just going to walk straight into it?" Alaric growled.<br/> "I am, yes." Lou replied. "Before you freak the fuck out though, there's two things you should know. One, I am not affected by wolfsbane, which they'll likely try to use, and two, I doubt they know much, if anything, about you. So yeah. Just take action based on what I mean, not what I say."<br/> Alaric wanted to ask what she meant by that, but she had already walked off. Growling to himself, he resigned himself to follow and stalked after her.<br/> The warriors, almost exclusively she-wolves with very few exceptions, were all giving him the stink eye. Apparently they were offended that he didn't take Lou's word as law, even though Lou herself didn't seem to mind his questions. For the time being, Alaric decided it would be wise to air his grievances with her in private later.<br/> The distant howls started echoing and he hand a sense the enemy were starting to close ranks around them. Lou made no effort to divert her path, but even if she had Alaric figured they would try shepherding her towards the site of the ambush. The air became thick with tension and blood lust from all sides and Alaric braced himself for a brawl.<br/> "Go home," Lou ordered, stopping suddenly a few blocks from their destination.<br/> "I refuse to leave your side!" Alaric objected immediately.<br/> "Go home Alaric, I mean it!" Lou snapped. She sounded angry, but he saw fear and sadness in her eyes.<br/> He stared at her. At the beginning of all this, she had demanded that he stay at her side. She had even issued a combat oriented challenge. It made no sense for her to send him away now.<br/> "Please," she said more gently, then her meaning from earlier finally made sense. Lou was putting on a show. She was trusting him to protect her while putting him in a position to sneak around the enemy.<br/> "Fine," He growled. When he was sure only she could see, he shot her a wink before putting on his own show of stomping off.<br/> Alaric thought their pursuers would attempt to capture him as additional leverage against Lou, but as he passed the positions he knew they were lurking they made no move to stop him. He wasn't sure what to think, no criminally inclined rogue group worth their salt would pass up any advantage they could possibly gain.<br/> He acted as though he was fleeing in the direction of the camp, but as soon as he was sure that his enemy was paying him no attention, he circled back around and snuck up behind them from down wind. The fools were so arrogant, they didn't even send a tail to monitor his movements. Foolish or not, that suited Alaric just fine. Countless bullies had made the mistake of underestimating him over the years because of his size.<br/> "Lookie here boys," a voice sneered up ahead. "We've caught us a bunch of sheep in wolves clothing."<br/> A round of laughter went up. He heard Lou growling. He wondered why she didn't just attack them outright. Was she worried about her warriors, or perhaps was it her way of being cautious because of the hostages? Maybe she just wanted to test him? Whatever the case, it was probably prudent that Alaric strike quickly and silently, taking out key targets without anyone's knowledge.<br/> "Cowardly as ever, are we Jerry?" Lou mocked whoever had spoken in a dismissive tone. "Seriously? A fishing net coated in wolf's bane? Are these sheep in wolf's clothing really that scarey?"<br/> Alaric snapped the neck of the first rear guard and dragged his body away.<br/> "It's Terrance! Terrance Dammit!" The wolf snapped. "Where the hell are you getting that name bitch?! You that stupid?"<br/> "What's that?" Lou asked innocently. "Your name's not Jerry? Huh, I guess I forgot. Nothing personal man, I'm just not good with remembering the names of extras."<br/> "Who you calling an extra, bitch?!" The speaker shouted.<br/> Alaric was working on hiding the second rear guard. Either he was good at this, or these idiots were just clueless. They didn't seem to sense anything was amiss. Whatever, on to the next.<br/> "Hey? Is there someone important I can talk to?" Lou called, completely ignoring the spokeswolf who called himself Terrance. "I'd like to get this bullshit overwith so I can get home sometime this century. I do have a lot of work to do."<br/> Alaric wondered how she could be so anxious one moment and sound so bold and indifferent the next. He quickly disposed of the third and final rear guard, then analyzed the layout of his remaining enemies to try and decide what to do next. There were about ten remaining, to Lou's group of five, excluding himself. He wasn't sure about the four "warriors" accompanying Lou, but he suspected that even with the net to contend with she could take out at least seven of them on her own.<br/> The challenge she issued him from earlier flashed in his mind. Since she had decided to give him a headstart, he decided he may as well take advantage to stack the odds in his favor. If nothing else, it would be his way of expressing his disapproval with how she had handled things that afternoon. Petty? Most definately, but as the saying went, "all's fair in love and war."<br/> "Why you-" Terrance growled, only to let out a yelp as someone else punched him in the gut. Alaric moved so he had more strategic view of the situation. He figured he may as well make use of one of his hidden aces, something that only he as the 'luck child' could do.<br/> "Shut up peon," A voice raw and harsh from years and years of hardcore smoking snapped. Based on the way the rest shrank back involuntarily, this wolf seemed to be the ring leader.<br/> "Brent," Lou snarled. There was no mistaking the hatred dripping from her lips as she spat out the word like foul tasting food.<br/> "You asked to see me, little pup?" He sneered. Terrance sulked and moved back into the ranks with the rest.<br/> Only one other wolf seemed to have the balls to stand anywere near Brent. Not that Alaric could blame them. Between his bare chest covered in all manner of grisly scars, his shaggy hair that you could practically see fleas jumping from him in hoardes. Adding the crazed look in his dual colored eyes, the man looked the part of a certifiable monster.<br/> "Brent, I'm telling you we shouldn't be here," the wolf hissed. The fool probably thought nobody could hear him.<br/> "Shut up Drake, I told you and the other assholes that I wasn't waiting around to attack as a group. I want her first!" Brent growled back.<br/> Alaric frowned. So this wasn't all of them, just an over eager part of the group acting on their own. He decided it might be prudent to play his cards close to his chest for now.<br/> "I figured you'd be the first to take a crack at me," Lou growled.<br/> "How could I not?" Brent laughed. "Ever since that night all those years ago, all I could think about was those pretty little thighs of yours. Too bad the boss was so stingy. You don't know how badly I've wanted to take my turn!"<br/> "Funny, all I've thought about all these years is tearing your stupid head off your fucking body!" Lou shouted back. Alaric felt himself shaking. Was he really hearing this?<br/> "Tough talk from a little bitch," Brent only laughed harder. "Think you can fool me? I still just see a scared little girl, half naked on the ground and screaming for her daddy while the boss fucked her brains out!"<br/> Something inside Alaric snapped. Before he really thought it out, he heard himself casting. within seconds, a bolt of lightening flashed through the sky and branched out across the ranks of his enemy. At least six of them were incinerated instantly. In his rage, though, he hadn't quite hit the one he truly wanted dead.<br/> "Brent!" the other, Drake, caughed. In his blind rage, Alaric had completely missed him. So much for playing his cards close to his chest.<br/> Brent was unconcious, but even if Alaric hadn't out right killed him, the man was in a bad way. It looked like half of his face was melted and he was covered in third degree burns. He may have also been missing a leg but it was hard to tell from his angle.<br/> "Dammit!" Drake cursed as Lou tore through the net and started coming after them. Alaric watched as he turned into a wolf, flipped Brent on to his back, and booked it. He wanted to go after them, but in his anger, he had over done it a bit and was suffering the effects of mana drain. Dammit was right!<br/> Lou made quick work of the two remaining grunts, then stared angrily after the retreating duo. It was clear she wanted to pursue them as well, but the rest of her warriors were down, there were hostages to see to, and there was no telling when they might start recieving reinforcements.<br/> "Fuck!" Lou screamed. "FUCK!!!"</p>