Once Loved, Twice Marked

Fighting Spirit

    I felt my entire body freeze. No! my mind reeled with the implications of those words. It wasn't possible. That was too fast but.. who else? I turned slowly, dread seeping into my core. My whole body numb to the possibility of my freedom being ripped away from me so suddenly. It had been less than a day for goddess sake. My gaze landed on the three men standing right behind me. A profound sense of relief washed over me as I looked them over. I had seen these three men in the diner when we had walked in. They weren't any of my uncle's goons and I didn't catch the scent of werewolf on them so they were just humans. Regardless of this fact I could tell from the look in their eyes that they didn't have good intentions in mind. The leaders' gaze was taking me in, seeming to strip the clothes from my body without touching me. I hated that look. I was wearing a baggy zip-up and large basketball shorts with the string tied tight and his gaze made me feel like I was nothing more than a piece of meat. It was the look my uncle had given me in the kitchen. I knew then that I didn't want to allow myself to be a victim anymore. I wanted to wipe that look right off his ugly ass face no matter what it took. 

    "Want to know why my friends call me Switch?" the leader stepped forward, a nasty grin plastered on his face. I lowered my gaze to where his right hand had dipped into his front jeans pocket. He pulled out an object and flipped it open. I saw that it was a switchblade. It glinted menacingly in the afternoon light. 

       "How about you come with us real quick before your companion gets back? What we've got is better than some old prick. Come on sweetheart, the more the merrier" I stared at Switch. I was momentarily struck dumb by his proposition. It wasn't just the fact that the three of them were trying to abduct and gang r*pe me, it was the thought of Jay and I being intimate in any way. For goddess sake, the man could be my grandpa. He had been nothing but nice and honorable since picking me up and the accusation made me angry on his behalf. 

    "We'll even sweeten the deal" the guy to the right of Switch stepped forward. "How about I throw in some cash." He smiled as though this was the most generous thing he could've said. I opened my mouth to tell him to f**k off, and then burst out laughing. 

    "So it's not enough to r*pe me huh? Now you want to turn me into a wh*re?" It wasn't that I found anything wrong with the profession itself but the men in front of me were absolutely insane if they thought I would screw any of them just for some extra cash. I looked back over at Switch. My laughter seemed to have infuriated him because he was now advancing forward with his knife held in a threatening manner.

    "The f**k do you think your laughing at you little b.." the last word of his sentence was cut off by a very angry Jay.

    "What the hell is going on out here?" Jay had come up behind the group. He was now standing there in a defensive posture with his arms crossed over his chest. I couldn’t help but think that he would make a pretty good Santa if he grew a beard and gained a little more weight. Random thoughts aside I felt the panic hit me again full force. Each of the three men was around six feet tall, meaning they towered over Jay. The old man's stern grandfather routine wouldn’t work on these three thugs.

            “Well s**t,” Switch had turned his attention to Jay. “I hadn’t planned on hurting you old man. Just leave, we will take care of your little companion here.” I wanted to tell Jay to go back inside. I hated to think of him getting hurt while trying to help me once again. I didn't have any formal fighting experience but I was a werewolf and they were human. My strength had increased after my first along with my other senses. Now that I had a full belly I felt much better than I had all day despite my lack of sleep. I might have been able to put up a fight or at least outrun the three men but that would be impossible now that I had Jay to worry about. I needed to do something now that their attention was on him or neither of us would get out of this situation unscathed. Jay had pulled out a phone and was still glaring at the three men.

    "I think it's best that you boys leave before I call the cops" Switch only laughed. 

    "Rocco, Hammer grab him." Both men lunged forward, grabbing at Jay. I made up my mind and went straight for the kill. The kill being Switch's nuts. I had run up behind him while he was advancing on Jay and kicked with all my might straight up into his happy place. It had been crucial to go for him first seeing as he was the only one who had drawn a weapon so far. The other two had already grabbed ahold of Jays' arms but had paused at the sight of their leader receiving a goal-winning kick straight to the family jewels. Switch was now on the ground showing off his very impressive vocabulary and I moved towards Hammer next. He was the second biggest and most muscled of the group and my next target. I needed to incapacitate him first but he recovered from his shock first and came forward to meet me. I just barely managed to backpedal as he threw a punch at my face. I was stronger than him but that wouldn't mean anything if I got knocked out before I could land a hit myself. I could feel my adrenaline spike and my wolf push to the surface. She was seething under my skin attempting to claw her way out. She wanted to rip the men to shreds for daring to harm us and attempting to hurt the only person who had shown us any kindness in the last six years. I couldn't let her out though. The chances of being seen were too high and even as a small child my parents had warned me that revealing our existence to any humans not mated to our kind was a serious offense. Plus, there was the small issue of not knowing how long my next shift would take. It was too much of a gamble so I settled for ducking under Hammers next punch and slamming my body into his chest. The force of my tackle sent him flying backward and I felt a small bit of satisfaction when I heard his head hit the asphalt of the parking lot with a sickening crack. I turned to Rocco next and my anger rose again at the sight of him slamming Jay to the ground. He lifted his boot to deliver a savage kick to Jays' stomach. I launched myself forward, intending to knock him over as well when a sharp voice stopped me in my tracks.

    "Don't move another f*****g inch or I'll shoot you." Switch was now on his knees. One hand still covered his crotch and his voice was a few octaves higher than it had been a couple of minutes ago. Neither of those things mattered when I saw the gun in his right hand. It was pointed directly at me and he looked PISSED. I knew that I had enhanced healing capabilities now but it would still hurt like a b***h to get shot. Plus, if he decided to put a bullet in my head or chest I wasn't sure if I could survive it. 

    "Well f**k" I sighed. This was very, very bad.