I Can't Get the Vampire Rogue to Romance Me

Chapter 57 - Hungry Like the Wolf

"They are after the statue," Evangeline whispered.

Valerian squeezed her hand in acknowledgement.

The bartender's jaw stiffened as he crossed his arms, refusing to betray Harrowheart's trust.

"Fine," the skinny druid growled, his voice deepening. His back undulated and the wolf leaning against him whined.

The bartender flinched away, stumbling back into the shelves behind him, knocking some things off to crash to the ground. The druid continued his transformation, shifting from a man to a half man/half wolf.

Evangeline's eyes couldn't open any wider as she stared at a real, living werewolf, only a few feet away. He was huge. Clothing disappeared as fur burst from his skin, lighter fur maintaining the druidic whirls in the dark gray. It would have been beautiful, but the drooling maw that opened toward the wide-eyed bartender undercut it.

I'm going to see a man eaten alive, her thoughts screamed as the werewolf took a step forward.

"You can't do this! Your mother...!" The bartender, and several of the other hostages in the room, screamed as the werewolf leapt forward, using both his large clawed hands to pin his prey against the shelves. After the fast movement, the werewolf slowed down again, drawing out the rumbling threat it growled as it leaned in closer and closer, opening its mouth to fit it's sharp canines around the bartender's neck.

The bartender didn't struggle, but his eyes bugged out as he came to believe this was actually going to happen.

"Ryder, what the hell are you doing?!" Harrowheart shouted, and the werewolf flinched and stopped, panting over the bartender's neck.

Evangeline didn't see Harrowheart leave the darkness until she emerged. Instinctually, Evangeline shifted her own face back inside to hide, but it also blocked out her own ability to see. She was going to need to get some darkness vision goggles at some point. The nice thing about the darkness was she could unsling her bow and nock an arrow without anyone in the room of angry wolves being alerted.

"There she is," the werewolf named Ryder growled out of his throat.

Harrowheart set her fists on her hips, like a babysitter who was very disappointed. "Yeah, here I am," she said. "Now put him down and stop acting like an animal."

The werewolf did not comply. His cohorts had all turned away from the mortals they menacing to focus in on the orcess, baring their teeth and echoing their leader's growl.

"Get her!" Ryder barked.

Like a string had been snapped, the wolves charged toward the orcess.

Evangeline's arrow flew before she could think about it, taking one wolf in the side. It immediately flopped to the ground, tripping up two other of her fellows. The arrow had done significant damage because the wolf reverted to a woman. She curled around the wound, howling in pain. Another wolf stopped and turned to her, leaving only three others to continue the charge toward Harrowheart.

Valerian was a blur as he rushed up to meet them, using Harrowheart as cover. The foremost wolf took a leap towards the orcess's throat, only to be caught by the vampire's thieves strike, bringing them both to the ground.

"Try not to kill them," Harrowheart shouted.

"No promises!" Valerian cried, then turned his knife so that he pommel-striked the wolf. They went unconscious and they too reverted to a mortal body, though what race they were Evangeline couldn't see. At this point, Artmond had charged past her, blocking her shot, which she had to redirect up to avoid hitting him.

The nobleman's son was completely heedless to the near miss, as he missed himself, his sword coming down toward a wolf that had attempted to flank Harrowheart. The creature nimbly leapt away with a 'yip,' leaving Artmond off balance and vulnerable.

Harrowheart for her part managed to stop the final wolf from the initial charge, grabbing them by the shoulders as they too leapt at her. If she had been human, the leap would have knocked her over, but she had braced her feet properly and only slid back a little. Still, she was clearly using all of her strength to hold the snapping teeth away from her face.

Evangeline attempted to move out of the darkness so she could get a cleaner shot on Ryder, but again she was impeded by patrons taking the opportunity to run. The screamed as they hit the complete darkness from Valerian's special ability, but they did not reappear. By the time Evangeline could look back, a wolf exploded a table beside her, making her yelp and leap away. The creature had been tossed and this one remained a wolf even as they laid still and unconscious amongst the broken wood.

"Are you okay?" Harrowheart asked, gasping for breath, clearly having winded herself fighting then tossing a full grown wolf.

"Yeah," Evangeline assured, then saw a distraction from further conversation. Past Harrowheart, she could see Valerian engaging with the werewolf. Artmond attempted to step in to help support him, but the wolf he had missed wasn't letting him past. Sigismund had appeared beside him to help him, so Evangeline didn't worry about either.

"Where is Hagor?" she asked as she quickly pulled another arrow and took aim at the werewolf.

Harrowheart shook her head as she collapsed to her knees still fighting for breath. Apparently the smoke of her forge had done her no favors.

Realizing she couldn't worry about it now, Evangeline sighted down her arrow. She needed to make this shot count. She could feel the synergy bond working between her and Valerian. He feinted to the side, then attacked the other, missing with his daggers, but it gave an opening for Evangeline and her arrow flew true. It took the werewolf in the shoulder, but he only howled. It didn't slow his overhead strike at the rogue.

"Valerian!" she shouted as she watched helplessly from across the room as the werewolf's paw bear-swiped and knocked the other rogue to the ground.

Then Ryder leapt with all fangs and claws. 

To be continued...

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