To Feel Again [Welcome To Wolf's Peak]

Chapter Twenty-Four - Niko

Niko

Plans had a way of changing. We had a plan in place, a contingency plan and a last minute 'shit got fucked up, get out' plan. Hunters were unpredictable and were always armed with weapons that could kill us so our best plan of attack was to catch them off guard. We were expecting there to be traps and men standing guard around the property they'd rented and we'd been given the number of men that had been in the group the last time Mark had been in contact with them. We weren't here to kill but if it came down to it we would kill to save our people, that was as a last resort though. 

I silently crept up behind one of the guards on duty and wrapped an arm around his neck cutting off his air supply and held on until he passed out and crumbled at my feet. I could pick up the sound of several other bodies hitting the dirt around the property that was audible only to those of us with superior hearing. So far the plan was successful. Four guards were down, alive but neutralised. Two shifters had the task of collecting them and bringing them to the waiting council transport vehicle. The transport could hold up to thirty people but as far as we knew there were only twenty or so hunters in the area.

~I'm only counting sixteen hunters including the four that are already down. Be on the alert for anyone who may be approaching. We don't know if those hunters have left the group for some reason or if they may still here but just not on the property at the moment. Let everyone know immediately if you see or hear anything.~ Bram's strong voice came through the link.

~I've got one more, in the trees taking a leak. I'm coming up on him now.~ Jason, Bram's mate said. ~He's down.~

I suddenly got the feeling that this plan was running too smoothly. A sixth sense was warning me that everything was about to go to hell. I tried to ignore it. We had forty shifters, eight elven archers and six vampires surrounding them, there was no escaping us. We all had superior vision, hearing and speed. 

I looked around the area taking in the tents and the small camp fire. The scents confirmed that there were only twelve hunters in the area, the other five had already been removed to the waiting vehicle. The largest group of hunters was centred around the fire drinking something non-alcoholic out of mugs. They knew better than to be inebriated if there was an attack.

Movement caught my eye and I looked over to see another hunter approaching the property. I scented the air but there was no scent coming from him. ~Hunter incoming. He has no scent.~ I warned through the link.

~I've got him~ Peter assured me and I could already see him sneaking up on the hunter. More movement came just seconds before a trio of hunters came out of the brush to surround Peter. And that was when all hell broke loose. I couldn't let my sister-in-law's mate die.

~It's a God damned trap.~ I told everyone through the link as I ran full out for Peter. 

Arrows began to fly through the air around me from the archers bows and I could hear an angry roar from our Alpha just as I reached the nearest hunter. ~If possible don't injure them but if they give you no choice then kill them.~ Bram said.

In my fight to get to Peter I inflicted a few non-life-threatening injuries to bring the hunters down. Unfortunately Peter had to kill one that was hell bent on putting him down but one out four weren't bad odds when it came to hunters.

I roared and clutched at my suddenly burning thigh muscle. Blood was blooming on the leg of my cargo pants and I had a bad feeling that I'd just been shot with a silver hollow-point bullet. If I was right then liquid silver was entering my system from that hollow. "Niko!" I heard someone yell as my vision grew blurred. I shook my head trying to clear it and fought the sudden wave of nausea that came with the move. I couldn't afford to fall, if I did then it was unlikely I'd get back up. I needed to fight this.

Someone jumped on my back and I weakly threw myself backwards into a tree trunk in the hopes it would dislodge whoever it was. The jolt knocked the breath from my lungs but the hunter was still holding on and trying to choke me with his arms around my neck. It was now an even fight. My shifter strength had left me.

"Get off him," a familiar voice said. The hunter was suddenly gone and I was struggling not to fall to my knees. I walked sluggishly towards the fight. It felt like I was walking in quick sand. Each step I made took incredible effort.

"Niko? Are you hurt?" Peter was standing in front of me blocking my way forward.

"I'll be fine. I just need to keep fighting." I put my arm out to push him away but it flopped back to my side uselessly.

"Damn!" Peter growled. He struggled to get my arm around his shoulders and started walking me back the way we'd come. "Doc!" he yelled. We were back at the vehicles and I knew there was an emergency triage area set up nearby.

"Here!" Doctor Mason suddenly appeared and looked at me through narrowed eyes. "Sit on the gurney Niko," he said in a voice that sounded like he expected me to argue. Instead I collapsed onto my back on the gurney and allowed my eyes to close. "Don't fall asleep, if you sleep you'll most likely die."

My eyes shot open and I looked up at the doctor. "I can't die, my mate's pregnant." I smiled stupidly. "I'm going to be a daddy."

"Congratulations, Niko. That means you need to stay awake for me now. This is going to be unpleasant and I apologise, but I need to get that bullet out and start cleaning your wound immediately before it does any permanent damage." He snapped on a pair of gloves and chose an implement from a rolling table that seemed to have just appeared. It must have been a trick of my foggy mind.

"Fuuuuck!" I roared aloud when the burning in my thigh increased. The doc had cut open the leg of my pants and was slicing through my sore flesh with a scalpel. Next came a frightening sharp looking, angled tweezers that seemed to poke around inside my thigh for hours trying to get hold of the bullet. "Damn, fuck! What the hell... Aw shit!" I said it all through clenched teeth as I tried to work through the pain.

"Don't be a baby, I have it." Doc held up the bullet he'd just fished out of my leg. It was covered in blood but I could clearly see that it was silver. "The tip has barely cracked so there shouldn't be much silver in your system. Now that the bullet is out and I've cleaned the wound, you should start to feel better in a few moments. If you feel the need to shift to heal faster you can go right ahead."

"Can I sleep now?" I asked exhausted suddenly.

"Sure. I'll wake you if the others need you." I felt him pat my shoulder as all other awareness seeped out of me and left me floating in the darkness of unconsciousness.