Cry Wolf

Prologue

Seeing the Prancing Pony's glowing sign up ahead, the speeding rider changed gears and drew the hulking motorbike to a halt outside the door. Music blared and sounds of drunken laughter could be heard from inside. The smell of beer and sweat mingled with the fresh air, tainting her sensitive nose. Pulling off the shiny black helmet, the woman shook out her pixie-cut hair and hung the helmet on the handlebar of the Harley Davidson. She left the keys in the ignition. The owner would find it eventually.

After cutting off the low purr of the engine, the woman checked her purse, adjusted her leather jacket, and walked into the bar. He had to be here. The woman shut the door behind her and inhaled sharply, trying to adjust to the smell she made her way to a small booth in the corner and sat down, watching the crowd for the one in particular. Soon she saw - rather heard - him, over by the bar. The guy was obviously drunk, shouting at a man four times the size of him for spilling his beer. Elephant man stood up, and her target swallowed, realising his mistake. As he was dragged outside, the woman rose stealthily and followed the two out to the back alley.

"I'll take it from here John." She said, stopping the man from taking her target. "This one's mine." John chuckled and threw the man at her feet, before bowing and making his exit a quick one. He had enough experience to know to avoid her. The mutt, in his drunken state, could obviously tell who she was as she retrieved a gleaming silver throwing knife from her handbag and examining the sharp edge with a relaxed finger, though her finger never so much as grazed the silver coated weapon.

"I'm going to give you 5 minutes. I like to play with my prey a little, don't you?" The woman asked as she looked slowly at the young man that suddenly seemed stone cold sober, her full lips turned upwards in a devilish smile. Wasting no time, he scrambled up, his usual agility unbalanced by the drink and scrambled away, disappearing into the darkness. The woman leisurely pursued him, knowing exactly where he would go.

The prey's haggard breathing could be heard a mile away as he ran through the forest, yet as he did, he heard no sounds of pursuit as he shifted. The chocolate brown wolf crashed through the undergrowth as he attempted to outwit the Ranger. Suddenly something sharp whizzed into his hind leg and he tripped, falling heavily onto the ground. Laughs could be heard all around him as he shifted back, cowering he sat up hurriedly, searching for the predator, his foot bent at an odd angle. A gleaming silver throwing knife stuck out of the bone.

"C-come out!" He yelled, but his stuttering betrayed his fear. And fear he should. A rustic red wolf with striking streaks of gold fur stepped out of the undergrowth, its upper lip curled in a snarl. Then the sickening sound of cracking bones was heard, and the wolf shrunk down to a woman, fully clothed.

"You, you're-"

"Yeah yeah, you're a traitor, how could you do this to your own kind, blah blah, blah blah. Heard it all before buddy." The woman laughed, flicking her red and gold hair out of her eyes. She reached down and casually pulled a handgun from her ankle boot. The woman stood back up and began to circle the man, who's eyes flicked from side to side, searching for protection. He began to edge back, the woman's cold calculating eyes following his every movement.

Suddenly the man's hands wrapped around his chosen weapon, and the log sailed through the air. The woman ducked just in time, the log flying over her head and landing harmlessly in the bush behind her.

"You sly dog." She laughed, and then she was gone. The woman reappeared right in front of the man, and her hand wrapped around his throat, before lifting him with inhuman strength and throwing him into a tree trunk, where he landed with a cry. "Congratulations mutt." The woman applauded. The man groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position, leaning against the tree. "You actually managed to surprise me. No one's ever done that before, and you deserve to live for that achievement. However," she raised the gun at him. "you are still on the hitlist, and I can't have you blabbing my secret, so..."

"Wai-" The man's plea was cut off as a single gunshot echoed around the forest. Too easy. The woman raised the smoking gun to her lips and blew the smoke away, a satisfied smile appearing. Another job down.

Walking over to the still body the woman bent down, plucking her knife from his foot and wiping it on his leg. The sounds of howls alerted her. Her target must have stumbled across someone's territory. She quickly shifted, and by the time the scouts reached the body, there was no sign she'd ever been there.