Forgotten Wolf

25 Brute

Shit. What's he doing here?!

I'm frozen in place and my heart threatens to burst through my chest as the man blocks my way.

"They'll let anyone in, hmm," Brute sneers, eyes cold and full of malice. He takes a step towards me, fists balled, making me shudder.

I step back, eyes on him as movement to the left catches my attention. A second man closes in on me with the same intense, malevolent look. Panic wells in me faster than I can deal with it.

'Fuck! Get out of there!' Where? There's nowhere to run.

"What, no friends this time? What's the hurry? Stay awhile," Brute says, reaching for me as I pull away.

"Leave me alone. I have to get back. They're waiting for me." I turn to leave, but a third ass has shown up. Jackass number three looks bored, but is no less hostile. His black eyes are trained on me, watching for any sign I'll bolt.

"Right." Brute chuckles darkly as he grabs my arm and drags me behind the carnival game alley.

His touch sends me over the edge. Panic explodes inside me, and I start flailing in his grip. I claw at his fingers, twisting in his grip as my heart races. Eventually I break his grip, falling to the ground and scoot back, desperately trying to put any amount of distance between us.

He laughs, sending shivers down my spine. "Gotten a little feist in ya since I last saw ya, hmm?" Brute grins down at me, causing me to shudder. "You want to play? Then let's play."

Once again, he reaches for me as his cronies close in.

"Back the fuck, away from her." Jude's voice cuts through the night air. My heart jumps in relief.

"Back again, mutt?" Brute challenges. "No one to save you this time."

I get up and try to sprint to Jude, but the bored crony sees me as I get to my feet. He easily grabs me and flings me back to the ground. I hiss in pain as my hip hits the ground hard.

Jude roars as he launches himself at the bored crony, catching him with a powerful uppercut, snapping his head back. The crony staggers a step or two before falling down.

Jude barely has enough time to spin around and block the hits from the second crony. Brute pushes in, landing a cheap shot on Jude's ribs as he grapples with the other attacker.

In the blink of an eye, the second crony is pulled back and thrown, freeing Jude. Even more relief floods through me as I see Jace, Chris, and Xavier.

"What the fuck is going on?" Chris snarls.

Jace moves in by Jude, who's blocking me, as Xavier holds the second crony down. Chris is now towering his full height, face to face with Brute. Even at this distance, I can feel the rage rolling off of him in waves. "Start talking," he growls.

"Strange company you keep these days, Chris," Brute starts.

Wait, what? He knows Chris?!

"My company is my own business, Rob," Chris snaps. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to talk to your allies?" Rob acts unfazed but clearly didn't count on Chris showing up.

"After the shit you guys just pulled, you're lucky talking is all we're doing," Chris growls.

"We just trailed this mutt, and the girl got caught up in it," Rob trails off, shrugging.

"Liar," I shout, pushing towards him.

"The poor thing's hysterical," Rob drawls. "Try to contain your pet's outbursts, won't you?"

Like a switch flips, Chris loses it, shaking in anger as he slams Rob against the wall. "Watch it," he snarls, inches from Rob's face.