Unwilling Ch. 12

Unfortunately, the taunting didn't work. Jared bared his teeth. This would need a low blow, something so evil that even Carl couldn't give it a pass. Darwin would have slapped him for this, but it had to be done.

"Doesn't matter, we all know you're weak. No Alpha worth his salt would have let himself be taken for a ride by a submissive. For years, Carl! I mean, how does a thing like that even happen? Even I knew that Darwin was a submissive within ten minutes of meeting him. And to think, here you were, trying so, so hard and still failing so miserably, no wonder your wife left-"

That did it. Carl stormed forward, screaming inhumanly and clawing at him like a madman. Jared tried to punch him, to derail him with sheer force, but it didn't work. His forehead met Jared's face with a loud crack and both of them fell, spouting blood as they grappled for the upper hand. Dust filled the air as they rolled back onto the access road and suddenly Jared found himself on top of a struggling, coughing Carl. He instinctively grabbed on and his claws found purchase, burrowing into Carl's ribs with a wet sound. The flesh between his fingers twitched and shivered, tightening around his fingertips and effectively trapping his hand as Carl arched up and swiped Jared's throat with his own claws, rending open his flesh and spraying the ground with blood.

The pain was immediate but short, dampened to a dull throb by adrenaline. Gasping, Jared threw himself backwards, ripping out his claws and a few clumps of Carl's flesh in the process. A sharp gasp for air proved that Carl had missed the most vital parts on his neck, but whatever relief Jared felt was wiped away as Carl tore after him, all but crawling onto him as he again targeted his throat, grasping and grabbing and cutting his chest to ribbons in the process. Jared grabbed the next best part of Carl, kicked up his knee and flipped them, coughing up a glob of blood as he struggled against the bulky man.

They rolled through the dirt, both clawing at each other as they painted the gravel red, but whatever prowess Jared had thought himself to have, Carl still beat him. When they came to a stop, Jared landed on his back with Carl's claws around his neck, gargling and gasping as those fingers tightened. Needle-sharp claws slowly bore into his skin, digging deeper and deeper as he pushed against Carl's arms, trying to reach his face, trying to get to his eyes, anything to break free. Gray spots danced through his vision as Carl broke through his trachea with a wet, popping, oddly hollow cracking noise.

Jared's claws scratched across stubble and Carl twitched a little. His chin. Blood sprayed out of Jared's neck and everything went dark, his fingers cold, his chest heavy and hot. Jared knew he was dying, right here, right now. But dying like this was a last act of vilification that Carl would carry with him for the rest of his dishonorable existence. Just a little bit higher. You can do it. Do it for Rayne, Darla. He stopped pushing against Carl's arms, squealing as the older man's claws all but squashed his throat and punctured his neck veins and throat. It didn't matter, not anymore. Jared twisted his shoulders, reached forward and punched his spread claws into whatever part of Carl's face he could find.

His claws met resistance, then punched through it, and suddenly the weight from his chest disappeared. Strange, wailing, gurgling screams filled the night, then loud bangs tore through the darkness and the screaming stopped.

Then nothing.

~*Darwin*~

A dream. It had to be a dream.

The stench of blood and entrails overpowered the biting sting of gunpowder, but the sulfuric smell stuck to him even after he had dropped the gun to grab Jared's neck instead. Blood was pouring out of it, the only sign that he even had a neck left to bleed out of. He tried to keep the blood in, to somehow will the flow to stop with simple pressure. Darwin knew that it was useless with wounds like this, that either Jared was strong enough to heal what had been so utterly shredded, or not, but it didn't matter. He couldn't sit idly by. He had never been able to watch when he could help.

"Please don't die. Please don't," he whispered to the gasping, twitching leftovers of the man he loved. The pain in his chest was back, but different than before. It didn't feel like an impending shift, nothing like that panic he had felt back in Banes or the roadhouse. It was pain, too much pain to scream, too much to cry or call for help. Nobody could fix this. Nobody but Jared.

People ran and shouted around them, Margo's pack probably, doing what they could. Harry yelled inside the cabin and the chugging sounds of cars pulling into the parking area filled the background with white noise. Jared gasped and gurgled, fighting for another breath as his body twisted and twitched. His skin shivered and boiled, then quieted down again.

"He is trying to shift, that's good," a faceless voice said. Darwin moved his index finger to cover a hole spewing hot, sticky blood over the back of his hand. Someone tugged at his shoulder, but Darwin ignored it. Whatever they wanted, it would have to wait.

More voices, more tugging. The blood started to dry, sticking his hands to Jared's gored neck and Darwin frowned indecisively. What if him sticking fingers into Jared's body was slowing down the healing process? But could he let go? Would Jared's body heal fast enough to close the gashes and holes before he bled out?

Arms twisted around his chest and shoulders, putting him in a headlock and ripping his hands away from Jared's neck as he was dragged backwards, screaming and kicking. More hands appeared, catching and restraining his legs as he was pushed to the ground. Something thin and tight was slipped around his wrists and ankles, tightened to the point of pain. A solid, warm weight settled on his back, but still Darwin used breath to scream. "Nonononono! You're killing him!"

"It's useless, he's gone feral," someone shouted, then a needle pierced Darwin's arm and warmth flooded his body, burning against his eye sockets and finally wiping away everything.