"Boss we got wolves that are not ours coming up the block, and two in the line that we are sure are scouts."
Raven leapt to his feet and bounded to the door he paused, looking back at Bianca. She scrambled to the bed and he waited to open the door till she had gotten into the bed and pulled the sheet over her. They had all seen her nude on stage but this was not the same. The wolf that came in the door was darker skinned and looked older then Raven but she knew he could not be.
"How many are coming?"
The wolf gave a little bow to both Raven and Bianca before replying, "We counted fifteen, boss."
Raven nodded grimly and replied, "Tell the pack to prepare for anything," and shut the door.
Bianca threw back the sheet and slid out of the bed. "To war is it my love?"
Raven nodded, "It would seem so."
"Well then, let us prepare," she replied, crossing the room to the bathroom in swift order.
"Meet me downstairs backstage," Raven said as he jerked a pair of jeans up his legs. Within moments she had cleaned herself up and was dressed in her battle gear. She strode through the door into the backstage area of the club, Raven's wolves turned as one and gazed in shock at what they saw. Her hair was bound up in a bun and she carried the long slender blade and dagger that she had learned to use in her early years in Venice. She had been taught by the best duelists in the world and these blades had since been coated in a layer of pure silver, specifically designed for killing wereanimals. She was dressed from head to toe in silver armor reinforced leather and chain mail, Shaman trotted at her heels, wearing a large silver spiked collar.
She stopped at Raven's side and the big cat crouched at her feet, snarling silently at any wolf that dared come too close to her. Raven looked her over and smiled his eyes already glowing dimly, he had no shirt on and only a pair of old jeans.
"Now lover, I can't let you on stage like that." She laughed and saluted with her blade before slinking over to him, tracing her deerskin gloved fingertips over his chest.
She walked around him, still trailing her fingers lightly over his body, "You seem a bit under dressed my dear."
He grinned, "I will be taking care of that shortly."
Victor came in, still dressed in his suit from working as one of the guards in the club. He was an older, but still extremely fit looking man with long sliver hair in a ponytail down his back.
"Most of the humans are gone, and we have sent all the human dancers home as well."
Raven nodded "Good, I don't really want this to happen in the club but it's better than humans seeing this in the streets."
Everyone in the room jumped slightly as there came a loud banging from the front of the building. There was a crash and the tinkling of broken glass as the other wolves breached the front doors.
"Time to suit up." growled Raven as bones popped and fur flowed. The other wolves shifted as well, either into the half form or into their full wolves. There were all colors and sizes, Victor preferred to change into a giant silver wolf. His body was crisscrossed with scars of past battles.
Raven shook himself off and rose to his full nearly seven-foot height. Bianca could hear crashing, growls and snarls as the challenging pack surged toward the backstage area. Raven and the others waited, drawing them into the area he had chosen rather than the front of the club, where there were so many obstacles. The doors to the back stage area where built small, it acted as a perfect funnel. The wolves coming through the doors could only come in a few at a time and were met with fangs and claws. They were being cut apart, the sound of bones breaking and skin ripping would have made most people sick, the smell of blood grew stronger. The room grew hotter and seemingly smaller as it filled with beasts. Bianca stood in one corner with her rapier and dagger coated in gore. A wolf crouched in front of her, trying to get through her guard while Shaman attacked from the rear, attempting to hamstring it. As the wolf was distracted by the cat, Bianca lunged forward. Her rapier sliced across the wolf's throat, red blood sprayed across the wall. Shaman leapt back as it fell, convulsing, as its life pumped out onto the floor. Bianca flicked the blood off her blade and waded back into the battle, Shaman at her side.
Raven felt like it was too easy, he found himself getting lost in the bloodlust but something was wrong. He felt like there was something he was forgetting, but his beast was pulling at him to keep killing. He leaped at the throat of another wolfman, this one was as large as he was, and very strong. Something was still wrong, claws hit his chest ripping hair and flesh. There was no cry of pain only the rush of more rage. He rammed the beast back into the wall behind him, sinking his teeth in to his collar bone, there was a pop as he tore meat and broke bone. They fell to the floor as both fighters became more beast like. Tooth and claw, blood and hair. At last Raven came up to his knees looking around, the wolf under him was dead and the few of the others that were not were running away. Looking around he saw only one of his men down but was not sure who it was yet. Bianca strode over to him, calmly wiping the blood from her sword blade.
She sheathed it in a smooth movement. "Seems they lost their nerve," she purred. Her adrenaline was still pumping and her green eyes nearly glowed. Shaman prowled up behind her, stopping and sitting to clean the blood from his whiskers in a very fastidious manner. Bianca nudged the dead wolfman with her toe.
"I wonder what their endgame was." Raven looked at her, then at the dead wolf. He then glanced around the room, the one wolf of his that was hurt was getting up, he was bleeding but alive. Everyone else had only sustained minor injuries and were starting to shift back into their human forms. There were soft whines and groans as they shifted. Shifting back was never hard for Raven, the claw marks left in his chest would heal. Slowly he got to his feet, looking around he still not able to shake the feeling that this was too damn easy.
"I don't like it, something is not right." His eyes passed over one of his wolves, briefly making eye contact, Josh was his name.
Josh knew something was wrong the moment their eyes met. "Boss, what's wrong?" Raven was still thinking, his beast slowly letting him go.
"Damn it, the girls! Where are the dancers?"
Josh looked at him "The ones that are still here are in the safe room."
Raven cast a look at Bianca, "We have to hurry." He broke into a run up the stairs and down the hall, coming to a door that had been ripped off its hinges.
"Hell and damnation," muttered Bianca. The next one had been broken open and two of the dancers lay on the floor in pools of blood, and the two others were just shifting back to human form.
The first words out of their mouths were rushed, "Raven, Bianca they took Chel and killed Megan and Bonnie!!"
Raven spun on his heel and bounded back out of the door, heading back to the front of the club. Bianca knelt by the two on the floor and checked for a pulse, just to be certain. She shook her head and stood, slowly turning and following in Raven's wake.
She moved faster with each stride, catching up to him. "What now?"
Raven was only most of the way out of the front door of the club when it occurred to him he was still completely nude.
"Josh, Greg...get our best tracker on Chel's scent, they are out there somewhere. Call people, find out something for me."
Josh and Greg nodded, "Yes sir," and hurried away.
Raven spoke to the rest of the room at large, "Clean up the club, we can't have anyone seeing it like this." His wolves scrambled to comply.
Turning to Bianca, "We need to clean up and I need to get dressed, this just became a new kind of war."
He turned and headed for his rooms. Bianca followed him, "What do you mean? What has changed about it? What do you think has happened?"
Raven began to pull on clothes and boots. He glanced at her, "You might want to put on something a bit less conspicuous, or at least weapons that are a bit less noticeable."
She nodded and unbuckled her sword belt, laying it on the bed. She put a different belt on, this one holding holsters for a pair pistols. She buckled it around her leg and picked up the matched pair of Glock .45s and checked the clips. Silver bullets. She holstered them and slid four extra clips into the loops on her belt. She picked up a long black leather coat and slipped it on. An hour and a half later Raven and Bianca stood outside of a run-down office building on the south side of town. This is where the trail ended. Raven could sense his pack members nearby. Raven sent the rest of the pack to the other doors and to make sure no one tried to go out the back. Raven looked around then kicked the front door open and walked inside Bianca was right behind him, guns drawn one in either hand as they entered a long corridor. As they advanced the first wolf sprang from one of the doors along the hall. Raven grabbed it by the throat and flung it against the wall as Bianca blew the top of its skull off, covering Raven in blood and thicker things. Almost simultaneously taking aim and shooting the second wolf that was charging from a door to her left. Raven paused briefly and looked at her in surprise.
She smiled briefly, savagely, "Well, are we going to keep going, or are you just going to stare?"
