"Good job pissing of the boss Marco. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Case laughed.
"It's this girl," he scowled. "She thinks she can walk around without payback," he mumbled "but I'll show her. She's going to get what's coming to her." Case gave Marco a questioning glance as he continued to mutter about revenge and being done wrong. The crazed look that seemed to take over his face was beginning to worry Case. He couldn't figure out what he was talking about.
"Marco? You ok?" he asked getting ready jump out of the way if he exploded. Marco was known for his short temper and he wasn't about to get hurt because some girl bothered him.
"Thinks she can hit me and get away with it ..." Marco continued to mumble. Finally catching on to what Marco was going on about Case began to chuckle.
"Are you telling me, that tiny thing gave you that bloody nose earlier this week?" his chuckles turned into full on laughter when he caught Marco's red face. Marco hadn't told anyone exactly how he came to have that bloody nose and now he knew why. Case couldn't stop the laughter as his body shook and tears poured down his face. "You got beat up by a girl not even half your size?" he laughed gasping for air.
"Shut up!" Marco yelled embarrassment and anger quickly turning his face purple with rage. Balling his fists Marco was about to beat Case's face in when he noticed the girl had left her room and was half way up the street. "Get up you fool she's leaving," he shrieked kicking Case sharply in the ribs before following the girl down the dark street.
Few people were on the street at this hour but the ones that were hurried away when they saw the angry man stalking towards them. Case, sobering from his bout of laughter, rushed to keep up. He could hear the rumbling of Marco's wolf. Marco never had great control and Case could sense his wolf ready to burst out on the public street.
"Marco, calm down. Come back here!" he whispered as the distance between them became wider. By the time Marco caught up with the girl the street was deserted. Grinning wickedly he shoved her into an adjacent alley.
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The chilly air washed over Layla seeping into her light sweater to cool her heated skin. It took a while but the walk eventually calmed her racing heart. Looking around her Layla took in the empty street. She hadn't been paying attention when she left her motel room. The vigilance she usually had at all times had waivered while she wandered but as she began to feel herself again she sensed the tension in the air. The hairs on the back of neck stood up as a feeling of intense dread consumed her. Turning to head back she was hit with great force propelling her into an alley.
Layla landed flat on her back, the air forced out of her lungs. Getting to her hands and knees Layla thought quickly, self preservation kicking in. Lunging she grabbed a broken piece of ply wood lying a foot away. Splinters dug into her hands as she turned and swung with all her might. An enraged howl echoed through the alley. Jumping to her feet Layla turned clutching her weapon ready to fight for all she was worth. Fear coursed through her but she refused to let it overtake her.
The fuming man blocking her exit looked familiar. As he recovered from the blow to his side his face screwed up in pain and anger, "You bitch!" he screamed, "I'm going to kill you."
"Marco?" Layla asked bewildered. The threat had brought back the memory of the cruel blonde in the shop.
"You thought I would forget about you? You thought you were safe? Your boyfriend can't save you now even if he is a shifter," he growled. Layla was confused by his words but she was immediately distracted as Marco's face began to distort. Marco began to shake as his body seemed to grow tearing his clothes to shreds. A scream stuck in Layla's throat her eyes widened in terror. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Marco was transforming right before her eyes but her brain just didn't want to accept it. Dirty blonde fur sprouted out of his exposed skin as his face took on a more wolf like structure. In a matter of seconds a frightening creature stood before Layla and before she could completely register the change it had thrown her back to ground causing her to drop her makeshift weapon.
The creature stood over her with dingy blonde fur, a long snout with yellowing teeth, and sharp claws, yet it stood on two legs. Fear gripped her as its claws tore into her. Struggling, Layla did her best to push the creature away but the thing was too strong. Saliva leaked out of his mouth leaving wet spots on Layla's sweater. It roared viciously as it tore her clothes and skin and fought to grab her flailing limbs. The creature threw its head back howling in pain when Layla managed to kick its furry shin. Quickly, while it was distracted, Layla looked around for her discarded weapon just as a second creature came hurdling into the alley.
"Marco let her go!" Case growled as he entered the alley. Sprouting dark fur, his bones started to rearrange themselves under his skin as Case took his hybrid form as well. Simon was not going to like this. "Marco come on man."
Running full speed into Marco's hybrid, Case managed to dislodge him from the terrified girl.
"She's mine!" he growled his voice slightly distorted.
"Not now! Simon wants her alive! Do you know what he will do to you if you disobey him?" Case pinned him fighting to the alley wall. The reminder of their leader cooled Marco down a bit though he still pushed to grab the shocked girl behind Case.
Layla gawked at the two animals wrestling in front of her. Terror froze her in place her fingers gripping the wooden board tightly. Her mind screamed at her to run but something kept her where she sat on the cold concrete.
"What are you?" she asked drawing the attention of the animals.
"We are shifters," the creature pinned against the wall spat over the other's shoulder. "We are the monsters you thought only lived in your nightmares girlie. Just like your boyfriend."
"What?" Layla said confused.
"You think you are safe with your boyfriend walking through the city and making out in stairwells. You don't even know what he is! He's a monster just like us."
"Shut up Marco!" Case yelled
"Not before I have my revenge!" Marco still fought to get at the girl who thought she could defend herself with a piece of plywood.
"Do you want to be the one to explain this to Simon?"
Calming slightly Marco took a few deep breathes. "Remember one day I will get you girlie. That is if your sweetheart doesn't tear your throat out first," he laughed showing off his sharp teeth before the two creatures shifted completely into their wolf forms and ran out of the alley.
Layla sat still on the cold, damp concrete, the wooden board clutched in her shaking hands. The sound of scurrying rats brought her to her feet and fleeing back up the street to her motel room. She missed the curious stares of the people she passed in the street in her disheveled state. Making it to her room she slammed the door and locked it. It wasn't until she barricaded herself in the bathroom that she allowed herself to catch her breath.
"Monsters," she thought. She hadn't believed in monsters since she was a child, at least not the nonhuman kind. And now . . . She didn't know what to think. She knew what she had seen and she knew that she could trust her instincts. Looking in the mirror she finally took in her sullied appearance. Her shirt was shredded, barely held together at one shoulder, she had completely lost her sweater somewhere, and her pants were torn, covered in dirt and filth from the alley. Blood trickled out of the ragged claw marks that were thankfully rather shallow. Her arms and face were covered in bruises from where the creature had struck her. As she stared she became aware of all the aches and pains. After pulling out the sharp splinters from her fingers and palms she carefully peeled back her shirt and began cleaning and bandaging the wounds.
By the time she had cleaned herself up she was convinced she wasn't crazy. She had gone over it a million times and the one thing she knew for certain was that she could trust her instincts. For as long as she could remember her instincts had kept her alive, she wasn't going to doubt them now.
Taking a deep breath, "Werewolves," she said aloud. "I saw werewolves." She started to giggle, it sounded so silly. Her giggles turned into loud bursts of laughter before becoming full body sobs. She was freaking out as the horror of the experience played through her mind over and over. Remembering the cruel claws, the foul breath, and the two creatures locked in their furry brawl made her shudder. Rowan came to her mind and suddenly she wished he were there. She just knew that if he were with her everything would be okay. She didn't care that they had said Rowan was one of them.