On the Prowl by Kate Rudolph

13

Andre racedafter the beast like the fate of the world depended on it. He dodged around equipment and vaulted over a bench as the monster turned down a hallway and moved further into the darkness.

Andre didn't know if he was being led somewhere or if the beast was moving on instinct. It only occurred to him once he was far away from Em and the rest of the humans that there could be a pack of these things waiting for him somewhere.

It didn't matter. As long as it wasn't near Em. Maybe he was cocky, but Andre was willing to put his skills to the test against a gang of these things any day.

In the darkness, it was difficult to make out the beast. It looked sort of like a wolf that was covered in black fur that seemed to bleed into the darkness. But the dim light of the hallway wasn't completely black, and Andre could see it moving in the shadows.

How had no one noticed it? It was a full-sized wolf. Even a stray dog should've caught attention. But it had gotten all the way to the stage with no one saying a word.

Magic? Or more lax security?

The wolf's growl reverberated down the hall, and Andre saw that he had it cornered. There was a set of closed doors that the wolf charged at, but it froze before actually running into the heavy steel. The doors remained stubbornly closed. He didn't know where they led, but at least the wolf couldn't go any further.

Andre wanted to shift into his other form. If he did that, then he might have a better chance of injuring the wolf. As a man, he didn't have sharp teeth or claws to fight the beast. But it would take time to shift, time that he didn't have. And it wasn't like he had never fought a wolf in his human form.

It was a game he and the rest of his pack mates liked to play from time to time. And it was a game that Andre was pretty good at.

"Easy there, puppy," he said in the same sort of conciliatory tone he might have used with a frightened dog. If he could stop the fight before it started, that would be even better. He didn't know why this animal was attacking Em. He couldn't be certain that it was this animal.

But as he got close, he realized it must be. He'd been too preoccupied during the chase to notice it, but though the beast looked like a wolf and moved like a wolf, it didn't smell like a wolf.

It didn't smell like anything.

No living being that Andre had ever encountered was like that.

Everything had a scent. Except for this beast.

The wolf reared around, and yellow eyes flashed in the dim light. And that was strange too. They were like gemstones embedded in his face, flat and yet almost sparkling. They didn't look like normal eyes. There was something off about this beast.

And Andre was beginning to wonder if it was even a wolf at all.

But it had teeth like a wolf and it bared them at him. The growl might have scared another man. but Andre just fell back into a defensive stance and grinned. With the way tension had tightened his body all day, he'd been yearning for a fight. And this wolf was just the beast to give it to him.

He had to stop it before anyone came this way. And not just for safety. After that cameraman got a shot of him and Em, there were sure to be rumors swirling, and this was another way he could protect her. Who knew what kind of rumors would swirl if they saw a wolf backstage at her concert? He could at the very least stop that from happening.

The wolf charged, and Andre let go of the thoughts of protecting Em's reputation. There was nothing but the fight.

And the wolf knew how to do it. It snapped with those vicious teeth and swiped at him with its claws. Andre fought back, doing his best to avoid all of the sharp bits and aiming for the wolf’s tender belly and its throat.

He didn't have his firearm with him. That might have made this whole thing easier.

But he had a knife. And he had pulled it without thought and used it as if it were his own claws. But no matter how deftly he wielded it and how sure he was that he had hit the wolf, no blood dripped from its fur.

Andre wished he could say the same. A rough swipe of claws caught him on the shoulder, and the wolf's teeth had scraped through his jeans and into the flesh of his thigh.

He would be hurting soon. And the wolf showed no sign of flagging.

The wolf growled again and snapped his teeth, and this time, Andre let out a threatening growl of his own.

The wolf froze. Their gazes locked, and Andre tried to see any sort of intelligence, any consciousness, in the wolf. It didn't fight like a wild animal.

He was beginning to think it was nothing of the sort.

Another growl rumbled out of Andre, and the wolf shrank back. He advanced on it, knife at his side and ready to try to inflict as much damage as he could.

The wolf started forward and Andre dodged to the side to avoid its charge, but he misjudged the distance and slammed into the wall.

The lights flashed on overhead, and he realized he must have hit the light switch. He flinched from the sudden brightness and spun around, ready to face the wolf again.

But all he saw was a wisp of black smoke that quickly dissolved.

No wolf.

And the door behind where it had been remained closed.

Andre tested it and found it locked. The wolf hadn't gone that way.

And he was beginning to think it might have dissolved in a puff of smoke.

But it had been real enough. The blood dripping down his leg and soaking his shirt was proof.

A wolf that could turn into shadow. He needed to find Em. He didn't know what she could do, but she needed to know. This was more information, and they needed to strategize.

One thing was certain, he wasn't letting her sit in the dark.