Plague Wolf: Werewolf Romance (Wolf Wars Book 3) Page 4

  "She's just right over," Garrett turned toward the windows to point at the small bank branch down the street from the coffee shop. His eyes focused in just in time to see a man slip through the doors with his gun drawn.

  Garrett took off out of the coffee shop without paying and without the coffees.

  In front of the bank, Garrett peered through the windows. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Allyson stood in what seemed to be an endless line. Her eyes found him through the windows and she waved, oblivious to the danger sneaking up on her. Garrett offered her a fake smile and nodded.

  Seconds later, her face sank and her eyes widened.

  Everyone in the line was ducking to the floor. Garrett threw open the glass door to the bank and bolted inside.

  Two masked men standing near the counter waved guns around screaming. A third man grabbed Garrett's arm and pulled him into the bank then slammed the door shut behind him. He pointed his gun at a young lady's head while she tried to lock the door.

  "Get away from those counters!" One of the men yelled. "Any button gets pressed and we start shooting."

  One by one, each of the tellers raised his or her hands up away from their drawers to where the men could see them. It wasn't good enough. One man started waving his gun, motioning for the tellers to come out from behind the glass and join the patrons in the line. One of them got a little rough with one teller, pushing her along until she fell to her knees.

  Allyson lunged over to help her back to her feet. The back of the man's hand met Allyson's cheek with such force she curled over backwards and fell against the chair.

  "Anyone else in the back?" he yelled his question at the teller.

  "Th-the manager," she answered. "The manager is in the back. Her office is back there."

  He looked up at one of the other men and motioned toward the back. The second man nodded and ran into the back of the bank. Less than a minute later, the man came back into the front, dragging the bank manager by the arm.

  *****

  Allyson's cheek stung from her slap. She glanced around the room and took in a deep breath.

  The musk of fear caught in her throat. It reminded her of the stench of rotting garbage and sweat. She hadn't choked on so much of it since quitting her job at the hospital. Her stomach lurched and she held her hand up in front of her mouth to try to calm her gag reflex.

  Stop it, Allyson, she told herself. Of course they're all afraid. As soon as these idiots leave, everyone will be safe and you'll be able to breathe again.

  Then a new scent assaulted her sinuses. She took in another deep breath and glanced around the room.

  Wolf. She smelled a wolf.

  Her eyes darted from person to another. Six tellers, one manager wearing a name tag that read Holly, one assistant manager, three security guards, twenty-two patrons, and three armed robbers. Thirty-six people in all. And it could be any one of them.

  A sharp blow to the back of the head knocked Allyson forward.

  "I said move it," the largest man said.

  Allyson whirled around to get a good look at him. Each of the three men wore ski masks, revealing only angry eyes peering out from beneath. All six eyes, glaring and dripping with hatred at the people gathered near the front.

  Impatient with her slow response, the man wrapped his fingers around her throat and threw her back away from him.

  White spots flashed before her eyes as the back of her head slammed against the wall. She clenched her eyes tight and slid down to the floor.

  She glanced back around the room. Garrett was still kneeling over closer to the door where the man had thrown him upon entering the bank. The corner of her mouth curled up into a smile – it was so typical that he had snuck into the bank just to make sure she was safe. She wiped the smile from her lips quickly before the other men could see it.

  The three men glanced around the room again. One of them paced, counting heads and shouting instructions at the others. The other two glared at each other. All three waved around rifles. Muffled screams floated in through the glass front doors from outside. Allyson glanced over to see a young lady on her cell phone standing across the street, pointing in toward the bank and crying into her phone.

  "We need to move," one of the other men said. "They'll just get snipers and shoot us through the windows."

  The largest man turned around and stared out the windows. The buildings across the street offered plenty of cover for a sniper - nooks and crannies that were hard to spot and cover. And with the front end of the bank being entirely of glass, there was no good place for them to stand.

  He turned back to the hostages.

  "No. We aren't going to be here that long. Everyone can just sit here and make themselves comfortable."

  Allyson glanced around the room. She kept waiting for the robbers to begin listing their demands.

  They must want something.

  No demands. No threats.

  They never listed anything they wanted. They didn't really look at the hostages for anything. Not one of them asked for money, the combination to the vault, or personal belongings. They didn't seem confused, only impatient. The largest man, whom she assumed was the leader of the group, checked his watch over and over again. Every time he paced around the room, he stopped to glance at the clock. The other two leaned up against the counter and waited for further instruction.

  Chapter Seven

  Garrett took advantage of the three men temporarily moving their attention away from the hostages and crawled across the floor over to Allyson. Tears glossed over her eyes against her will. He wiped her cheek and kissed her forehead.

  "Are you okay?" he asked.

  "Yeah, I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

  "Did he hurt you?"

  Allyson shook her head. "No, not really. I'm fine." Garrett grabbed her hand and leaned back against the wall next to her. "Someone in here is--."

  "Uh-uh!" the leader yelled across the room at them. "You, girlie, up here. Sit up in this chair. You, stay right where you are. In fact, I don't want any crowds forming. Everyone put at least two to three feet between you."

  Allyson squeezed Garrett's hand and glanced over at him.

  He nodded and squeezed back. The man grabbed her arm and jerked her up to her feet, tossing her over into the chair and waving his gun around.

  Garrett's eyes darted back and forth between the three men. He studied their masks, trying to size them up. Scenarios began running through his mind. One saw him rushing the leader to take his gun; another in which he took on one of the other two men. But he couldn't see each scenario through to its end without losing. He couldn't see a way to win.

  He scowled at the thought of having to sit and wait for the system to run its course.

  He glanced up at the clock.

  Ten minutes past noon.

  They only had a few hours before they had to go. I'm not even sure what the traffic is going to be like heading out that way, he reminded himself.

  He would need to come up with something to ensure that they had enough time to prepare for Allyson's transformation. And she still hadn't eaten.

  Transforming in the city was out of the question, he knew that. Although over the past year they had been able to work on her memory retention and her control over the transformation process, the risk was too great to change in the city.

  I should have been paying closer attention to everything, Garrett kicked himself for not catching the growth in both wolf and hunter population.

  One of the men grabbed the bank manager's arm and pulled on it hard enough to make her yelp.

  Garrett cringed as various thoughts of what these men might start demanding raced through his mind.

  "Where is the vault?"

  "Th-the vault?" she asked.

  "Yes. You have the combination, right? You can open it?"

  Garrett glanced over at Allyson. Her eyebrows were furrowed with as much confusion as he felt.

  The bank manager pointed
toward the back of the bank and whimpered.

  "It's in the back. But I can't open it. It's on a time lock. No one can open it until tomorrow morning."

  Allyson studied the manager. The man pulled back a fist and punched Holly, sending her flying backwards. Allyson jumped up and grabbed the man's arm before he could land another punch. It worked. Instead of lunging back at Holly, the man grabbed Allyson's arm and jerked her back. He readied his fist.

  The larger man grabbed his fist before it could land.

  "Stop," he said. Then he turned to Allyson and studied her. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back into the hallway.

  *****

  He tossed Allyson into the conference room. Her hands clapped against the glass-topped table as she caught herself. Allyson whirled around, her fist launched for his jaw.

  The skin of his face rippled as her fist connected. He fell back against the wall and grunted.

  "Son of a bitch, Allyson. What the fuck?"

  Allyson stopped, her fist still poised to strike again.

  "What? What did you say?"

  The man held his hands up in front of him as if to surrender. After Allyson backed up and motioned for him to stand up, he removed his mask and shook out his brown hair.

  "August? August? What the fuck are you doing here?"

  "I could ask you the same question. I told you to get the fuck out of town."

  "I was trying. But then these three maniacs decided to rob the fucking bank and take everyone inside hostage."

  "We aren't robbing the bank."

  "Oh really? What is this then?"

  "Just."

  "Spit it out August."

  "I'm trying. It's just the first step to fighting back."

  "Fighting back against what?"

  "Oh, come on, Allyson. I'm sure you heard about the shooting. And that fire. This is a war I'm trying to fight."

  "A war against who?"

  "Against the fucking world, Allyson."

  "August. I'm trying here, I really am. But you're not making any sense to me right now." She stared him in his ice blue eyes. "Just, walk me through this, okay? Who attacked you?"

  "You know about the shooting, right? That was a hunter. And the fire that hit my apartment building? Another hunter. They are trying to wipe us out."

  Allyson nodded as she followed along with August's story.

  "They're trying to take out my family; my pack. But they won't stop there. They'll never stop. Not until they wipe us into extinction."

  "They were your family? Did you become a wolf when they did? On April 29?"

  "You see, I knew you knew what was going on. But no. I wasn't turned on April 29. I turned them on April 29."

  "You what?"

  "Actually, I turned more than just them. A group of hunters came and wiped out my entire pack. Everyone. So, in return, I turned twenty-three people that weekend. Rebuilt my pack. But then the fucking hunters had to come back and start attacking again. First, they tried coming at us out in the woods. We fought, and a few fell on both sides. But then the larger attacks started."

  "The mass shooting where five of them died. They were yours."

  "Yes. And before that there were four who died in a car accident on the highway. Then the attack on the apartment building just before you found me."

  "The girls you saved. They were wolves too?"

  "Yes."

  "Oh my God, August. Is that what you're doing here? Are you trying to turn all these people?"

  August gazed at Allyson. His eyes darted around the room, but his silence gave her the answer.

  "You can't do this, August. You have to know that you can't do this."

  "It's bigger than that. Allyson."

  The door burst open at that instant.

  "What the fuck, August? Are we going to do this or what?"

  Allyson glared at the other man.

  "It'll never work. This plan will never work because these people won't forgive you. You turn them and they'll form their own pack against you," she said.

  He took off his mask and closed the door behind him.

  "You told her about the plan to contaminate the money?"

  "What?"

  August closed his eyes and shook his head. "No."

  "Contaminate the money? What is he talking about? Lupine erythroparvovirus is a blood borne virus. Spreading it over money will do nothing."

  "But Lupine dependoerythroparvovirus is airborne." August corrected.

  "Dependoerythr-- is that even a real word?"

  "It is. It's a long word that means the virus is airborne and anyone who meets certain conditions can - and likely will - catch it. If it’s on something they touch, in the air they breathe, in liquid they swallow, they catch it."

  "Like… like the flu, or… a plague? A plague that turns everyone who catches it into a wolf? This is... August. You're talking genocide. Wiping out the human race for the sake of turning a few hunters?"

  "That's the beauty of this plan. No one has to die."

  "August."

  "Really. Everyone will still be alive. They can go about living their lives and doing their chores. And once a month, they'll pause their human lives and become wolves."

  "August, you're splitting hairs here. This is insane."

  August slammed his fists against the table and glared at Allyson. "What do you think is going to happen Allyson? In a couple of hours you're going to turn. And all these people are going to know who and what you are. Do you really think they're going to let you live? That they're just going to walk out of here and go about their business? Now, I didn't mean for you to get caught up in this. I told you to leave town."

  "I tried. But there was a group of hunters out at my cabin and--"

  "What? Where?"

  "Out at Lake Youngss, where I usually go to turn. But I couldn't stay there. They had taken it over. So we came back into the city to come up with a new plan. Stopped in here on our way out and you maniacs stormed in."

  "They aren't in the city?"

  "No," Allyson said. "Not unless they left the cabin.”

  "Damn it," August swore.

  *****

  August paced around the room, shaking his head.

  "August?"

  "Argh," August whined. "I thought it was so perfect. You know? To get the hunters off my back. Just find a way to turn everyone all at once. Even the hunters. They can't go after everyone."

  "August, please think about this. You know deep down that this isn't right."

  He shook his head and glared at the door. "I don't know what else to do, Allyson. How do I stop the hunters from coming after us? Live as hermits? Deny our social instincts? Deny ourselves a family for the sake of hiding? I spent my life hiding from the bullies, Allyson. Now I'm actually strong enough that I don't have to hide anymore, and you want me to start hiding again? I can't do it. Allyson. I just can't. I'm sorry."

  "Who turned you?"

  "What does that matter?"

  "A hunter turned me," Alyson admitted. "He had gotten a report that I was a werewolf, and came in to do his job, only to find out that I wasn't one. He could have left it at that. He could have left me alone. Told his sources that a mistake had been made. But he didn't. Instead, he decided to take a syringe of the virus and infect me with it. Then he made it look like a mugging and left me for dead. I woke up in the hospital, confused and in pain. And I didn't even know it at first. I didn't remember him at all. Then he came after me right before I was going to transform for the first time."

  "What happened after that?"

  "He died. Garrett killed him. Later his family, a group of hunters he used to work with, led by his brother, they came after us again. You see, they were mad that Garrett was no longer a hunter. And me, well, I'm a monster, right?"

  "What's your point?"

  "My point is that no one understands better than I do what kind of pain hunters cause. I get it. But do me a favor. Go out there and listen to those people in that lobby. Jus
t listen. They aren't talking, or plotting. They're crying. They're sobbing. You are making them cry."

  "I--." August's mouth fell open as though he wanted to say something but couldn't. Tears glossed over his eyes. Then he went on, explaining. "I was in college and I met this guy, Joe. He was strong and brave - everything I wasn't. Everything I wanted to be. And one night, we got drunk and he admitted to me that he was a werewolf. He wasn't afraid of anything because he knew nothing could touch him. I didn't think anything of it at first. I thought he was full of shit. So, then one day he decides that he is going to prove to me that he was telling the truth. I made the deal with him that if he could prove it, I would let him turn me and I would be part of his pack. So, we went out to the old campus basement. It's been abandoned and empty for decades. We went there and he locked himself into one of the rooms and I sat and waited. I watched. I was munching on a goddamn tootsie roll when he finally turned. And he was even stronger. And I knew right then and there that was what I needed. So when he turned back the next morning, I asked him to turn me and to train me."

  "And when you said that hunter came in and wiped out your pack, you meant him?"

  "Yeah."

  Allyson sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

  "You had a choice, August. These people deserve the same choice."

  He nodded and opened the door.

  Chapter Eight

  "You're what?" One of the masked robbers asked.

  "I'm calling it off."

  "You can't just call it off. We're in too deep. You said--."

  "I know what I said. I was wrong. We need to cut our losses."

  "They aren't going to just let us leave. Soon as we head out that door, they'll come after us," the second man said.

  August shook his head and glanced around the room. The hostages each stared at the three men, waiting to hear their demands.

  "That's a chance we have to take. The hunters aren't in town, so the police aren't going to be using silver. I say we make a break for it. Open the doors and ru--."

  "No. No way. We're in too deep. I say we stick with the plan. Release the virus."

  "Listen to me. This was my plan. And I say we are ending this. Release the hostages and make a break for it. There are two ways we can go. We can either run west toward Olympus Park and meet up there, or run east to Lake Youngss and meet up with the hunters there."