We Become the Night

“Gone?” Garrett asks.

Worried I’d misheard, I repeat Garrett’s question.

“Yes, gone. He was playing in the yard with some of the shifter kids and a few of the fairy kids and when I went to check on him, he wasn’t there. The kids there said he went inside. We checked the house, but all we found was this.” Max hands Garrett a piece of paper. I jump up from the bed, the sheet covering my lower half. I am by Garrett’s side, reading the note over his shoulder.

“Changeling,

I have the little one. It won’t be harmed as long as you and my son cooperate. You will meet me on Main Street at 5pm or the little changeling will suffer your fate. Feel free to bring your followers, it won’t do you any good.

Don’t keep me waiting.

Cashel, rightful King of all”

Garrett’s face goes from worry to fury in the time it takes me to lift my eyes from the paper he crumples in his hand.

“The son of a bitch,” he growls. I’ve never feared Garrett before, but in this moment, he looks capable of killing and not feeling remorse for it. I place my hand lightly on his shoulder. My other hand reaches towards Max, gripping his hand.

“We’ll get him. There’s no way anyone here will let him get away with this.”

“The fucker called Bay an ‘It’.” Kali’s eyes are dry now, her crying done with. She’s sounding more like the warrior we saw the first day we met her. I look at my watch.

“We don’t have much time. The moon is set to rise in about fifteen minutes, then we have only about a half an hour to meet him. We need to address the crowd downstairs.”

Max nods. Kali just looks at me, ready for murder herself. Garrett, well Garrett is usually my rock, but in this instance, it seems like I’m his.

“We need to get dressed. Max and Kali, we’ll meet you downstairs in a few. Get everyone gathered on the patio.”

They leave. Garrett and I hurry to get dressed without speaking. Whatever he was going to say earlier will have to wait. I’ll make sure he has a chance to talk to me later about it.

We rush down the stairs and out the door. I glance at my watch, we only have about ten minutes before moon rise and the change.

More than two hundred paranormals are gathered in Garrett’s backyard and surrounding tree line. There is a low buzz of conversation as everyone is talking excitedly at once. I step up to the edge of the patio and put my arms up in the air. The conversation ceases.

“My friends. We don’t have much time before the change happens. It is imperative that I speak with all of you and that you all listen closely now.

“Balan, our youngest changeling, has been kidnapped by Cashel, the vampire king.” This brings a round of murmurs. “Please!” I say loudly. “Please, we don’t have a lot of time. Cashel wishes us to meet him on Main Street at 5pm. That’s only about,” I check my watch again, “forty-five minutes. Moon rise is less than ten minutes. We’ve been working together well so far, let’s please continue to do so. While I am changed, Garrett will lead the other para factions in my stead.”

“Why should we follow him? It’s his father who’s started all this shit.” Someone from the middle of the crowd shouts. I open my mouth to scold the person, but Garrett steps up beside me.

“You’re correct. It is my father who has mixed all of us in this bullshit. My father, whom I’ve hated and rebelled against for centuries. My father, who always told me that I will never live up to what is needed to be a king. My father, who, tonight, will learn that it’s wrong to fuck with us.” This brings a round of cheers to the crowd. I smile at Garrett and place my hand on his shoulder.

“Everyone, please. We have around three dozen changelings in the crowd that will be changing any moment.” I look to the setting sun. “I will need all the changelings to move away from the rest of the crowd for safety’s sake. Once we are all changed, shifters feel free to shift. As for the rest, be ready. We will move out once we are all in our respective forms.

“My oath to you, to all of you, is that until my dying breath I will defend each and every one of you. You have given me something I thought was lost, a family. Thank you.”

The crowd erupts out in hoots, hollers, and applause.

“Now, let’s kick some vamp ass!” More applause. “Not Garrett’s though.” There’re a few good-natured disappointed sounds from the audience, which brings about a few laughs.

The crowd shifts around, letting the changelings move to the outskirts and the shifters move away from the rest of the paras. I turn to Garrett and grab his collar and pull him in for a last heart stopping kiss.

“I’ll be seeing you again real soon,” he tells me once our mouths are free.

“I love you,” is all I’m able to get out before the changes start to happen. Before I’m fully wolf, all I can think is that I wish I could go into this as a dragon instead. It takes only moments and where there were a bunch of human forms standing, there are now over a hundred shifters and changelings in all manner of animal forms. From eagles and hawks to panthers and tigers litter the bright green grass, with the changeling wolves towering over all of them.

All at once, we wolves throw our heads back and howl long and loud. It’s a sound of declaration that can undoubtedly be heard in town where Cashel must certainly be waiting for us.

I feel the flavors of the wolves around me; anger and righteousness are the leading thoughts. Distantly, I feel others, but they aren’t close enough to pinpoint.

Those that aren’t shifted or changed, are in battle gear ranging from leather to iron. Even the small fairies are donning a metal that I’ve never heard of before. Lin tried to explain it to me before; it’s a metal lighter than plastic but tougher than steel. It allows them to fly and change size with it on so they can still protect themselves.

“Let’s go,” Garrett shouts over his shoulder as he leads the way around the house to the front and past the cars in the driveway. I give one powerful bark to signal to the changelings to follow.

With the exception of the witches, who are riding on some of the bigger shifters, all of the paras have exceptional speed. We make it to the town limits in no time.

Collectively, we stop at the edge of Main Street. The clock tower chimes five steady gongs as we walk slowly to meet the crowd waiting halfway down the street. Garrett and I walk side by side with Max and Kali on my side and Alexis and Dart, in his tiger form, naturally, on Garrett’s side. Persia, Lin, Misen, Joshua, Sheriff Smithin, Faolan, Shaw, Lou, and Deacon are directly behind us with the remainder fanning out behind them.

We walk at a quickened pace to face those waiting with Cashel. He stands out in front with two large wolves on either side of him. Next to the smaller of the two wolves is a large dog kennel. I can feel the flavor of the changeling in the kennel and know immediately that it’s Balan. I growl angrily, baring my teeth. Garrett notices me growling and looks to where my anger is directed. He lets his own growl loose. Kali howls, also baring her teeth. Max, clad in an assortment of battle armor with a sword on his back and a dagger on his side, lets loose with a string of expletives.

The six of us out front stop about thirty feet or so away from Cashel, a distance any of us, except for Max, can jump easily. At first, no one speaks. After what seems like an eternity, Garrett speaks up.

“Father. You can stop all this nonsense and we can all go home. Leave the factions be, give us back the pup, and just stop.”

“The changelings are abominations that must be eradicated. Your boyfriend,” the word boyfriend is said with obvious distain, “is the biggest abomination of all.” I growl at him loudly. “Oh!? Don’t like, do you abomination? Your kind should never have been allowed to live. Drystan, the witch that made you, should have hunted each of your kind down and slaughtered you all. Well, no worries, today I will finish what he started.”

I nudge Garrett and signal to him, swinging my head from him to the two larger wolves next to Cashel. Garrett must understand what I’m trying to tell him because he nods and places his hand on my back.

“If you hate Cal’s kind so damn much, Father, then why do you have two in your employ?”

Mumbling and various growls and sounds erupt from the crowd behind us. Obviously, I was the only one to pick up on the fact that the two larger wolves aren’t shifters like the ones that back Cashel.

“These two are nothing more than pawns to be discarded once I’m done with them.” He gives a careless flick of his wrist. Neither changeling reacts to his comment, which makes me think that he’s done something to them to make them follow him blindly.

Looking past Cashel, I see some witches in battle armor, what I can only assume are trolls judging by their size and general ugliness, a shit load of wolf shifters, tons of lion and jaguar shifters, some panther shifters, lots of Golden eagle shifters, and even a few bears, both grizzly and polar, and, of course, vampires. I’d say their numbers definitely rival ours, possibly even surpass them.

From behind Garrett’s father, Jamie steps out to join him by his side. Garrett gasps, taken aback.

“Jamie, what are you doing? Get away from him. You don’t have to join me here but please get away from him. He’s no good for anyone,” Garrett shouts at her. She hangs her head and shakes it side to side. Garrett starts to take a step forward towards his sister. I turn my massive head and shove at Garrett’s chest, preventing him from advancing.

Cashel laughs in what I can only describe as an evil laugh.

“You see? She would rather be with her dear old dad than your mate’s pack of garbage.”

I motion at Garrett, nudging him and emitting a series of soft woofs. The fact that Garrett can understand what I’m trying to get across, says volumes about our relationship. He unsheathes the sword at his hip.

“Very well,” Cashel taunts, “have it your way. My friends, the time has come to put this filthy species out of our misery. Just remember, we aren’t in the business of taking prisoners.”

The hoard at Cashel’s back lunge forward. I give one short, loud bark, signaling our side it’s time for action.

All of us rush forward, a few of the shifters leaping over our heads and landing on the front wave of Cashel’s group. It’s absolute mayhem. Though many of the shifters are different species on each side, it’s still difficult to distinguish who is who.

I manage to spy Jamie off to the side, obviously not wanting to get in the middle of the action. That’s fine with me since I don’t think she should get mixed up in all this.

I see Kali lunge at a female lion shifter and sink her teeth in the cat’s hind leg. The lion lets out an ear-piercing yowl before trying to turn and bite at Kali. The thing about spending most of your transformation at the mercy of instincts is that it gives you better reflexes. It’s also easier to just let the wolf take over and fight.

I was right when I thought that Faolan and Lou’s wolves would be huge. They tower over most everyone easily. Their size makes them formidable foes to be sure, and I, for one, am glad they are on our side. Especially, when I see them both leap straight up into the air, and they each snag a large Golden eagle out of midair, chomping down on them. The eagles don’t get up again.

For a changeling, I’m kind of small. Which is probably why the little jaguar thought it could take me down. Unfortunately for it though, I’ve been bullied my whole life and that teaches one to fight dirty. I feel kind of bad, the jaguar can’t be more than twenty years old, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to roll over and let it kill me.

The jaguar leaps at my back, but I’m slightly faster, having anticipated it’s move. I spin my hind legs away and clamp down on its midsection. It yelps and tries to bite at me. Since I’m so much larger than it, it can’t reach. I tighten my bite down, just enough to draw blood and have it squirming and yelping. Then I drop it on the ground, a good five feet straight down. I hear a dull thud sound and, though it’s whimpering, it doesn’t get up.

Before I have a chance to turn to the next opponent, a loud crash sounds, shaking the entire block. The fighting stops momentarily. I look around and see Tyson, in dragon form, land roughly on the sidewalk. He stands on his hind legs, lifting himself to his full height of around thirty-five feet, spreads his wings out to either side, lifts his head in the air, and lets loose a blast of red and orange flames.

“Bringing your pet dragon because you can’t handle us?” I hear one of the vampires mock me nearby. I show that vamp just what I can and can’t handle by severing his head from his shoulders in one quick move, just like Garrett taught me during our training in the last month. This causes another vampire to screech and rush at me. A female this time. She descends on me faster than I can move out of the way. This is another move Garrett showed me. She tries to get her fangs in my neck, but my fur is far too thick for that.

I roll my eyes at her obviousness, stand back on my hind legs, and let my body fall backwards, landing on the female. I quickly get up while she lays stunned and make short work of her, just as I did the male.

A hoard of shifters attack Tyson En masse, but I leave them to him. I know what he can handle, and even a few dozen shifters are nothing to him. I catch Garrett’s eye and nod to him. He smiles as he rips the head off of a particularly large male lion and nods back. He then turns and runs off to fight someone else.

I watch Garrett zoom off, only to have him stopped short by a female vampire. I take one step forward, but before I’m able to even take another breath, Cashel is there beside her, facing his son. The action slows as everyone turns to watch father and son duke it out.

“So, it’s come to this then, huh, Father?”

“I always knew it would. From the time you were born. You’ve never been good enough for this family, so I knew that one day I’d have to put you in your place.”

I hear a sound behind me. I whirl around and come face to face with the larger of the two changelings that stood by Cashel’s side. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cashel nod at Garrett in my direction. He smiles. Slowly. Manically.

The larger changeling and I are circling each other. I can read their flavor, but I don’t understand it. All I feel from them is pure, unadulterated hatred. I refuse to take my eyes off of them, for fear of them attacking me before I’m ready. The changeling snaps and snarls at me, saliva dripping from their massive canines. They lunge at me. I lunge at them. At the same time, Garrett and his father are locked in battle.

The changeling attempts to rip into my neck, but thankfully my fur there is extra thick. I, however, don’t go for the obvious kill and take a chunk out of their ear. They yelp loudly and jerk away from my teeth. We both shake out our fur, then leap at each other simultaneously. We slam into each other midair and go down in a heap of fur, teeth, and claws. Both of us attempting to get a good grip on the other.

I feel the sun begin to rise and the now familiar tingling of changing back to my human form. Before I lose all of my strength, I twist my body so that I am on top of the changeling, pinning them to the ground. I raise my paw to kill them, but before I can take a final, killing blow, we’re both transformed back to human.

I look down at the male’s furious face below me and my arm goes limp. My jaw drops open.

“Collin?”