“Put me down? Please. You hide behind witches. And what is that other thing with you? A wolf? Please. You bring a damn wolf to a bear fight. Witches and wolves. You let them fight your battles for you.”
“Is that so? Why don’t you come face me and find out? If I’m not mistaken, I’ve beaten you twice, and for some reason, you keep coming back for more. You can’t beat me. You know, and I know it. Everyone knows it. Even your so-called men. That’s why you’re just standing there running your mouth instead of fighting me.” Nick continued to goad Gavin, hoping that if he pissed him off enough, he’d enter the circle that had been spelled by the girls.
“You wanna fight? You got one!” Gavin shouted before sending his bears forward into the fray. Gavin, however, stood motionless, watching as his small army charged into battle.
Clint was the first to shift, quickly transforming from human to wolf. He took down one of the smaller bears instantly when he side-stepped a swipe of the bear’s paw. He quickly turned on the bear and attacked from behind, shredding his hamstring to nothing more than kibble. The bear quickly shifted back to man, profanities spewing from his mouth. He wouldn’t be getting back up anytime soon.
The surprise element in the plan, Cole stood off to the edge of the clearing, just inside the circle. Gavin had no idea the sheriff was involved, and he didn’t want him to know until it was too late for him to do anything about it.
Annie leveled her wand on two of the bears dumb enough to charge her, freezing them in place. She picked them up and flung them against a tree, knocking them out and breaking several bones, all with the same burst of magic. They were also down for the count.
Nick called on his magic. His bones quickly shifted and rearranged, fur sprouting over his body. He let out a loud growl when he saw one of the bears approaching Gina.
“Oh, hell no!”he said to his bear before charging.
The smaller bear stood on his hind legs, trying to make himself appear larger than he actually was. That trick might have worked on humans but not on a grizzly who was more than double his height and weight.
Nick plowed through the bear, not even bothering to fight. The smaller bear went flying into the air before crashing to the ground. Nick lifted his paw, ready to make his own strike across the bear’s nose when his opponent shifted back to his human form and blocked his face with his hands.
His opponent was not a man at all. He was nothing more than a kid. Maybe seventeen, max. Nick turned to Gina as he heard a scream erupt from her. The same ethereal magic he noticed moments before shot from her hand and into a bear’s chest. A magical fireball exploded around it.
The bear kicked and screamed, dropping to the ground, trying to get the magical fire to subside. After a few seconds, Gina pulled the magic back, letting the bear shift into his human form. He bounded to his feet and ran from the fight, only to bounce back once he hit the edge of the magical circle.
“You send kids to fight for you!” he shouted at Gavin. “Come fight me, you damn pussy!”
“Where is he?” Gina yelled.
Nick glanced over to the last place he saw Gavin. The man was nowhere to be found.
ChapterTwenty-Five
Nick spun around frantically. The trap had been set perfectly, or so he thought, yet Gavin was nowhere in sight. “Fuck! Where is he?” he shouted, pissed and shocked the bastard had managed to slip away.
Cole was equally stressed but slightly more practical in his observation. “The son of a bitch got away! Did anyone see where he went?”
“That slippery bastard just took a step backward and disappeared into the brush,” Maggie said, pointing in the general direction of where Gavin had been standing.
“Give me five seconds, and I’ll have his trail!” Clint shouted and immediately shifted into his wolf form. Taking a single long leap, he hit an invisible wall. Amid a flash of light, he let out a painful yelp and was knocked to the ground in mid-stride. Not only did the magic circle stop him, but he had also been instantly forced to shift back into human form. “Man, that was fucking painful,” he moaned, rubbing his forehead.
“The circle is still set,” Maggie said.
Shocked by the sudden burst of magic, Gina jumped backward. “Uh, Annie? We need your expertise.”
“Of course.” Leveling her wand, she spun around three times, drawing the magic back into the wand. “That should do it.”
“Someone else try. I’m done,” Clint said, sitting up.
Cole and Nick didn’t hesitate. Charging forward, they ran across the clearing without so much as a single spark from the magic circle. As soon as they reached the spot where Gavin had last been seen, Nick shifted and immediately tried to pick up a scent trail.
Cole turned back and shouted to the remaining group. “The rest of you go back to Maggie’s place. Lock it up tight and use whatever magic necessary to protect each other. Don’t let anyone in unless it’s Nick or me.”
Nick stood on his hind legs, staring directly at Gina. Raising a single paw, he let out a roar and disappeared in the brush.
Gavin’s trail was still fresh, and Nick had no problem picking it up.
“Well, it’s no secret to where he’s headed,” Cole said. “How fuckling predictable. Gavin is stupid enough to go back to his trailer dump. Just remember, he knows he’s outmatched, so he’ll do what he always does, cheat and fight dirty.”
Nick growled and continued following Gavin’s trail until the familiar rusting hulks loomed in the distance.