Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

Daniel and Tina kept walking, even though every instinct was screaming at them to do something. They made themselves wait until the werewolves were close enough to see what they had in their hands, and then they both raised their long-barreled pistols and took aim. The alpha wolves slammed to a halt, crouching low as they studied the Hydes and their guns. Daniel kept his hand steady, even as he wondered whether the wolves realized what kind of ammunition they were facing. And if so, whether they would do the sensible thing, and turn and run. If they did, Daniel wasn’t sure he’d be able to shoot them in the back.

The werewolf clan wasn’t supposed to be in the same league as the other monster Clans. More pressed into the service of evil, rather than evil themselves. But then Daniel remembered Nigel talking about the hunt and the kill, and how the wolves saw all of humanity as nothing more than prey, and he kept his aim steady.

The whole pack suddenly surged forward, crossing the intervening space at incredible speed, and Daniel discovered he didn’t feel quite as confident as he had just a few moments before. Death was coming right at him, with huge bared teeth and vicious claws. Daniel suddenly wondered whether the silver bullets would be enough to do the job on their own, or whether he had to hit the heart every time. Like staking a vampire. He wasn’t even sure exactly where a werewolf kept its heart. But once he looked, he had no trouble spotting the wide and prominent breastbone on each wolf, so he just exchanged a glance with Tina, and then they opened fire together.

Twelve silver bullets slammed home in swift succession, and twelve alpha werewolves crashed to the ground as though they’d just run into an invisible wall. Daniel and Tina emptied their guns so quickly, all twelve were dead before the other wolves even realized what was happening.

The dead wolves turned into dead men. Just so many naked corpses with great wounds in their chests, lying still and steaming in the cool night air, on blood-soaked grass. The other wolves crashed to a halt, so they could study the dead bodies. They sniffed at them and licked their faces, and even pawed at them in a hopeful way, but they didn’t whine or howl. They just turned their heads to stare at Daniel and Tina with brightly shining eyes, gray lips pulled back to show the savage teeth. Their hatred burned on the cool night air like a living presence. Daniel and Tina met their gaze steadily, and waited for the last of the alpha wolves to come to them.

“All those bodies are male,” said Daniel as he holstered his empty gun. “Not a single alpha female in the pack.”

“Werewolves are sexist,” said Tina as she put her own gun away. “Who knew?”

“Maybe they’re just strong on tradition.”

“Same thing.”

They drew their silver knives and showed them to the wolves. Their heads came up, but they didn’t howl. They didn’t even growl. The surviving alphas just charged straight at the Hydes, their shining eyes full of murder and revenge. Heavily clawed paws sent divots of grass flying as they hurled themselves forward. Daniel was sure they recognized the silver in the blades, shimmering in the moonlight, but it didn’t slow them down.

Daniel and Tina waited till the wolves were almost upon them, taking up a ready stance and holding their knives held out before them. Daniel could see the wolves’ paws slamming into the ground, hear their heavy breathing, and the thick musky scent of them was heavy on the air. He could feel the tension in Tina’s arm as it pressed against his. That steadied him a little, to know she felt as uncertain as he did. Even after all the unnatural creatures they’d fought, and triumphed over, it seemed to Daniel that there was something horribly primal and basic in the wolves’ threat. As though fear of the wolf was written into his genes, an inherited knowledge and a warning from his primitive ancestors.

But that was then, and this was now. And Daniel was a Hyde now.

The werewolves threw themselves at Daniel and Tina, bared fangs straining for an extended arm or an undefended gut. The first wolf to reach them suddenly leapt high, going for Daniel’s throat. He grabbed a handful of its gray fur with his free hand, and slammed the wolf to the ground at his feet with enough force to drive all the breath from its body. And then he thrust his knife into the wolf’s eye, and twisted it. The wolf shuddered and stopped moving, changing back into a man as though it was shrugging off a fur coat.

Another wolf had leapt at Tina, and she ducked underneath it, her knife thrusting up to gut it as it passed. The wolf howled horribly, but it was a man by the time it hit the grass in a flurry of bloody intestines.