Page 34 of The Red Moon

TWENTY-TWO

NIK

“Alexey,” I shout, earning glances from the Vostik soldiers watching the incoming helicopter approach the airfield. It’s clear they have no idea where to shoot first, and I intend to exploit their incompetence. “You have anything we can use for a distraction?”

Sheathing the knife and checking his top, Alexey pulls what looks like two grenades from his breast pocket. “I’ve got silver bomb, smoke bomb, and a dream.”

“A dream?” Dimitri asks callously, firing a single arrow straight through the closest wolf’s forehead. A yelp disrupts the helicopter blades cutting through the sky and blood spits into the air as the wolf slumps over, falling stiff on the pavement.

Alexey pulls both pins with his teeth and spits them at Dimitri’s feet. “A dream I don’t become werewolf shit in the woods.” He underhands both devices to the wolves a dozen feet away. They roll on the concrete like dice, clacking with each bounce. Viktor’s piercing eyes move from me to the grenades on target for his army.

“Do svidaniya,” Alexey says with a salute.

An explosion rocks the concrete and nearby hangars. Chaos erupts on the airfield. Silver-laced smoke clouds the soldiers, and the only noise to hear besides our evac landing on the grass next to the runway are the strangled coughs from my father’s pack. I do my best to shield Natalia from the blast, but the overwhelming gust of poison seems to scatter in all directions.

“Go!” I manage, silver finding its way down my throat. “Get her out of here!”

Dimitri doesn’t waste time. He knows better by now when it comes to my family. In one fell swoop, he cradles my little wolf in his arms, and rushes away from the extermination, Alexey staggering close behind them. We need more time. At least until I know she’s safe.

Oh, now you want my help? my wolf says, his voice closer to a scoff.

Viktor emerges from behind the veil of smoke and silver glinting the air. His eyes darken to a shade blacker than the fur splitting his skin. Flesh rips off his body by the pound, dropping to each elongated foot armed with claws.

He won’t let you walk away this time.

He’s right. Because I didn’t kill him when I had the chance, my brother is now transforming into something bred from nightmares. He’s changing into his true form, and I know if I don’t do the one thing I promised, none of us will make it out of here alive.

“He will try,” I whisper. It won’t be easy, I know that much. Not against something whose humanity runs on fumes. But I have to stop him. I have to tap into rage I’ve kept chained for as long as I can remember. The beast I confined to the darkest recesses of my mind. No more. They wanted me to be an animal? I’ll fucking give them one.

Silence greets me as Viktor’s body cracks and bends into the purest form of monster. Small streaks of gray highlight his fur in the sun, as if he has aged a decade since I saw him last. He stands above the soldiers fighting off the silver-laced air, his incredible size somehow larger than at the compound. Lips curling back into a snarl, a powerful roar escapes him. It’s a challenge.

I let down my guards and give into the fire raging inside me. Cracks split up both of my arms, each ripe with dark brown fur. I feel it. The sudden rush of anger taking hold. Of the wolf locking into place like a dead bolt.

Viktor charges, knocking over anyone in his path, a furious dash on all fours gaining speed. I run at him head-on, skin peeling back and falling on the tarmac behind me. Neither of us falter. We only pick up the pace and ready ourselves for the impending crash of two brothers hellbent on ending the other. The distance closes quickly, and when I leap in the air, my transformation reaches its peak. My human form shreds off of me under the weight of the wolf taking hold, and while I’ve given in to the curse, I am conscious. Aware. Able to watch as we descend on the massive creature beneath us.

Snapping his jaws for my thigh, Viktor is rewarded with four distinct claws dragging down the length of his large snout. A violent howl escapes him, and blood adds to the spittle stringing on his canines. I don’t let up. Viktor’s arms and chest are the next victim, my nails burying to the bone effortlessly. He tries to evade the attacks, but we’re too fast for something his size to keep up with. One. Two. Three more vicious slashes to his back and spine, each claw digging deeper.

Watch out for— my wolf says as I duck the elbow meant to stop me with impressive ease. It’s hard not to notice a difference in my reflexes. It’s almost as if I can sense what this monstrosity will do before the thought even registers in that thick, sadistic head. He’s being bested, and every scratch, each thrust of my claws, brings a sweet satisfaction. His shoulder. His thigh. The meatiest part of his calf are casualties to my ruthless assault.

Dimitri lifts Natalia into the helicopter, securing the seat belt around her waist. She fought him the entire way. Didn’t stop until she saw us both shift into the things the parents of Samara warn their children about at bedtime.

There’s no stopping this brutal onslaught now, not when I drive my fangs into Viktor’s neck, clawed hand digging into his chest past the first few fleshy layers. In one smooth motion, I rip my hand downward, taking both skin and fur and replacing it with blood. The monster collapses to one knee. It isn’t surrender. No, my brother and his wolf have just been outmatched. Vicious roars dampen the whirling helicopter blades disrupting the airfield. Each more pain-filled than the last. Viktor’s eyes flash from black to a color I recognize. The same shade he had before the animal inside him took complete control.

He deserves this. I know he does. My brother has to be stopped. But looking in the terrified eyes of an animal readying itself for death is something I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. He tried to kill me. Almost killed my friends. My Natalia. And yet, I can’t stop looking into the frightened gaze of my little brother.

We agreed to do this my way, my wolf urges as I rip Viktor’s head back by the snout and take hold of his snapping jaws at both ends. I pull each side apart like a bear trap, ignoring how his teeth cut through my fingertips and add fresh blood to my palms. It takes all of my strength to stretch the jowls past their breaking point. Another inch and Viktor’s mouth might crack out of place. Any farther … the top half of his jaw will rip off completely.

Strangled gasps work from his exposed throat as his arms flail helplessly to the sides.

My wolf is right. I know that my brother deserves every ounce of pain we inflict on him. He’s earned what’s coming. But how can I? How can I be okay with killing him?

He won’t stop.

I know.

Your brother will kill anyone that stands between him and what he thinks is rightfully his. You. Your pack. Everyone you’ve ever cared for.

I want to scream. Curse out every horrible thought twisting my stomach. Even at the center of this monstrous shell, I feel the tendons and muscles in my arms waning. I’m losing my grip, and who knows how long it’ll be before Viktor finds a way to escape this hold. A way to avoid his own execution.