Chapter 46

The sound of the doors leading down into the prison alerted everyone to the hunters. They had known they were coming, and had planned out what to do. All they had to do now, was execute their plan and take back the town. A simple, easy task, in theory.

Behind where the door opened stood a mountain of a man. He had tanned skin and kind hazel eyes. His large stature was imposing, but he could move with such grace and stealth that Ariel was still often surprised when he moved about and she didn't notice. The plan was simple. Ariel was the bait, he was to kick off the attack. The others who could fight were hiding in the cells, acting as though they were still trapped and injured. The alpha was hidden among them, needing more time to recover from his injuries.

The footsteps drew closer and Ariel shifted, standing down at the end of the corridor, furthest from the door. As it screeched open, the first of the hunters stopped.

"Well what do we have here?" He purred out, taking one hand off the gun he was holding.

"I told you one got out." He said over his shoulder to the other three men with him. Ariel flattened her ears against her head and took a step back, mimicking fear as the hunter slowly descended the steps.

"Easy now." The hunter called softly. "We just want to have a little chat, figure out how you got out a d how you managed to free some of your little friends." He continued, clearly doing his best to keep Ariel calm. She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. She was a wolf, not a child.

She backed away again, having to turn to the side as there was no more space behind her. She lowered her head, her tail tucked. She let out a deep growl, though that didn't seem to deter the hunter.

"Easy now." He crooned, still advancing slowly down the stairs. The other three hunters were right behind him. They moved as a group, the others looking into the cells to make sure the other wolves were away from the bars. They would point the guns at them, or hit the bars to cause them to whimper and cower away.

Once the last of them had cleared the door, Ariel shot a look to the man behind it. He shoved the door, which smashed against its frame, shaking the stone wall and nearly ripping the door itself from its hinges. He then lunged at the two hunters in the back, grabbing their weapons. At the same time, Ariel surged forward, grabbing the gun of the hunter that had been talking to her. They were fought off guard, and clearly not expecting a coordinated attack. The guns were tossed aside and the large man wrestled with the two hunters in the back. The last with his gun whipped around, but Ariel was faster and grabbed his gun as well. The hunter who had spoken to her grabbed her, but she held fast to the gun and as he tossed her aside and away, she took the gun with her.

She dropped the gun and faced the two men bearing down on her, knowing she could not dodge them effectively in the tight space. Instead she lowered her self closer to the ground, ears pinned and tail tucked. As they drew closer she would snap at their legs or arms, but they were slowly pushing her back.

Behind them, the large man had knocked out one of the hunters and was grappling with the other, trying to get a knife away from him. He was far too close to being cut by it, and it was worrying Ariel. She had no way of knowing if their knives were as insidious as their traps. One cut could spell death.

She let out a loud snapping bark as one of the men reached for her, latching onto his forearm. This caused him to shoot in pain and it distracted the other hunter just long enough for the man to get the upper hand. He yanked the knife away and punched the hunter in the face, knocking him head first into the metal bars.

With her teeth sunk into the hunter's arm, Ariel knew they would grab her. She tried to rip his arm clean off, but the other hunter grappled her and they both lifted her off the ground.

"Oi!" One of them shouted, the large man pausing, one of the guns in his hands now.

"Put it down, or we got this one here and now." The hunter growled. Ariel saw the man hesitate, and instead of remaining a hostage, she shifted. Her human form was farm smaller than her wolf form and she dropped to the floor through their arms. They scrambled to grab her again, but she rolled across the floor to the man and grabbed up a knife.

"Clever little bitch." The hunter hissed. The next sound was the gun going off. It was unbearably loud and Ariel had to drop the knife to cover her ears. In the confined space it was like a bomb had gone off. Once more the memories of her escape from the hinter town surfaced, causing her to whimper as she struggled with the pain in her head. Firing the gun inside had not been part of the plan. It was too risky. Clearly the man felt it was nessicary, despite the pain they were now all in. He and two other wolves grabbed up the guns and knives from the hunters, then killed the other two. Ariel had pushed herself into a corner, her hands still over her ears as she waited for them to stop ringing, and for the memories to fade again.