Free Alpha Pack 02 - Savage Awakening by J.D. Tyler Page A

trees at the building illuminated by moonlight. Not just any building, she realized, but an old abandoned church, as evidenced by crumbling walls, sagging roof, and the weeds dotting what once must’ve been a pretty lawn, the tallest of them sprouting almost to the bottom edge of the broken stained-glass windows.
    “What a fuckin’ disgrace,” Hammer hissed. “Using a house of God for the sick shit they’re doing.”
    The others muttered their wholehearted agreement.
    “Where are they hiding their cars?” Jax mused. “The lot is empty.”
    “Who cares? Let’s kick some ass.”
    “Damned straight.”
    Spirits ran high. She felt the adrenaline, the excitement among the Pack, not so different from when she and her fellow officers worked a dangerous call. But in that moment, she sensed a tangible bond among thesemen that ran deeper than what she had with her peers. These men truly were brothers in all but birth, their bond forged by blood, tears, and struggle.
    Moving soundlessly, they left cover, splitting into two groups. Nick led Hammer and Kalen directly to the front, while Jax headed around to the back, followed by Zan and Ryon. For no particular reason other than a gut feeling, because subjects who fled a scene typically hauled ass out the back way, Rowan opted to go with Jax’s team. What she expected was runners, maybe armed, perhaps a round or two popped off.
    What she wasn’t expecting was a full-out war.
    The back of the church erupted in a collective roar, black shadows detaching themselves from the doorway and several open windows. As prepared as the team believed themselves to be, it was immediately clear they were outnumbered—and facing something horribly familiar.
    “Not
those
fucking bastards,” Zan hissed, bringing up his hand cannon.
    “And this time they’ve got help.” With that, Jax shifted into a big gray wolf and ran to meet the enemy, leaving his clothes and human weapons in a pile on the ground.
    Rowan didn’t have a spare second to marvel at seeing a man shift into his animal for the first time. Fear for her new comrades propelled her forward and she dove for Jax’s discarded gun as Zan opened fire on a creature hell itself must’ve birthed.
    Like its buddies, the thing had leathery black wings, a stout, hairy body, and a greenish wrinkled and cracked face not even a mother could love. Salivadripped from razor-sharp teeth in its gaping mouth, and it rushed Zan, obviously intent on tearing the man to shreds.
    Zan’s shots barely slowed the beast, and it closed the gap, fast. In one fluid motion, Rowan raised her gun, sighted its head, and fired. The beast’s skull exploded, and it dropped in midstride, sliding to a halt at Zan’s boots.
    “Shit!” His face reflected the terror of his close call. Then he seemed to realize it wasn’t his shot that had brought the thing down, and he glanced around in confusion before rejoining the battle and assisting his friends.
    A surge of adrenaline flooded her veins. This invisibility stuff came in handy; too bad she couldn’t use it on the force. She took advantage now, though, picking off the ghouls left and right, doing her best to keep the ones closest to the men from reaching them. The Pack was too busy to investigate the source and the beasts were too stupid.
    But her luck was bound to run out. When one of the ugly bastards swung his head in her direction, yellow eyes meeting hers and blazing with hatred, she knew Sariel’s spell had finally worn off. In mute horror, she raised her gun, got off a shot as it charged. And missed.
    The beast closed the distance with dizzying speed. Just before it reached her, however, a silver ball of fur came from the left and launched itself at the creature. A wolf collided with the ghoul and they both went to the ground, the canine snarling, going for his enemy’s throat. He missed and the ghoul raked his side with knifelike claws, ripping through his coat. The wolf cried out, twisted, and resumed