Free The Shepard's Agony by Mandy Rosko

He felt exactly as he did when he woke up that morning. Human.
    “ Evey, we need some help. The Shepards found our Moon Night spot and attacked us .” John shot Shepard a dirty look and Dianna ducked her head away shamefully. “They’re still in the area. We’re going to need you to help us fight them.”
    “Wait a minute! No one said anything about that!” When Gwen mentioned Evey, Shepard assumed she would bring the vampire back to their pack to help with the injured while he went back to the barn and convinced his father that it was time to leave. What they did wasn’t right, but they didn’t deserve to die for it.
    “ Keep your mouth shut, Hunter ,” John sneered.
    Evey’s eyes looked from one man to the other in cautious curiosity.
    “You’re not going to attack my family!” Shepard yelled, his fists balled and ready for a fight.
    “You mean like how your family attacked mine? You lousy hypocrite!”
    That was the last straw, Shepard swung at him in a blind rage, but John caught his wrist in a steel grip and smashed his elbow into his nose. Shepard fell on his back with John immediately on him.
    “ Don’t think that because you’re changing you’re stronger than me ,” he hissed, angry fangs extended and hair sprouting on his face, struggling not to change in his own anger.
    Shepard wasn’t worried about that, or even his bleeding nose and damaged pride. He was too shocked to discover that the Were above him knew he was going through a change.
    John chuckled at the face he made. “You didn’t think I’d scratched you by accident , did you?”
    “ You did this to me on
purpose
?
”
    “ You’re damn right I did! Now you’ll know what it’s liked to be hunted! To be shot at for doing absolutely nothing no reason aside from being alive!” John’s face took on a look of indifference. “Don’t think this means I won’t kill you, I still will . But , until then, you’re cursed like us. You’re going to die as one of the monsters you’ve been killing all your life and you’re going to feel how much pain a silver bullet can cause.”
    “ What’s his name again?” Evey asked . Shepard shoved John off of him and stood up before he could answer for him, wiping the blood away from his nose.
    “ David Shepard ,” he growled , emphasizing “ Shepard ”. Most creatures of the night either feared or despised that name, but he wasn’t about to hide who he was because he was outnumbered.
    Evey didn’t flinch at the name. “You’re seeing Gwen?”
    Shepard was the one who was stunned now. “You know?” He decided not to correct her on the fact that he and Gwen were no longer seeing each other. Any leverage he could get would be useful.
    “What are you talking about, Evey?” John asked, immediately suspicious.
    “ If this is the man Gwen is so desperately in love with , then neither of you will kill him,” Evey said.
    “ It was you!” John yelled, coming toward him with his fists clenched.
    Shepard stood his ground, ready to fight . Evey suddenly appeared between the two of them, staring John down and startling Shepard.
    Vampire speed.
    “I said no!”
    John stared into her eyes for a few seconds before rapidly blinking and turning his head away. “Don’t try that hypnotism garbage on me, Evey.”
    “ Don’t try to kill him and I won’t ,” she countered.
    Shepard wasn’t one to let another person defend him or fight his fights, but watching the cocky Were taking orders was amusing, so he allowed it.
    “Wait a minute,” Di said. “This is the guy who slept with Gwen and then left the next morning?”
    Shepard clenched his teeth. He should have known Gwen would tell her packmates about it and that they had drawn their own opinion of him from the low act.
    “It wasn’t like that.”
    “Oh yeah, then how was it like?” John growled.
    Sh epard crossed his arms. “Mind your own business.”
    John figured it out. “You found out what she was and ran scared then,