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The car plowed into the creature, the metal of its hood folding back from the impact as the beast was thrown through the air to land roughly on the gravel road several yards away. The beast lay in a pool of blood with the white of its fractured ribs protruding out of its fur. Mark unfastened his seatbelt and staggered out of the wrecked vehicle onto the road. So far things were going exactly as he’d planned but he knew at best he’d only bought the team a few minutes to get into position. The lycanthrope was far from dead.

Sam, who’d been the bait to lure the monster out onto the road, was already closing on the beast, his AK-47 chattering as its rounds tore and shredded the monster’s flesh. Alex followed in Sam’s wake preparing himself for his part in the team’s plan to take the lycanthrope alive.

The wolf stood up. Its bones were already healed though it still leaked blood from the dozens of bullet holes from Sam’s continued attack. “Now!” Sam screamed at Alex. Alex locked eyes with the beast as its howls of rage and pain filled the night air. Alex strained to hold on to the thing’s mind with his own. The beast’s rage was red and powerful. Blood poured from Alex’s nose and trickled from the corners of his eyes as he clamped down on the thing’s anger and switched it off. The lycanthrope stood motionless for a second then collapsed onto the roadway. Alex himself fell to his knees, his face a tortured look of pain. He watched as Mark strolled over to the creature and fired a massive tranquilizer dart, point blank, into its skull.

“You can let go now, Alex,” he heard Sam saying to him. Alex released his hold on the beast’s mind as Sam helped him to his feet. Alex wiped at the blood on his face with the back of his hand. “I… I didn’t think I was going to be able to take him there for a second. It must have been Jacob’s psi training.”

“But you did,” Sam smiled. “Jacob knew better than to try to leave the Team, Alex. Someone had to bring him in before he killed anyone else.”

Mark walked over to join them where they stood. “Trust me, Alex, it was for the best. The Team always takes care of its own. Jacob was a valuable member but you know he wasn’t exactly stable. This was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“We’d better pack him up and get out of here,” Sam informed them. “We’ve still got that bloodsucker over in New Bern to deal with tonight.”

Alex managed to nod weakly as the team’s cleanup vans made their way down the road towards them.