Werewolf CEO 4, page 31
Mitch let out a low, guttural groan as his jaw snapped open, and his human teeth started to be pushed out of his mouth by long, yellow fangs. His gray eyes bored into mine, and I could see the pure agony he was in before they rolled into the back of his head.
He squeezed his eyes shut as his face started to morph into a horrific snout, and when his eyes shot open again, they were completely green. No whites, no pupils… just pure, neon green.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered as I took in his new form.
He’d done exactly what Arlo Whitlock had done, but to an even more extreme extent. He’d turned himself into a true monster, and I knew, just like Arlo, that there was nothing of the sick and deranged man left. But I’d take the regular Mitch over whatever monstrosity he’d become any day.
He couldn’t form words anymore, but I knew he’d done this in a last desperate attempt to get revenge. I had just foiled his plans, and he had nothing else to give except this.
Before I could react, one of his meaty hands shot out and wrapped around my throat. He squeezed, and I saw stars form in front of my eyes as the bastard pulled me away from the pole with ease.
I scrambled as he dangled me out in front of him, and I clawed at his hand in a desperate attempt to make sure I didn’t fall.
“Josh!” I heard Emily scream from the balcony of the one hundred and third floor.
New York was like an open mouth below, ready to consume me, and I dug my nails even harder into Mitch’s thick, hairy wrist. My vision was going black as he squeezed without mercy, but I wasn’t going down without a fight.
Even if he did have me dangling a thousand feet in the air.
There was only thing I could think of to get me out of his grip, and it was fucking insane. If I used my feet and pushed against his chest hard enough, he would let go. But that would mean I’d plummet, either down to the cement ground a thousand feet below, or to the lower level of the spire.
I was running out of time before he squeezed the life out of me, so I made the decision.
“Fuck you, Mitch,” I gasped out before I kicked my legs and gained enough momentum to brace them on his chest.
Mitch just growled and tightened his grip on me, unaware of what I was trying to do. But as I slowly started to push more of my strength against his chest, I felt his firm grip loosen.
I dug my fingers into the meat on his hand as I felt my neck start to slide out of his grip. I could feel my legs shaking from the sheer force of the push, but I kept going, even if I was scared shitless about falling to my death.
I kept on looking into the burning pools of neon, even as I finally ripped myself free from his grip and started to free fall.
I heard Emily scream out my name one last time before the wind rushed past my ears.
For a brief moment, it was like time had stopped. It didn’t feel like I was falling. It was like I was completely suspended in time. I could see Emily reaching out for me on the lower balcony, and I could see the illuminated mosaic that was New York far below me, but I wasn’t scared.
Mitch had once compared himself to Icarus, and at this moment, I guess I was him. Except I had no intention of crashing into the sea.
As time started to quickly catch up with me, I used every ounce of wolf strength I had to boost myself through the air and closer to the metal foundation of the Empire State Building.
As I quickly barreled toward a solid surface, Emily reached her hand out to me while the other held onto the metal framework.
I slammed into the side of the steel plate flooring with a yell, and Emily desperately reached out for me.
My eyes widened as I clung to one of the poles, and with my mate’s help, I slowly pulled myself up.
“Jesus, Josh, you’re goddamn insane!” Emily cried out as suddenly threw her arms around my neck.
“It worked,” I mumbled in realization before I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist and squeezed her close.
I wasn’t the only one who had come to that realization, though. Mitch stared down at us with a furious rage as he realized I hadn’t plummeted to my death, and with a mighty roar, he started to clamber down the antenna at alarming speed.
“Shit, come on,” Emily urged as she pulled me up and started to scale down the last bit of the spire.
I quickly followed and rolled off the side platform so I could slide down the remainder. It was just in time, too, as Mitch jumped like the Hulk from the pylon and slammed into the space where I’d just been laying.
My eyes widened at the dent he left behind in the metal, and Emily tugged me into the small circular room just before he could slam down onto the cement below me outside.
Mitch roared as he missed me again, and he slammed his fists into the cement wall on either side of the metal door we’d stumbled in through.
I pushed Emily behind me as I faced off with him, and hot air huffed out of my nostrils as I shifted into my Supreme form. Even though I grew in height, strength, muscle, and power, I was still nothing compared to what Mitch had become.
“Come on,” I goaded him. “Come on, you son of a bitch!”
The beast that was Mitch let out a terrifying howl, and black spit flew out of his mouth as his whole head shook. Then he started running at me with immense speed. The floor reverberated with every step, and I quickly shoved Emily out of his line of fire. I held my ground, and at the very last second, I ducked down low and sucker punched his gut as hard as I could.
The impact would have shattered my fist if I wasn’t shifted, and even in my Supreme form, I felt the vibrations shoot all the way up my arm and ache. It was like a flash of hot pain that quickly numbed my arm, but it had done the trick.
Mitch heaved with wide eyes and staggered back, and that gave me enough time to uppercut his jaw. The bones in my hand groaned in disapproval, but I pushed through the pain as I took advantage of his brief moment of weakness.
His head snapped from side to side as I punched him in a quick flurry of blows, but he didn’t seem all too phased. In fact, he just kept staring blankly at me with those bright green eyes every time I channeled my force into a hit.
It’s not working! Emily stressed. He’s too strong!
The cherry-haired Beta grabbed one of the slabs of concrete wall Mitch had knocked out when he entered and threw it into the air in front of me.
Kick it! she shouted down the bond.
My foot swung out instinctively, and I kicked the falling piece of debris with a staggering amount of force straight into his chest. I fell back from the momentum, and I watched as Mitch let out a grating shriek.
He keeled over as bright green vomit ejected out of his gaping mouth, and he heaved as the sudden impact winded him. I scrambled back from the liquid in disgust, but then he did something I didn’t expect.
For a split second, there was a flicker of something other than primal rage in his eyes. He looked down at the green vomit he’d just thrown up, and then his head whipped up, like he was looking through the ceiling and to the antenna.
To the device.
I didn’t know the science behind how that thing worked, but clearly he’d have to have enough of the serum to put in there in order for it to turn into gas. What he’d had in the vial he’d used to turn himself into this thing wouldn’t have been enough, otherwise he would have put that in there rather than himself.
But if he could throw up enough of that disgusting goo that not only had the serum he’d just drank in, but whatever else his body was full of before we’d got to him, he could possibly have enough to finish the job. I didn’t know how the serum held up against his gastric acid, but I wasn’t about to take the chance.
“No,” I whispered as it all finally clicked. “No, don’t you dare!”
Mitch tilted his head, and a twisted grin found its way onto his fucked-up face before he burst back out the door and started to scramble up the building again. I could hear his heavy footsteps reverberating off the metal, and the timer was back on.
“What do we do?” Emily asked as her wide yellow eyes darted from me to the doorway. “Josh, how the hell are we supposed to stop him?”
It felt like my brain was running a thousand miles a second as I tried to come up with a plan. My eyes darted rapidly across the floor as I tried to think of anything, but then I spotted another vial next to where Mitch had fallen down to his knees.
I scrambled over to it without even thinking, and I pulled off the cap. It must have fallen out of his pocket at some point without him even realizing. And while I didn’t want to risk turning into what he had, I felt like I didn’t have much of a choice.
“Josh, no,” Emily said sternly. “You can’t!”
“He injected me with it before,” I said breathlessly as I held the vial against my lips. “It didn’t turn me into a monster. I still had control.”
“But what if this time it’s different?” Emily pleaded. “What if this is stronger?”
“It’s a risk I’ll have to take,” I said with a sad smile. “I’ll finish him off. Even if it takes every ounce of strength, even if I turn into what he is, I will finish him off, Emily. I promise.”
“But what about you?” the cherry-haired Beta whimpered, and I could see tears shining in her yellow eyes.
“I guess we’ll find out,” I said as my hands trembled. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I could handle it.”
“Josh, I--”
“If anyone can handle this, it’s me,” I quickly cut her off. “I’m a Supreme Alpha. I’ve had the serum before. There’s not enough time to argue about this, Emily. Not if we want to stop him.”
“Alright,” my mate said reluctantly. “Do it.”
I let out a small sigh of relief at her agreement, and then I tipped the vial of liquid into my mouth. The taste was sharp and bitter, and it made me wince as I swallowed it. It felt like sludge dripping down my throat, and I fought back a wretch at the denseness of it.
As soon as the first drop hit my stomach, though, I felt the change. My eyes widened, and my breath hitched in my throat. It felt like I’d inhaled crisp, cool air, and every single essence and faint trace of smell was suddenly a thousand times stronger than what it already was.
It was like I could suddenly see in 8K, too, and I could see every single faint detail and pore on Emily’s face as she stared at me from the corner of the room she had slowly backed up into.
I frowned in confusion as to why she looked so scared, with wide eyes and an almost white face, but then I realized I was looming over her, at least ten feet off the ground, just like Mitch.
I looked down and saw my hands were no longer the humanoid clawed ones I was used to, but were more wolf-like than ever. My body, which had torn completely out of my dad’s suit, was covered in thick wads of dark hair, and I could suddenly hear the rumbling noise I made as I breathed out of a snout.
“Josh,” Emily whispered. “Is that still you?”
The transition had been completely painless, and I hadn’t even noticed it. It was like my body had protected me from the pain. Either that, or I handled the serum completely differently to how everyone else did.
“Still… me…” I grumbled out in a deep, gravelly voice that would be enough to send any courageous man running for the hills.
“Good,” the cherry-haired Beta said breathlessly. “Let’s do this then.”
I grunted and flexed my bulging muscles that were covered in varicose green veins. It was like I was piloting a huge truck, and all I could do was stay in the front seat. My body didn’t feel like my own, but at least I was still me deep inside of it.
I moved one of my huge legs toward the door, and the ground shook. Then I moved the other, and the other, until I finally reached the small frame and managed to squeeze my body through it.
Emily followed close behind me, and I could tell she was still sizing me up from behind. Once we were back out onto the balcony, however, we were both locked in and ready to chase after Mitch, who was already at the top of the spire again.
I could hear his retching noises clear as day, and now that I had become this beast, the wind was nothing more than a gentle breeze against my ears. Mitch heaved up as much vomit as he could and was sticking his mottled clawed hand down his throat, no doubt scratching his trachea to shit and forcing himself to be sick.
I growled before I jumped up from the ground and suddenly went flying twenty feet into the air. My arms and legs scrambled for a moment as I free fell, but then I lurched forward and landed on the metal landing I’d almost fallen from moments earlier.
Mitch wasn’t kidding. This serum really did create a super wolf, and I could see why he wanted me to be his number one test subject. With the knowledge that I was virtually unstoppable, or at least, enough to stop Mitch, I forced myself up again. I shot up another ten feet and gripped the metal of the spire, before I did it again, and again, and again, until I’d finally reached Mitch.
Emily was close behind me, and I could see her quickly crawling up the side like she’d done on our first climb. She was insanely fast, especially considering that she didn’t have any serum inside of her. But then again, there was a reason why she’d offered to come with me, and I knew it had been the right decision to let her.
The feral beast snapped his vomit-covered jaws at me, and I snapped my own back as I lurched for him. I managed to grab his meaty arm in my own, and I tugged.
Before, he wouldn’t have moved an inch, but now, I was strong enough to force his weight away from the antenna. Mitch roared as he was flung from the spire, but he suddenly reached out and gripped my arm.
I braced my weight and his on the metal bracings, and I grunted as I tried to keep myself steady.
Mitch dug his claws into the flesh on my thigh, and I howled in pain as I felt him tear the tendons.
“Josh!” Emily shouted in a panicked voice and used a free hand to punch Mitch in the face.
The super wolf was unaffected, and he carried on clinging onto me with those feral green eyes. I could feel my grip slipping, even in this form, and I knew I had to do something about it before we both plummeted off this building.
Em, I managed to growl down the bond. .
What? my mate asked in confusion.
Make him try and grab you, I said. If he holds on any longer, we’ll both fall. Just be careful.
A-Alright, she said before she reached out her hand and pulled on his hair.
Mitch hissed and automatically ripped one of his hands away from me to take a swipe at Emily, but she dodged back just in time and started scaling the side of the antenna.
“Come on, you big oaf!” she shouted down at him.
Mitch’s bright green eyes darted from me to Emily, who was nearing the device filled with his vomit, and he growled as he tried to pick who to go for first.
My grip was still slipping, but I clung on with everything I had as Mitch made up his ruined mind. The wolf finally growled and swung his body from left to right until he could reach the antenna again. I gritted my teeth as he used my body as a stabilizer, but as soon as he tore his claws from me, I started to race to the top of the antenna.
Mitch was hot on our heels, and he roared as I started to kick and pull at the device filled with oozing serum. Before, it had been immoveable, but now, the metal started to warp and churn as I tugged.
The liquid inside sloshed back and forth as I started to tear it from where Mitch had welded it onto the antenna, and just before the beast could reach out a hand to stop me, I finally pulled it free.
The momentum almost pulled me down as I thrashed out my arm, and without any hesitation, I let it drop. The hunk of metal bounced off the spire and catapulted from the side of the building before it started to plummet to the ground.
I knew Hutch had evacuated this part of the city, so I wasn’t concerned about it falling on anyone’s head and crushing them.
But I still had Mitch to deal with now.
The super wolf slowly turned his head from where he had been looking down at the destroyed device, and his bright green eyes burned even hotter with molten rage.
“Come on,” I growled as I beckoned him closer. “Why don’t you hurry up and finish it?”
The feral rasp that escaped Mitch’s throat echoed in the cool night air, and in the blink of an eye, he was scrambling up the antenna after me. Emily and I rushed further up as fast we could go, and I spotted the thick, sharp point of the antenna nearing us.
Josh, how are we supposed to finish him off? Emily asked as she maneuvered around the other side of the antenna to put some space between her and Mitch.
My eyes darted to the sharp spike again, and I realized that was the quickest and safest way to rid all of us of Mitch while we were up at this height.
I have a plan, I said as I looked back down at the advancing creature. You need to trust me on this. Just stay out of the way until I have him where I want him.
What? my mate asked in confusion.
I didn’t respond. Instead, I started climbing up the remaining stretch of metal, and I could feel the vibrations as Mitch thundered after me. Just as I reached the top, I turned around, with one hand supporting my weight.
Mitch leaped at me like a lion striking at its prey, and in his hellish fury, he was too worked up to see my hand shooting out to grab his throat. He choked as the side of my hand shattered his windpipe, and I slammed his body against the thinning pole.
He let out a hoarse shout, but I started to drag him as far as I could without losing my balance. We were almost at the top of the antenna. All we needed now was to push his weight onto the spike, and he’d be incapacitated.
Em, I grunted as I shot my hand out and grabbed one of his thrashing arms. Em, now!
I snapped the bone in half, which caused him to cry out, and I banged his head against the metal spike, hard enough to do some serious brain damage.
Then I roared as I shoved him as hard as I could over the top of the point, while Emily leaped up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him down. The tip of the antenna pierced straight through his chest and into his heart, and I heard it slowly start to stop beating as our weight pulled his body further down the metal rod.
