Dark Empathy by Archibald Bradford (inspiring books for teens TXT) 📕

“Stop hitting yourself! Why are you hitting yourself?!” She taunted with a snarl.

“Ow! Fuck- off!”

Overpowered as she was, there was nothing Bethany could do against the childish treatment.

“Shouldn’t... we stop them?” Nameless asked uncertainly, looking between Miranda and Benjamin.

The gruff woman let out a relieved sigh before answering.

“Yup.”

“Probably.” Benjamin agreed without making a move.

Grant frowned at the senior operatives.

“Yes we most definitely should.”

Miranda raised her eyebrow.

“It was Grant right?”

He nodded.

“Well Grant, that woman has it coming. Believe me.”

“All the same ma’am, we do have a cadet here.”

“What, him?” Miranda glanced at her former student; “Nah, he’s a knucklehead, won’t learn a thing from any of this.”

Nameless shifted in place uncomfortably as Grant rolled his eyes.

“Bruti, Linda.”

He made a vague gesture toward the tussling pair and the blood-smeared bear girl shambled forwards to hoist the snarling and struggling rabbit off of the arms dealer while Linda began to encase Bethany’s wrists and ankles with her clay, trapping the bleeding and defeated woman against the ground.

But as the Gnome worked to bind the arms dealer, a snarl sounded all around and suddenly Lilly and her pack swarmed them, shoving anyone and everyone aside as the pack-leader lunged for the bound woman.

Bruti growled as her earlier rage returned for a moment, but she pushed it down and pulled away, keeping the Lapine in her arms clear of the suddenly aggressive monster girls.

Meanwhile a startled Linda let out an oddly slow clipped scream as the powerful Wolfen tore her stone away and gripped the now-terrified arms dealer’s face with one powerful hand.

Lilly’s claws dug deep into Bethany’s cheeks as she hefted her screaming into the air, the human clutching her wrist helplessly.

“Turn away, all of you. You don’t need to see what comes next.” Her words came out in a barely comprehensible snarl.

Grant’s mouth was held open in shock and Bruti growled again at the harsh order from the deadly pack-leader.

“Stop! It’s over!” Benjamin cried out, his indifference at the bunny girl’s revenge was set aside as he tried to shove his way past the other Wolfen.

“Almost.” The monster growled again; “However indirectly, she took one of my pack. Her life is mine!”

Rebecca’s own anger was forgotten as she saw the blood trickling down Bethany’s face, she couldn’t help but turn into Bruti’s strong embrace and hold her ears close to her head as a muffled cry came from the struggling woman.

“P-please!” The broken criminal begged, all of her bluster gone as death stared her down.

Lilly’s eyes narrowed as she listened to her beg for her life.

But then a golden aura of calm washed over her as Volka stepped beside her, the other Wolfen not daring to stop her.

The wolf turned to face the Valkyrie’s neutral expression.

“If you do this, I will not allow you to shield the act with your rage. This will be a conscious choice, one that you will have to live with.”

Her words were neither approving nor condemning.

Even with her feelings held in check by the angel’s aura though, Lilly made the decision in seconds.

“For Katie.” She whispered.

Her arm twisted Bethany’s head to one side, allowing room for her teeth to close on her neck with a violent snarl.

With one final scream, Bethany Sinclair was no more.

“Dammit Lilly.” Miranda cursed quietly.

Even the veteran operative had to turn away from the grisly sight as the Wolfen tore out her victim’s throat.

There was a shocked silence from everyone, broken only by the sound of the pack-leader chewing.

With blood on her face, Lilly tossed the fresh corpse to the ground at her feet then looked to the sky and let loose with an echoing howl of vengeance finally sated.

Volka sighed and hung her head.

“So be it.”

Lilly’s wolves quickly mirrored their pack-leader’s howl before descending on Bethany’s body and tearing her to pieces, each of them making the same choice she had.

Even blocked from his sight as it was, the sound of the pack taking their revenge on Carol, or Bethany, or whoever, made Nameless more than a little queasy.

From the expression on his face, Benjamin looked ready to do more than simply curse at the Wolfen, but Volka’s calming presence descended on him as well.

“The warrior tribes have always had their own means of meting out justice, while my people have ever strived to ensure their souls could withstand the cost of it.” Volka said quietly; “It is done, Aegis. And there are wounded that need tending.”

Benjamin turned back to the angel and met her calm expression.

A moment later he nodded as he found his priorities again, quickly looking to the other Aegis personnel.

“She’s right. Sound the all clear for the medics, triage protocol, all of you. And someone get those two with the other prisoners, no more bloodshed today.”

He gestured at the two men Milly had knocked over, his words made even more affecting as they were punctuated by the sound of the Wolfen pack’s grisly feast.

“I-I’ll do it.” The slightly green looking Minotaur promised.

Handing her spear off to Volka, she hefted one of the stunned men over each shoulder; both were either too hurt or too afraid to struggle against her as she carried them off to join the other prisoners.

And just like that, they won the day.

Chapter 41:

Their Sacrifice

With the fighting over and the medics doing their work, the Aegis descended on the machine shop and the scrap-yard adjacent to it with gusto, scouring the place for every piece of illegal technology present.

Miranda was helping, though she was doing so against the wishes of her bond-mates.

Sitting on an overturned barrel and directing them in their work, she paused when she caught sight of the lonely looking Lapine: