Driven by Dean Murray Page A

chance of taking out
at least the closest werewolf. Nothing looked very promising.
    From
the outside I'd thought that this section of the building had escaped
damage from the fire that had destroyed everything else. Now that I'd
stopped running quite as fast and was taking the time to examine my
surroundings, I was realizing how far off base I'd been. This part of
the building had been damaged too, but the fire had mostly been
confined to the roof and tops of the walls.
    In
fact, the faint starlight coming in through the gaping holes up above
me was the only reason I was able to see anything at all. At first
glance the walls seemed to be coated with the sound-absorbing panels
I'd noticed earlier in the hall, but as I brushed up against one of
the walls I realized that wasn't quite the case. The panels were
exactly what I was expecting, but they were backed with something
soft and flexible that made them give more than they would have
otherwise.
    I
still sometimes had a hard time going directly from wolf to hybrid
form. For whatever reason it was easier for me to shift to human form
first, so I shifted to two legs as I walked ever deeper into the
testing area.
    It
wasn't until I started referring to it that way inside of my own mind
that I realized it was the perfect description of what I was inside.
The factory had apparently manufactured soundproofing material and
this had obviously been where they'd tested out new products. There
was even a complicated metal framework in the ceiling with what
looked like attachment points for microphones.
    In
some ways I'd just found the perfect place from which to launch an
ambush of the werewolf that had been following me. The stench meant
that it wouldn't be able to smell me waiting for it, and the panels
robbed the sound from my steps before the vibrations had a chance to
travel more than a foot or two through the air.
    That
was the difference between Alec and me though. I was capable of
improvising on the fly, of using my rage and riding it to victories,
but Alec could do that and more. He was a much better tactician than
I was.
    Alec
would have already come up with a dozen different scenarios that
offered at least a possibility of him being able to come out on top
of what was following me, but all I could think about was just how
fast and strong the last werewolf I'd faced had been.
    I
was tired and despite the anger bubbling up from my beast, I was
scared, but I found a dark corner room that seemed like it was going
to be my best bet and prepared to shift again.
    My
heart nearly stopped when my phone started buzzing. I practically
tore a hole in my ha'bit trying to get it out before it could vibrate
a second time.
    Jasmin,
it's Rachel. Don't worry, it can't hear you or me right now. I'm
calling you now, it's vitally important that you take my call.
    Almost
before I'd even had a chance to finish reading the message the screen
lit up with an incoming call. I answered it out of little more than
reflex. I hadn't had a chance to finish processing the implication of
her words, but I couldn't bear to let a chance to talk to her slip
through my fingers.
    "Rach,
now isn't a good time."
    "I
know, you've got three werewolves chasing you and you're cornered
inside of a series of soundproof rooms."
    "How
can you possibly know that?"
    "I
know a lot these days, Jasmin. In fact I went to quite a lot of
trouble getting you here at this exact instant. There were a lot of
other ways this could have gone down; I had to work really hard to
make sure that you had a chance to survive this."
    Something
about her words made bits and pieces of information click into place
for me that I hadn't realized still needed to fit together.
    "The
only reason that I'm here is because of you, Rach. If I'd just gotten
gas when you called last time, or if I'd taken a slightly different
route, I wouldn't have ever run into these three monsters."
    "You're
right. Believe it or not, I had to go to a bit of effort to make