Page 47 of Faerie Hunted

I gathered my resources and Onyx and I moved in tandem. Our doors blew open, magic erupting out of us and swirling through the interior of the car like a whirlwind. The power lurking beneath his skin shifted his limbs in a blink, and from the periphery of my vision I caught sight of a massive wolf landing on all fours where a man had stood.

The wolf took off in an instant.

My half-shifter warrior form would be bigger, stronger, in case the others caught up to us. But I needed speed. Shards of panic bit into me as I called the change, a corona of magic swallowing me.

My wolf lifted to the surface and took over. My limbs lengthened, teeth growing sharper and claws digging into the soft rich earth when I landed as well. My senses tripled from my human and fae form, my awareness stretching until I knew two things without a doubt.

Noren was right behind me.

And some of the men at the roadblock were shifters in hot pursuit.

Their musky scents permeated the air around us and I took off without a sense of direction. The change hurt more without the full moon but the first pricks of pain trickled away as my muscles warmed.

This form was more natural. My wolf took control, uncaring about the thundering of my pulse. My tongue lolled out and I kept my head low for speed. Long strides took me far, over scrub, across streams, and through the underbrush.

There was no clear path ahead and I lost sight of Onyx somewhere in the gloom.

I’d find him again.

His scent was unmistakable, like fire on a cold winter night. And there was Noren only a few paces to my side, occasionally nudging me with his shoulder to get me to change direction.

My wolf was sleek, longer and closer to the ground with a pelt of pure black to help me blend into my surroundings. Noren towered over me even in this shape and was unnaturally silent when I tripped and crashed over a downed log.

He refused to leave my side and nosed me, urging me to get up.

Underbrush snapped behind us. The growl of the two wolves pursuing us grew louder and a howl split the night and raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

I bared my teeth.

Panting, I took off with as much speed as I could. Without warning, the spot on my arm where Madam Muerte’s corpse had bitten began to throb. It pulsed with an unnatural heat and I found myself missing my next step and losing my balance.

My snout plowed into the earth and I snapped my teeth and snorted to dislodge the dirt from my nostrils.

Noren huffed and glared at me with narrowed eyes.

My infection may have looked healed in the hospital but with every foot we ran in the forest, it grew hotter, scalding me. I fought against another flare-up of blood magic because Barbara wasn’t around to fix me this time.

I had to outrun the other shifters. I had to get somewhere safe, find Onyx, make it out of this mess.

Two massive wolves cut us off and I pulled up short before canines snapped inches from my face.

My heart lurched into my throat, my strength flagging more with every passing second as the two wolves circled me. Noren moved into place with his back arched in a protective stance.

Not now.

I couldn’t do this now. Not when I felt this way. Not when I might pass out and shift back into human form. I was as good as dead at that point.

The pain in my arm splintered higher into my shoulder, and when the nearest shifter snapped at me again, I yelped, backing up into Noren. He leaped to attention and stood on his back legs, bellowing out a warning.

The other two attacked him at the same time, coordinating their movements to snap at his sensitive underbelly. In the next beat, they changed as well. Their forms twisted, warped into halfling wolf form. Powerful warriors designed to stand a chance against something the size of a direwolf. They were as large as fully grown grizzlies and packed with muscle.

They swung at him and forced Noren back a step to avoid the hit. His rear claw stomped down dangerously close to my body and I was too slow to get out of the way.

My small yip of surprise startled him and in the moment he turned to look at me, the warriors moved.

They reached for him, with one moving high and the other low. Somehow they managed to get him between them and they forced him to the ground.

My chest constricted. I ran forward without thinking and the closest one kicked out at me. His hit landed on my shoulder and I buckled, yelping.

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