Page 37 of Deception

Now!her wolf barked.This is our chance. Run!

She spun and pushed between two men, making a break for it.

“Hey!” one shouted.

The other grabbed for her, but she darted forward just in time.

“Get her! Run!”

Oh, she’d run, all right. Summer ran like she’d never run before, pumping her arms, denying herself a glance back.

Gravel scraped as the men took up the chase. Her mind spun. How far was it back to the settlement? Could she possibly outrun these men?

Let me out,her wolf cried.We’re faster on four feet.

True, but shifting would slow her down for a split second. Did she have enough of a lead?

The air whooshed behind her as the nearest man grabbed for her shirt. He was close. Too close to escape for long.

Then fight. Fight for your life. If they use dirty tactics, we can too,her wolf barked.

She ran up the first part of the slope then whipped around and kicked as hard as she could, sending the nearest man tumbling against the others.

Now, run. Run!

She ran, and when the slope grew steeper, she clawed at the scree with her hands and feet. She crested the ridge ahead of the men, raced around a corner—

—and smashed right into a wall of rock.

Whoa. She blinked as two arms steadied her. Make that a wall of muscle, not rock.

“Summer,” the wall murmured, setting her back on her feet.

Drew. It was Drew. She would have thrown herself into a hug if it weren’t for the footsteps rushing up from behind.

“Summer,” he said again, but this time, it was a rumble of warning.

She stared, because she’d never seen Drew red with anger. She’d never seen his eyes flash with such hate. This was a different Drew — and yet the same, because the side of him that brushed her body was gentle and warm. Protective.

He pushed her behind the shelter of his body as Gretchen’s gang stopped short in front of them.

“You,” Mett hissed in a voice full of poison.

Drew didn’t say anything. He only growled. So low and deep, it could have been thunder from over the hills.

Everyone froze, but the air crackled with energy. The air around Drew shimmered the way heat shimmered over a highway, signaling a shift. His growl dropped an octave. His shirt split down his back as he tipped forward onto all fours. One second, he was human, and the next, a giant black bear stood at her side.

A massive bear whose coat shook with fury as he reared up on his hind legs, looming over her.

Make that protecting her. The looming effect was intended for the others. And damn, it seemed to work, because Mett and his cousins stood perfectly still, teetering on the razor’s edge between panic and testosterone-fueled instinct to fight.

Drew bared huge teeth, spread paws as big as baseball mitts, each flashing with six-inch claws, and roared.

Try me,that roar said.Try me.

Chapter Ten

Drew sucked in a deep breath as the wolves before him shifted and growled.

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