Page 56 of Salvation

Emmett laughed. Cackled was more like it, and the sound carried over the harsh landscape.

“Whatcha gonna do with that, honey?”

Club your brains out,she wanted to shout. But her hand shook and her knees wobbled, and he laughed again.

“You don’t want to mess with me, honey.”

“You don’t want to mess with me,” she barked through clenched teeth.

Anger flashed in his eyes as he studied her. “You know, I was going to go easy on you.” His eyes traveled the length of her body, making her skin crawl. “I was going to make it quick. But maybe I’ll teach that bear a lesson.” He nodded to himself, considering some new plan. “Wouldn’t it just drive him crazy to find out he wasn’t the last man who fucked that little human of his?”

“Leave her alone!” the young woman screamed.

Anna didn’t know whether to run or hold her ground or strike out before the madman did.

Do something!her whole body screamed.

The young woman sounded desperate enough to be an ally, but Anna didn’t have time to free her. The path out was narrow, so she couldn’t fake a move in one direction then dart in another to get around Emmett.

“Don’t bother. You’re gonna die,” he said in a flat tone. Like it was inevitable. Mechanical. Impossible to avoid. “And the others, too. Every single one of them.”

Her mind flashed with images of Sarah and the others. Jessica. Soren. Simon. Janna. Cole. And Todd, God, please, not Todd. Not any of them!

“And that baby. That fucked-up mongrel has to die.”

She froze, gaping at him. Surely he didn’t mean little Teddy. Surely no one was sadistic enough to want a child dead?

His eyes were cold and calculating, telling her he was.

Not the baby. God, not the baby.

Todd!her soul screamed, desperate for a connection with someone. Desperate to warn him so he could warn the others.

“You shouldn’t have gotten mixed up with that dirty Voss clan.” Emmett shook his head.

“What are you talking about?”

“They shouldn’t have crossed species lines!” he roared.

Anna rocked back on her heels.

“Leave her alone!” the young woman screamed.

“The hell I will!” Emmett yelled, turning purple with rage. “This is just what Victor worked so hard to stamp out.”

Anna shook her head. Who the hell was Victor?

Emmett’s tirade went on. “Bears mixing with wolves. Wolves mixing with humans. They dilute the bloodlines. They weaken us all!”

Anna shook her head. God, he really was nuts.

“Victor was just as crazy as you are!” the young woman yelled back.

“You’ll see,” he snarled back. “Someday, shifters of all species will thank us for our work.”

Shifters? A memory from the furthest reaches of her mind stirred. Bears…wolves… Like the stories Sarah had once told her about. Of men who could change shapes from human to animal. Of animals who could shed their skins and walk on two feet. It sounded so romantic at the time, but even as kids, they’d known the idea of shifters was ridiculous.

This man didn’t seem to think it was ridiculous. But clearly, he was out of his mind.

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