Page 44 of Under A New Moon

That, Galen, could work with.

He felt the beast uncoil and spread into his limbs. He couldn’t change again. Not here. Not yet. He was too big and unwieldy for the vehicle, and he’d hurt innocent civilians on his egress. No. He had to find Darla.

The sickening screech of metal on metal drowned out the sound of the screams. Galen’s sensitive ears rang even as the shifter reached for him. He dodged, keeping his eyes open for Darla’s form. Had she gotten out yet?

If so, she needed to run.

Out of all the things they’d faced, he didn’t want her meeting this creature’s teeth. He dodged by a hair’s breadth those fatal claws, then ripped one of the bars clean off and used it to block the next attack. He was the only thing that stood between the stupid, screaming humans and their deaths. But the thing would follow him. If he could lead it out…

“Run, Darla!” he heard himself scream. Could she even hear him? “Get out of here!!!”

Galen caught his foot beneath one of the chairs and kicked it hard, ripping it clean free of the welding. It flew through the hole and caught the shifter square in the face, sending it back several paces.

He exhaled a hot breath and squared up, ready to leap out of the hole after it.

But first, where was Darla?

He didn’t have time to question it for long when he found her, ignoring the desperate plea for her safety. She was already kicking up onto a bar as if to reach the roof. He watched her climb like a lithe little gymnast, throwing her feet against the ceiling’s emergency exit and disappearing through the gap she’d made.

And she was gone.

Galen let out a bellowing war-cry and charged the hole, but the shifter’s attention had strayed to something on the roof.No, he thought. He piked the pole at a sharp angle and ran at the shifter’s exposed throat.

No one would threaten his mate and get away with it. He still had a few scores to settle on that front, particularly with the bastard Sol and his goons.

Or, whatever was left of them.

The tip of his makeshift weapon nearly made contact before a shrieking fireball descended from above, landing square on its skull with a powerful kick. Her momentum not only surprised the shifter but crumpled it to the earth. Darla rolled away, unharmed, leaving Galen to pierce open-air with the pole.

He heaved at the absence and nearly toppled over the rising shifter.

It was bigger than he first thought, almost bigger than him. Screams still irritated his senses, and he wished they’d just shut up. He almost missed a brutal swipe, sidestepping before his legs were clawed out from under him.

“Hey! Big ugly!!” came the roar of Darla’s taunt.

Both Galen and the shifter stopped to look at her. Despite the terrible, horrible things they’d experienced, and the camaraderie they’d fostered in their short time together, he still wasn’t sure if she was talking tohim.

A hateful grin was plastered on her face. If Galen was being honest, it frightened him. But all her attention was on the massive shifter. “Yeah, you. I’m not finished yet!”

Thirty-Six

Darla

The taunt seemed to irritate the creature, who swept forward on massive legs. Darla steadied herself, watching every limb and even that slathering mouth. Sure, the shifter was a big one, and nasty as they came. But she’d taken out shifters before. This one was nothing special, despite its size.

Her attention homed in on her opponent as it neared.

It was big and slow.

If it got her, she was done for. But she had speed on her side. When it swiped, the strike went too wide, and she hardly had to move to avoid it. She jabbed up, catching the cords of its neck with an elbow.

With a hot whine, it spun about, catching its momentum with claws dragging through the pavement on a sharp squeal. Cars swerved to avoid the mess, their horns doing nothing to distract from its deadly intent. She could feel Galen somewhere behind her, awestruck at her casual sidestep. Darla liked being linked to him. It gave her a second sense when she needed it.

She could feel his pulse rise when the shifter clenched, giving her half a second longer to react. That was more than enough time. She ducked as it leaped, and it crashed into the mess it’d made of the bus.

Renewed shrieks echoed from inside, like a chorus of off-tune sopranos. Or a roller coaster ride gone wrong.

Galen, too, had managed to get out of the way. In his hand was a bright yellow stabilizer pole from the bus, its mangled tip aimed at the sidewalk. She grabbed his arm and yanked him back. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

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