Page 45 of Under A New Moon

He was stunned.

Both of them watched the shifter as it shook its rattled head. “Better get that pole back up,” she warned, nudging him. “Cause we’re out of time.”

He raised it.

The massive shifter growled.

“I don’t expect we’ll be getting another show from you, huh, Galen?”

“Not if I can help it,” he said over his shoulder.

Darla huffed in disappointment. Yeah, he was reckless in his secondary form but itwasthe right decision. Too many witnesses anyway.

It lunged.

He swiped, missing the skewer but bashing the creature over the head with a recovering strike. It landed on unsteady feet at a run, nearly toppling over. Darla could have sworn she saw its eyes cross. She grinned and charged at the creature, leaping onto its back and yanking its ears skyward. Her legs crossed around its neck in an attempt to deprive it of oxygen.

Unfortunately, that neck was just too big. She couldn’t link her foot under her knee to get a secure grip. It shook her off, its pelt rolling beneath her until she was thrown to the side, landing beneath it on her back. There was a gleam in its eyes.

I’ve got you now.

Its teeth came down to bite through her and she rolled. She still felt the impact of its muzzle against the asphalt, mere inches from where she’d been.

She kept rolling.

The shifter snorted and huffed, shaking its muzzle with whines that devolved into whimpering growls.Good, she thought, hoping it was in a world of pain.

Galen offered a hand, dragging her up without hesitation. “The hell were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking that you’re not using that weapon right!”

He bore his teeth at her. “Iwouldhave if you’d just waited.”

“I don’t have time to wait! Do you see this fucking thing?!”

As if to prove her point, it recovered, its muzzle bloodied from smashing its face into the ground. And it might have been missing a few teeth. Its next snarl wasn’t convincing.

“This is fun!”

Galen grimaced, propping up the pole for the next onslaught. “Fun, huh?”

“Yeah,” she said breathlessly. “Y’know, maybeIshould have been born the shifter. What I wouldn’t give for some claws and teeth right about now. Well, maybe nothis.”

The fur was up along its spine.

It wasn’t playtime, any longer.

Even Darla felt the swell of murder in its massive form. They were losing precious seconds the longer they stood there. If they wanted to keep those civilians—and themselves—safe, they had to lose some ground.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the distant wail of a siren began some blocks away. She glanced to a passerby on the sidewalk with their phones out, then shielded her face from their scrutiny. “Galen.”

Galen’s throat worked, though he never took his eyes off the shifter. “What?”

“As much as I love where this is going, we have to get out of here. Now.”

Galen let her drag him away. “Right,” he said, regaining his momentum. He abandoned the pole with a rattling clang against the concrete and booked it with her, hand-in-hand. The creature was hot on their tail but once PEACE arrived, they’d have none at all.

Despite all the awful things too numerous to account, she enjoyed her hand in his. It was warmed, maybe a bit bloody, but all things considered, it was comforting. She heard the breath of their adversary as they cleared the tree line.

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