Page 82 of Alpha Queen
She twisted away from the man trying to restrain her, using his momentum against him. As he stumbled forward, she brought her knee up hard into his solar plexus. He doubled over, gasping for air, and River wasted no time. She gripped his head and slammed it against her rising knee. The male crumpled to the ground.
"Shit!" The second wolf lunged for her, but hesitated at the last moment. That split-second of indecision was all River needed. She feinted left, then spun right, sweeping his legs out from under him. As he fell, she delivered a precise strike to his temple. His eyes rolled back as he joined his companion on the forest floor.
The leader backed away, raising his tranquilizer gun. "Luna, please. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
River circled him warily. "I am the Luna. The High Luna. Mate to Apollo and Ares Wolvenguard, and I command you to let me go."
He hesitated. "I… I can't."
Dammit. She'd exerted too much energy to make her Luna gaze work.
He fired, but River was already moving. The dart whistled past her ear as she ducked and charged forward, driving her shoulder into his midsection. The gun flew from his hands as they both went down. River recovered first, scrambling atop him and delivering two quick, sharp blows to his face. His head lolled to the side, and she picked up the rifle and fired it at him.
A dart lodged between his pecs, and his eyes fluttered.
A crackle of static broke the sudden silence. "Team three, report. Have you located the intruder?" The walkie-talkie at the leader's belt came to life with an urgent voice. "Repeat, team three, what's your status? I'm sending reinforcements."
River snatched the device and hurled it against the wall, where it shattered into pieces. She had seconds before more came to investigate. She shot the other two men with darts and then tossed the gun away.
Her gaze traveled up the concrete barrier looming above her. Ten feet of smooth surface, topped with cruel coils of razor wire. Impossible for a human to scale.
But not for a wolf.
River reached for the last reserves of her strength.
I need you. We need you.
Her wolf answered, surging forward with ferocity. The shift rippled through her, painful after so long suppressed, but desperately welcome.
Bones cracked and reformed. Muscles stretched and contorted. River cried out as she stood still, human.
Please, goddess, please help me.
River tried again, and this time her vision sharpened and her sense of smell grew stronger as her body transformed into her sleek silver wolf.
With a power born of desperation, River's wolf gathered herself and leaped. Her claws scrabbled against concrete, finding tiny imperfections to grip into and dig deeper in. Higher, higher, her powerful legs drove her upward in a desperate climb.
She reached the top and carefully tried navigating between the coils of razor, but voices rang out behind her, and she panicked. River's wolf leapt from the wall to the ground below, and the razors hooked into her skin. Her leg snagged, and she scrambled to get free. Yanking hard, her leg flayed open. Blood gushed from the wound, but the razors dug deeper into her muscle. She yelped. She has to keep going. Screw the pain. River yanked her leg hard and cried out as she tumbled to the asphalt below. The air rushed from her lungs, and she lay on her side, unable to move for several seconds. Stars blinded her eyes, and her heart thundered. Blood slicked her fur, and the smell made her gag. Even so, she couldn't help but smile. She'd done it. She was out.
River's wolf tried to stand, but her rear leg couldn't hold weight. She yelped as sharp burning pain shot through her all over. Blood slicked down her leg and pooled around her feet.
Not good. Not good.
River had no idea how long she had before she might pass out from blood loss. She had to move. River spurred her wolf forward, and on three legs, hobbling down the road with no idea where she headed.
She'd gone several blocks when she dropped to the ground, half on the sidewalk, half in the road, and breathed heavily. Exhaustion threaded through every muscle. She had to keep moving. Titan could find her there.
Her wolf howled in pain, and her body shook. River tried to get her wolf to her feet, but she couldn't lift her head. She tried to force a shift back to human, but it was all she could do to stay conscious.
The sounds of a vehicle approaching sent a shiver of fear through her. She needed to hide. She looked around but couldn't make her limbs work. Her heart pounded as the vehicle drew closer. Pop music blared out of the open windows. A van slowed and then stopped, its lights blinding her.
Please, goddess, don't let it be Titan. Please don't let it be Titan. Not that she could imagine Titan or any of his men listening to the latest female pop star belt out a song about breaking up with her boyfriend.
The driver's side door opened, and a teenage boy hopped out. He rounded the van and raced to her.
"Holy crap! Who did this to you?"
He stroked River's ear, and she whined.
