Page 122 of Wolf Cursed
“Isaac.” My voice broke, and I nearly fell again.
“Shit, Ash, you’re bleeding.” Isaac’s voice sounded far away. Black dots laced my vision. “Driss!”
Isaac screamed for his sister, and a dark brown wolf tore itself away from the throng pressing in around Kai and Drake. She streaked toward us and stopped, sniffing at my leg with concern in her eyes.
She looked up at Isaac and let out a whine.
Isaac lowered me to the ground, studying the wound more closely.
“Motherfucker…she’s bitten,” Isaac said grimly.
He didn’t sound quite as concerned as he should, considering my insides felt like they were about to burst through my skin. The sensation built until I couldn’t stand it any longer.
I screamed, and my body just…exploded.
Cracks and pops echoed around me as my bones literally broke and reformed. I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain, and when I opened them again, gagging and gasping for air, I saw fur.
Fur where my arms should have been. Fur for legs. The ground was closer. Too close.
What the hell.
I looked up and met Isaac’s wide eyes.
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “Ash, you’re a—”
Somewhere farther out in the muddy field, Kai howled.
I had no idea how I knew that sound belonged to him. I just did.
Tipping my head back, I let out a howl of my own. It was reflexive. Something I didn’t even know was happening until the sound escaped me.
And then I knew what Isaac was trying to tell me.
I was a wolf.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The animal inside me felt both foreign and familiar. Like a piece of me that had always existed and was just now making itself known to the rest of me. And the first thing I knew for sure was that my wolf side was a bossy bitch. She didn’t use words, per se. More like urges. Feelings. And I knew instinctively how to let her exist alongside my human self. My mind sort of just…made room for her.
And the moment I did, her instincts took over.
The need to protect rose so strongly that I didn’t even have time to question my actions before I was up and shoving past Idrissa and Isaac. My paws felt clumsy and strange against the soft mud for about three seconds. After that, the speed and senses of my wolf took over, and I flew past the other wolves, shoving my way through their ranks with an ease that surprised me.
My wolf sighted Drake and Kai and went straight for its prey.
Opening my mouth, I leaped the final few yards and closed my canines around Drake’s furry shoulder, yanking him off Kai’s wolf in a quick and violent move. Drake yelped, and I felt the moment his flesh tore. His blood filled my mouth, but I didn’t let go.
Drake’s wolf writhed against my grip, but I held fast.
The asshole would not hurt my mate again.
Mate.
My wolf held no hesitation as she thought the word.
If anything, she strained harder in her urge to protect. To hurt. To kill if necessary.
That last thought was enough to make me finally release my jaw and let Drake up again. He twisted away and rolled to his feet, whining. When he spotted me, his wolf eyes narrowed, and he crouched low, ready to attack. I could feel him about to spring, and my wolf welcomed it.
