Page 30 of Shadow Master
Wind raked through my hair, brushing over my skin and spurring me on. Adrenaline coursed through me, hot and cold at the same time, as my body did what it needed to do.
Let go.
I ran beneath the moon, away from the stress and the responsibility, away from the anxiety and the pain. Trees closed in around me, and then the scent of the earth surrounded me. How far behind were Devon and Aidan?
It probably wasn’t fair of me to blur. They hardly had a chance. I dropped out of blur to regular speed, and the world came into focus. I’d found my way into a clearing. Strange white flowers dotted the mossy ground, and the trees arched inward as if trying to make a domed ceiling to block out the sky. Moonlight lanced through the branches and dappled the ground.
It was beautiful.
My hackles rose a moment before something hit me from behind, taking me down. I hit the fragrant earth and flipped onto my front to find myself staring into stormy gray eyes.
Devon placed a paw on my chest to hold me still.
“Fine, you win.” I stared up at him. “You got me.”
His chest rumbled, and then he licked me. His tongue was rough and warm as it laved the side of my neck, and a shudder ran through me.
He locked gazes with me again, and I froze because there was carnal hunger, and my body responded, heart rate picking up, blood heating.
Hell, no. This was Devon. In wolf form.
He licked me again, softly, behind my ear. I turned my head to the side, biting back a moan. But then reality asserted itself.
Devon was a friend, nothing more. This wasn’t him, this was his primal self. His beast.
“Stop.” I pushed at his head, knocking it to the side.
Devon growled, and fear skittered up my spine, but then he was knocked off me by another body of fur.
Aidan and Devon rolled across the moss, nipping and snarling. I stood and backed up.
Maybe this run had been a bad idea.
The crack of a twig pulled my attention away from the wolves. There was someone else here with us. Someone else in the forest. A shadow darted through the trees. Too small to be a cadet, too large to be a hobblood. What the heck? I gave chase, blurring and catching up to it in a second. I slammed into the creature, taking it down. It thrashed and kicked, clawing at me to get away.
Fuck, it was strong, but not as strong as me. I managed to get an arm around its throat and squeezed.
“Stop fighting.”
The creature grew limp in my grasp. “Kill me, go on, you bitch. Do it. Fat lot of good it will do you. They’re coming whether you like it or not.” It laughed. “And you don’t understand a word I’m saying.”
“Actually, I do.”
The creature tensed.
My mind was whirring. This was a creature from the other side. A minion of the fomorians. His skin was leathery and black, his body wiry and toned. No clothes. No mud to protect him from the mist.
“You came through the mist.”
“Fuck you.”
I flipped him onto his back, pinned him to the earth by his throat, and bared my fangs. “Answer me, you little shit.”
Shadows fell over him as Devon and Aidan flanked me.
His eyes grew wide. “Don’t hurt me, please. I was just gathering information.”
A scout. “You can withstand the mist.”
