Page 141 of Let Us Prey
The sensation of a hard punch to the gut forces me to double over in pain, and when I can’t stand any longer, I fall to my knees on the grass. Smells, sounds, and colors flood my vision, and I dig my claws into the earth as if to hold on. Panting, my head drops and I close my eyes to keep the vertigo from making me barf, wishing I could call for help.
My body feels like it’s a roiling tempest, and this is not like any shift I’ve ever felt before. Darkness invades my brain, and my eyes pop open to look up at the round, full Blood Moon. Limbs pop and stretch as snowy white fur sprouts up in thick patches, poking out of the sleeves and neckline of my catsuit. The bones in my legs crack, my body morphing in what has to be the most painful half-shift in history, and I throw my head back with a ragged growl that vibrates every piece of my soul.
That gets their attention.
They spin to face me just as I notice they’re all standing at five marked points of the circle, but before I can attempt to speak, something inside of me snaps. With a roar of pain and fear, I feel myself not only completing my shift, butgrowingin size, until I’m towering over my men—almost over the trees themselves. Understandably, my guys look completely aghast, and I fear whatever has happened to me has put the final nail in the coffin that was this shared relationship.
Lucille was right. I’ll be lucky if anyone wants an abomination like me.
Unwilling to stand here and watch everything I care about crumble, I lick my elongated fangs and turn tail, running through the woods at top speed to escape my inevitable heartbreak.
SEVENTY-TWO
Run Run Run
Renard
Achill runs down my spine as the five of us watch our girl hop off into the night, 20-feet tall with bloodlust in her eyes. Everything that has happened tonight has me spiraling, as long-buried memories spring from the depths of my mind. Hooded figures, ancient magic, and taboo rituals are secrets I left behind when I was exiled to Apex—and this resurgence of the past is making my gargoyle rage inside.
Why is this happening again?
“What in the name of Anubis just happened?” Aubrey mutters as he runs a hand through his hair. His sentiment echoes across the group as we look at one another in shock.
“Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright... "I murmur under my breath.
“Poetry isnothelpful at the moment,” Bash mutters. “We need aplan.”
Aubrey flexes his wings, scrutinizing the center of the circle from a healthy distance before squinting up at the moon. He looks at me, and when I nod, he turns to the wolf pack with a grimace. “What Rennie is struggling to say is… he believes our girl isn’t just a rabbit shifter. She’s awererabbit.”
“Bullshit.Weresdon’t exist,” Cash says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Whatever… happened just now… is because of this ritual crap we’ve been chasing. This is why shifters don’t mess with magic users anymore.”
A mournful howl echoes off the treetops, and we all startle, turning to the most likely culprit in the group. When Bash just shrugs, we spin again, only to see Nico’s black and orange tail disappearing into the woods, in the opposite direction Delores ran.
Oh, fuck. He’s probably blaming himself.
I sigh, noticing the talisman on my neck flaring, as if in retort to Cash’s statement. Only Aubrey is old enough to remember when magic users and shifters existed in harmony—magic is no more dangerous than any other weapon, if wielded properly. “Magic isnotwhy she went hopping off inwereform, Cassius. That is hertrueform, and whatever happened tonight simply revealed that. Something bigger is at play here, but we can’t waste any more timetalkingabout it.”
“What do wedo?” Bash yells, throwing his hands up in the air. His eyes are wild as he looks at me, and I can see the fear for our girl flickering over his features.
“Well, since Nico has abandoned us, you two need to shift and do your best to hunt down the hooded figures. Aubrey and I will take to the skies and find Dolly.” They protest, but I shake my head. “We can cover more ground quickly from above and there will be fewer obstacles to cloud our vision. Plus, your noses are infinitely better than ours.”
Finally, the alpha nods, seamlessly shifting to his wolf form. Bash stalks over to Aubrey, poking him with a clawed hand. “Find her.”
“We will, Sebastian. See if you can corner one and capture them alive—they may be the key to keeping Dolly safe,” the dragon responds reassuringly, his expression serious. “I can’t be sure if they are behind the murders, but they saw what happened here tonight, and we can’t allow our girl to stay on their radar.” Throwing his head back and howling in rage, the beta fully shifts and joins his brother as they head into the woods as one.
A sudden thought worries me. “Do you think Nico is attempting to circle Dolly on his own?” While I wait for the dragon to answer, I look around to ensure none of the hooded figures are still lurking, then close my eyes and allow the shift tomytrue form to begin. I feel his eyes on me as he considers my question—Aubrey has always loved watching the pulse of magic flow over me when I fully shift.
The light from my talisman glows with the same electric blue as my eyes, crawling over my body until I’m completely enveloped in its power. Obsidian covers my skin and my normally lithe frame expands up and out until I tower over my friend. My wings and tail stretch, while my fangs and claws sharpen with the full effect of my transformation.
It feels good to let the beast out.
“If he did, he’s in for a nasty surprise. The legends sayweresawaken with an incomparable bloodlust and we have no idea if our girl can retain higher brain functions in this state yet,” my companion finally replies as he follows my lead and transforms into an enormous blue dragon.
I nod, hoping Nico doesn’t allow his emotions to lead him into doing something reckless. Since my exploration of the tunnels with the fox,, the divide between everyone has widened to a chasm, and I hope, when we get our bunny back where she belongs, we can finally put this behind us for the greater good
“Are we saving our girl, or are you going to brood at the moon all night?” the dragon growls, small puffs of smoke escaping his nostrils. “The longer we wait, the further away she gets.”
I chuckle softly at his prickliness. He’s worried as fuck about her and has no idea how to handle it. “Alright, Flames. It’s time to fly.”
