Page 38 of Runaway Wolf
But she didn’t have long to focus on that because snapping jaws came for her face.
What the fuck?
She raised her arm to block him and it was like he toyed with her, pulling away, snarling, and aiming for the other side.
Fire erupted over the back of her forearm.
There was a long, loud shriek and she was barely aware that the high-pitched wail came from her throat. His canines sank into her skin, all the way down to the bone, and held on. Her arm was on fire, being ripped in two, and she was barely aware of another snarl from the trees.
A second monster wolf joined the fray. Was it Noah? Alex? Amos? Joaquin? Hell, it could even be Misty. Powerful jaws clamped onto Isaac’s wolf neck and the two went pitching over her.
She brought her wounded arm up to cradle against her torso, scrambling backward like a spider. The sharp edge of the wooden stairs hit her in the back, knocking the air from her lungs.
The entire area grew louder with growls and snarling. Suddenly, more wolves ran into the fray, jumping into the bloodbath. Everything moved so fast, it was clear to her human eyes that these weren’t normal wolves. They were supernatural, blurring images moving almost too quick for her to see anything but sprays of blood that arced through the night sky.
“Caitlin!” Penny’s scream reached her ears and her sister came running across the yard, ignoring the yelp of the blonde wolf next to her. So that must be Noah. How did he get with Penny if he had been the lighter-colored wolf watching from the trees?
“Oh, my God. You’re bit? He bit you? Rhett bit you?” Penny’s voice was panicked, trying to lift the arm that Caitlin had cradled against her chest.
Noah was growling, his back to them like he kept others at bay. But all the other wolves were fighting with each other.
“Rhett?”
“Which one bit you, Caitlin? Was it Rhett?”
“I-I thought it was Isaac. I didn’t know it was Rhett. I can’t tell one from the other—”
With a long howl, one of the wolves signified his kill. One by one, all the others joined in a somber, howling song of death. Five wolves lay still—flesh mangled and throats ripped out. The stench of sweat, fur, and copper lingered in the air.
“We got to get you to a hospital, Caitlin! Noah, change back! Noah, change! Change now! It’s Caitlin! It’s fucking Caitlin!” Penny was frantic, smacking the wolf next to her with one hand. God, what must her injuries look like to strike that much fear into Penny?
Penny’s voice was echoing from a distance, though. And yet, other small sounds were amplified… like the steady drip, drip, drip of her blood plopping onto her leg. Oh, God. There was a puddle of blood underneath her, mixing with the dirt to make bloody mud paste.
Somewhere under the porch she could hear a cricket chirp.
The leaves in the trees rustled. She shouldn’t be able to hear that from where she sat. Not with Penny shouting and smacking Noah.
There was a series of pops, of smacks, bones breaking and shifting. Her gaze landed on a grim-faced, human Noah. He was saying something to her, his mouth was moving, but the sound wasn’t coming out. Instead, there was a ringing in her ears, which was really weird because she could still hear the distant sounds. The leaves. The crickets. The changing wolves.
Someone came running.
“Cait! Cait.” Isaac dropped to his knees, right in front of her. His nose flared and his eyes were wide, pupils blown.
The others gathered around her too. And what was wrong with her eyes? She kept blinking to clear them, but her vision was getting dark… too dark to make out facial features.
Her words were slurred. “I thought he was you.”
Isaac was shaking his head side to side. “No, baby. That was Rhett’s wolf.”
The first searing pain rolled through her body and she let off a scream that sounded weird… it sounded like the howl of a wolf.
Did that mean what she thought? Was she becoming one?
No.Surely not. She didn’t want that. She was human, she wanted to stay human.
Her eyes were so wide, she was terrified. “Oh, no. Oh, God. What’s happening… this can’t be happening—”
“Stay calm. We’re going to take care of you—”
