under the beast, paws scrabbling for purchase, turning his head to snap at his enemy. But the thing was holding him down, ripping away his shirt and pants, opening its gaping mouth to reveal teeth like sabers.
She screamed as the creature sank its teeth into the red wolf’s side. The wolf’s agonized cry split the air, the beast shaking him like a rag doll. Then he twisted his body in the creature’s hold and clamped his jaws around one of the thing’s smaller front legs. Held on.
He even shifted to human form, sent a blast of fire into the beast’s face, but it wouldn’t let go. Aric couldn’t hold his human form, and from his grimace she guessed it was because of the pain. It slammed the wolf hard into the ground. And again. She realized it was trying to kill Aric—and it would succeed if she didn’t do something fast.
That got her moving. She cast about, searching for anything she could use as a weapon. Her eyes fell on a large tree limb a short distance away, and she half crawled, half stumbled toward it. The limb was about four feet long and weighed a little too much for her to handle easily, but she had no choice.
Hefting the limb with the jagged, broken end facing forward, she held it like a javelin and ran, resisting the urge to yell. She didn’t want to alert the creature to her attack before she could strike. But it was completely focused on annihilating its prey, giving her a slight advantage. Using all her strength, she rammed the sharp end of the limb into its back, right between the wings.
The creature straightened and threw its head back, the throaty roar shaking the treetops. Her tactic worked; it released the wolf, which fell to the ground, panting, blood pouring from his side. But then the beast yanked the limb from its back and hurled it away. Turned and pinned her with hate-filled eyes.
“Oh, God,” she whispered. The blood drained from her face.
It had to stand seven and a half feet tall on its hind legs, and looked like something straight out of a horror movie. Not just its physical appearance, but the eerie intelligence in those eyes. This wasn’t some mindless beast. It was here to kill—and it would enjoy the bloodshed. Human or not, there was no mistaking that look.
It stalked forward and she began to back up. But there was nowhere to go. She would never be able to outrun the bastard, and even if she could, she’d never escape when it took to the air.
The creature lowered itself to all fours, and started to gallop straight for her. A scream stuck in her throat, and she froze to the spot. Waited to be torn apart.
But a red blur raced in from the side and launched itself through the air. The red wolf barreled into the creature, knocking it off balance and sending them both to the earth. On top this time, Aric had the advantage as he got behind the short, grasping arms and their sharp claws and went for the beast’s neck. But just briefly. The creature rolled, switching their positions again, trying to dislodge the wolf, to crush him into the ground.
The wolf was tough, but unless the tide turned, the beast would kill him.
Rowan ran for the discarded tree limb and was about to use it on the creature again when help arrived. A black panther and several wolves burst from the trees and raced across the ground to where Aric struggled. The panther leapt, teeth bared, claws extended, striking the beast square in the chest and knocking it over backward.
Strong cat jaws ripped at the creature’s throat as Aric’s teammates converged, tearing into every available spot. Sensing its doom, the beast fought harder, but to no avail. Its struggles slowed, and in minutes, stopped altogether. The red wolf and the panther held on the longest, clearly reluctant to let go until they were absolutely certain their enemy was dead.
A gorgeous white wolf shimmered, became Nick. “Aric! Kalen! It’s over. The damned thing is dead.”
The panther released its prey and took a few steps back. As it morphed into Kalen, the young man turned his head, and still crouching, spat into the grass. “Goddamn, that fucker tastes like a pile of shit. What the hell are those things, anyway? That’s the second one that’s showed up around here in the past few weeks, except the one that attacked me and Mac was close to town.”
“Wish we knew,” Jax said, having shifted, too. “Better yet, who commands them and how did this one know where to find us?”
“Maybe this one being way out here is a coincidence?” Ryon suggested.
“I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Everyone looked at Aric, who’d spoken last. He was lying on his good side, one hand over the deep puncture wounds spread across his ribs. Nick loped over, followed by Rowan and the others.
“Christ, can’t you stay out of trouble?” Nick said gruffly.
“Doesn’t look like it.” Sweat rolled down his temples, into his auburn hair.
Zan knelt beside him, studied the wounds. “I can heal this.”
“No, don’t drain yourself. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.” His eyes were becoming glazed, unfocused.
“Shut up and be still.”
Whether Aric stopped protesting because he was told to or because he didn’t have the strength any longer, Rowan didn’t know. She suspected the latter, as prickly as he could be. If Aric wasn’t arguing, that was a testament to how badly he’d been hurt.
Zan placed his palms over the oozing punctures and closed his eyes. A green glow began to pulse around his hands, increasing in brightness until it was white and almost blinding. This was like his healing Ryon at the church, but on a much grander scale. This was life and death, and every second counted.
Gradually, the light faded. Zan slumped backward and Nick caught him, eased him to the ground. The flesh on Aric’s side was bloodied, but appeared totally intact. The redhead sat up with Jax’s help and someone else tossed his shredded shirt and sweats into his lap. Moving carefully, he discarded the shirt as useless, stood and pulled on his sweats. They weren’t in much better shape, but he’d be covered until they returned to the compound.
Aric looked at Nick. “How did you know we were in trouble? Did you get a vision?”
“No.”
“Well, the bastard came in from the air, so I’m guessing he didn’t sound the perimeter alarm.”
“After you were kidnapped, Kalen used a spell to place some powerful wards over our property for a twenty-mile radius. Anything supernatural or human that breaches the wards and doesn’t belong here is supposed to alert him, and it worked. He yelled for us and we came as fast as we could.”
“Wow,” Aric said, obviously impressed. “That’s some strong mojo you’ve got. Saved our butts, too. Thanks, man.”
Kalen waved off the praise. “Just glad it paid off.” He nudged the dead creature with one toe. “This one was alone, like the one a couple of weeks ago. Gotta wonder why.”
“Maybe he was a scout?” Ryon suggested.
Nick cursed. “I’m getting nothing on this guy, no vibes at all. If that’s the case and he was looking for something or someone in particular, we need to dispose of all traces of the body.” He shot Kalen a meaningful look, and Kalen’s expression grew bleak. She wondered what the silent exchange was about.
“Whatever he was doing, that’s not a bad idea,” Rowan put in, staring at the awful thing. “He gives me the creeps.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Kalen said. “But first…”
Waving a hand at his team, he spoke a couple of quiet words that, again, sounded like Latin. Instantly, the men were clothed. That’s when Rowan realized Kalen was the only one who was clothed when he shifted back to human form. Handy.
“Having a Sorcerer on your side must be nice,” she muttered. “Are you sure you don’t want a job with the LAPD? I can put in a good word.”
“He’s taken,” Nick quipped.
Grinning, Kalen turned toward the carcass, but before he had a chance to dispose of it, a voice called out from above.
“Wait!”
Shielding her eyes, Rowan looked toward the sky to see Sariel approaching. Gliding down, he landed on his feet with a graceful stretch of his azure wings, his golden eyes riveted to the creature’s body. Approaching slowly, he stopped a short distance from it and crouched, studying it, his expression grim.
“Gods,” he whispered. “This can’t be.”
Those four words went through the group like a bolt of lightning. The tension level shot through the roof as the guys glanced at one another.
