I step forward forcefully and am running before my man side fades. The first few leaps are on tender flesh before my paw pads fully form.
But I do not mind an instant of stinging pain. My mate is in danger. I would walk on fire to save her.
The awful scent of the hellhound permeates my senses even though I can tell that I have a long run before I will reach them.
I envision my teeth tearing into lifeless flesh, flinging the hateful parts of the animated corpse-dog to the four winds and then turning on whatever commands it.
The man side of me whispers my mate’s name in the back of my mind, focusing me on what is most important.
I run so hard and fast my muscles burn. The creatures of the forest, large and small, scatter before me. They know I am death, but I do not come for them today. At last, I can sense a group just up ahead.
Where before it was a man, a hellhound and my mate, I can scent that now there are two other human girls in the clearing. They will be frightened of me, but I don’t care how they feel.
I burst into the clearing, snarling. I launch myself into an attack against the beast, taking in the scene as it blurs past my flying form.
My mate is on the ground. Something is wrong with her. She is twisted around herself. One of the other girls is lying near her, unconscious. The other is crawling over to protect her.
A disgusting, smelly man looms over her, clutching a piece of paper. Beside the man, the horrible hellhound growls and coils up as if it is about to attack my mate. It will not get that chance.
The unfortunates look up at me. I know I am like an angry god to them - too large, too powerful. I land on the beast, my claws and teeth tearing its rotten flesh asunder. It melts into a stinking pile of meat beneath me.
I throw my head back and howl and the meat sizzles into a foul mist that floats away on the breeze.
Next it is the man’s turn.
But he is nowhere to be seen. He must have run away. I scent the air and can see his putrid trail leading through the trees. He will be easy to follow.
I will hunt him. I will find him. I will kill him.
But before I can do any of those needful things, I hear the soft voice of my mate whisper my name.
My man side begs me to go to her and help her.
Every instinct tells me to chase down the man who attacked her.
But my mate is hurt. Something is not right with her. My man side is trying to force the shift to stop me from leaving her. He has never done that before.
Reluctantly, I allow him control. I remind him that I am allowing this. He has not taken it.
As he pushes to the foreground, he lets me feel his sorrow for trying to force the change. He respects me. It is only that our mate needs our human side now.
“Bella,” I cried, falling to the ground beside her.
“Luke,” she whispered. “You came.”
“I will always come for you,” I told her, wrapping my arms around her. Hot tears of relief prickled at my eyes. “What happened?”
“I… I…” she trailed off, as if she had forgotten herself.
“She stole a book from the library,” one of the other women said softly. “Why did you do that, Bella?”
My mate curled herself up again, and did not answer.
“What happened to the other girl?” he asked.
“Nina was looking for me, when she realized that Bella had taken the book,” the girl told me. “She didn’t want to get Bella in trouble, so we came after her. But there was some kind of zombie dog and a horrible man, and he hit Nina.”
“Go check on Nina,” I told the girl.
She scrambled up to tend to her friend, and I tried to rouse Bella again.
“Darling, I need you to sit up and tell me you’re okay,” I murmured to her. “Can you do that for me?”
“I can’t see,” she moaned.
“Why can’t she see?” I roared to the other girl. “What did he do to her?”
“I-I think it might be her price for magic,” the girl stammered. “She pushed too hard, trying not to let him get the book.”
I wondered what the hell could be so important about this book that Bella would steal it and risk her own safety to hold onto it.
“It may not be safe here,” I whispered to Bella. “I need to get you back to my cottage.”
“I won’t give it up,” she moaned, tightening her coiled body.
“You don’t have to give it up,” I told her firmly. “I will defend your right to keep it with my life.”
I felt my promise tighten around me, and hoped I hadn’t made a mistake. The wrath of those witches could rain down hell on us.
But my words seemed to soothe Bella. Her body softened enough for me to lift her into my arms.
She rested her head in the crook of my neck, her hands still wrapped around the book so that she couldn’t hold onto me.
I finally had a thought to spare for the other girls. I turned to find that the first one was helping the second to her feet.
“Take her back to the school and tell no one what you saw,” I instructed them.
“The book…” the injured girl moaned, lifting her hands up, as if I was going to place it in them.
“No,” I said firmly.
“You don’t understand,” the first girl tried to explain. “The library means everything to the witches, and that book is very important. She can’t just take it.”
“I’m not going to let a gaggle of half-baked witches in training wander away with this thing with no protection when it already practically got you killed,” I snarled. “Go back to school.”
Bella moaned pathetically in my arms.
“But,”
