So near the last basilisk sighting?
But was that the basilisk he’d just seen a moment ago or a different one?
Nothing made sense.
The only thing that mattered was getting to Mel.
He’d tear apart anyone and anything that got in his way.
“Honestly, Killer, you’re way too predictable. You never could give in to that murderous instinct. Always had to protect people, stand up for the other trainees even when they were just getting the punishments they deserved. And now this? Getting feelings for a human just because you were protecting her too? That’s a new low for you.” Jasper finished crossing the distance until he was standing only a few feet from Dallas.
But Dallas could barely hear Jasper’s voice, as the sound of his tiger roaring inside became nearly defeating to his own ears.
He’d never wanted to hurt. Or kill. Never wanted to fully give in to his animal or turn into the monster they’d always said he was.
But if it meant protecting Mel from the very assholes who’d tried to break him as a kid?
They’d see what a fucking monster really looked like.
“Cat got your tongue?” Jasper said with a gleeful grin. “I know. I’ve always been a better planner than y—”
Dallas’s booted foot flew forward, slamming into Jasper’s chest with full strength. With a screech, Jasper sailed backward across the street, flying horizontally until he hit a lamppost, bending it in half before the top of the post creaked and crashed onto the street.
Nearby, someone who’d seen it happen gasped.
But all Dallas could see was red.
“H-h-hey, you can’t shift here. There are humans watching,” said one of the cougars dressed in black as they watched Dallas advance on them.
“How did he do that?” another one asked.
There was no easy way to take care of this situation. Either Dallas shifted right here in public, took care of these bastards, and ran for his mate, or he could protect his and his family’s secret and not shift but lose his mate.
If he did this, he’d be even more of an outlaw than he already was. Not just a freak of nature, but a criminal who broke the one rule of shifters.
Mate!
Compared to the thought of any harm coming to Mel, the choice was easy.
Love was more important than what the rest of the world thought. He’d burn everything down just to save her.
The men in front of him backed away in fear, even though Dallas knew they’d had a lifetime of training.
Across the street, Jasper was starting to pick himself up, groaning.
“Don’t let him shift. He’ll ruin everything!” Jasper shouted to his men.
But it was too late.
Dallas’s animal exploded out of him, his body lengthening, his talons and teeth extending and sharpening until he was the shape of his tiger, tall enough to tower over the mercenaries in front of him.
In unison, they reached for guns holstered on their belts, which were probably loaded with anti-shifter poison.
Dallas leaped forward, and with a swipe of one paw, two of the men went flying to the side, squealing in terror.
The other three began to fire, but Dallas jumped to the left, flying through the air as popping sounds filled the area.
Even as several bullets hit their mark, Dallas turned and leaped at the nearest man who’d run for cover behind a parked car. As easy as a house cat batting a ball of yarn, Dallas flipped the car over with a single push, sending it rolling and the man behind with it.
Around him, Dallas could see several humans on the street. Some were screaming in terror. Others stood, watching agape, while others were yanking their phones out to record the sudden bedlam taking place in the middle of their sleepy town.
But Dallas didn’t have time to worry about that as the other two men on his right shifted into their cougar forms, realizing they were as good as dead trying to take on a tiger big enough to make a snack of anything human-sized.
With feral growls, they leaped toward Dallas, their talons glinting in the late-morning light.
Dallas slashed one cougar in midair as it careened toward him, and he felt his claws dig deep as he threw the other big cat off balance. The other attacked low and from the side, snapping with razor-sharp fangs that had probably been filed down to be even deadlier, but Dallas spun and bit down faster, grabbing the cougar by the neck and tossing it aside.
And not a moment too soon, as another cougar, this one bigger than the others, with pale-green eyes, appeared from across the street, charging toward Dallas.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. You’re not allowed to shift around humans,” Jasper snarled.
Ironic, given that the Blackheart Assassins had amassed their wealth and power by doing dirty deeds and breaking all sorts of rules so long as the pay was good enough and they remained a secret.
Maybe some secrets needed to come to light.
Dallas leaped toward Jasper, who barely dodged his attack.
Jasper cackled, then looked over at a man not far from them who was idiotically standing there with his phone out, recording the fight instead of getting to safety.
He turned to another cougar that had appeared at his side. “Kill anyone who’s seeing this. I don’t want them spoiling the surprise.”
The cougar beside him sneered and advanced on the man, pouncing on top of him easily and raising a deadly paw in the air.
Ignoring a slash of Jasper’s claws, Dallas jumped past him and landed on top of the other cougar just as it was about to strike.
Its back exposed, the cougar was easy prey as Dallas’s claws dug deep into its back. Then he tossed the cougar aside, ripping it away from the man who’d been screaming at the top of his lungs on his back.
“Run, dumbass,” Dallas growled at the man, and he scuttled away toward the nearest store he could hide inside.
In the same moment, Dallas felt talons dig into his side, and he spun to face Jasper,
