my head demanded I let it free.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I couldn’t lose control.
One of the wolves lunged at me. My leg shot out in a side kick, and I sent him flying. He whined with pain when he hit the ground with a crack. Not so hard, Grace, I told myself. I really didn’t know if self-defense counted as a “predatory act,” but I couldn’t risk killing one of these beasts. I couldn’t even want to kill them. They had human hearts behind their wolf ones.
A second wolf attacked. I kicked him away. He was barely affected by the blow and came charging again. I punched him across his snout. Blood burst from my knuckles as I busted one of his razor-sharp fangs. The other wolves must have smelled the blood, sending them into a frenzy.
Two wolves came at me at once now. I deflected one, but the other tore at my leg with his claws before I could kick him away. Blood flowed from the wound, soaking the fabric of my ripped tights.
I had no time even to think about healing the gashes, because a third wolf pounced on my back, almost doubling me over. He sank his teeth into my shoulder. Burning venom shot through my arm and back. I couldn’t take the weight of the wolf much longer, so I reared my head back and slammed it into the wolf’s head. He yelped and slid off, his claws shredding the back of my cloak as he fell.
Another wolf lunged and sank his teeth into my side, piercing my abdomen. I felt something burst inside my back. A kidney? I screamed with agony and used all my remaining strength to throw that wolf off me.
I grabbed at my side, slick with blood, just as another wolf rammed into my leg with his head. My injured ankle snapped. I howled and toppled onto the concrete floor.
The six wolves circled around me, snapping and growling. I waited for a deathblow, but none of them broke from their holding pattern. Caleb must have given them a signal to wait. He probably took pleasure in the sight of my lying there in a pool of my own blood.
Get up, that horrible voice howled inside my head. Get up. Kill them! You want them to die. Get up and kill them all!
“No!” I shouted back at the voice. I tried to push myself up on the concrete, but my arms shook so hard I fell flat on my face. My body convulsed like there was something fighting to get out from inside of me. A burning inner flame engulfed me, lapping at my soul. Kill them! Kill them! the wolf’s voice chanted in my head. They deserve to die! Get up and kill them before they kill you! I curled into a ball. Tears streamed down my face. Let me kill them. It’s the only way! Embrace me, and we’ll destroy them all.
I shrieked in agony as my muscles clenched, and my head and body jerked uncontrollably in a seizure.
“This is it!” Caleb leaned over the balcony railing. “You want to kill me, don’t you? Here I am, girl, come and get me!”
Yes, kill Caleb. Kill him, and all of this stops!
“No,” I whispered. There had to be another way. I believed that. I really did.
I rolled on my back and stared up at the ceiling, imagining I could see the sky outside. “Dear God,” I whispered. “Please, spare Daniel and my family. I know you can. You can let me die, but do not let me fall to the curse. Save them.”
“Do it!” Caleb shouted at the wolves.
They stopped circling me and backed up in crouching positions, ready to attack.
A wave of fire ripped through me, and the demon in my head screamed for me to act. The werewolves reared back, about to lunge at me. I rolled on my side and whispered good-bye to Daniel, even though I knew he’d never be able to hear me.
“No!” Daniel shrieked, followed by a shout from one of Caleb’s men as Daniel broke free from his grasp and pushed him aside. The others were too distracted by the wolves and me to react quickly enough.
Yes, I thought. Yes, Daniel has a chance to get away!
Then Daniel threw himself over the balcony.
No, he’s supposed to run away! I watched in horror as he fell toward me, but instead of crashing to the ground, Daniel did a twisting flip in the air and began to … transform.
Shift.
Change.
His clothes burst from his body.
I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, instead of Daniel, a large white wolf had landed on all fours only a few feet from where I lay.
The wolves who had been about to attack me turned their growls on the white wolf, warning him away from their prey. The white wolf seemed to stare at me. I noticed a diamond patch of black fur across his sternum as he crouched. His lips pulled back in a snarl, and he pounced in my direction.
I closed my eyes and prepared to die.
A rush of movement exploded around me. I heard snapping and snarling and whining, and when I opened my eyes again, the white wolf was on top of me—standing over me in a protective stance.
The white wolf threw his head back and let out the most ear-piercing howl I’d ever heard. It echoed off the walls of the warehouse, shattering glass in the windows above. Shaking my body down to my broken bones.
When the noise died, there was nothing but silence.
Nothing but the white wolf standing over me, glaring out beyond us, as if daring anyone to make a move in our direction.
I could barely keep my eyes open as I tilted my head to see what had happened. Two of the wolves lay bleeding on the ground, one had retreated to the garage door, but the other three looked as if they were bowing, heads lowered in supplication, to the white wolf.
“No! No! Kill him!” Caleb shrieked at his wolves. “Kill them both!”
But the three wolves lay on their bellies and refused to move.
“Then I’ll kill you myself!” Caleb started to climb over the balcony railing.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” another voice shouted, and someone hit Caleb across the back of the head with a metal bar. It may have been my vision failing, but I could have sworn it was Gabriel.
Caleb crumpled in a heap behind the railing, and there was a rush of chaos as one of Caleb’s Gelals lunged at Gabriel, and another one went running in their direction. I heard Talbot scream something. He jumped on the Gelal’s back and threw his bound arms over the Gelal’s head and around its neck. The two went falling over the balcony and landed hard.
Talbot pushed back on his knees and pulled the Gelal up with him. He jerked his bound arms, which were hooked around the Gelal’s throat, and snapped its neck. The Gelal crumpled and Talbot pulled his arms over its lolling head. Before he could move, an Akh flew at Talbot, and the two fell into a grappling match.
But where was Jude? Why couldn’t I see him anywhere?
The entire warehouse erupted in an all-out brawl as I scanned it for any sign of my brother. Two more werewolves came charging in our direction, ready to attack the white wolf. But the wolf didn’t move from his protective stance over me. I must have slipped out of consciousness for a moment, because the next thing I knew, the two wolves were bowing in front of the great white wolf. One of them was smaller than all the other wolves
—Ryan? I couldn’t help wondering.
I coughed and tasted blood. The white wolf leaned down and nuzzled the side of my face. I stared into his deep, dark, mud-pie eyes—Daniel’s eyes.
But how?
And why, if Daniel had been a black wolf before he was cured, was he a white wolf now?
I heard a great howl and used all my energy to turn my head and watched as Gabriel crumpled against the railing of the balcony, his arm hanging over the side in an unnatural way. Caleb, looking fully recovered from the blow to the head, roared and launched himself over the railing. He landed on his feet on the warehouse floor.
“Watch out,” I whispered to Daniel.
The white wolf’s head snapped up, and he crouched back and growled at Caleb, who came charging at us with a vicious snarl. “You die now!” he shouted.
The Daniel wolf barked, and the five wolves who bowed in front of us jumped up and turned, snarling at Caleb. They reared back, ready to attack him.
