Page 79 of Rabid
They were wrong.
I can see the realization on the faces of the people and wolves huddled off to the side in fear as they take in the carnage and our demand for retribution. My wolf and I fly past them, past the alpha house, with Tyran on our heels right as we spot Burke, Conrad, and several other betas throwing bags into a van.Kill kill kill,my rabid beast bays.
The males’ eyes are frantic and wild, their movements hurried and reeking of cowardice. They brought all of this down upon them, and now they’re going to run? He doesn’t deserve to call himself an alpha.
I’m sure Burke thought he had the upper hand, had the numbers. It’s clear by how he and his sycophants are scrambling that they’ve quickly learned that one wolf with heart, one beast fighting for who they love, for what they believe in,that’sworth more than a whole pack of honorless animals.
As we race forward, I suddenly smell Hess and Britton, but I don’t see them anywhere. My wolf throws her head back and howls out a declaration to our packs that I’ve picked up the scents. Answering howls reach us on the wind, and then Tyran and I are purely speed and power as we leap at the Twin Rivers’ hierarchy. We slam into them, sending them toppling over like bowling pins.
Some of them try to shift, try to put up a fight, but by the time they can even call to their wolves, Tyran has ripped their throats out. Conrad steps in front of Burke to shield him, but that’s fine by me. I’ve already shown Burke that I can best him, and I have no doubt I’ll do it again. But first, it’s time to bathe in the blood of the fucking scumbag beta who hurt Presley.
I snap at him, but his brutish arms shove my wolf and I away, our teeth unable to tear into him like we want. We redirect our efforts and feign a leap, but instead of putting all our power in it, we turn it into a small hop and snap at Conrad’s legs. Blood explodes into our mouth as we sink our fangs into his meaty thigh, and we start to snarl and shake our head, ripping away at the muscle and skin as he screams and tries to pry us off.
Conrad lands blows to our head and body, one slamming into us so viciously that it disorients my wolf and me. We’re forced to let go and back up to shake off the haze. Tyran darts for Burke, but the gutless weakling pulls a gun from behind him and aims it at my mate.
Everything slows.
My wolf’s howl is my inner scream. We know judging by the distance that we’ll never be able to reach them in time, but we try anyway. Tyran’s eyes narrow with rage, a threatening snarl tearing from him as he stares Burke down. Time seems to speed up again as soon as our paws pummel against the ground, but Burke squeezes the trigger.
A bang pierces the night and my soul, simultaneously.
But faster than a blink, a light brown wolf appears out of nowhere, and the bullet meant for Tyran tears into her instead.
Harlan and her wolf slam to the ground, a crimson blossom blooming quickly out of the wound in her side. Another howl tears from my wolf, but huge, angry hands clamp down on my neck, cutting the sound short. Our focus is ripped away from my mate and his wounded Third as Conrad yanks my wolf off the ground, mercilessly crushing her throat. He leers at us, blood splattered across his face and eyes, reveling in the pain he’s causing and the control he has over us.
We claw at him, but our paws aren’t capable of peeling his fingers from around our neck. Our most lethal weapon, our teeth, are at this monster’s mercy. If we stay a wolf, we’re going to die, but if we shift back into my body, we’re even more defenseless.
Rabid rage beats through our body as we wiggle and thrash, doing everything we can to break Conrad’s hold, but nothing works. We fight against succumbing to the panic and fear trying to pull us under as black spots start to taint our fractured vision. My wolf and I both stare out of the same eyes at the ruthless beta who’s trying to kill us. I wonder how many vulnerable wolves are out there with this face haunting their nightmares, and just like that, a strange calm washes over us.
I scream inside, because I know my mate won’t get here in time. We’ve already been out of breath for too long, and Tyran is too far away. I stare into hate-filled, murky green eyes and scream at myself that this is not how it ends.
My wolf and I were forged from violence and survival. So much so that we fractured ourselves to become what we needed in order to survive. And that’s when it hits me. I know what to do.
I call on my wolf, begging her to pull back and to let me through. It’s not a shift that I’m after though. The shattered pieces of our souls come together, the thin veil separating our jagged halves making a new joining possible. I wind myself around my wolf’s essence, feeding everything I am into her, while demanding everything she is in return. I feel her give in to what I’m trying to do, morphing us into an in-between state where we’re neither wolf nor person, but both at the same time.
Like our cursed Lycan cousins, my body twists and breaks to make room for something new, something we shouldn’t be able to do. Both wolf and woman, possessing the same body at exactly the same time, just like we can do with our eyes. Our fractured pieces coalesce into something so muchmore.
Our limbs and torso elongate, our paws stretching into savagely sharp claw-tipped fingers. Our face morphs, and we see a flash of uncertainty, a flicker of fear, blaze through Conrad’s eyes. That’s the only reaction he has time for.
My wolf and I use every ounce of strength we possess in our new form to shove a hand straight into the bastard’s chest.
Bones shatter with the impact, and our claws pierce the vital organ keeping this cruel, lecherous piece of shit alive. We stare into his eyes mercilessly, death drenching our gaze, as the red veil of rage we normally see through darkens to black.
The grip around our throat weakens just a second before Conrad crumples to the ground, the last of the air in his lungs bursting out of him like it too can’t wait to abandon this monster. Gore drips from my hand and arm as I tip my head back and roar out my victory.
A car engine starts, and I snap my head in the direction of the van that’s peeling away. I see Burke in the driver’s seat as he cuts the wheel, desperate for escape, running over his own pack members in the process as he charges through the melee. I snarl in outrage and charge after him, refusing to let him get away and not have to answer for his crimes, for everything he’s done over the past three years. My wolf and I sprint, giving it everything we have, our legs pumping, our breaths heaving.
With elongated strides, we catch up with the back bumper.
Then, we’re even with the rear wheel.
Our glowing eyes reflect in the back window.
Driving ourselves even harder, we come up even with the driver’s side.
Our lungs pull in great gulps of air, our body primed to hunt and kill the alpha who’s haunted our waking steps from the minute my wolf and I became one. Terrified black eyes jump from the road in front of him to where I’m running alongside the van. Burke screams and yells for the van to go faster, and violent satisfaction fills me as the smell of his fear makes our blood sing.
A howl erupts from behind me, and I can feel Tyran’s worry and anger as he calls out into the night again. His need beckons me, and I snarl, knowing what it means. A frustrated, screaming growl vibrates through my chest, but when it comes to choosing between vengeance against Burke or answering the call of my mate, my mate will win every time.
