Page 100 of Silver Claw

“Wolf versusmonster,”I whispered.

I’d forgotten he could mask his scent, so when he slipped up behind me, I was aware only because I heard the crack of something dry snapping beneath his feet. I whirled and crouched automatically, and his hand sailed over my head.

I immediately rammed him with my shoulder and brought up one of the blades to slice him, but he was fast. Quiet, and fast. He avoided the blade and leapt back, and I had a few seconds to really see him.

He was grotesque. He’d looked hideous when I’d seen his wolfman before, but the moon had changed him even more. He in no way resembled Gavin Voss, Gavin’s wolf, or even the previous wolfman I’d seen.

He was taller than me by at least a foot, and his body was covered with dark, patchy fur, through which I could see bulging brown muscle, streaks of red, and patches of skin that looked raw and shiny, as though he’d rubbed himself against stones or the rough bark of a tree.

His face was half covered in fur and the strange red patches, as well, and some of those were seeping a clear fluid. His mouth didn’t close completely, and I could see his teeth, surprisinglywhite, very crowded, and ending in sharp points that could easily rip through his target’s flesh.

His claws sprung from his huge fingers, long and thick, with sharp, curved points at the tips.

He was completely naked, of course. No clothes he’d been wearing as his man would fit any part of the huge atrocity that stood before me. And his genitals had grown with the rest of him.

Good. Those unprotected parts would be the first things I went after.

He roared and thrust his hips forward, exactly as Voss had done when I’d first seen him. Maybe he thought I’d be impressed.

I jumped backward, out of his reach, full of energy and light on my feet. “The moon has made you an absolute abomination,” I told him. “Never in my life have I seen a creature so ugly.”

I could tell he understood my words, but his eyes were piggish and small in the vastness of his hairy face. He was more animal than man, like a hungry bear that wanted to rend and roar and had only the barest of human intelligence lurking.

But in the next second he lowered his head and grinned at me, then proved that no matter what he looked like, Gavin Voss was still inside him, and he was still thinking intelligent thoughts.

He spoke.

“Little wolf,” he murmured, his words thick and his voice rough, “let’s have some fun.” He lifted his hands, and as I watched, the yellow fog of his magic began to swirl around his palms.

And this time, I had no demon blade to deflect it.

“Run,” he whispered. “I’ll give you a little head start.”

Of course he would. He craved the chase, the warped bastard. But his magic wasn’t anything I wanted to challenge.

“Lose the magic,” I told him, as I inched backward. “Make it a fair fight. Don’t be a coward, Voss.”

He made a fist and lifted his arm, preparing to sling some magic at my head. I didn’t know what it might do to me, even if he held back, and I didn’t want to find out.

I did exactly what he wanted me to do.

I ran.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I was fast, but under the full moon, the wolfman was equally fast. Maybe even faster. But as he’d promised, he gave me a slight head start.

And the moment I was out of sight, with him watching me go, Sam appeared directly behind him. I didn’t have to see it happening. I was connected to Sam because he was sort of…me.

I shimmied up a tree, carefully moved to where I could see the two of them, and watched.

“Hello, big fella,” Sam said.

It was odd, seeing myself standing there, my hands on my hips, a half-smile of derision on my face. Sam was strong. So strong.

Even Voss’s magic would have trouble controlling him. But he wasn’t invincible.

Iwas a shapeshifter, as well. I was strong. And I could mess with Gavin Voss.