Page 101 of Silver Claw

The wolfman jerked around to face Sam, shock in every line of his furry body. “What?” he said. “How the hell…”

Taking advantage of his shock, Sam flung a blade at Voss’s right hand, which still swirled half-heartedly with magic, as though he’d forgotten he held it. The blade pierced the wolfman’s palm and somehow short-circuited the power.

Streaks of magic were flung through the air, hissing like live wires before they fizzled out and disappeared. Voss roared and slung blood after the magic, his wound holding onto Sam’s blade as the flesh knitted around the knife.

As Voss was trying to pull the blade out of what had to be a terribly painful wound, Sam melted into the shadows of the trees and was gone.

The wolfman finally pulled the knife out of his hand and flung it to the ground, then started after Sam. I jumped from the tree, and with almost shocking ease, I shapeshifted. I became one of a wolf’s biggest fears.

A tiger.

And though I couldn’t see him, I knew Gavin paused as he heard me roar. A tiger’s roar would confuse his brain, send terror through him, and take away some of his confidence.

He would realize he’d underestimated me yet again, and he’d become more cautious. No way would he give up his hunt, though.

I wasn’t sure he had anything else to live for.

I couldn’t know exactly what was in his head. But I hoped that for a while, Sam and I would have the upper hand.

I crashed through the trees and undergrowth of the woods, leaving some blood on a particularly thorny bush, not caring even a little bit.

Voss was standing still, facing me, dread and fear in his face, but excitement, as well. “It can’t be,” he said, when he saw me. “It can’t be.”

I’d lost my weapons and my phone when I’d shifted, but that was okay. I could go back for some blades if I wanted. Right now, I just wanted Voss to see that somehow once again, he’d been chasing me and yet I’d ended up behind him.

He’d start questioning his sanity.

I couldn’t kill him, but as I’d assured Max, I could hurt him. I could scare him. And I could absolutely make him regret that he’d ever come to Jakeston.

As he stood there marveling over the fact that I was a shapeshifter, I attacked. I had to be careful, because my tiger was eager, and her claws and teeth were lethal.

He’d actually run a few steps before he hesitated, then turned to meet me. His pride wouldn’t allow him to become the prey, no matter how huge his inborn fear of a tiger. His magic was swirling once again, and not just around his hands. It drifted up his arms, his shoulders, and his chest. It was red, now, as though his colors changed with his mood.

He had a couple of seconds to hit me with magic before I slammed into him, but he didn’t. I understood why when I bore him to the ground, my teeth at his throat.

He was using his magic like armor, and when I slashed his chest with my claws, it was like scraping metal with fingernails. I couldn’t penetrate it.

His magic forced me to lose my shift. The tiger transformed into the woman as though it had never been.

Voss was afraid of me now, and that made him even more dangerous. He folded his magic and his massive arms around me, and holding me tightly against his chest, he stood.

His magic squeezed and hurt my body, but it messed up my brain even more. And that was saying something.

I needed to stay alive for a hell of a lot longer than the first forty damn minutes. I needed my magic. My blade.

Almost tenderly, he held my smooth, bare body against his rough, furry chest. His fur was itchy to me, but I couldn’t scratch. I couldn’t yet lift my arms. He’d surprised me, and it was my own fault.

I could only hope that Sam wouldn’t come screaming from the shadows, and that he’d remember to be patient. We’d talked about the moment when Voss might take me down, but I hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

Not that it was over.

I needed to shift. If I shifted, I could heal, even from magic. Like Sam, I just needed to be patient.

I closed my eyes and shut out the feel of the wolfman’s body, his awful heat, his magic. I focused on the moon. I turned my face to her, bathed in her strong light, and absorbed her energy.

And maybe before Voss believed I’d be able to break free from the constraints of his magic, I burst into my shift. Not the tiger, but my wolf. I needed my wolf.

Ever since my alpha had pulled her from her chains, she’d never let me down. She never would.