hadn’t run after all. He had Changed. From the weight of the animal as he sunk his fangs into Wolf’s neck, he was large. Wolf instinctively curved his body inward to latch onto the others shifter’s front leg. The bone went snap.
The wolf yelped and loosened his grip. Wolf used his powerful neck muscles and yanked the other wolf under him by his crippled leg and then he latched on to his muzzle. The bones crunched between his jaws. Wolf was tired of clean deaths. This man had taken Lana, his tiny baby Lana. He held on to the scrabbling wolf until blood rattled in his lungs--until the kidnapper slowly suffocated from his crushed face. He held his mouth and nose closed as he struggled wildly. A whistling sound came from the wolf’s muzzle as the last few molecules of air tried desperately to make it to drowning lungs. He didn’t let go until the animal went slack and its eyes glazed over.
Lana stood frozen against the side of the house. Not the way he had wanted to introduce her to his animal form. His belly brushed the ground as he crawled to her, slowly whining. He licked her face clean of tears when he got close enough.
Three wolves. That was all he had seen and smelled, so she should be safe. He jerked his head in the direction of Morgan’s house. They were two blocks away, at least. His instincts screamed to stay as a wolf to protect her, but it was a long walk for the child. He needed to carry her.
“Stay right here,” he said before he slunk around the corner to push his Change as fast as possible in the open garage. He hated her being out of his sight for even a moment. A stack of boxes leaned crookedly against the left side of the garage, and he scanned them until he found one that sounded promising. It read winter clothes . He ripped it open and grabbed a pair of dark gray sweats from the top and pulled them on as quickly as he could.
Darkness was setting in, and he didn’t want them in the back of this alleyway any longer than they needed to be. He dragged the two bodies by the fence into the garage and ran out to grab the other, which had already Changed back to a human corpse. Grey piled him on top of the other two and shut the garage behind him. He noted the house number over the door and ran around the corner. As recognition lit Lana’s face, he picked her up and crushed her to him.
“Are you okay? Are you okay?” he murmured as he checked her for injuries. She seemed shaken but wasn’t hurt.
He took off at a brisk walk back to the house, head swiveling and keen wolf eyes scanning for danger. Lana squeezed her arms around his neck and cried. The place he was stabbed in the shoulder had shifted when he Changed and was now in his back, open and bleeding freely. Warmth trickled down his back in a steady stream. The last thing he needed was for someone to see them like this. He jogged, the ill-fitting sweats pulling irritatingly as the too-short legs bunched around his calves.
“Morgan!” he yelled as he reached the back door to the house.
She should have heard him from there. He bolted, a feeling of unease hitting his gut again. The back door was wide open.
“Morgan!” he called again. Even to himself, his voice sounded frantic. Shutting and locking the door behind him. He put Lana in the closet and turned on the light.
“Lana, stay right here. I promise I’ll be right back. Be quiet as a mouse, okay?”
She nodded and the movement loosed a tear that slid down her cheek. Grey shut the door and jerked the handle, forcibly jamming it.
Grey stilled himself and listened. The latch of a car door clicked from somewhere outside. He ran through the house and straight through the open front door. A man was shoving Morgan’s limp body into the trunk of a black Honda Accord. A rental car from the look of the license plate.
He bolted for the man. A flash of fur came from the right and landed on him so hard it knocked the wind out of him. A gray wolf latched on to his arm and shook hard enough
The wolf yelped and loosened his grip. Wolf used his powerful neck muscles and yanked the other wolf under him by his crippled leg and then he latched on to his muzzle. The bones crunched between his jaws. Wolf was tired of clean deaths. This man had taken Lana, his tiny baby Lana. He held on to the scrabbling wolf until blood rattled in his lungs--until the kidnapper slowly suffocated from his crushed face. He held his mouth and nose closed as he struggled wildly. A whistling sound came from the wolf’s muzzle as the last few molecules of air tried desperately to make it to drowning lungs. He didn’t let go until the animal went slack and its eyes glazed over.
Lana stood frozen against the side of the house. Not the way he had wanted to introduce her to his animal form. His belly brushed the ground as he crawled to her, slowly whining. He licked her face clean of tears when he got close enough.
Three wolves. That was all he had seen and smelled, so she should be safe. He jerked his head in the direction of Morgan’s house. They were two blocks away, at least. His instincts screamed to stay as a wolf to protect her, but it was a long walk for the child. He needed to carry her.
“Stay right here,” he said before he slunk around the corner to push his Change as fast as possible in the open garage. He hated her being out of his sight for even a moment. A stack of boxes leaned crookedly against the left side of the garage, and he scanned them until he found one that sounded promising. It read winter clothes . He ripped it open and grabbed a pair of dark gray sweats from the top and pulled them on as quickly as he could.
Darkness was setting in, and he didn’t want them in the back of this alleyway any longer than they needed to be. He dragged the two bodies by the fence into the garage and ran out to grab the other, which had already Changed back to a human corpse. Grey piled him on top of the other two and shut the garage behind him. He noted the house number over the door and ran around the corner. As recognition lit Lana’s face, he picked her up and crushed her to him.
“Are you okay? Are you okay?” he murmured as he checked her for injuries. She seemed shaken but wasn’t hurt.
He took off at a brisk walk back to the house, head swiveling and keen wolf eyes scanning for danger. Lana squeezed her arms around his neck and cried. The place he was stabbed in the shoulder had shifted when he Changed and was now in his back, open and bleeding freely. Warmth trickled down his back in a steady stream. The last thing he needed was for someone to see them like this. He jogged, the ill-fitting sweats pulling irritatingly as the too-short legs bunched around his calves.
“Morgan!” he yelled as he reached the back door to the house.
She should have heard him from there. He bolted, a feeling of unease hitting his gut again. The back door was wide open.
“Morgan!” he called again. Even to himself, his voice sounded frantic. Shutting and locking the door behind him. He put Lana in the closet and turned on the light.
“Lana, stay right here. I promise I’ll be right back. Be quiet as a mouse, okay?”
She nodded and the movement loosed a tear that slid down her cheek. Grey shut the door and jerked the handle, forcibly jamming it.
Grey stilled himself and listened. The latch of a car door clicked from somewhere outside. He ran through the house and straight through the open front door. A man was shoving Morgan’s limp body into the trunk of a black Honda Accord. A rental car from the look of the license plate.
He bolted for the man. A flash of fur came from the right and landed on him so hard it knocked the wind out of him. A gray wolf latched on to his arm and shook hard enough
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