Read Online Consumed (Dark Protectors) by Rebecca Zanetti - Free Book Online

blonde in a slasher movie? She fully understood her limitations from the virus. In strength and speed, she was nowhere near where she used to be as a lioness. For now.
    Baye cocked a gun, the only sound behind her as they tromped through the wilderness. “It’s still morning ... they may be asleep.”
    Lance appeared at her side, his massive head reaching her rib cage. He head-butted her.
    “Knock it off.” She tried to bite back a smile. The shifter would kill to have his ears scratched, even in the middle of werewolf territory. He huffed and then took up a flanking position, large paws silent on the rocky ground.
    They trudged through maybe five acres, scrambling over rocks and through brush. Katie smacked a mosquito off her arm. The air began to turn muggy. Thunder rolled high above, promising a break in air pressure.
    Jordan paused in front of her, sliding brush out of the way. “I can feel them now.”
    Katie nodded, sidling up beside him. Even with her mental shields in place, a dull, dark ache pounded in her head.
    She studied the lodging. A dilapidated porch covered the front, hanging drunkenly off one side. Two windows had been roughly boarded up. The roof sagged in the middle. “Weird. They usually try to go underground.” A chill having nothing to do with the weather shook her arms. If any humans had lived there, they hadn’t survived the werewolves moving in.
    A punch of pure evil hit her between the eyes.
    She stepped back, hand going to her throat. “I sense Brent.” Nothing on earth could make her think of him as “Snuggles” ever again. “Muted, but a sense.” Maybe the beast hid in a basement. Though, in a swamp? This wasn’t a place to have a basement.
    Lance snarled, the striped fur along his spine standing up.
    “Katie, stand back. Lance, cover her ... don’t come unless I yell.” Jordan took a green gun from his waist. “Baye, you go through the rear door.”
    “On it.” Baye jogged around the perimeter of the small clearing, disappearing silently.
    “I’ll try to stay in human form—I’d like to just shoot them and end this quickly.” Jordan gave her one last hard look. “Be careful.” Then he turned, charging for the front door. If the werewolves were awake, they’d smell the shifters, so stealth was unnecessary.
    Katie settled her back against a tree, taking aim at the entrance. Lance stood in front of her, teeth bared, concentration absolute on the shack.
    Jordan hit the entrance, splintering the rotten wood in two, crashing inside. A furious roar bellowed forth. Snarls, growls, and loud thunks echoed back. Something impacted the nearest wall. Boards on the front of the house broke outward. Splinters of wood flew across the sad porch.
    Fear slammed into Katie. What if more than three werewolves lived in the shack? She maneuvered closer and to the side for a better angle.
    Jordan flew out, spinning head over heels, followed by an enraged beast. A seven-foot, huge-assed, hairy werewolf the color of a gray sheepdog. Deadly fangs flashed low, dripping with saliva. The monster advanced on Jordan, eyes a swirling yellow, three-inch claws swiping furiously. The fur stood up along its back.
    Hitting the ground, Jordan rolled, landing on his feet with his gun firing.
    Katie joined in, aiming for the beast’s chest. She used both hands to aim the gun. The recoil jerked her arms each time. An ache set up in her shoulder blades, yet she shoved the pain away and kept firing.
    The animal fell to one knee, roaring in fury.
    Lance circled to the side, teeth bared, claws out.
    Jordan settled his stance, shooting the monster between the eyes. The werewolf fell back, an odd moaning escaping. No expression covered Jordan’s face, but his eyes flared with emotion. He yanked a knife from his boot. Stalking forward, he straddled the werewolf, plunging the blade into its neck.
    Blood sprayed across Jordan’s throat and chest. Grunting, fighting, and using both hands, he slashed hard to the