Read Online Delilah Devlin - My Immortal Knight 03 by All Knight Long - Free Book Online
Authors: All Knight Long
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cat, was followed by the
sound of a low, menacing growl. Joe’s predatory instinct raised the hair on the
back of his neck like hackles. Then he caught a scent he didn’t recognize.
A heavy musk—like a man’s, but also like the smell of
wet dog—drifted from the alleyway. Every vamp-born instinct screamed for
caution. Joe hastened the descent of his canines with a grinding of his teeth.
A blur of motion seen from the corner of his eye was
all the warning Joe got before something heavy slammed into his chest, taking
him down. Its heavy body weighted Joe’s limbs, pinning him to the cement. He
had a glimpse of a wolf-like face with flat, reflective gold disks for eyes,
thick fur, and a long, dark snout. The black nose poised above Joe’s face and
the creature inhaled deeply. Sentient intelligence gleamed darkly in its gaze,
then it lifted its head and howled—a sound unlike any canine howl he’d ever
heard.
For a long moment, Joe lay beneath it, unresisting and
unbelieving. The beast was another kind of monster—one he’d thought a figment
of folk tales and Hollywood. Kind of like vampires, before he’d learned
different during his years on the force. If what his gut told him was true,
werewolves did exist! And this one looked pissed.
It sniffed Joe like a dog savoring the smell of its
next meal. The animal’s hackles rose, and the longer it scented, the louder its
rumbling growl grew, until it reverberated within its chest.
The werewolf opened its mouth and long, serrated teeth
sank into Joe’s shoulder. The creature straddling his body shook its head,
tearing at his flesh.
Joe roared, his lips drawing back in a feral snarl.
Adrenaline screamed through his veins, pumping into his muscles, firing the
rage in his inner beast. His arms strained against the creatures weight until
the change slammed through his body, adding strength to his human frame.
With a powerful surge, he lifted the beast and rolled
with it, smashing the back of its head to the pavement. Then thought became
impossible. Rage, and the struggle to live, supplanted his growing horror. The
beast within him warred with the werewolf, their primal cries a din of growls
and grunts and fierce bellows.
Joe’s hands pried the wolf’s mouth from his shoulder
and he pushed its neck back until bones crackled and the creature made a
strangling sound. The wolf’s haunches strained, forcing Joe to roll again, but
this time he raised his knee, slamming between the creature’s legs. It screamed
and drew back. Joe planted his foot into the beast’s belly, shoving it farther
away, and then he scrambled to his feet.
On all fours the werewolf hunched its shoulders, its
head low to ground as it circled Joe. Beneath the thick pelt, muscle rippled as
it poised to attack. The wolf’s unblinking gaze locked with Joe’s.
“What the hell?” A voice from the end of the alley
shouted. “You there, need help?”
Joe raised his arm and turned his face away from a
bright light that blinded him momentarily. He heard the patter of feet and
realized the beast had run to the opposite end of the alley. Forcing his face
to reform, he drew in a deep breath and reined in his inner monster.
“Mister!” The voice was closer now. “Looks like you
need an ambulance.”
Joe made out the shiny badge and the blue uniform of
an NOPD cop.
The large, barrel-chested officer continued to flash
his light in Joe’s face. “What the hell kind of dog was that? Animal Control’s
gonna need one big mother-fuckin’ cage.”
As the man drew closer, Joe’s human perception
sharpened. He realized the last thing he needed was a cop nosing around this
little mystery. “It wasn’t like any Rottweiler I ever saw,” Joe murmured.
The officer shined his flashlight on his shoulder,
then up again at Joe’s face. “Do you mind me askin’ what you were doin’ in this
alley?”
Joe shrugged. A few months ago he would just have
whipped out his badge and traded cop talk. Instead,
sound of a low, menacing growl. Joe’s predatory instinct raised the hair on the
back of his neck like hackles. Then he caught a scent he didn’t recognize.
A heavy musk—like a man’s, but also like the smell of
wet dog—drifted from the alleyway. Every vamp-born instinct screamed for
caution. Joe hastened the descent of his canines with a grinding of his teeth.
A blur of motion seen from the corner of his eye was
all the warning Joe got before something heavy slammed into his chest, taking
him down. Its heavy body weighted Joe’s limbs, pinning him to the cement. He
had a glimpse of a wolf-like face with flat, reflective gold disks for eyes,
thick fur, and a long, dark snout. The black nose poised above Joe’s face and
the creature inhaled deeply. Sentient intelligence gleamed darkly in its gaze,
then it lifted its head and howled—a sound unlike any canine howl he’d ever
heard.
For a long moment, Joe lay beneath it, unresisting and
unbelieving. The beast was another kind of monster—one he’d thought a figment
of folk tales and Hollywood. Kind of like vampires, before he’d learned
different during his years on the force. If what his gut told him was true,
werewolves did exist! And this one looked pissed.
It sniffed Joe like a dog savoring the smell of its
next meal. The animal’s hackles rose, and the longer it scented, the louder its
rumbling growl grew, until it reverberated within its chest.
The werewolf opened its mouth and long, serrated teeth
sank into Joe’s shoulder. The creature straddling his body shook its head,
tearing at his flesh.
Joe roared, his lips drawing back in a feral snarl.
Adrenaline screamed through his veins, pumping into his muscles, firing the
rage in his inner beast. His arms strained against the creatures weight until
the change slammed through his body, adding strength to his human frame.
With a powerful surge, he lifted the beast and rolled
with it, smashing the back of its head to the pavement. Then thought became
impossible. Rage, and the struggle to live, supplanted his growing horror. The
beast within him warred with the werewolf, their primal cries a din of growls
and grunts and fierce bellows.
Joe’s hands pried the wolf’s mouth from his shoulder
and he pushed its neck back until bones crackled and the creature made a
strangling sound. The wolf’s haunches strained, forcing Joe to roll again, but
this time he raised his knee, slamming between the creature’s legs. It screamed
and drew back. Joe planted his foot into the beast’s belly, shoving it farther
away, and then he scrambled to his feet.
On all fours the werewolf hunched its shoulders, its
head low to ground as it circled Joe. Beneath the thick pelt, muscle rippled as
it poised to attack. The wolf’s unblinking gaze locked with Joe’s.
“What the hell?” A voice from the end of the alley
shouted. “You there, need help?”
Joe raised his arm and turned his face away from a
bright light that blinded him momentarily. He heard the patter of feet and
realized the beast had run to the opposite end of the alley. Forcing his face
to reform, he drew in a deep breath and reined in his inner monster.
“Mister!” The voice was closer now. “Looks like you
need an ambulance.”
Joe made out the shiny badge and the blue uniform of
an NOPD cop.
The large, barrel-chested officer continued to flash
his light in Joe’s face. “What the hell kind of dog was that? Animal Control’s
gonna need one big mother-fuckin’ cage.”
As the man drew closer, Joe’s human perception
sharpened. He realized the last thing he needed was a cop nosing around this
little mystery. “It wasn’t like any Rottweiler I ever saw,” Joe murmured.
The officer shined his flashlight on his shoulder,
then up again at Joe’s face. “Do you mind me askin’ what you were doin’ in this
alley?”
Joe shrugged. A few months ago he would just have
whipped out his badge and traded cop talk. Instead,
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