Read Online On The Prowl by Cynthia Eden - Free Book Online

stretching. In just a few moments, he’d be doing a full-on shift right in front of her. He didn’t want her to see that.
    Shifts weren’t pretty. They were brutal and they were vicious and, sometimes, if he wasn’t very, very careful…his panther could take over completely.
    There was a reason he had no pack to call his own. A reason he’d gone rogue long ago.
    He was a killer. Someone who could never be trusted. Especially not around humans. Especially not around…
    Someone like her.
    I knew that from the beginning, but I couldn’t stay away from her.
    “Take Rose to the main house,” he ordered Rayce.
    Rayce just lifted his brows. “What? Do I look like some errand boy to you? Drag the human…” he muttered as he turned away, heading up the winding path that led to the house. “Get the girl. Do all my shit for me because I’m Julian and I can’t handle—”
    “
Rayce.
”
    His friend—friend, general jack-ass, trouble-maker, whatever—turned back toward him. And whatever he saw on Julian’s face had Rayce tensing.
    “Rose,” Rayce said her name flatly. “Bring that sweet ass of yours up here with me, now.”
    “I don’t like him,” Rose muttered.
    Julian clenched his hands into fists. He jumped off the boat. He had to get away from Rose. He had to get away from them all.
    But Rose—she followed him. She grabbed his arm. “We aren’t done, Julian! You can’t just run away from me—”
    “You don’t want to see what happens next.” His voice was rough, broken. Speech was too hard then. His bones had started to snap. In a moment, he would be on all fours, and fur would burst from his skin. He’d learned to control the shift—mostly—since coming to Luke’s island so long ago. But because of that hellish night, because of all the things that had happened to Rose, there was no longer any control left for him. He was at a breaking point. The panther loved it when the man broke.
    “Julian?” Concern softened her face. “Are you okay?”
    He pulled from her. “Get her
away!”
Julian roared to Rayce.
    Rayce kept the human over his shoulder, but he bounded toward Rose. He caught her arm. “We need to go…now. Come on, lady,
now!”
    Rayce pulled her, trying to force her up the path, and Julian whirled, trying to flee before the change hit.
    But it was too late.
    He could feel the burn beneath his skin. He hit the ground, landing on all fours. The snap and crunch of his bones just got louder. An itch started along his skin—and then the fur burst out, covering him. He opened his mouth, snarling with the pain because the shift wasn’t gentle. He’d fought the beast too long for any gentleness. A mouthful of razor sharp teeth exploded. He became the panther, running and bounding forward. His paws hit the earth. His claws were ready to rip and kill and, helplessly, he looked toward Rose once more.
    Only to see her staring at him in horror.
    But then, that was the way she usually looked at him.
    Some things never fucking change.
    ***
    “Well…” the man next to her drawled. “That was a little awkward, huh?”
    More than awkward. “I didn’t realize it hurt him so much.” His pain had been unmistakable. The sound of crunching bones would haunt her.
    “Not like it’s easy to completely reshape into another being. When the fire of the shift burns through you, there are only two choices. Fight it and let it hurt worse. Or give in…and still let it hurt like a bitch.” He hoisted Francis higher onto his shoulder. The human was twitching, but not struggling…much. “There’s not exactly any winning way to do it.”
    The panther—a big, black panther with seriously scary teeth—had vanished. Rose cleared her throat. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
    “I am.”
    Her gaze jerked toward him. When he smiled at her, she saw that his canines were a little too long. A little too sharp. His face shape had altered a bit, too, becoming more angular. His eyes—a