Page 39 of Cowboy Devil's Embrace

Kian followed. His angry Bull kicked out with his hind legs and broke through the side of the old barn.

I cursed as Emmet shifted. He was trying to force the Bear back with his snapping jaws. But Dante wasn’t afraid.

Claws raked over fur and skin and fangs tore into flesh as one by one my new Crew beat the shit out of each other. The sounds of roaring and growls were so loud, my inner Devil was going nuts.

“Do something,” Zeke hissed, and I snapped my eyes to where he stood as far back as he could, shaking from head to toe.

“I can’t control it much longer,” he begged.

“Fuck!”

I knew what he was. Recognized his monster was bigger than theirs.

The only thing I really had going for me if that fucker should have an uncontrolled change was my magic.

Then again, Dragons had magic too.

Fuck.

I did not know for sure what kind of Dragon Zeke had inside of him. But I’d smelled it on him the second I saw him.

Until I knew, I couldn’t take the chance that he could just change and kill us all.

Next thing I knew my wings and tail ripped through my clothes as my body broke apart and reshaped in the blink of an eye.

Where Shifters had to painfully experience each breaking bone and cracking muscle, my change was more fluid.

But then again, I was not a true Shifter. I was a cryptid with magical powers.

Jersey Devils were born of a mating between a Witch and a Demon and my witch from my human skin to that of my red Jersey Devil reflected that.

Pure, undiluted joy raced through my veins as I embraced my Devil. The monster in me loved a good fight. He liked to brawl and chase, to hunt and kill. Not that I allowed that to happen.

It was part of the whole balance thing. Why I needed to find my mate before this very special last quarter moon.

Magic hummed through me, and I threw my head back and roared long and loud. In this skin, I looked barely human. My skin was a dark, burned red. My face took on a draconian moue.

Long black claws sprung from my fingertips and my legs transformed into something very similar to the hindquarters of a goat covered in thick, black fur and ending in sharp cloven hooves.

A pretty impressive rack of antlers curled upwards towards the ceiling from either side of my head, and enormous bat-like wings unfurled from my back. My tail whipped back and forth as I stood to my full height, roaring again.

The Shifters stilled.

“Stop this,” I hissed.

To my utter surprise, one by one, they did. Emmet shifted back first, standing before me, he averted his gaze and exposed his neck.

“Sorry, Alpha.”

Dante, Kian, and Zeke followed in that order.

“W-what are you?” Kian asked, his eyes huge in his chest.

“H-he’s Max,” Emmet said, but from the way the pulse in his neck was racing, I knew he needed answers, too.

Truth was, I hadn’t been upfront about it at first. I faced each of them, pausing on one then the next in turn.

Dust motes danced in the air, and I briefly let my mind wander to the fucking mess they’d made all around us.

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