Page 3 of Season of the Wolf

A growl …

Instinctively, Dallas placed himself between me and whatever lurked out there. With his size and skill, there was no doubt he’d be quite the protector, but … there seemed to be too many. Of what, I wasn’t exactly sure yet.

I sniffed the air, searching beneath the scent of pine and freshly fallen snow. Filling my nostrils was a familiar twinge of disgusting dark fur and razor-sharp claws that could only belong to one particular type of beast.

Mutts.

Unable to speak in this form, I opened and closed my snout two or three times, wishing I had the ability to warn Dallas. However, when he burst into flames and braced himself for impact the next instant, it became apparent I didn’t need to.

So many bodies. They poured at us from all directions. There was no time to think or rationalize, just … do.

My teeth sank into the neck of one and I quickly tossed it aside, hearing its vertebrae snap against the trunk of a nearby tree. Another to my left succumbed to my claws quickly when I tore them through the tough flesh of its abdomen, spilling its intestines on the snow—black ink on a fresh canvas.

Two straight ahead squealed as flames ravished them, their cries dying off in the night as, not too far away, Dallas had just sentenced three more to the same fate.

How many were there?

Were more waiting in the distance, set to attack in case we managed to get through the first wave?

My heart raced wildly inside my chest and I found it hard not to miss my dragon right now. In her form, I was just beginning to find myself, just beginning to feel worthy to wield her power. And now … she was gone. No, not literally, but she may as well have been. I felt the distance, the longing and intense grief we shared.

Breathless, searching the tree line for more, Dallas panted beside me as his flames dimmed. A dozen had come at us, a dozen had fallen. Thick, black blood covered us both, as did their distinct odor. With a look of disgust, Dallas shook a layer of the filth from his arms, speckling the surrounding snow.

He glanced at me and I half-expected the look to be one filled with disdain and frustration. After all, it was because of me he was out here. But instead, he surprised me, not doing much to hide the concern behind his gaze.

He knew like I did … this was a sign of worse to come.

Chapter Two

Evie

Silent, lacking the fight and determination I bridled when Dallas first chased me down, I followed him home. If there were more mutts lurking about, I wouldn’t get very far on my own, making this journey evenmoreof a fool’s errand.

In short, my efforts had been successfully thwarted for the night, and I was stuck.

Powerless.

The moment we walked through the door where Elise paced the foyer, it was clear she’d come undone waiting for Dallas and I to return. My fur, slick with blood, was suddenly the focus of her attention. The initial anger and frustration she aimed at me for running off was quickly washed away by concern.

“What happened?” she breathed, letting her gaze volley between Dallas and I as he traipsed in behind me.

“One guess,” he sighed, glancing at the dark liquid slathered all over him.

Elise turned her questions toward me, stammering a few syllables before it came back to her remembrance that, as my wolf, I was unable to speak. She glanced toward the stairs and that regal posture—which she’d let slip for only a moment when she thought I’d been harmed—returned as she pointed.

“Get yourself cleaned up, and then I’d like to have a word with you.”

Liquid glistened in her eyes as she blinked and, right away, guilt set in. I’d run off knowing it would hurt her, but … her feelings,anyone’sfeelings, had to be a secondary concern. Liam came first.

Upstairs, I shifted back, making quick work of getting to the shower to rid myself of the mutts’ stench. Beneath the stream of hot water, I breathed deep, doing what I could to block it all out.

Hopelessness.

Failure.

Inadequacy.

Tonight was yet another example of how I was so small in this great big world. A world where good didn’t always defeat evil. A world where love wasn’t enough to save the ones who meant the most. The proof of this theory lie in a bed across the hall—unaware of how much he was missed, needed.

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