Page 72 of Never Submit

She’s got an unbreakable hold on my elbow, her fingers digging into my skin.

My muscles ripple and contract, my face twisted in a snarl, a small part of me back with Flora and the rest hustled forward on leaden legs.

Shit.

“You really need to explain things to me,” Carrigan continues breathlessly. It seems my silence has bothered her. She slams her hand into the back door and a blast of cold air hits us. “I’m serious. I think you’ve gotten involvedwith some kind of mob that uses trained animals as weapons. Correct me if I’m wrong!”

She’s wrong, but I can’t correct her.

A howl erupts from behind us, and heat rises inside of me. I whip around, sucking in a breath. “They’re coming.”

“Run!” Flora’s warning sounds right before I catch a glimpse of the two men shoving her aside and pushing for the double doors to the filthy kitchen.

Carrigan slams the back door shut but I push her to the side before she has a chance to shield it with her body, too.

“No,” I grind out. “You can’t. They’ll hurt you.”

She’s wide eyed, staring at me. “Are you kidding me, Renee? They’ll hurt you, too!”

And they won’t stop until they have me shackled, either.

I glance wildly around. There’s nowhere to run. And if I try to run, they might hurt Carrigan, or Flora. I have to fight.

My skin tingles, tightens.No.Not yet.

“Carrigan, go!” I warn.

Her chest heaves in panic. “I’m not leaving you.”

“I can’t control it yet! I might hurt you.”

White fur sprouts from the back of my hands and along my forearms, my shirt tightening uncomfortably at the changes.

No, no, fuck, no!

The pain inevitably follows and the breath disappears from my lungs, my body doubling over as my bones grind together. Everything is twisting unnaturally, contorting me through the change, and the scream dies before it ever reaches my teeth.

My very sharp teeth.

“Ren!”

No, there’s no stopping the change once it happens. My fingers extend and claws push out through the nail beds, my canines lengthening in my mouth. And I know from experience that no amount of pleading will stop the change. It’s here.

My wolf, whatever is inside of me, is a separate beast even though we are the same. A flicker of something extra fills my head.

“What are you doing!” Every word is a screech of surprise and fear. “You’re?—”

I’m not sure I’lleverbe able to control the shift, and my own fear makes it harder to resist. The she-wolf inside of me is rising to the surface, shooting faster than a falling star, pushing against my consciousness and melding with me.

Carrigan is freaking out and hyperventilating, but she isn’t moving.

I reach out for her just as the door erupts outward.

The two men snarl at me, their features changing faster than my eyes can follow. But I don’t need my eyes to understand it. My wolf knows.

She senses exactly what they’re doing and takes control, despite the way I want to cower back. To let someone else handle the problem.

There’s no one else around, and Carrigan needs me. She’s a part of me, a part of my family, a better friend than I could have asked for and better than I’ve deserved in some cases.

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