Page 32 of Bitten Shifter

I squeeze the trigger.

The dart flies true, hitting centre mass.

He lets out a low whine, his body swaying before slumping, unconscious.

I blink, stunned. Wow. I got another one. New talent unlocked. Let’s hope he is merely unconscious and not dead, dead, because I have no idea what is in these darts. Either way, it’s him or me.

I shake my head, push myself onto my knees, and start to?—

A weight crashes into me from above.

My luck has officially run out.

The wolf has backup.

The dart gun clatters from my hand, bouncing down the stairs. My breath rushes out in a panicked wheeze as I smash into the floor. Twisting, I scramble onto my back, forearms raised to shield my throat as thick white fur presses against them. The wolf’s massive bulk pins me.

I kick wildly, my knees slamming into his underbelly, feet driving at his hind legs, but it’s no use. He is too heavy. His back claws dig into my left leg, shredding muscle like knives. My vision blurs, and I grit my teeth, struggling to keep him at bay as my strength fades.

I’m trapped. I can’t breathe.

All I see are teeth and white fur—snarling, snapping teeth. His breath washes over my face, hot and rancid, a nauseating mix of meat and raw aggression.

My skin crawls; every instinct screams for me to do something.

With no other choice, I drop my right arm and strike, aiming for his ear. The sharp smack echoes as my palm connects. Ear shots are the worst—enough to disorient anyone, human or shifter.

Please work. Please buy me time.

The blow does not disorient him—it enrages him.

He snaps his teeth, and I scream as they clamp down on my arm. Pain explodes, searing and immediate, as though he has torn muscle from bone.

The agony is excruciating, but it fuels me. Driven by desperation, I hammer my fist into his head, over and over, until my knuckles ache and my strength wanes. My blows are clumsy but relentless.

It must annoy him at least, because he shifts his weight, freeing my right side.

My heart leaps with a flicker of hope—then he strikes.

Before I can react, a massive paw cracks across my face. The sheer force sends my head snapping back, and my skull collides with the unforgiving concrete.

A blinding flash of pain explodes behind my eyes, and then?—

Nothing.

The world goes black.

Chapter Twelve

The rough,guttural snarls echo off the concrete walls, reverberating down to where I’m slumped against the steps. Dizzy, bleeding, and barely hanging on, I force my eyes open with a soft groan. No shifter is chewing on my arm, though it certainly feels like it.

Instead, a battle rages in the stairwell above me.

Claws scrape, fur flies, and the white wolf lunges, its pale coat a blur. Jaws snapping, it aims for the larger dark-grey wolf blocking its path. The bigger wolf meets the attack head-on, their teeth clashing in a savage chorus.

The white wolf snaps again, lunging for the grey’s throat.

The grey wolf twists, deflecting the attack, and counters with a powerful lunge. His teeth sink into the white wolf’s side, driving it back up the stairs, away from me. A gash in the white wolf’s shoulder spatters blood onto the wall. Their bodies slam into the metal railing, which creaks under their combined weight as they tear into each other.

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