Thump. The wolf yelped as it hit the panel then landed hard on the pavement, right atop the satchel.

As the female shook her dazed head, Sasha chose to dive for the pouch of sleeping needles. While usually she’d kill something that threatened, given the rabid pair were innocents caught up in shit and the fact Amir might be pissed, she chose to try a gentler approach.

Sasha yanked at the strap and dragged the satchel close. She grimaced as she cut herself on a broken vial. Apparently, the female landing on it had caused some damage. Surely there was at least one needle intact? Her scrabbling fingers found one that seemed whole, and she pulled it free.

Before she could act, a weight slammed into her back, and she felt the painful pinch of teeth clamping around her neck!

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Amir foughtfor his life against the wolf in the grips of the bloodfever, a state artificially induced by whatever had been in Monty’s little bottle. While all Lycans knew of the bloodfever, he’d never before seen anyone suffering from it. It was utterly savage. The other wolf’s gaze held no cognition, just snarling madness.

And rage.

The rabid Lycan wanted nothing more than to kill Amir. While Amir wanted to help the man recover, he wouldn’t do so at the risk of his own life, assuming he could actually beat it. He’d never been in such a fierce fight. Sasha couldn’t help, as she faced her own adrenalized wolf.

How could he win? His bloodied opponent didn’t seem to feel any of its many wounds, even the solid chomp that severed a tendon in its leg didn’t seem to bother it. Subduing the wolf wasn’t a viable option, which left only one option.

Kill.

Easy to decide, harder to accomplish, especially since his own wounds slowed some of his reaction time. He had to end this, and quickly. Since they appeared evenly matched, strength-wise, it meant he needed to be wilier. Fight unconventionally. More humanly…

Wham.

He slammed his head into the other wolf’s, the hard butt sending it reeling in a daze. Amir followed and once more swung his noggin, slamming it with enough force he swayed on his feet. But in good news, the other wolf fell over, unconscious.

Whew.Amir huffed out a breath, only to jump as he heard a hiss of pain.

He whirled to see Sasha pinned under the other wolf, the jaws clamped to her neck. Without even thinking, Amir dashed, lowering his head at the last moment before ramming into the female wolf, knocking her loose.

The scent of blood filled the air, but he didn’t have time to lick. A growling Amir stood between the rabid Lycan and Sasha. The female didn’t take the hint and came at him with a feral glint in her eyes and drool dripping from her open maw.

They met in a clash of fur and claws, rolling on the dirty pavement, where the stench of burnt oil and food refuse filled the air.

Unlike the male he’d fought, this wasn’t an even match, his size more than twice hers. He could have easily killed the smaller wolf, but Amir hesitated. It was one thing to eviscerate the ghouls, another to do so to an innocent caught up in something evil.

In the end, he didn’t have to make a shitty choice, for Sasha suddenly appeared alongside and jabbed down with a syringe. It took a moment, though, before the drug penetrated the adrenalized effect of the forced shift, but when it hit, the female wobbled and then fell over.

Sasha exhaled. “Well, damn. Sure glad Monty didn’t have a chance to dose you, Puppy Chow. I doubt one needle would have been enough to knock you on your ass.”

Amir snorted despite the fact she had a point. He’d shaken off the first dose while they were loading him into the truck, and he’d had a moment to see his brother’s wide eyes and hear Monty’s exhaled, “Oh shit,” before a second poke of a needle sent him under again. The next time he woke, Amir knew to remain still. Apparently, Sasha had done the same thing.

She reached out and ruffled the fur on his head. “Such a good boy. Glad you stuck around instead of chasing after your brother. I might have had a little bit of trouble handling two rabid Lycans on my own.”

He uttered a low rumbling sound, and she cocked her head.

“What’s that? I don’t understand dog.”

Grawr.He kept growling even as his body contorted and changed, elongating, the hair being reabsorbed, the pain excruciating until the shift finished.

He glared at Sasha. “I said next time, don’t fuck around. If a wolf tries to kill you, tear out its throat.”

“I was being nice in case they were, like, related to you or something.”

“Fuck being nice when something’s trying to eat your face.”

Her lips quirked. “Yes, Puppy Chow. Anything else?”

He dragged her close. “Yeah. A victory kiss, because when I woke up in the back of that truck, I really thought we were fucked.”