Page 114 of The Pack

“Hold on, Zara,” he said, his voice tight with strain.

“I can run!” I shouted, clutching his shoulders as he leapt over a fallen streetlamp.

“You’re safer up here?—”

He never finished the sentence.

A shadow launched out of the haze, a massive form barreling into us with bone-crushing force. Callum went down hard, theimpact knocking the air from my lungs as we hit the ground. I rolled away, coughing and gasping for breath, my hands scrambling for the knife at my side.

“Run!” Callum yelled, his voice rough and guttural.

In a flash of motion Callum was already on his feet, his gray eyes blazing as he shifted mid-movement. His wolf form was powerful, his sleek gray coat bristling as he snarled at the creature that had attacked us.

I stumbled to my feet, but before I could move, another beast lunged toward us, its yellow eyes locked on me.

Time seemed to slow as it closed the distance, its huge claws raised, its jagged teeth bared in a snarl that made my blood run cold.

The beast slammed into me, its weight driving me to the ground. Pain exploded in my shoulder as its claws raked across my arm, and I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat as I struggled beneath its bulk.

Its breath was hot and rancid, its jagged teeth snapping inches from my face as it pinned me to the cracked pavement.

Move, Zara. Move!

With a desperate cry, I reached for my knife, my fingers closing around the hilt just as the creature lunged for my throat. I drove the blade upward with all my strength, the pointed edge sinking deep into its chest.

The beast let out a terrible, gurgling roar, its glowing eyes wide with shock as it thrashed above me. Hot blood sprayed across my hands, the thick, metallic scent making my stomach churn.

“Get off her!”

Magnus’s voice roared through the chaos, and then a silver blur crashed into the beast, knocking it off of me.

I gasped, scrambling backward as Magnus’s wolf form tore into the creature, his powerful jaws ripping at its throat.

Thorne’s white wolf form darted between two creatures, his teeth snapping at their legs as he drew them away from Callum. Killian, still in human form, swung his blade with precision, the edge catching one beast across the face and sending it reeling.

Tobias moved like an assassin, his dark eyes focused as he shifted mid-leap, his massive wolf form slamming into a creature that had been charging Magnus.

Everywhere I looked, the pack was fighting, their movements fluid and desperate as they battled the mutated monsters.

One of the beasts lunged for Callum, its claws raking across his flank. He yelped, stumbling, but recovered quickly, his sharp teeth snapping at the creature’s throat. Blood sprayed as he brought it down, but another was already closing in on him.

“Callum!” I screamed, grabbing a chunk of debris from the ground and hurling it at the beast.

The rock struck its head, just enough to distract it. Callum took the opening, lunging forward and sinking his teeth into its neck.

Magnus darted past me, his silver coat streaked with blood as he shifted back into human form, grabbing one of the fallen weapons and hurling it at a creature that had cornered Killian. The blade sank into the beast’s shoulder, and Killian grabbed the opportunity, slashing its throat with a feral grin.

A shadow fell over me, and I turned just in time to see another beast lunge.

I screamed, raising my arms instinctively, but before it could reach me, Thorne’s massive wolf form collided with it midair. The two tumbled to the ground in a blur of claws and teeth, their snarls tearing through the haze.

Tobias barked in my direction, likely telling me to do something like stay back, his dark wolf form circling me protectively.

I saw Callum fall, only to rise again, his teeth bared and his eyes blazing as he tore into another beast. Killian moved like a whirlwind, his reddish-brown hair streaked with blood as he fought on with wild desperation.

Magnus and Tobias worked in perfect sync, their forms shifting seamlessly between human and wolf as they took down one creature after another. Thorne was a blur of motion, his teeth snapping as he drove a beast away from me, his growls reverberating through my chest.

I watched as Magnus shifted mid-strike, his silver wolf form tearing into one beast’s flank before leaping back, his human hands already reaching for another blade. Tobias darted between two of the creatures, his dark wolf form moving like a shadow as he sank his teeth into the throat of one and whipped his head to the side, sending blood spraying across the cracked pavement.

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