Page 39 of Under Dark Skies

It felt strange to almost make it to full werewolf form, but it also engulfed him with hunger. Full wolf meant full battle, and he couldn't afford to risk his or Layla’s life anymore.

He roared, and it echoed against the high marble ceiling. It didn’t do anything to intimidate the stranger, but he didn’t give a shit. He was more than capable now of tearing her into tiny little pieces if he wanted to.

Rafe began to gallop towards her. The stranger stood her ground, and he realized at the last second that she was holding a knife. A cheap shot was taken against his thick flesh, close but not close enough to his throat. It shined under the lights as Rafe landed, panicking and bring his paws to his neck. She had missed, but that wasn’t good.

Thin strips of blood coated his fur. He needed to take her down, and he needed to do it fast.

But he couldn’t kill her, no. She was too valuable to him. Both a PEACE agent and a wolf? There was a lot of information he could retrieve there.

He growled, and waited for her to come at him this time. He stood on all fours and prepared himself in a defensive stance.

The fucking bitch was still smiling. She came at him with the knife, and this time, Rafe knew what she was all about. She faked going to the left of his throat, then moved to swipe his jugular at the opposing side. Thankfully Rafe anticipated this, and was able to smack the knife out of her hand. At the same time he took a hold of her arm in his mouth. They both landed roughly, but he had her right where he wanted.

“Cheap shots make you predictable.” He roared in his werewolf voice. The stranger groaned in pain, and he knew he had taken her down properly. He looked around for Layla, who was peering out from behind the column in the corner. He saw fear in her eyes, and hated it intensely.

He slowed his breathing and allowed himself to shift back into his human form. Fur retracted back under his skin, as did his sharp nails and extra teeth. He moved his jaw in circles, cracking loud and sharp. When he had returned back to his man form her fingers were still in his mouth. He ripped them out roughly then twisted her arm backwards. She yelped, but still remained wordless.

“Now it’s time for a chat.” He flipped her over and placed his foot on her throat. His shift had ripped the boots off of him, and he’d need to get a new pair. But that wasn’t important right then and there.

“So tell me, who the fuck are you?”

Thirty-Five

Layla

The sight of Rafe in almost full wolf form deeply disturbed Layla. She wouldn’t admit this to herself initially—she loved him after all. But she had yet to see him like this. She saw his teeth, his strength, his potential for violence, but not this. He obviously felt like it was needed, but watching it come into full form was something else entirely.

Layla watched his giant body settle back into human form. He looked back at her, and she could not hide her fear. She wish she could, but her face was entirely too readable. His foot was on the stranger’s throat, and he was threatening her.

“It’s ok now Layla, you can come over here.”

She crept toward him, but still maintained a fair distance. He turned back to the stranger, pushing his boot heel down harder.

“Now we can make this easy or hard. You can tell me what you want from us, or I can press my boot down harder and destroy your vocal cords. Your choice.”

“Fuck you.”

The stranger finally spoke. She was wiggling beneath his boot, still believing she could get back at him. Rafe pushed down slightly harder, then his other knee down at her chest.

Layla could see her face getting red. She was struggling to breathe, and Layla wondered if Rafe was enjoying himself at all.

“Fine—-fine…”

She struggled to speak. Rafe lifted his boot off of her throat, but kept his knee on her chest. She was clearly a strong and capable wolf, willing to get the job done by any means necessary. Rafe motioned with his chin.

“Take that knife out of your pocket first. Do it slowly.”

She did as she was told, then took another knife out of her pocket. It was identical to the one Rafe had swatted away. She threw it , and it danced across the floor with a clank. Layla shook at the sound.

“Now let’s get started. You are clearly wearing a PEACE uniform. So that isn’t the mystery here. So who are you working for? Is it Sol? Malcolm?”

The stranger’s eyes widened. It seemed like it was a surprise that Rafe knew which names to state first. He was clearly more in the know than any of these traitors thought.

“Yeah. I report to Malcolm.”

Rafe widened his own voice. It groaned loud and harsh in the train station. “Don’t let the pressure on your chest stop you. Go on. If you work for Malcolm then why do you work for PEACE?”

“It’s been going on for years. We were trained to infiltrate PEACE as wolves to erode any sense that shifters and humans could live together. We planted the seeds of doubt.”

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