Page 67 of Wolf Bitten

The wolves’ eyes bulged, but they remained in place. Their gazes shifted behind me.

Ignoring my screaming muscles, I looked over my shoulder. I blinked several times.

What wasthis?

Several owls flew out of the trees and alighted on the surrounding branches, and ten raccoons, eight coyotes, and twelve deer now stood behind me. Even though some were predators and some were prey, they didn’t seem wary of each other. Every one of them had their attention focused on the enemy wolves.

The tallest deer’s intelligent brown eyes shifted to me, and he nodded.

Somehow, I understood. They were all here to protect me. I’d called for them, and they’d responded. That was what my blood had been doing, though I hadn’t understood.

Moving forward, the group split in half, flanking me. The enemy wolves hunkered down and growled, which confused me.

Did they want to die? Or were they acting under a threat that they had to finish me or something bad would happen to them? I’d learned that the supernatural world was ruthless.

I had to stop this. I needed the wolves alive to learn who was behind the attack, and I couldn’t let these animals die in their determination to protect me.

My blood power increased to a sing, a level I’d never experienced before, and I could feel it bubbling like it was boiling.

When the wolves ran toward the coyotes in the center, power exploded from my body. I felt it leave my blood and barrel toward the two wolves.

When it reached them, the wolves swayed on their feet for a few seconds before their eyes rolled back and they dropped to the ground, completely unconscious.

The power continued to sail into the woods.

As if enough shit wasn’t strange, all the animals here to protect me were still awake.

A fizzle rushed over my fur, and the power vanished as if the job were done.

One of the coyotes ran to Dark Gray and ripped out the wolf’s throat.

My stomach churned.Stop,I screamed inside my brain.

The animals all froze. The coyote lifted his blood-covered snout toward me, confusion emanating from him. He had protected me like I’d asked.

It was one thing to kill out of protection, but this was different. The wolves were unconscious, with no way to defend themselves, and I needed the Light Gray and the larger wolf that I’d knocked out first to answer questions.

I also needed Slade and Raffe. Raffe would help me change back into human form and make the wolf shifters shift back to talk.

Thank you for your help, but I’m okay now. I wasn’t sure they could understand me, but talking to them seemed effective.I’m going to find my friends, who should be close by.I didn’t need someone stumbling across me with a herd of animals.

One of the raccoons stood on its hind legs, its black eyes meeting mine.

Understanding washed over me. I should call them again if I was ever in trouble in the woods. They wouldn’t be far.

Somehow, I’d become a fucking Disney princess.

My heart skipped a beat as the group dispersed. An owl swooped down and brushed my snout with its feathers as it flew back home.

I watched in awe for a moment, but there were more pressing things to do—like getting back to Raffe.

Raffe.

With my blood calm, his feelings flooded back into me. He was crazed, the sensation adding to my already overwhelming pain. I wanted to lie down and rest, but I couldn’t continue to let him feel like this, and I had no clue how long the wolves would be unconscious. The last thing I needed was for Light Gray to find her dead friend and attack me all over again.

“Skylar!” Lucy’s desperate cry came from near where I’d left her.

I began to walk toward her voice, but the pain in my leg was so severe that I collapsed. I held it up and hobbled on three legs. The movement was rough, and my back felt as if I was being filleted.

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