Page 139 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

"Don’t waste your time with handcuffs," Hyena said as he bounded off the porch, already recovered enough to join the fight. "The bitch shattered the other ones."

I was tired of being bullied and called derogatory names just because I was female. I pulled more power from the moon, making myself even stronger. I leaned forward and threw Llamaover my body. His hold released as he tried to catch his fall, but he landed hard on his back, hitting his head and passing out.

"Julius," Twitcher shouted. "She’s kicking our asses."

Dammit, are you okay?Griffin linked.

Yeah.I glanced in his direction for a second and could just make out the three of them squatting in the tree line.How about you guys?

We’re trying to get to you.He sounded frustrated.We hit another one of them.

I’ll be there to help in a second.It was time to end this.

Not wanting to be on the defensive any longer, I decided to take control of the situation. I no longer had any reason to not go all out. I called to my wolf, asking for her to come forward. She gladly obliged, and within seconds, my bones began to crack and reform. Before long, I was on four legs, completely shifted into my animal form.

"Holy shit." Hyena stopped and stared.

On nights like these, my wolf was huge; on all four legs, I was the same height as I was in human form. I bared my teeth and stalked toward Hyena, letting him know that he was the prey, not me.

His bottom lip quivered as he seemed to realize he was on the wrong side…at least, at the moment.

That wasn’t going to win him sympathy. He’d proven that he had no remorse about handing me off to a horrible fate. The only reason he had regret now was because of his fear.

As if realizing his best chance of survival was in his animal form, he began his own shift.

I’d never fought a bear before, so this would be interesting. More hair sprouted along his body even though I wasn’t sure how. The asshole had been hairy as fuck, to begin with.

He roared at me in his beast form.

However, he didn’t have the size advantage he would on standard wolves—because I was the same size. He barreled toward me, probably planning on using his brute strength against me. I easily dodged him, and he ran past me several feet before he could stop. He skidded in the gravel and spun back around.

Drool dripped from his teeth as his chest heaved. He lumbered back in my direction but, this time, didn’t race like before. He anticipated that I’d dodge him again. So, when he got close, he stood on his back two legs and wrapped his arms around my body, countering my move.

He’d surprised me…and it infuriated me. I’d been trained better than that.

As he tightened his hold, pain coursed through my body, alerting Griffin.

Sterlyn. Griffin cried through our bond.

I’m fine.If he did something stupid, then both of us would get hurt. There was no way in hell I’d let anything happen to him.He doesn’t have me.

As Hyena wrapped his arms around me, I sank my teeth into his upper shoulder.

He grunted as he stumbled back and then attacked again, swiping a paw at me. I tried to get out of the way, but his claws slashed into my leg. Pain radiated, but luckily, I’d gotten out of the way enough that it wasn’t detrimental—only a minor inconvenience, since I could heal quickly under the Silver Moon.

Not wanting him to gain the upper hand, I lunged at his neck. He swung an arm, swatting me like a fly. I flew back several feet and landed on my side. Fighting through the ache, I forced myself back onto all fours.

Hyena scuffed his paws in the gravel, throwing out small rocks and dirt that hit my face and legs. The rocks stung, but the dirt in my eyes was the bigger concern.

Dammit, he was fighting dirty. Of course, he was.

I closed my eyes and focused solely on hearing as heavy paws pounded my way. Hyena was running at me at an angle. At the very last second, I dropped and rolled in the opposite direction, forcing him to fall with a thud. I then jumped on his back and sank my teeth into his uninjured shoulder.

Growling, he bucked like a bull in a rodeo, trying to fling me from his back—but I dug my teeth in deeper, along with my claws. I shredded the skin all along his back, and he whimpered in pain. Eventually, he dropped and rolled, capturing me under his weight.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe, but it was just my mind playing tricks on me. Getting my head on straight, I stretched, reaching the side of his neck. That was all I needed. I bit down right where the artery was. Even though I wasn’t fully ripping out his throat, he’d bleed out too quickly to heal this way. It wasn’t an instant death, but it wouldn’t take long.

Blood poured from his wound, coating the fur around my neck and chest crimson. He lurched to his feet as if he thought that would reverse the fatality of the injury. Within a few steps, his legs gave out, and he succumbed to the inevitable.

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