Page 75 of Howling Night

The wolves around us began to pace, their movements agitated and eager. One of them — a smaller brown wolf — snapped its jaws in my direction.

“Get inside,” Ryder ordered, turning briefly to meet my eyes.

“I don’t want to leave you,” I said, my words spilling from my lips as I took a step back.

“Now, Everly!” he barked, his voice carrying an authority that sent a shiver down my spine.

I took another step back. I was technically inside the house, but the door was still hanging open wide enough to see my front yard.

Kellan wagged his finger. “Uh, uh, uh. She stays. She wants to be part of this world, then she can be your witness.”

Ryder ripped off his shirt, letting it fall to the porch. His muscles were already shifting under his skin.

Kellan laughed and started to remove his clothing. “Wasn’t sure you’d have it in you. Thought you’d back away from a real challenge.”

“This isn’t a challenge,” Ryder said through gritted teeth. “This is an ambush.”

Kellan shrugged, standing in just his jeans. He laughed as he reached for his belt, whipping it off in one quick, fluid motion.

“Call it what you want. The outcome will be the same,” Kellan said confidently.

“What is going to happen?” I asked.

“It’s a fight,” Kellan said, his lips curling as he let his pants drop to the grass. “To the death.”

I gasped. “Ryder, no!”

ChapterThirty-Four

My breath caught in my throat as Ryder’s body began to contort. Bones cracked and shifted, his skin rippling as fur burst through every pore. I couldn’t look away, mesmerized by the horrifying yet beautiful transformation happening right before my eyes.

Within seconds, where my Ryder had stood was now a massive wolf, his thick, brown fur gleaming under the moonlight. His eyes were the same, glowing and wild.

He padded toward me, his passive paws tapping softly on the wooden porch. Ryder nudged my legs with his snout, trying to get me further inside the house.

When I looked up again, Kellan had changed into his giant black wolf form and was sneering in our direction. Ryder turned away from me, raising his magnificent head toward the moon. A primal howl tore from his throat, echoing through the trees and vibrating through my bones.

A powerful compulsion pulled me toward him. I stepped into the doorway, my fingers clutching the frame with desperate intensity, as if to stop myself from going closer.

“Ryder! You don’t have to do this!” I said, tears burning in my eyes.

Ryder cast one last glance at me before bounding down the porch steps into the yard to face Kellan. The black wolf’s lips curled back, revealing gleaming fangs as he stalked forward. My heart hammered against my ribs as they began to circle each other, muscles tensed beneath their fur.

The shadows at the edge of the yard shifted and moved. I heard rustling from all directions, the snap of twigs and soft padding of paws as more wolves emerged from the darkness. They formed a living circle around Ryder and Kellan, silent witnesses to this challenge… to this fight, to the death.

A wolf with russet-red fur slipped onto the porch, positioning itself between me and the unfolding scene. The wolf’s head turned slightly, blue-green eyes meeting mine for just a moment.

“Trevor?” I whispered.

A breath escaped the wolf’s nostrils before it turned back to face the yard. Trevor moved silently back and forth, protectively between me and the impending violence.

My hands trembled as I clung to the doorframe, my knuckles white with tension. Trevor’s russet wolf form paced in front of me, blocking my path to the yard where Ryder and Kellan circled each other. I wasn’t sure if he was there to protect me or to stop me from running out should something happen to Ryder.

The wolves surrounding them had gone eerily silent, their eyes reflecting the moonlight like dozens of floating lanterns. There were so many wolves that I couldn’t even start to count them.

“Please,” I whispered, though I knew my human pleas meant nothing in this primal confrontation.

Kellan lunged first, a blur of midnight fur and gleaming teeth. Ryder dodged sideways, powerful muscles rippling under his brown coat as he snapped at Kellan’s flank. They crashed together in a fury of snarls and growls that made my blood run cold.

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