Page 20 of Claimed By Four Alphas

A face is peering in at us through the glass, pale and distorted.

I scream.

Chapter 7 - Evan

I'm on my feet before her scream even finishes, and I yank Dahlia behind me and face the window. My heart hammers against my ribs as I spot it a grotesque face pressed against the glass; its features twisted in a way that's not quite human.

"What the fuck?" I push Dahlia further back.

The bedroom door crashes open as Detective Boy Scout barrels in, gun already drawn. "Get away from the windows!" he shouts.

"No shit," I snap, keeping my body between Dahlia and whatever's out there.

The thing starts banging its head against the glass like actual fucking head-banging like some deranged metal fan. With each impact, spider web cracks spread across the supposedly reinforced window. So much for my security upgrades.

"It's trying to get in," Dahlia whispers behind me as she digs her fingers into my arm.

"Not happening," I growl, scanning the room for a weapon. I'm only half-shifter, but right now, my wolf side is howling for blood.

Byers is already moving toward the window, his gun aimed at the creature. "I'm going outside. Lock this door behind me."

"Leo, no!" Dahlia calls after him, but he's already gone.

I turn to her, gripping her shoulders. "Stay here. Lock the door."

"But…"

"For once in your life, just do what you're told!" I snap, then immediately regret my tone when I see her flinch. "Please," I add.

She nods, and I sprint after Byers, slamming the bedroom door behind me. I hear the lock click as I race through the house and out the front door, circling around to the side where the bedroom window is.

I arrive just in time to see Byers tackle the creature to the ground. It's a man or was once. His body convulses unnaturally, limbs bending at impossible angles as he struggles. His face is covered in blood from repeatedly smashing it against the window, but what stops me cold is the partial transformation happening across his body. Patches of fur sprout from his skin,then recede, only to appear elsewhere. His jaw elongates into a snout, then snaps back to human form.

The Crimson Plague. It has to be.

Byers has him pinned, but the infected shifter is strong. He bucks and writhes, nearly throwing the detective off. I rush forward, grabbing the creature's legs as they kick wildly.

"Hold him down!" Byers shouts, his forearm pressed against the man's throat.

The infected shifter howls and then snaps his teeth at Byers' face, missing by inches. His eyes are blood-red, and his pupils are dilated to pinpoints.

"We need to end this," I say, watching as Byers pulls a knife from his boot with his free hand.

"No! Stop!" Dahlia's calls out from behind us.Of course she didn't stay put.

"Get back inside!" I yell, not taking my eyes off the thrashing creature.

"Don't kill him!" She's running toward us, barefoot across the lawn. "We need him alive!"

"He's too far gone," Byers argues, knife poised. "Look at him…"

"That's exactly why we need him!" Dahlia kneels beside us, her face flushed with excitement despite the danger. "He's the perfect test subject. I can study how the virus affects his transformation, maybe even develop a treatment!"

"Are you insane?" I stare at her in disbelief. "This thing just tried to break into your bedroom by smashing its face through a window!"

"And now he's subdued," she counters. "This is a research opportunity we can't waste. I'm supposed to find a cure, remember? This is my chance to understand what the virus is doing firsthand."

The infected shifter bucks again, nearly throwing us off. His skin ripples as another partial shift tries to take hold.

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