Page 84 of Spark
The black wolf wasted no time. She dove in and clamped her jaws onto his throat. The dense fur around his neck kept her fangs from tearing open his jugular vein, but her weight, along with her sister’s, pinned him down.
Sophie screamed.
Unable to throw off the two wolves, Matt could only watch in horror as Sven leaped past him and flew towards her, his jaws open and long yellowed fangs aimed at her throat.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chris had always hated how long it took him to shift, especially when compared to his wolf shifter and bear shifter friends.
It always hurt like hell, too. It was worth it, though, to be able to walk and hunt in his powerful cat shape.
But now, as he listened to the snarling, growling, roaring battle taking place just out of sight in the cottonwood grove, Chris prayed desperately for his shift to hurry up.
Maybe Matt could handle the wolves. His friend was fast and incredibly strong. But if he couldn’t, and Sophie was hurt or killed while Chris was over here, uselessly writhing on the ground, then Chris would never forgive himself.
Finally…finally, his shift completed.
Chris rose dizzily to his paws and launched himself in an all-out run in the direction of the fight.
And not a moment too soon.
As he entered the picnic area, he saw that two of the wolves had taken Matt down, and a third wolf, a huge monster with dark gray fur and a silver muzzle, was leaping at Sophie.
His cat took control. Chris’s muscles bunched and he soared through the air in the long leap that his kind had perfected over eleven thousand years of ambush hunting.
He intercepted the old wolf mid-leap and crashed into him, knocking him sideways.
The wolf gave a startled yelp, hit the ground, then almost instantly scrambled back to his feet.
Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw Matt tear one of the wolves away from his neck as his long, curving black claws ripped her from shoulder to flank in a spray of blood. He twisted and swiped at the wolf clinging to his rear leg.
She was faster than her sister, and managed to release him and scramble out of range before his blow could land.
While Matt continued to shield Sophie from the two female wolves, one of them limping and the other bleeding badly, Chris and Sven circled each other in a snarling, growling duel.
They spent a few seconds feinting and lunging and snapping, testing each other’s defenses and reaction times.
The first, distant sound of an approaching police siren spurred Sven into making his move. He dove for Chris’s vulnerable belly.
Though Chris was still young, he’d already fought his share of challenge duels within his sabertooth pride, and was already highly-ranked for his age.
He might not be the biggest predator out there—the bears had that market cornered—but sabertooth cats had lightning-quick reflexes.
In a flash, Chris turned and sank his long teeth into the old wolf’s hindquarters just as Sven’s nose touched his flank.
His curved, wickedly sharp sabers ripped through fur and muscle like knives, and Chris tasted hot wolf blood.
With a high, yelping shriek of pain, Sven staggered and collapsed beneath him.
Chris yanked his teeth free and backed off. He watched the injured wolf try and fail to rise to its feet, then try to drag itself away by its forepaws. His cat strained at the limits of Chris’s control.
Now that their prey was down and helpless, it wanted to rush in for the kill, and plunge its saber teeth through Sven’s throat to finish him off.
The sirens were loud now, accompanied by the sound of an approaching vehicle.
The black wolf allowed herself to be distracted by the strobing light bar on the roof of the approaching police SUV. Matt’s paw hit her jaw and sent her crashing into one of the picnic tables.
He turned his attention to the lone wolf still on her feet, the bloodied gray wolf. With a roar, he charged at her.
