Page 81 of Flare
“No!” The scream tore from her throat as Ward’s enormous body wobbled.
Andrew’s bear-mouth formed a grotesque approximation of a smile, bloody fangs gleaming as another slash of his claws opened a second wound across Ward’s chest. Ward roared in pain but stayed on his feet, backing away to create distance.
Emily could see the wounds were bad—catastrophically bad. The gashes were so deep she caught glimpses of things that should remain hidden inside a body.
Ward’s movements grew visibly weaker with each passing second, blood spattering the hardwood floor in rhythmic droplets that matched his labored breathing.
Andrew struck again, his claws catching Ward across the muzzle.
Emily gasped in horror as Ward went down hard, his massive furry body crashing onto the remains of his coffee table. He tried to rise, failed, then collapsed onto his side, amber eyes dulling with pain.
Emily’s heart stopped. She could still see the shallow rise and fall of his chest, but each breath seemed to force more blood from his wounds.
Andrew turned toward her, his grotesque half-shifted face registering triumph. Blood—Ward’s blood—matted the fur of his extended claws.
“Now,” he growled, the word mangled by his misshapen jaw,“you’re coming home with me, Emily.”
Rage crowded out her terror.
This monster had hurt Ward, and might even have killed him. The man who had shown her nothing but kindness, who had protected her, sheltered her, and who had made her laugh and feel safe.
The man who looked at her like she was a person precious to him, not just a possession.
The realization burst over her like the sun emerging from behind a storm cloud.I love Ward.
“No,” Emily said, raising the gun.“I don’t belong to you.”
“You’remine. You’ll always be mine. My mate.” Still limping and bloodied now from Ward’s claws, Andrew advanced toward her.
His eyes fixed on her with predatory focus.
Emily squeezed the trigger.
Again, nerves sent her next shot wide, punching a hole in the living room wall behind Andrew. But then she hit him in the shoulder, eliciting a roar of pain that shook the windows. The two shots after that struck him squarely in the chest in rapid succession.
Blood bloomed across Andrew’s patchy fur, but he kept coming as if nothing had happened.
Oh God, he’s the freaking Terminator. Emily shot again, and missed completely as the spurt of panic destroyed her aim..
Three feet now. His claws extended toward her. His misshapen jaws opened wide enough to engulf her face.
The gun clicked empty. Emily backed into the kitchen, her empty weapon still pointed uselessly at the advancing monster.
Her gaze darted toward the breakfast nook and the open hole where the back door had been.
As if reading her thoughts, Andrew laughed.“Go ahead, make a run for it. I’m ten times faster than you are, little Ordinary.”
Then, a miracle occurred.
In the living room, Ward—impossibly, incredibly—forced himself back onto four paws.
Blood poured from his wounds, turning his dark fur black and slick. But his amber eyes blazed with ferocious determination as he staggered forward.
Andrew sensed the movement too late. Ward’s massive form barreled into him from behind, driving Andrew face-first into the floor. The impact was so violent that Emily felt it through the soles of her feet. Hardwood planks splintered, and Andrew’s head went through a jagged hole.
Ward dragged Andrew out of the hole, rolled him over, then pinned the other shifter beneath him, one enormous paw pressed against Andrew’s chest. With his other front paw raised, claws extended, Ward prepared to deliver a killing blow to Andrew’s throat.
But the strike never fell.
