Page 27 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
Too late.
A low growl precedes the weight that slams into me, knocking the breath from my lungs. Teeth flash. I catch the glint of yellow eyes inches from my throat.
A werewolf—snarling, and far too real to be a dream.
I thrash beneath it, clawing at its furred chest, shoving with my forearms. My magic reacts faster than I do—a burst of heat surges from my palms, searing its flank. It howls, but doesn’t let go.
I gasp a chant, reaching for the spell again. My circle’s still active. I just need a few more seconds—
It lunges for my face.
I scream.
And then out of nowhere, a sudden blur slams into us, fast and forceful, knocking the air from my lungs and twisting the chaos into something new. The impact sends me rolling to the side, stunned. A second werewolf—larger, faster—tackles the first with a snarl.
Claws rake. Teeth snap. The fight is brutal. Blood spatters the pine needles.
I can’t move. My limbs are lead.
All I can do is stare at the feral heat of the fight, wondering why the wolves are fighting one another. Are they fighting over their meal… or is one of them trying to protect me? That thought lodges in my chest like a spark ready to ignite—unsettling, impossible. And yet, somehow, it makes sense.
At last, I return to the present. I force my shaking fingers toward the flame and mouth the final line of the spell.
The fire flares.
A roar slices through the trees—not a wolf’s cry, but a predator’s purr turned battle cry. Ember-born and primal, the mountain lion bursts from the flame like it’s always been waiting to serve me. My familiar, massive and spectral: a mountain lion cloaked in shimmering flame.
It leaps toward the wolves with an earth-shaking growl. The attackers stumble back. My lion lunges again, a final warning. The first wolf flees into the dark, whimpering.
The mountain lion turns its head to the second wolf. A nod.
And then it vanishes, just like that—flames sucked back into the night.
The remaining wolf—my protector—pads toward me, head bowing low, as if sensing my trembling thoughts. Its eyes meetmine—intense, searching—and something in my chest lurches, an unspoken recognition sparking beneath the fear. Is it possible he knows me too? My heart thuds in my ears, a chaotic mix of fear, awe, and confusion spiraling through me.
I want to run, to speak, to scream—but instead, I’m rooted to the spot, staring into eyes that seem far too knowing, too human. What the hell is happening? And before I can speak, it gently nudges me, then lowers to the ground. An invitation.
I climb onto its back, dazed. My body folds over thick fur, warm and strangely comforting. I can feel the rhythm of his heartbeat under my left leg. My heartbeat syncs with it as if we have done so a thousand times. The connection is strange and natural all at once.
We vanish into the trees, leaving a trail of blood behind us.
As we near the edge of the woods, I see the faint glow of the firehouse in the distance. My post is still empty, my body cam blinking faintly in the moonlight. The wolf slows, easing to a stop just in front of a thick oak. It crouches low, and I dismount.
I turn, and the wolf is gone.
I grab the body cam from the tree and prepare to put it on when...
the unmistakable crunch of boots approaches. My breath catches. My heart stops.
Noah emerges from the shadows, crimson-rimmed eyes catching the moonlight, his face a mask of both man and beast. The faint shimmer of fur along his arms, the sharp tilt of his jaw—he's not just half-wolf, he's a creature straddling two worlds, dangerous and divine. He’s shirtless, barefoot, and impossibly calm. Despite my confusion and fear, I cannot help but be drawn to his magnificence.
He marches straight up to me, grabs the body cam and crushes it beneath his heel.
Then he turns to me.
"That was a very stupid thing to do," he says, voice low, rough. "Are you alright?"
I nod, too stunned to form words. My heart is still galloping, but now for an entirely different reason.
