Page 69 of Mated to the Enemy
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“They can fly,” he muttered, racing across the open ground toward Jessica. “Of course, they can fly now. That seems fair.”
Two sleek black forms came streaking across the grounds toward Klaue’s mate, like shadows moving of their own volition. They came at her like pincers, splitting apart and angling inward, the first of the wolves of Canis to arrive on scene. Soon there would be more.
A lot more, there’s no way that little lightshow was missed by, oh I don’t know, the entire House Canis!
All around them, wolves howled and closed. Most of Klaue’s men were retreating toward the forest as fast as they could go, helping those who were injured, and carrying those who were dead. He growled silently at the pair of casualties, vowing once again to make Canis and this unknown mage suffer.
“Jessica, once I deal with these two, get on and hang on!” he shouted, nearing his mate. There wouldn’t be time for instructions afterward. It was going to be too close to begin with. A race between the wolves, and Klaue.
Bones grew and shifted as he slipped into the transformation. It was an awkward, clunky thing that took several noticeable seconds to achieve. Trying to shift on the run was impossible for most shifters. But most shifters weren’t aspiring champions of High House Ursa.
Klaue was, and while it wasn’t pretty, he didn’t slow down. He sped up. Powerful hind legs propelled him forward, his front legs still shifting as they attempted to keep up. Accelerating faster as his body bulked out and stabilized, Klaue opened his mouth wide, bellowing a challenge to the two canines as they shot across the lawn, straight at his mate.
Neither one listened to him, intent only on Jessica. Like a pair of rabid dogs they ran onward, eyes only for her. It was their first, and last, mistake.
Charging forward, two tons of bear made short work of the first black-furred beast by the simple expedient of trampling it. The wolf was huge, somewhere over 400 pounds but—hit by something four times its weight and eight times its size—it didn’t stand a chance. The wolf went down, bones snapping and fur parting in great gaping rents as his paws tore it to shreds while he ran over it.
The second wolf saw it happening and veered away, but it was too late. In their desperate attempt to kill Jessica, they had forgotten their sole advantage over a bear shifter: fighting as one. Individually, he made short work of both of them. Rearing upward in the path of the second Canim, he shoved his paw into its neck. Claws dug deep, and the taste of iron filled the air as steaming blood poured from the wound, covering his paw and running down his arm.
The wolf scrabbled at him with all four paws, trying to dislodge him, to win its way free as it dangled in the air. Klaue didn’t give it a choice. Spinning around to build momentum, he whipped the arm overhand and straight down. The wolf had a split second to yelp before it hit the ground, neck snapping instantly from the force. The creature wheezed once as its last breath left it, and then it was still.
Moving toward Jessica, he crouched down, looking at his back, hoping she would get the hint, but also fearing she might be too shell-shocked to figure out what was going on.
The forest on the eastern edge of the property was alive with enraged howls as the wolves realized they had been tricked and reoriented themselves toward the real threat. Klaue could run fast in his bear form, but not as fast as the wolves. Nothing was faster on open ground. His only hope was to build enough of a lead and get into the forest. There, the speed advantage would be nullified and he could bring his strength to bear more easily.
Hopefully, we can get out of here before that becomes necessary.
Roaring timidly at her, he gestured with a paw, imploring her to hop on. Jessica came near, eyeing the black fur and bone-yellow of his teeth nervously. He tried not to shake impatiently, and only partially succeeded. Cursing himself, he prepared to shift back, to convince her it was fine.
“Don’t get impatient with me,” Jessica snapped suddenly, taking a fistful of fur and hauling herself up onto his back hand over hand. “It’s not like they offer bear-riding lessons in the human world. Something about you folks not being overly kind to Goldilocks has them scared.”
He stood still for a moment, stunned at the way she’d reacted to his impatience with attitude. Damn, he liked this woman a lot!
“Well, come on now. You got me on top of you. Now mush!”
Mush?He thought, glaring at her over his shoulder.You’re going to pay for that one.
But move he did, slowly at first so she could find her grip, then faster. And faster. People often didn’t realize how fast bears could move when they wanted to. Shifters could move even faster. The scenery flowed by in a blur, and on his back, Jessica screamed.
Glancing back, he saw a veritable horde of wolves pour from the forest on the eastern side of the property. They came on in a line, black clouds poured from a can, coating the lawn from view as they saw their quarry escaping. Howls filled the air as they hunted.
And we are the prey.
“Klaue, to your left!”
His head snapped around just in time to see a silver-gray wolf leap at Jessica, trying to take her from his back. There was nothing he could do, he was moving too fast, and it was too late.
And then suddenly, Jessica was dangling at his side, pulling painfully at his fur as she held on with both hands, her feet constantly kicking off his chest and front leg to keep from being trampled. The wolf sailed over the top through the suddenly empty space and landed in a heap, yipping in frustration as it bounced and tried to regain its feet.
Klaue desperately wanted to slow, to get her reseated, but if he did, the wolves would catch him again. Clouds of air steamed as he breathed hard. With a muted roar, he twisted his body slightly, using the momentum to fling Jessica back up on top of him. She landed sideways, and he felt sharp yanks on his fur as she repositioned, but it was a minor price to pay for her safety.
Moments later, they entered the forest. Jessica ducked low behind his head, so flat he could feel her against him like a shirt. It couldn’t be pleasant up there, the constant bouncing, but she wasn’t complaining. In fact she was eerily quiet, not having made a sound during that entire ordeal with the wolf that nearly got her.
Sparing a quick glance back as best he could, Klaue verified she wasn’t hurt. But other than that, there was little he could do but run. Run as fast as he could and hope that they would escape the wolves. Escape them, and live to deal with the consequences.
The raid was a disaster, and at least two of his men were dead. What’s more, House Canis still had Jessica’s sister, and now they would be on their guard. Nothing good was going to come of this night, he could feel it.
Putting his head down, Klaue ran on into the night, his thoughts as black as the sky.
