Page 85 of Wolf Heart

CHAPTER23

JUNIPER

“She killed him,” Casey shouts. “That crazy bitch killed the Alpha’s son.”

Oh shit, oh shit.

“Fucking monster.” Casey whistles to the other wolves who crowd around me. “Knew there was something off about the bitch who couldn’t shift.”

My head is spinning from their attack, from what just happened. None of it is making sense.

The wolves glare at me like they want to tear my throat out.

“Don’t touch her,” Raven stomps out of the bushes, his nostrils flaring.

“You shouldn’t defend this abomination.” Casey points to the bloody guy on the ground. “Look what she did. She needs to die.”

“I won’t ask you again.” Raven squares his shoulders, not looking at me.

Does he think I’m horrible too? Somehow that bothers me worse than whatever is happening to me.

“Well, we’ll just have to kill her after we rip through you.”

“Guess you don’t mind dying then.” Raven shrugs.

At Casey’s nod, a wolf charges at Raven. Before it reaches him, Raven slides to the side and trips the wolf. It tumbles head over tail down the path.

Another wolf leaps into the fray. An Alpha.

Raven howls.

The Alpha lunges for Raven.

A flash of brown, and the wolf yelps. Raven throws his shoulders back and roars with a twist. His kick sends the wolf sailing through the air.

My legs give way and I stumble to the ground. A sharp bark explodes through the night and my flesh ripples.

Confused, I stare down at my body. What is happening?

The brown wolf, a large male, leaps back into the fray. He’s smaller than Raven, but his teeth are sharp and he bites Raven’s leg.

“No,” I scream. We’re outnumbered and Casey is going to kill Raven without remorse, without a fair fight.

Raven kicks the wolf away, but another leaps onto his back. It sinks his teeth into his neck and Raven crumbles to the forest floor. Casey’s pack tears into him, ripping away chunks of flesh. He thrashes, punching and kicking.

The sounds of his agony stab my heart. My soul aches with the knowledge that I shouldn’t have left him. That I abandoned him when he needed me the most.

The Alpha lifts his head, blood dripping from his fangs.

He stares directly at me, and his eyes dare me to stop him.

A sharp bark sends my wolf bolting to the surface. I don’t have time to call her back.

“That’s right,” Casey taunts. “Shift—now.”

It feels like my skin is peeling away and my bones are heavy like there's something wrong with them. When I glance down at myself, my skin is turning the same color blue as my hair. There are no blue wolves.

“What the fuck?” Casey’s eyes bulge. "What the hell is she?"

---