Page 33 of Demon Huntress
His mind was full of horrifying images. He didn’t know exactly what was being done to the kidnapped shifters. Flash had remembered a few things, but not enough for Slade to know exactly what happened.
That didn’t matter. His imagination was very effective at generating horrible, nightmarish images. He saw his sister strapped to a stretcher as men in white coats stuck needles into her. He saw her chained to a wall and tortured. He saw her forced to shift and then run down and torn apart by hunting dogs.
He blinked hard, coming back to the present moment. His hand tightened on her arm. He was almost frantic with fear.
Jenny stared at him with wide, shining eyes. She stood completely still as if she were a stone statue.
“Slade. I’m going to tell you once. Take your hand off me.”
He wanted to. On some deep level, he was aware that his hold on her was unhealthy and bordering on harmful. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, but he had no choice. He could hurt her, or their enemies would. There was no middle ground.
“No,” he said, tightening his hold. “You have to come with me. We can talk more about this ... when we get home.”
Slade tugged on her arm, trying to drag her down the street. To his surprise, Jenny dug in her heels and refused to budge. He looked back at her in confusion.
“Jenny?” Slade asked, his eyes traveling up and down her slight frame. She looked exactly the same as she always had, his skinny kid sister.
How did she get so strong?
He tugged on her arm again. Jenny set her mouth in a firm line and shook her head.
Slade leaned back, ready to put the full force of his body into the next shove. He was taking her home whether she liked it or not.
To his surprise, Jenny’s form flowed under his hand as she shifted. He was so shocked that he let go. The wolf twisted in the air, turning and snapping at him. Her jaws clamped over his forearm, and her teeth went through his skin. She shook her head back and forth, tearing open a huge, ragged wound.
Slade screamed and staggered backward. Jenny barked once, then turned and bolted down the alley. Slade leapt toward her, shifting as he ran. She had a head start on him, and he was injured. Still, he had no intention of letting her get away.
Slade ran down the alley as fast as he could, watching Jenny’s flashing form ahead of him. The alley turned a sharp corner and then became a long straight path with nowhere to hide. Even though he couldn’t catch up, he was maintaining his pace. She wouldn’t be able to get out of sight.
As he ran, his leg tried to heal. It was difficult when he was exerting himself so much, and he was leaving a decent trail of blood.
I can’t believe she fucking bit me.
He shouldn’t have tried to physically force her, but couldn’t she understand how serious the situation was? What if she was killed? He would never forgive himself.
He kept his eyes focused on the fluffy plume of her tail as she darted ahead of him. He would heal, and he’d catch up to her. Then he’d make her understand, and she’d go home with him and forget this nonsense.
Chapter16
Slade
Ared haze covered Slade’s vision, accompanied by the steady thump of his strong heartbeat and the rush of air in his lungs. His leg still hurt, and his entire body was screaming for him to stop.
He growled in frustration and tried to run even faster, looking ahead for the fluffy tail that beckoned him forward.
To his shock, the alley was empty.
Slade stopped, looking from left to right. The alley went straight in front of him. There were no turns.
Where the fuck did she go?
Slade prowled forward, each step slow and light. His leg healed, and his breathing and heart rate slowed, diminishing the red haze that wavered across his gaze.
Then he noticed a narrow side street leading between two buildings. He spun around, quickly looking into other nooks beside apartment doors. There were tiny passages everywhere that connected to side streets, and Slade had totally missed all of them.
She could be anywhere by now.
Slade growled and shook his head. He walked over to the edge of the street and lay down, stretching his nose out on his paws. He whined a little as he watched his leg finish healing.
