Page 35 of Her Wolf's Demands

The beast howled when a spurt of blood and mess burst from one of his red eyes. Shit, she had managed to puncture one of his eyeballs. Fuck yeah, what a kickass wolf.

Emboldened by her bravery, I allowed my wolf spirit to take control. Without waiting for me to be ready, instinct moved my legs. I ran for the hound and pounced, landing on its back. My claws dug into its hide as I climbed up to his neck.

He swung around, yelping as both Rochelle and I slashed him. I clung on, opening my mouth wide and digging my teeth into his scruff.

Trying not to gag on the dirty fur, I bit down as hard as I could, piercing my canines through his skin. His yelp was loud as he thrust forward so hard, I was thrown over his head. His skin and fur ripped, dropping from my mouth as I slammed into the wall.

Pain exploded in my head and side as I slumped on the floor. My vision blurred, black dots dancing in my eyes, almost taking me under. I shook my head, checking to see if Rochelle was still-

She went flying past me, landing in a heap and huffing out a breath.

“Della?” Malone’s deep voice echoed around the library hall.

My gaze searched for him, skipping past the hellhound, who had been stalking towards us, his breath huffing hard. At the sound of other intruders, he stalled, his head turning slowly.

There. My alpha was by the entrance door, his gaze drinking in the situation. My heart calmed, somewhat soothed by his presence. His tight white shirt was dirty and his dark short hair, grey. No, wait, that was dust littering his head.

“Shit!”

Manual thrust over the broken door, backtracking when he saw the one-eyed hound. Malone’s arm shot out, gripping Manual’s shirt and tugging him back into the room.

I was forgotten now, the beast and the newcomers focusing on one another. Hobbling to my paws, I went to Rochelle and nudged her gently. She stirred but didn’t open her eyes. I didn’t blame her, I was tempted to play dead until the beast just went away. Not that she would pretend, she was clearly in pain. I had to help her.

Checking behind me, I froze when Malone dropped to all fours and shifted. As soon as Houndy smelt him, he charged, heading straight for the alpha.

I dropped to my hands and knees, forcing the shift back to witch form. I barely noticed the cracking of my bones as I watched Malone pounce, his white fur a flash. Teeth snapped and growls grew louder as Malone dug his claws into Houndy’s nose.

Breathing hard from the effort of my shift, I flicked my finger as I stood up on wobbly legs. A crop top and leggings appeared, covering my modesty.

Manual slipped around the hellhound, dropping to the floor as his wolf took over, light brown fur breaking out all over his skin.

Wasting no time, I held my hand towards my pack – shit, that sounded so right – and incited a growth spell. Both Malone and Manual expanded, their wolf forms doubling in size.

“Take that!” I muttered, whooping when Malone swiped the hound’s nose so hard, half of it came flying off.

The beast roared, swinging its paw at the alpha. Malone lost his grip, dropping to the ground. Manual bit Houndy’s butt, his teeth so strong, even I could hear the breaking of the skin. Another loud yelp made me jump as I moved to check on Rochelle.

“Come on,” I said, stroking the fur on her neck. “Wake up.”

Blood lined my fingertips when I pulled away. Ah, she had an injury.

Malone growled on the other side of the room, sending my heart into a flutter. Trusting that he could handle himself, I placed my hands on Rochelle’s neck and whispered a healing spell. She instantly blinked awake, becoming alert when Manuel yelped.

Although wolves could heal, it was quicker for me to use my magic on Rochelle. The men needed her help if they were to beat the hellhound.

“Are you okay?” I asked her, sitting back as she stumbled to her paws.

Inclining her head, she turned to the battle. I swallowed, debating whether to return to wolf form. No, the men were winning, their tactic of attacking, one at a time, working well.

My heart reared into my throat as the beast lunged for Malone, catching him off guard. The long sharp claws on the end of Houndy’s paws sliced through Malone’s side. My gasp was drowned out by Malone’s whimper and Manual’s howl.

I was about to run forward to tend to Malone when Rochelle slipped under the beast from behind, spun around just as she came out the front and buried her teeth right into his neck, ripping hard and fast.

Blood spurted everywhere, splattering over the walls. Houndy collapsed on the floor, his head smacking the stones as air expelled from his smelly mouth. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and the dog was no more.

I stumbled over to Malone, shaky on my feet as the fear gripped every part of me. He was lying on his side, facing towards the door. Now the beast was dead, we had to leave. Ertha would know that someone had defeated her protection spell.

“Malone?” I squeaked, falling beside him.

---