Page 7 of Stealthy as a Wolf

They wanted to claim us.

They wanted to control us.

And I was determined to make sure that never happened.

Knowing my hesitation was only delaying the inevitable, I reached for the collar. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted, and my skin rippled at the inevitable pain. My wolf growled, but it wasn’t in warning—she hated those fucking collars with a passion that bordered on insanity.

She pushed her strength into me, knowing I was going to need it.

The only way to get the collars off was to wear down the battery.

I reached down and gripped the slightly warm collar, my body already trembling at the coming pain. The metal vibrated slightly under my touch, and I swallowed back the whimper that threatened to crawl up my throat.

Taking one last deep breath for courage, I pulled on the metal clasps of the collar. The harder I pulled, the stronger and sharper the vibrations became, until electricity began to crackle across the tips of my fingers.

Soon, it felt like pure energy was eating away at my bones.

Heat burned in my hands until they prickled painfully, and the cat twitched, then convulsed under my ministrations. I thanked the gods that he was already unconscious and spared this pain.

I wasn’t so lucky.

Knowing time was limited, I pulled harder, until the muscles in my arms seized and convulsed so hard that they threatened to snap my bones. The tips of my fingers blackened, the stink of charred flesh filled the air, and I gritted my teeth when my vision darkened around the edges.

I refused to give up.

What felt like an eternity later, there was an almost silent snick as the latch on the collar broke. It came away in my hands and dumped me on my ass when the resistance vanished. The cat stilled suddenly, and my heart felt like it was seconds away from exploding in my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was worry over the cat that set me off or the residual effect of the collar.

Possibly both.

I eased the rest of the collar away, grimacing when smoke rose from the metal, carrying the stench of blood and pain. It brought back so many horrible memories that I tossed the cursed thing as far away as I could.

I reached for the cat, suddenly worried that the stress had been too much. A thick layer of scar tissue circled his neck, the skin red and abraded and totally devoid of fur. When I spotted the slight, reassuring rise and fall of his chest, I sagged in relief.

Just when I was about to scoop him up in my arms, golden light swirled under his skin. Bones cracked, muscles stretched, and I winced at the slow transformation, another side effect of the collar.

It was painful to watch while he shifted to his human form.

His completely naked human form.

While the man was thin, he was all sleek muscle. He was tall, almost lanky, his skin so pale that he practically glowed in the dark. I was so distracted by gawking that it took me a second to recognize the sounds of fighting in the distance.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out someone was coming after this unknown man.

Experience taught me it would take a while for him to regain consciousness. He’d be groggy and disoriented for a few hours.

If I wanted to stay alive, I should leave, just avoid getting involved.

When the man at my feet groaned, I rose and hastily took a step back, though I couldn’t make myself leave. I’d been in his predicament and knew what it was like to be abandoned to my fate. I couldn’t do the same to him. Ignoring his nakedness, I crouched, then pulled his arm over my shoulder and hauled him to his feet. “Listen, if you want to escape, we have to go now.”

Chapter Three

MATTY

Abeautiful woman was dragging me to my feet.

Human feet that I haven’t seen for nearly a year.

I wasn’t sure which one shocked me more.

---