Page 27 of Forsaken By Night

“Yeah,” he said, running with it. “How’d you get out so quickly?”

She looked around, her eyes wild, as if she expected an ambush. “He came to me in my quarters. Said Hunter was questioning the skinwalker. If the skinwalker talks...” Her expression twisted into an ugly mask of hate. He knew the feeling. “I told you we should have tried again to kill him.”

The way she spoke so casually about killing him made him want to reach out and strangle her. He hoped there’d be time for that later.

“Those wereyourfailures,” he said, figuring Kars would pin any and all blame for pretty much any failure on someone else. “Contact our mutual friend and have him meet us.”

“Yes,” she said, bending over the rock again, “of course. He’s probably nearby, pretending to search for me—” She broke off with a gasp and stumbled forward, clutching her throat. Blood sprayed from her mouth as she clawed at a crossbow bolt punching out of her neck.

Son of a bitch!Lobo palmed his dagger as Tehya burst from the brush to put herself between him and a dozen armed ShadowSpawn fighters filing into the small space to surround them. Their leader, Kars, shoved his way forward from the back of the pack, the unholy light of bloodlust glinting in his dark eyes.

“Chain the skinwalker and kill the wolf.” Kars gestured to Tehya with his blood-crusted ax. “I want the pelt. Hurry. MoonBound can’t be far away.”

“No!” A white-hot veil of fury slammed down over Lobo’s vision, obliterating everything that made him civilized. He’d spent his entire life protecting himself from vampires who would kill him for what he was. Now it was time toembracewhat he was, consequences be damned.

He shouted as his body ripped apart, every cell breaking down and reforming, doubling, growing. He heard barked orders, Tehya’s snarls. Everything was a blur of rage, fur, claws, and teeth as he charged the nearest vampire. His massive body was faster than he’d expected, his thoughts slower and more primitive. He thought only about killing the ones who threatened Tehya.

His grizzly roar shook the trees as arrows and spears pierced his flesh, but the pain only made him angrier. Bone crunched between his jaws and blood poured down his throat as the stench of death filled the clearing. Dimly, through the throbbing din of fury in his ears, he heard MoonBound join the fray, and the forest filled with the sounds of Tehya’s growls, angry shouts, screams of pain.

But he hadn’t yet tasted the blood of the one he wanted. All around him, MoonBound and ShadowSpawn clashed, but Kars was outnumbered. It would be over in moments—

Kars.

The bastard had his arms raised to swing his ax at Tehya. Lobo shot across the clearing and pinned him before the blow landed. Kars slammed into the ground, knocking the air from his lungs in an explosive cough.

Lobo was going to knock more out of him than air. He raised his heavy, claw-tipped paw that was twice the size of Kars’s head.

“Lobo!” Hunter’s command penetrated the battle haze fogging Lobo’s mind. “Ease up there, Smokey. We need Kars alive.”

Why?The question came out as a roar that made Hunter take a step back. Something nipped his ear, clearing his mind even more, and he swung his head around to Tehya. She pawed at his shoulder, getting his attention, helping to bring him down. He blinked. Everything was under control. MoonBound’s fighters had surrounded and disarmed the surviving ShadowSpawn warriors, and it appeared that MoonBound’s people had taken only minor injuries.

He probably didn’t need to be wearing a half-ton bear suit anymore. Besides, his body was wrecked, pierced by spears and arrows, and he was pretty sure his flank had been flayed open with a hatchet. As if his brain had finally realized how much damage he’d taken, the wounds began to scream.

He clenched his teeth and rode out the agony of the shift, concentrating to keep Kars pinned as the shift bore out. When it was over, his body was healed but weakened; but as he looked down at his scarred, ugly hand, he realized he was in Kars’s form.

Even though he hadn’t caught his breath, he dipped his head and put his mouth to the male’s ear.

“Here’s the deal, you bastard. I know you’re responsible for killing two yearlings from the Red River wolf pack. If you harm Tehya or any wolf ever again, I’ll take you out while wearing the face of the person you love the most. Your daughter, maybe? You’ll look into her eyes while you die. Understood?”

Kars’s face turned crimson with rage, his eyes bulging from their sockets, but he nodded. With a shove, Lobo pushed away from the asshole and came to his feet, taking grim satisfaction from the way Kars got up a lot more slowly than Lobo had. Having a grizzly bear parked on his rib cage must have been excruciating.

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

Hunter looked Lobo up and down, shaking his head as he took in Kars’s double. “You don’t learn, do you?”

Lobo shuddered as he let go of the energy required to hold on to Kars’s form. The agony of the shift was muted by the sheer relief of finally being back in his own body. He’d never shifted so many times so rapidly, and he didn’t want to do that again. His bones felt like rubber, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay upright without a little help from a tree.

“I’ll gladly take the punishment for this one,” Lobo muttered as he knelt to check Tehya for injuries. She licked his face and wagged her tail before hopping out of reach, clearly unharmed and unhappy about being poked and prodded.

Hunter cursed down at Su’Neena’s body. “Somehow, Kars, I’m not surprised that you killed your own spy to protect your secret.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kars shot back, his dark eyes wide with feigned innocence. “I thought she was an enemy.”

“He’s lying.” Lobo might be exhausted, but he had enough piss left in him to beat the truth out of the clan leader. Too bad Hunter stopped him before he could go three steps.

“I know he’s lying.” Hunter stripped Su’Neena of her weapons. “And he’ll pay for it. Someday.”

“Arrogant bastard.” Kars picked up his ax from where he’d dropped it when bear-Lobo attacked him, and he used it to gesture at Lobo. “I want his head on a stake. He wore my skin, and under Raven law—”

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