The black-tipped wolf stepped forward, snapping his teeth. Evie squeaked and shifted into her snake form involuntarily, dropping her pack and her clothes. Adventurer Evie hadn’t changed much. I tried sending her courage through the still-forming bond. I didn’t blame her fear—my bear would be in a battle to the death with a wolf that size. She struggled back into human form, thankfully covered with her kaftan. That automatic spell was the best thing I had done for her because my bear was roaring his offense that any other shifter might see her naked, even though shifters usually had no shame about nudity.
The wolf stepped forward.We will use your strength to its fullest potential, brother. I have enough magic to make you one of the pack, even with your obvious deficiency.
He meant my bear. No wolf had ever called me brother. I had certainly never gotten the offer to become part of a pack. Most Alphas didn’t have that kind of raw magic at their disposal. Wolf packs had a specific mind link that surpassed even the normal shifter bond and it required magic in its most elemental form. Their pack was sacred. That he would even offer was a clear sign Veretis’ call was scrambling shifters everywhere.
I reached for my communication channel with my mate.Can you sense another relic nearby, Evie?
“I don’t feel anything other than the spooky vibes from fido over there.” She did her best to collect her pack and be ready to run.
The wolf snarled.You will join our army or feed them with your bones instead.
“Sorry, hard pass. We’re on a bit of a quest,” Evie said.
Take him.The wolf snapped his jaws with the command.
Evie squeaked and popped into her snake form.
I should have sensed the others around us, but the power of the Alpha wolf was an effective distraction. All thoughts of a spell fled my mind with the stink of other females in my nose. I shifted in a blink, roaring my displeasure as a pack of females pulled me away from Evie. More wolves appeared from the underbrush. The Alpha slunk forward, jaws dripping, fur bristling. I went to tear away from the pack as he pounced on Evie, flattening her to the earth and licked a long line up her shifted snake body.
That is gross, you giant mutt. Keep it in your mouth.She slid out from under him, her flexible body impossible to contain. She looked at me as the female wolves surrounded me, scent marking any part of my fur they could find. Their heat overwhelmed every sense.
I thought you said they were going to tear us apart?she hissed.
Howls and yips filled the forest as another burst of mating heat filled the air. I didn’t like this anymore than she did. The relics were doing more than driving shifters to rage; they were upsetting basic instincts. I shook off a she-wolf trying to nibble on my ear with enough force to dislodge her, but not enough to do violence.
The Alpha wolf caught Evie unaware, pressing up against her.I have never seen a snake shifter before. You will make an excellent prize.
Too friendly! Too friendly!Evie shrieked.
Step away from my mate,I warned him.
That made him pause. He turned his luminous yellow eyes on me.Mate, you say? He squinted between us. I guess there’s something here, but it looks so weak. Easily replaced by a real shifter.
He ducked his head under her chin and rubbed against her scales.Don’t worry. You’ll make fine breeding stock for the females of the pack, bear. Our army will only grow stronger.
Run, Evie.I pushed the wolves away as gently as possible, losing patience.
Yes! Run, Evie. Run.The Alpha growled, licking his chops.
Evie stumbled away from him, hissing. Her eyes grew hard, and she reared back, but instead of turning to flee, she descended on the wolf in a hail of fangs and terror. She punctured his nose and he let out an undignified yelp. He shook her off, but he didn’t have time to recover before she bit him again in the neck, her venom dripping down his coat.
My mouth hung open as all the noise from the wolves immediately ceased. The Alpha wobbled on his feet, unable to so much as swipe at her. Over and over again she bit him, striking at any exposed limb she could find, her venom sheeting over his eyes, his paws, until they were both flat on the ground, panting. I had never seen anything hotter in my entire life. A thrum through the bond resounded stronger than ever. When Evie jerked and looked at me, I knew she sensed it, too.
The wolf sprung up in human form, broad chest rippling, shaking his head like it was finally clearing. His short, jet-black hair reflected blue in the little light the forest provided and his eyes remained bright gold, as though his wolf still lurked close to the surface.
“Shift!” he barked into the surrounding woods and suddenly a harem of naked women encircled me. Evie still eyed them like they were her next meal. Her whole body tensed and the mate bond slammed into me—a bridge instead of a rope.
She rose on her human legs, her spelled kaftan flaring out behind her, stepping toward the women. “I warn you. I’m going to keep biting.”
The wolves scattered behind their Alpha as more shifters in their human form came forward from the woods. My bear kept his form as she came to stand next to me. She plunged her hand into my fur to hide its shaking.
Did I do okay?she whispered in my mind.
I love you.It popped into her head before I second-guessed anything.
Evie’s large, rounded eyes met mine, and she swallowed hard. Every muscle she had tensed up. I licked her hand and her breath exploded from her lungs.
“We’ll get back to that,” she said.
