I don’t know where I get the courage to run into his fur, throwing my arms around him.
“Christian!” I know it’s not his name now, but it’ll have to do until I find out what it is.
The bear stiffens beneath me, growling at Aster before falling back onto all fours.
Men are trickling into the room.
Among them I see familiar faces. Baal. Tobias. Gabriel.
The bear’s growl is a frightening wave across the room, but it stands firmly between me and them.
Idiota, don’t you know you’re the one in trouble?!
“Christian, run,” I step away from him to give him the space.
He looks back at me with sadness. It’s the colour he makes when he cries.
I scream at him the same moment Aster gives his order.
“RUN!”
“Fire!”
The room lights up with bullets and Christian shifts again.
Into a small black cat.
One I recognize.
Their bullets miss him and he tears off between their feet like a bat out of hell, yowling. He dashes out into the hall and the men are too slow. They weren’t expecting a cat.
I run to the living room, pushing against the crowd to make sure he gets away. Someone grabs him by the tail and it shrieks with added fury.
Before whirling around and shifting into a black hawk.
Its scream is so loud, everyone in the room has to hold their ears.
Fucking hell.
It drags its claws over the face of the man who dared to grab it before making another ear-shattering scream—flapping its wings and tearing through the window and out onto the terrace.
Without looking back—
It’s gone.
And even with a room full of men—
Not one of us can scrape together a single fucking word.
Chapter 29
Reuben
My fist strikes Aster’s cheek so sharply, he staggers back, but he bounces back quickly with a single glare, hitting me back without even waiting a breath.
The punch is sharp across my cheek, but I ignore it, grabbing his hand and locking on to kick my foot into his torso.
“Fucking asshole,”I snarl.
