Declan struck back.“You been rolling in your own filth again, McCoy?”
McCoy bared vicious canines, a chilling snarl cutting the air.He grabbed at Declan’s throat, his long, thick fingers sinking into the corded column.
Regan’s blood turned to ice.“Declan!”
McCoy’s head shot up, burning red-gold eyes fixing on her.“She’s a sexy piece of ass, O’Connell.I’m going to enjoy fucking her.”
A growl ripped from Declan’s throat.He whipped his knees up to his chest and rammed his feet into McCoy’s gut, launching him into the air.
The snarling man flew high.And transformed—mid-arc—into a huge, charcoal-grey wolf.
The street erupted.Squeals and cries of shock rent the air, followed by the sound of feet pounding the pavement as the terrified onlookers fled.
Regan staggered backward, heart pounding beneath her breast, eyes fixed on the slathering wolf staring at her.
“Regan!”Declan roared.“Run!”
She shot him a frantic look.In time to see his body shimmer as he transformed into the massive wolf she’d first seen caged in Epoc’s lab.
Regan.Run.
The words sounded in her head—but whether in her voice or Declan’s she couldn’t tell.It didn’t matter.The snarl bursting from McCoy’s muzzle set her feet in motion.She turned and sprinted away from the two wolves.But not before seeing the frightening grey wolf—Declan—leap at the even bigger wolf preparing to pounce on her.
She tore down the deserted street, the sound of fighting wolves almost drowning out the screech of the ubiquitous cicadas and the squeal of an approaching siren.Her feet stumbled at the ominous wail and a picture of Declan shot dead by cops filled her head.Bloody Hell.Declan.What am I doing?
Run!
The bellow filled her head.Desperate.Furious.
Heart pounding, mouth dry, she took off again, vaulting a low corner fence, heading deeper into suburbia.Lush, opulent, ridiculously expensive suburbia.
With the growls, snarls and howls of Declan and McCoy in her ears.
The low branches of an ancient Morton Bay fig hid her.She stood, palms pressed to her bent knees, sucking in breath after breath in an attempt to ease her frantic pulse.Peering through the foliage-dense branches brushing her cheeks and shoulders, Regan watched the path.
She heard nothing but the screech of cicadas.
What if Declan was dead?What would she do?
A sharp shard of ice stabbed at her thumping heart at the thought and she shook her head.No.He couldn’t be.Not after all this.Not after dragging her into this craziness.He wouldn’t dare.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, staring down the path she’d sprinted up not fifteen minutes ago, willing him to be there.Wolf or man, she didn’t care, as long as he was there.
A hot, summer gust brought with it a distant siren, the wail a long way off but still making Regan’s chest clench.C’mon, Declan.C’mon.Don’t leave me like this…
The fervent order made Regan blink and she snorted with wry amusement.Only a short while ago she was trying to get away from him.Now…
A faint rustle down the street made her tense and she shrank closer to the fig’s colossal trunk, making herself as invisible as possible.A woman jogged by, decked out in designer sportswear with thin, white cords dangling from her ears to the slim MP3 player on her arm.Regan let out a silent sigh, slumping against the rough trunk pressing her ass.What should she do?Go looking for him?Keep running?Call Peter?
Peter.Damnit, he’d be tearing the city apart by now.
And she’d missed lunch with Rick.Who knew whathe’dbe?—
A prickling sensation rippled up her spine and shefelteyes on her.Stiffening, Regan straightened from the trunk and saw the wolf.Staring at her through the concealing branches of the fig tree.
Mottled shadows played over the animal’s coat.Made it impossible to know just which wolf had found her.Throat tight, mouth dry, Regan studied it.She couldn’t run.Not if it was Declan coming to her.But what if it’s McCoy?Her pulse leapt into erratic life and she squeezed her fists tight.Ready to fight.Hoping she didn’t need to.“Declan?”
Wicked, blood-smeared teeth flashed at her, and a soft growl rumbled low in the animal’s chest.
