An explosive bang shattered the air and the door flung open, flooding the room with bright, glaring light.
“Get off her, you bastard!”
Declan flung his head to the side, just in time to see a hulking great man storming through the door.A man with light green eyes and dark brown hair.A man with fury in his stare and a Glock nine millimeter in his hand.
“Peter!”Regan yelled, squirming in Declan’s hold.“Peter, it’s?—”
“Get off her now!”The man bellowed.Aiming the gun straight at Declan’s head.
CHAPTERTWELVE
“Peter!”Regan shouted, struggling in Declan’s crushing hold.“Don’t!It’s?—”
But Peter’s stare was locked on Declan, and, dread cutting through her, she saw his trigger finger squeeze.
“No!”a blonde woman in skin-tight denim jeans cried, suddenly charging through the door and leaping at Regan’s brother from behind.She shoved at his shoulder, sending him tumbling forward—the very second he fired his weapon.
A deafening crack filled the air, and a split instant later something small and hot hit Regan in the shoulder.Slamming her backward to the mattress.
“JESUS CHRIST!REGAN!NO!”Peter’s voice, horrified, punched at her ears.
Hot pain ripped through her chest.Up her neck.
“NO!”Declan screamed, staring down at her.
Slow.Everything felt slow.Like some celestial power had decided to mess with time.She frowned up at him, confused.What was going on?Why was Peter screaming “no”?Why was Declan?Who was the blonde?“Declan?”she said, but her voice felt weak.Insubstantial.“Why does my shoulder hurt?”
“Jesus,” he whispered, eyes wide.Wild.“Jesus, love.He shot you.”Fury fell over his face—cold and murderous—and those traumatized grey eyes changed.To the savage, silver eyes of the wolf.He swung his head to the side…
…and time caught up.
“You fucking bastard!”he roared.
He leapt off her, and just as his words sank into Regan’s confusion, just as the pain in her shoulder erupted into unbearable agony, she saw him transform.One second a man, the next a wild, mammoth wolf.
Lunging straight for her brother.
The massive animal struck Peter in the chest, sending him reeling backward.
“Declan, no!”she yelled, struggling to sit up.White pain exploded in her shoulder.Black stars exploded in her head.She cried out, dropping back to the mattress, bolts of agony tearing through her as she watched Declan—now more than a wolf, now something from a nightmare—snap at Peter’s neck with wickedly pointed teeth.
Eyes bulging, Peter whipped his head away staggering under the weight of the attacking creature.His broad back smacked into the wall, his thick, muscled arms flailing wildly at Declan, barely deflecting his snapping muzzle and lashing claws.Her brother was huge—a childhood spent wrestling wayward bulls and cows, and an adulthood spent wrestling the scum of the city wouldn’t let him be any other way—but Declan, or the creature Declan had become was bigger.And more deadly.
“Declan!”Regan pushed herself upright.Agony ripped through her.Bright red blood pumped from her shoulder, warm and wet.The sharp sting of copper bit at her sinuses, but she didn’t care.She had to stop her lover killing her brother.“Declan!Stop it!”
The creature swung its head toward her, insane silver eyes shimmering for a second with confused lucidity.
And Peter struck out.His booted foot landed in Declan’s gut with a whoosh and the werewolf stumbled backward, a growl of surprised anger bursting from its lathering muzzle.Its hackles rose, its clawed fingers curled into tight fists and it leapt forward again.Meeting Peter’s own attacking lunge in mid-air.
Regan’s blood turned to ice.Oh, God.She had to stop this.She had to?—
Two strong hands curled around her wrists.“You are Peter’s sister, yes?”
She snapped her head around, gazing at the worried blonde crouched beside her.“Who…” she began, tugging at the woman’s hold on her wrists.“How did you find…”
The blonde’s attention flicked to Regan’s shoulder before returning to her face.“Your boyfriend, the vet.”Her fingernails dug deeper into Regan’s wrists, an ambiguous gleam in her blue eyes.“Lucky for Peter, he called.”She sprang into an alert stance, jerking painfully on Regan’s arms as she did so.She shot Declan and Peter a hurried glance.“You have to come with me.”
Regan shook her head.“I’m not going anywhere.”She yanked her arms downward, but the blonde’s grip only grew tighter.“Let me go.”She glared at the woman.“What did you mean, lucky for Peter?Who are you?”
