Luckily, the cloak of nightfall covered us a little—but for how long?
“Nai!” Rage grabbed my arm. “We need to go.”
I nodded but stood frozen as the grizzly bear turned and, chuffing the air, rose onto his hind legs, facing us.
Holy shifter babies.
I craned my neck up at the beast, and my breathing turned shallow.
“Nai!”
Rage’s voice registered but seemed far away.
The grizzly stepped forward.
“Shift now!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Rage let his wolf take over, but me? My wolf seemed to think my mage form was better suited for this madness.
As the nine-foot-tall bear stepped closer, I urged my wolf to come to the surface. We needed to go, and my wolf was faster, but she—
The bear roared.
Oh. Mother. Mage.
Rage’s wolf darted between me and the other shifter, and the sight of my materisking his lifeshook me from my stupor. Instinct took over, and I threw my arms and hands out, hurling any and all of my magic at the large grizzly.
Don’t hit Rage, I told the magic.
Sparks danced in the air, appearing like fireflies in the night, and then flames erupted on the bear’s pelt. In multiple places. All at once.
Rage’s wolf shifted, and suddenly he was standing before me, shaking my shoulders as I stared in shock at the burning bear.
Howls rose up in the distance, and human-Rage forced me to meet his gaze. Breathing heavily, he scooped me into his arms, hooking his arm under my knees and hauling me up to his chest. “Nai, we’ve gotta get out of here.”
I nodded, repeatedly, and then the world blurred as he started running, the snapping of bullets following us into the thick forest behind Dark Row.
Chapter 3
Rage clearedthe perimeter of Dark Row and darted into the surrounding forest. A dozen paces past the tree line, my mate stopped.
“I … gotta … rest…” he gasped, releasing my legs.
Not even a heartbeat later, he dropped me completely as he fell to his knees.
Crap!
I’d been so shocked that I’d let Rage carry me into the forest like a damsel in distress when he was clearly hurt.
“Rage,” I whisper-yelled, crouching next to him. “What’s wrong?”
Could we go more than an hour without my mate being in peril?
Swaying, he blinked, and the glazed look in his eyes receded. His breathing came heavy and hard, and he clutched his side once again. “I think something grazed me.”
His fingers were wet, and the coppery tang of fresh blood wafted from the wound. I peeled back two of his slicked fingers from where he held his side and immediately let them go as my stomach heaved. Shaking my head, I pressed my hand to his and told him to keep pressure there.
Scooting over to allow the moon’s limited light to be at the best angle, I forced a swallow and then peeled his fingers back again to get a better look.
