Page 19

The shift tore through him like wildfire, more powerful than any he'd experienced before. His body knew what was at stake. This wasn't just territory or pride—this was his mate. His. The primal knowledge blazed through his veins hotter than the burning feeling of transformation.

He dropped to all fours as his transformation accelerated. His clothing split along the seams as muscle and bone reconfigured, his spine elongating with a series of wet cracks that echoed through the cabin. Midnight-black fur erupted through his skin, and his jaw extended with a pop that would have made him howl instinctively if he weren't focused entirely on the threat before him.

He felt Maya's eyes on him from behind the couch. He could detect with his heightened senses her fear, her fascination, and her heartbeat racing with a cocktail of terror and something else. Something that called to his wolf. Her scent spiked with adrenaline, an intoxicating perfume that only fueled his rage.

The stocky wolf broke first, lunging forward with a roar as his own shift began. But Kieran was faster. His transformation complete, he launched himself across the room—a massive black wolf with silver-blue eyes that gleamed like arctic ice. His jaws clamped around the attacker's forearm with bone-crushing force.

Blood sprayed across the cabin floor. The stocky wolf howled in agony.

"Kill him!" the leader shouted, his own clothes tearing as he began to shift.

Kieran released the stocky wolf's mangled arm and pivoted, dodging the leader's attack. His wolf moved with a grace his human form could never match, muscles coiling and releasing with lethal precision. He felt invincible, empowered by Maya's presence and the primal instinct to protect what was his.

The lean wolf circled toward the couch where Maya had pressed herself into the corner, her eyes wide with shock and awe.

Don't you fucking touch her,Kieran snarled, the words emerging telepathically. Understanding flashed in the lean wolf's eyes.

Kieran launched himself over the coffee table, a black blur of fur and fangs. He caught the lean wolf mid-shift, tearing into the exposed flesh of his throat. Blood gushed, hot and metallic, filling Kieran's mouth as they crashed into the wall. The wolf's dying whimper cut short as Kieran ripped through his jugular.

One down.

Pain exploded across Kieran's flank as the leader—now fully shifted into a massive brown wolf—tore into him. Teeth sank deep into his shoulder, scraping bone. Kieran twisted, snapping his jaws at his attacker, but the wolf danced away.

The cabin became a battlefield of snarls and blood. Fur flew as claws tore flesh. The stocky wolf, having completed his shift into a mottled gray beast, joined the fray. They coordinated their attack, one from each side.

Kieran's mind calculated even as his wolf raged. He feinted toward the leader, then spun with unnatural speed to catch the stocky wolf across the muzzle. His teeth tore through sensitive tissue, and the wolf recoiled with a yelp.

The momentary advantage was enough. Kieran pressed forward, driving the wounded wolf back until his haunches hit the overturned table. The wolf stumbled, and Kieran struck—his jaws closing around the wolf's throat in a killing blow.

Blood filled his mouth as he crushed the wolf's windpipe, but white-hot pain lanced through him as the leader's teeth tore into his hindquarters. Kieran released his kill and whirled, his hackles raised, blood dripping from his muzzle.

He caught Maya's scent again—that undeniable pull that he'd felt since he first tracked her in the forest tightening in his chest. Her presence steadied him, even as blood soaked his midnight fur. She wasn't screaming. Wasn't running away. She was watching, her scientist's mind processing even through her fear.

You'll die for her?the leader growled in the telepathic language of wolves.Throw away your birthright for a human?

Kieran's eyes narrowed, the silver-blue burning brighter.Without hesitation.

They circled each other, wounded predators leaving crimson trails on the hardwood floor. Kieran felt his strength ebbing from the deep gashes along his flank and hindquarters. But his resolve hardened. He would not fall. Not with her watching. Not with her safety at stake.

With a roar, Kieran lunged forward in a final, desperate attack. The leader met him head-on. They collided in a tangle of teeth and claws, rolling across the floor in a deadly dance. Pain exploded through Kieran's body as teeth found his throat, but he twisted, freeing himself just enough to sink his fangs into the leader's exposed belly.

Kieran tore upward, ripping through vital organs. The leader's howl became a gurgle as blood filled his lungs. His grip on Kieran weakened and the leader's eyes dimmed.

Kieran pushed the dying wolf off him and struggled to his four feet. His four legs trembled with exhaustion. Blood—his and his enemies'—matted his fur. Each breath came as a labored rasp.

But he was alive. And Maya—his Maya—was safe.

He turned toward the couch, his eyes meeting hers. Would she run now? Scream? See him as a monster?

The shift back to human form rippled through him, painful with his injuries. Bones cracked and realigned, fur receded intoskin slick with blood, and his massive wolf frame condensed into his human body. The pain was excruciating, but he forced himself through it, never breaking eye contact with Maya.

When the transformation completed, he stood naked and bleeding before her, his broad shoulders heaving with each ragged breath. The gashes on his shoulder and thigh pulsed with fresh blood. The cabin floor beneath him became slick with crimson.

But it was her expression that stole whatever breath remained in his lungs.

Maya watched him with eyes wide and clear—no fear, no disgust, just pure fascination. Her scientist mind seemed to catalog every detail while something deeper, more primal, seemed to recognize what he was on an instinctual level.

"You understand now," he whispered, his deep voice cracking with disbelief.