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Rolling on the ground, I righted myself quickly and bolted from the garage. Behind me, I heard the sound of pursuit. If I’d known exactly how many men were after me, I might try and turn to fight. But it sounded like suicide. I had to run.

Thzzap .

I flinched as a bullet flew past my ear, buzzing like a bee as it tore the air beside my head.

Less than a split second later, another gunshot thundered through the night.

Still unwilling to slow to look behind me, I took a turn up the street and headed west. The noise behind me changed.

Instead of the clipping sound of shoes sprinting, I now heard the hissing sound of paws on grass.

He’d be able to track me easily, and I couldn’t lead this guy back to Cameron. A street sign that said “Detroit Zoo” gave me an idea.

Pouring on more speed, I sprinted across a busy road, trying to put distance between me and my pursuer.

The drivers on the street swerved to avoid the massive wolf that had emerged from the shadows.

Tires squealed and horns blared, a cacophony of noise and light, but I stayed focused, never once flinching or moving aside.

Leaping high, I cleared the hood of a truck and landed on my paws, never losing speed as I raced toward the zoo.

If there was anywhere I could hide, that was it.

Catching sight of the gates and ticket booths, I rushed headlong toward them.

In a single, bounding jump, I made it halfway up the wall.

Planting my paws into the rough brick, I jumped a second time, clearing the jagged metal spikes on top.

I fell into a shrub on the other side, the leaves and branches cushioning my fall.

Beyond the gates, I heard a growl and snarl of agitation, then the sounds of multiple sets of claws scrabbling at the brick wall. Fuck, these guys were persistent. I rolled off the shrub and ran deeper into the zoo.

Scanning the signs as I went, I steered away from the prey animals.

That would do nothing to deter the shifter chasing me.

One of the signs showed the outline of a beast I thought might keep them away from me.

The terror that surged through me at seeing the outline of the body didn’t scare me as much as the thought of what the guys following might do if they caught me.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I sprinted toward the enclosure, shifted to my human form to climb better, and made my way over the tall fence.

Tossing myself over the side, I landed in a water-filled moat.

Shifting again, I paddled to the shore. After shaking the excess water from my fur, I ran into the shadows.

Beyond the moat and fence, I heard the clicking of wolf claws running on pavement as they searched for me. Behind me, an aggressive burst of air drew my attention. Turning slowly, I came face to face with the creature I thought might keep my pursuers at bay.

A massive lion stepped out of a shadowy, man-made concrete cave, eyeing me with hungry, yellow eyes. Instinct nearly took over. My inner wolf wanted to bolt and get away from this thing. My human side overrode those feelings, and I stood my ground.

The lion took several steps toward me, his massive tongue flicking out to lick his lips. A disconcerting movement, to say the least.

Easy, big guy. You stay cool, and I’ll stay cool.

My plan must have been working. The shifters chasing me didn’t appear to want anything to do with this enclosure.

Yet, I was still in terrible danger. In a straight-out fight, the beast stalking toward me would end me in seconds.

It easily outweighed me by over three hundred pounds.

I was, in my own personal estimation, a pretty massive alpha wolf. But next to the lion, I was a puppy.

It moved closer. The look in its eyes was that of a hungry animal who’d just happened upon a midnight snack. Either I’d get out of here alive, or I’d go down fighting.

Glaring at the lion, I peeled my lips back and let out a deep growl, my alpha aura surging out. To my surprise, the lion flinched back, blinking in confusion. It was either shocked at my boldness, the sensation of my aura, or some combination of both.

After a standoff of several more seconds, the lion turned and padded back to his cave. Staring after him in shocked wonder, I sat back down. How the fuck had that worked? It was a story I’d probably tell until I died. Whether anyone ever believed it was true? Well, that wasn’t for me to decide.

Over an hour later, the sounds of the men searching for me had faded and vanished.

I waited an additional fifteen minutes to be sure they were really gone, then leapt into the water and paddled back to the fence.

I shifted into my human form again to climb.

Halfway up the fence, I glanced back. The lion had poked its head out from its cave again and stared at me in what was an almost human look of dumbstruck confusion.

“I know,” I said to the lion as I climbed. “Pretty fucking crazy, right?”

As I dropped over the other side, my boots slapped wetly on the concrete. I needed to get back to Cameron. These guys probably didn’t know where our hotel was, but this was getting too dangerous. The longer I was away from her, the worse I felt.

Running toward the front gate, I pulled my phone out and called her. It went to voicemail. Skidding to a stop outside the front gates, I tried again. Voicemail again.

A tremor ran through me, and fear unlike anything I’d ever known surged through me. I couldn’t think of any good reason she wouldn’t answer. It was late, sure, but she knew I’d try to make contact. Something was wrong.

Scrambling over the outer gate, I shifted again and ran. I ran like my life and Cameron’s depended on it. Because, as far as I could tell, it very well might.