Page 98 of Tested

“Bodach,” one of the weres whispers. “It’s a bodach.”

My wolf crouches lower still, torn between the need to defend Connor and the deep-seated, instinctive fear of whatever he’s become. Trajan lets go of me, as if he needs both hands to believe what he’s seeing, and even Sheena looks doubtful.

The shark-man scrambles away, coming to a stop at the line of SWAT team members. They shy away from him, but rather than run, he growls a command. “Kill him.”

No one responds. The bodach – Connor – moves toward the shark without seeming to move at all, the way a shadow chases a runner. The shark creature stumbles and cries out. The bodach makes its inexorable way forward. The shark-man screams again, an otherworldly sound, and then it’s Smith, on the ground, scuttling away like a crab.

The bodach keeps coming, close enough to touch. When the shadow covers Smith’s feet he makes a sound that’ll punctuate my nightmares from now until forever. The bodach moves over Smith, covering him in shadow.

Smith’s screams dwindle and then fade away.

It’s Connor who falls to his knees beside Smith’s stricken form, and it’s Trajan and I who get to Connor first.