Addict (Hunter #2)(75)

The wolf howled. He was losing the fight to maintain any semblance of control. The smaller wolf tossed Courtney aside like a rag doll and leapt for me. He changed in midair, his clothes tearing around him. He became a dark, snarling wolf. My instincts took over and I dropped into a defensive position, softening my knees and shifting my center of gravity.

Suddenly the gun popped out of my hand, like it no longer fit. I scrambled to try to get it back, but the wolf knocked me over. I kicked up. I noted that Quinn was struggling now. Lisa had her daughter in her arms and was hunkered down in a corner, protecting Courtney with her own body.

The wolf’s claws tore through my sweater to get to the flesh of my shoulder. Pain flared, but I moved quickly, rolling to the side to avoid the worst of the blow. There was something wrong with my hand. It felt funny, but I didn’t have time to look at it. I only briefly saw that it had taken on a reddish tone to the skin before I flipped the wolf over me. I heard him hit the wall behind us.

“Get down, Kelsey.” My uncle was on his feet.

He hadn’t had the same trouble picking up his gun. He fired twice. I knew the rounds were silver. It was standard issue for guards. The shot echoed. Zack pulled the trigger three times. The wolf should have gone down, but even with three silver bullets poisoning his system, he jumped right back up. He snarled and moved toward me.

It happened faster than Zack could get another shot off. I only had time to bring my arm up to try to stop his canines from latching on to my throat. I reached up and instinct led me. I caught the wolf by the throat and squeezed. The wolf’s lower body slumped. I was surprised that I lifted the heavy wolf with no problem at all. I tightened my hold and blood poured from the wolf’s throat.

“Shit, Kelsey, when did you learn to do that?” Quinn was suddenly beside me.

The wolf I held twitched, his feet kicking out, but I lifted him easily. I watched as the light that animated him died and he went still. I dropped the wolf, shocked at what I had done. The body hit the floor with a thud. That’s when I noticed my right arm, and I was the one going still at the sight.

My arm wasn’t my arm. It was scaly, the skin a deep red. Long, creepy nails jutted from the tips. Talons. I had flipping talons. Like the kind that could easily tear out a throat. Killing talons.

It was ugly and kind of a little baby bit cool.

“Well, Henri is going to want to see that, Owens.” The king stood lounging in the doorway. His blue eyes took in the entryway. I wondered how long he’d been watching.

Quinn touched my creepy arm, pushing up my sweater so he could get a better look. I was too shocked to protest, couldn’t take my eyes off the thick muscles and tough flesh. The king moved to my side, running his hand along the arm.

“Demon skin.” Donovan turned my arm over and inspected the long talons on my fingers. “Nice. Can you change it back?”

A thought suddenly occurred to me. I’d only dealt with one of the drug-crazed employees. I pulled my arm out of the king’s hand and looked for the second wolf.

“Whoa!” Quinn ducked as my claws barely missed scratching his face.

“Sorry.” I pulled my freaky arm close to my chest because I definitely wasn’t used to having talons.

Zack had his daughter and wife wrapped up in his arms. Courtney cried and clutched her father. Lisa was calm, but I could see the tension in her eyes.

Sitting across from them was a weird-shaped ball of green. There was no question of what it was. The vine had wrapped around the man so tightly, I could almost make out his face.

“He alive?” The king was smiling slightly at Dev.

The huge plant thing wiggled, and I would have sworn I heard a muffled scream.

“Of course.” Dev put a foot on the werewolf who was neatly wrapped in ivy. “He can’t answer our questions if he’s dead. I assumed you would want to talk to him. If not, then I can change his current status easily.”

Lisa touched my shoulder. Her eyes widened at the sight of my demon arm, but she merely said, “Thank you. I’m taking Courtney out of here.”

As she walked by, I noticed everyone was watching from the doorway. They crowded together. Lee pushed his way through.

“Cool!” Lee held his hand out to touch it.

Donovan pulled his son away. “She’s not used to it yet so no playing. Lee, go with your mother. Z, I think you should take the kids home. Call Trent and have him come down to escort you.”

The queen nodded. “I’ll take Lisa and Courtney with us. Zack, they’ll be in the guest room when you’re done.”

Lee started to argue, but his mother pulled him back into the dining room. I supposed they would wait there until Trent came down to get them. I stared at the body of the wolf whose throat I’d split open. There was still blood on my claw.

I’d used that claw and could still feel it sinking into flesh. I’d done that. Me. And now I had demon skin. I wasn’t like the world’s most frequent visitor to a nail shop, but I did like the occasional manicure, and I was never going to be able to have another one. I wasn’t even sure my talons were paintable.

“Calm down, Owens.” The king put an arm around my shoulder. He was in a distinctly paternal mode. “It isn’t the first time you’ve had to kill someone and it won’t be the last. He was going to kill you. I’m going to back Lisa on this one and say thank you. Now, let me take a look at that hand and we’ll see what we can do.”