The Better to Bite (Howl #1)(65)

A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Sometimes, you can’t be sure.”

I felt it then. The psychic punch right in my gut. “Here!”

He slammed on the brakes, and I had a flash of the last night we’d raced up the mountain with the woods beside us. The seatbelt bit into my shoulder and the car slid sideways.

Then the BMW shuddered to a stop. I jerked free of the seatbelt and jumped from the car. Brent’s footsteps thundered right behind me. My heart beat too fast, my breath seemed to saw out of my lungs, but I ran forward.

I’d tried to call my dad on the way up the mountain—four times, I’d tried—but there was no signal now, and I didn’t have time to waste on another call that wouldn’t be answered.

Brent and I rushed through the woods, turning left, right. Snaking deeper into the darkness where the trees were twisted and the leaves crackled beneath our feet.

Deeper, deeper…

I stopped. My hands lifted beside me, and I ignored the throb in my injured arm. I was close. So very close now.

“Where is she?” Brent demanded, then he raised his voice and called out, “Valerie, we’re here!”

A growl was the answer he got back. A low, menacing growl that raised the hairs on my neck.

Brent leapt in front of me, but I could still see the dark shape of the wolf as it emerged from the woods. Its yellow eyes—glowing eyes—were locked on us.

“Stay behind me, Anna,” Brent ordered as he yanked off his shirt and tossed it to the ground. “Whatever you do, don’t get between us.”

Us. “Rafe?” I whispered as I stared at the menacing shadow of the beast.

I could have sworn the wolf’s head jerked toward me.

I locked my knees, the better not to fall right down on the ground. I could hear a popping sound. Snaps and cracks and my gaze darted to Brent. He’d fallen to the ground, and his body was changing, shifting, even as the big, black wolf lunged for him.

“Rafe, no!” I called out, trying to stop the wolf that I thought was Rafe.

The wolf’s head definitely jerked that time. But he continued his attack. He slammed into Brent, knocking him back on the ground. I scrambled away from them, aware of just how deadly a swipe from those razor-sharp claws could be.

But Brent wasn’t a man anymore. Thick, black fur covered his body. His eyes had turned that wild yellow, and when the beast that he’d become tossed back his head, a long howl filled the night.

The two wolves met in fury. Fighting, clawing.

Rafe and Brent. I was sure of it now. I had to stop them.

But I sure as hell wasn’t getting between them.

A twig snapped behind me. It was the only warning I had. I spun around— Too late.

A knife shoved into my stomach.

“You’re gonna die, witch,” a cold voice snarled at me.

The wolves growled behind me. My blood dripped onto the ground. I looked up and into the eyes of a killer.

Valerie’s eyes. Valerie’s glowing, yellow eyes.





Chapter Sixteen


Valerie smiled at me as she yanked the knife out of my stomach. I covered the wound automatically, and the blood spilled from my fingertips.

She lifted the knife to her lips and licked away my blood.

Crazy psycho bitch.

I pulled my strength together, and I kicked her as hard as I could. She yelped and stumbled back.

Even hurt, I could kick the crap out of her.

I turned then and tried to get away. Running wasn’t really an option because, oh, God, I hurt. But I’d rather face the wolves than her, any day and— “Stop her!” Valerie screamed and my blood iced even more. “Stop her or we’ll be like this forever!”

The wolves weren’t fighting anymore. They were running right toward me, with their deadly fangs bared and their eyes bright with fury.

I fell to the ground and covered my head. Two against one, unarmed, and, damn, I hadn’t wanted it to end this way. I hadn’t wanted my dad to have to find someone else he loved, covered in blood.

One wolf thundered past me. The other rushed to me and…and licked me.

“No!” Valerie’s scream. “No, no, no!”

My head lifted. I heard the pops and the horrible cracks that were bones transforming. Fur melted from the wolf’s body as it huddled around me.

Protecting me.

The face shifted back into—into Rafe’s face. His eyes still glowed that wild yellow, but his face…that was Rafe.

His arms curled around me. “It’s okay. I’m going to take care of—”

A howl split the night. Pain-filled, enraged. My head whipped around, and I saw that Valerie had stabbed the other wolf. She’d stabbed Brent! His body lay on the ground, and I knew those dark shadows beneath the wolf were actually pools of blood. She stood over him, the knife gripped in her hand.

“See what you’ve done?” Valerie screamed at me and her face was already shifting and transforming, her cheeks becoming sharper, her jaw longer.

I’d never suspected her. I hadn’t seen her name in the book, hadn’t realized— “This is your fault!” Her screeching voice echoed in the woods. “You put a spell on Brent, didn’t you? Just like you did to Rafe! Helen helped you, I knew she would, and now you’ve—”

“You killed Granny Helen.” The words burst from me. Even now, I couldn’t hold myself back. Rafe had pulled me to my feet, and, strangely, I didn’t feel the pain in my stomach anymore. I could feel his arms around me. Warm and strong, but nothing else. No pain.