Page 52 of Midnight Hunt
Okay, okay, stop while you’re ahead. Now get your furry butt going so I can sleep in arealbed tonight.
The cave was warm and cozy, though, and that orgasm was amazing. You haven’t felt that relaxed since—
La-la-la, not listening!I yelled, drowning her out.
With a snort, she turned from the stream. Whiskey immediately did the same, and they took off once more. With their bellies full, they easily covered lots of ground. We’d been knocked off course last night and had traveled west instead of north, but at the pace our wolves were going now, we should reach Lake Placid in a couple hours.
Around noon, the sun finally broke through the heavy clouds like a little ray of hope. We were almost there. We were going to make it. Sable and Whiskey surged forward, energized by the thought of almost being home. Sable pulled ahead, her eagerness making her fly over the forest floor at breakneck speed. I saw the sun catch on something shiny up ahead a second too late.
Before I could warn her, a sharpwhooshcleaved the air, and a huge net swallowed her whole.
17
GRIFF
Whiskey waslivid.
The net that had snatched up Sable and left her dangling several feet off the ground was coated in silver. When she cried out in pain, he started to shift. Not into my human form, but into his true form. Hisdemonicform.
His hind legs lengthened, transforming into a shape that allowed him to stand upright. Muscles rippled over his already muscular body, beefing up his chest and biceps. His paws became monstrous hands tipped in long deadly claws, and I felt his canines descend even more. His coat was still a tawny hue, but I knew his eyes were now flashing a deep blood red.
I allowed the shift without question, his anger and desperation fueling my own. They’d set a trap for us. They knew we’d go this way. Knew we’d returnhome. And we’d walked right into it.
Whiskey tipped back his massive head and belted out an unearthly roar. Sable answered it with several pitiful whimpers, helplessly thrashing in the net. I could see now that it wasn’t made out of rope but some kind of metal. Probably steel. The rattling sound drove Whiskey into a frenzy, and all nine feet of muscular demon wolf lunged for the trap. As he latched on to it, the contraption holding the net up bent and snapped under his weight, and Sable fell.
He caught her before she could hit the ground, then set her down to claw at the silver-coated links. Burning flesh and fur permeated the air, but Whiskey ignored the pain, his sole focus on saving his female. Sable tried to help, but it was clear that the close contact with silver was already weakening her.
Afraid that the hunters were nearby, ready to shoot Whiskey before he could free Sable from the net, I urged him to go faster. He redoubled his efforts, breaking link after link until a gap formed, large enough to pull Sable from the trap. She whined as he dragged her out, several patches of her beautiful dark coat burned away by the silver. When he set her down, she struggled and failed to stand.
He immediately picked her up in his massive arms, cradling her to him tenderly. “Shift, beloved,” he said in his deep, gravelly voice. “Let me carry you.”
With one last whine, she lifted her head to lick his muzzle, then relinquished control to Vi. The second Vi’s petite frame took Sable’s place, I finally allowed myself to breathe. I looked down at her through Whiskey’s eyes, taking in the angry red burns on her flesh. They were already healing but not fast enough.
Taking control of Whiskey, I carefully maneuvered Vi’s body so I could gently touch her cheek with one of his large fingers. Her lips tipped up in a faint smile, and she weakly lifted a hand to pat him on the snout.
“Sable and I will be fine, Whisk. Now get us out of here before those hunters arrive.”
“Your wish is my command, fair lady,” he gallantly replied, making her smile grow.
Before taking off, he licked her palm with his big tongue, and a sudden possessiveness tightened my chest.
A gravelly laugh that sounded like a distant rockslide rumbled from him.Easy there, chap. I’m only licking her as a friend. Then again, she seems tolikemale friends licking her, so maybe you should be worried.
Watch it, I tightly growled at him.
With another laugh, he surged into motion, loping through the forest on his powerful hind legs with Vi held securely against him. Now that the immediate danger was over, I could sense that the contact with silver had taken a toll on him as well. Although he could easily take on a handful of unshifted werewolves in his current state, I couldn’t discount their weapons or Vi and Sable’s condition.
Go west,I reluctantly told him.We can’t head for home like this. The hunters could be lying in wait for us.
He huffed in annoyance but didn’t argue with me. The females’ safety came first. One glance at Vi, and we found her fast asleep. Good. She’d heal quicker that way.
Whiskey loped through the woods for hours without slowing. He probably would have continued on for several more if I asked him to, but I didn’t want to completely undo all the progress we’d made. With a little rest and some food, we should be well enough to face the hunters and their weapons and traps. It was the only way we were going to get home again.
As the sun started to fade into the trees, I urged Whiskey to search for shelter. We were approaching a small lake when he suddenly slowed, his gaze shooting to the far side. At the sight of a log-cabin style house, I said,Let’s go check it out.
Whiskey wasn’t so eager, nervously pacing beside the lake until Vi stirred awake in his arms.
“What’s wrong?” she groggily asked, rubbing at her eyes before opening them to look around. When she spotted the house, she immediately perked up. “Oh, thank God. They could have a landline.”
