“No, those wolves aren’t mine.” Randall squints out the windshield. “They’re rogues.”
“What are they doing?” I reach for my charm and press the lightning bolt.
“They’re toying with us. We’re going to be attacked.” Randall scans the forest around us.
“We need to get out of the SUV. It’s the only vehicle running and we can’t replace it if they attack us inside and claw the tires or something.”
“You want to meet a pack of rogues head-on?” Randall glances at me in the rearview.
“They are going to attack us either way. I would like to have a way to Montana after they do,” I say, raising a brow at him.
“Fine. You kids are absolutely insane, but I don’t doubt you can take on a pack of rogue shifters.” Randall pulls the SUV off to the side of the dirt road.
I shove the door open and hop out of the back seat with my whip held at my side crackling with electricity. Raven is at my side with twin blades at the ready in her hands.
“What are we doing, B? They are people. Are we incapacitating or going for the throat?”
“They have massive claws and teeth. Don’t hold back if they go for the kill. Protect yourselves at all costs.” I roll my shoulders back and plant my feet.
“Got it. Let’s move away from the SUV.” Raven points to the trees.
“Draven and Kira, watch the vehicle. If any wolves try to mess with it, handle them.” I point at Draven and Kira.
“You got it,” Kira says.
We move through the trees as carefully as possible, trying not to make a sound. Wolves howl and snarl behind us, herding us where they want us.
“This is an ambush. You know that, right?” Greyson says.
“They think they are the ones doing the ambushing.” I smirk. “They have no idea who they are messing with.”
“They’re in for a rude awakening for sure.” Raven bumps her shoulder against mine.
“There are at least ten wolves out here,” Randall says. “There’s only four of us.”
“We’ve beat those odds against monsters much scarier than a pack of wolves.” Lightning crackles blue and white along the whip.
A twig snaps and a wolf crouches, snarling at us not ten feet away. The gray beast growls as we all form a circle back-to-back.
“Look, babe. It’s a little puppy,” Raven says.
“Let’s not taunt the snarling rogues, yeah?” Greyson shakes his head.
“But they are so small and cute. Why don’t you show them your wolf, baby?” Raven says with a flirty smile.
The wolf in front of me leaps at me. I duck and crack my whip at the wolf, pulling back the electricity so that it will stun the fucker, not actually kill him. He yelps and changes direction to snap at Greyson.
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with. Cut your losses and get out of here before something happens you won’t come back from,” Greyson growls.
Three more wolves step out of the trees, snarling and snapping at us.
“I don’t think they’re going to listen to reason. They think they are big and bad, but they aren’t the top of the food chain here.” My whip cracks against a fallen branch and it burns black.
Smoke curls up from the branch as three wolves leap at me from all sides at the same time. I pull the sword Claud made for me and smash the hilt into the nearest wolf’s ribs.
“Beth,” Raven shouts but she has several wolves on her as well.
Twigs and leaves crunch beneath me as I roll away from another wolf’s open jaws. A scream bubbles out as claws rake down my back. I throw my elbow back into the snout of the wolf attacking me, knocking it sideways with a whimper.
