Page 112 of Blood & Claw

The beast kept coming, approaching the base of the pine.

Ailsa started to sweat. “Change back!”

A low, hungry growl rumbled in the clag-doo’s throat.

Fuck.

Her binding hadn’t worked properly. He’d been able to call upon the beast, yet he wasn’t its master. He no longer had any control.

If it started climbing this tree, she was done for. There was nowhere else to go. This pine stood alone, just a few yards from where the sheer sides of the rocky corrie thrust skyward.

She was trapped.

The beast would tear her limb from limb if it got its teeth into her.

And those claws—

They looked like scythes. It made her own sharp wee nails look pitiful.

She waited for the cold clarity that came easily these days—a stillness where fear didn’t exist, where her senses sharpened, and the world slowed down. When the wildness rushed in, she was invincible, her mind like a blade.

But it eluded her now.

There was no certainty, only the fear she might die screaming in this tree. “For the love of the Five, listen to me!” she shouted. “Pull the leash—draw it back.”

The clag-doo halted at the foot of the pine.

And suddenly, the growling stopped.

The beast went utterly still.

Those golden eyes fixed on her through the branches.

“Shift!” she screamed now, even as danger crackled in the air between them. “Shift!”

The clag-doo snarled. Then its body coiled as it readied itself to leap.

“Darach!” His name ripped from her throat.

The clag-doo froze once more.

Staring down, Ailsa saw something flicker in its gaze. The memory of a man inside.

Had it heard her?

Maybe his name was the key.

“Darach,” she shouted again. Not a command this time, but a plea. “Darach.”

The clag-doo howled then, the blood-curdling sound ripping through the cold night air.

She repeated his name in a chant. It was the only thing that penetrated, the only thing that would stop the beast from killing her. And by the Gods, she was desperate now.

Long, agonizing moments passed.

Then he changed.

Before her eyes, the massive, muscular body of the clag-doo transformed. Its back roached once more. Black fur sloughed away, pale flesh appearing beneath. Its body shrank.