Page 34 of Blood & Claw

A druid’s mark. A plea for aid.

Reaching out, he touched the markings. Blood. Still sticky.

His jaw clenched so hard that pain stabbed his ears. Kayla had been right here, and he’d just missed her.

If they’ve hurt her hands …

Straightening up, he spun on his heel and strode back outside. The stables. Maybe they hadn’t left yet. Maybe he’d catch them. He yanked open the stable door. A stocky garron turned to look at him, munching placidly on hay. There was no sign of the horses the men had just bought.

A wagon sat in the next stall. Abandoned.

Darach backed away, heart thudding against his ribs.

Ailsa had forced their hand. They’d abandoned a safe hideout and ridden north before they were ready.

He left the yard at a run.

Cutting through narrow wynds and steep vennels, he headed straight for the gates.

Reaching the massive wooden barriers, he halted. Bent double, he gasped for breath while a guard eyed him warily.

“Travelers,” Darach wheezed. “One of them a woman. Dark cloaks … riding horses. Did they leave tonight?”

The guard’s brow furrowed. “Aye. At dusk. Why?”

Darach’s belly dropped to his boots. Dusk? “Which way?”

The man shrugged. “They headed north … I think.”

Darach’s right thigh throbbed then, pulsing with dark heat. The beast stirred beneath his skin, responding to his desperation. He could feel it clawing at the edges of his control, wanting out.

He started to sweat. Not now. Not here.

Gritting his teeth, he forced it down and made himself think.

They had a head start on him, but if he ‘shifted’ and ran through the night, he’d catch them up.

A muscle jumped in his jaw.

No. He couldn’t do that. The transformation was getting harder to control. If he shifted now, he might rip his quarry to pieces when he found them. And in the process, he might accidentally kill Kayla.

That wouldn’t help him.

He couldn’t let the beast take over. It wasn’t a weapon but a curse.

Fuck it.

Kayla’s apprentice was to blame for this mess. If she hadn’t spooked those warriors, they’d likely still be here. Because of her, they’d gotten away.

He forced his temper to settle. The lass had already complicated matters, yet that didn’t mean she lacked value.

If he was going north—and he had to—her company might help him keep the beast at bay. And when he found Kayla, having Ailsa with him might make the tattooist more cooperative.

Still breathing hard, Darach turned from the gates.

His pulse drummed in his ears, even as the beast continued to growl.

Heaviness pressed down on his shoulders then.