Page 43 of Wolf Unseen

I threw the bloody branch away into the bushes and crouched down in front of the female. She still had her dress on, but from the dark bruises all over her thighs, the asshole had been close to assaulting her.

I kicked the bastard for good measure, still furious that shifters like him got away with this shit. If asked, he’d almost certainly use the full moon as an excuse.

It was a common get-out-of-jail-free clause for shifters influenced by the lunar cycles. The moon made me do it, Your Honor. I couldn’t help myself. My beast was feral.

I was so tired of the bullshit misogyny in shifter society. Lorna had dealt with it her whole damn life. Was it any wonder she’d fled our father’s pack under the cover of darkness and hopped on a plane at the earliest opportunity?

My only regret was that helping her out of one awful situation had apparently sent her headfirst into an even worse one.

“I’ll be fine,” the female sniffed, wiping her eyes with a grimy hand. “It’s my fault for drinking too much elkwine.”

“It is not your fault! You’re allowed to drink and have fun. He’s the one at fault here for assuming he could take what he wanted without your consent.”

The female stood and glared at the groaning badger shifter. “You’re right,” she agreed, and then she kicked him in the balls. The male curled up into a fetal position, sobbing like a baby.

“If you touch me or my friends again, I’ll…I’ll castrate you!” she hissed.

“That’s the spirit,” I grinned. “Although I doubt he’ll try anything else tonight.”

“Thanks for helping me,” the female said. “Most males would have turned a blind eye.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But I’m not like them.” Or male.

She sniffed. “No, you’re not.”

I walked with her back to the party, which was in full swing. The minute we reached the clearing, a trio of females rushed over to greet us. All feline shifters: one tiger and two cougars.

“Oh my goddess, Haley! What happened?” The tallest of the trio, the tiger, stared at her friend in horror, taking in her ripped dress and bruises before lunging at me with a vicious snarl.

I leaped out of the way just in time to avoid being disemboweled by the vicious claws protruding from the tiger female’s fingers.

“Stop, Kasia! He saved me, so back off.”

The tiger shifter female froze. “He did? Then which male do I need to kill?”

I grinned, liking her enthusiasm for murder.

“That fucking honey badger shifter. I went to pee in the forest, and he found me. I tried telling him I wasn’t interested, but he was too strong.” Haley let out a small sob before sniffing and straightening her spine once again. “This wolf intervened and clobbered the fucker with a branch.” She threw me a wan smile. “Then we both kicked him a few times in the nuts.”

The tiger growled. “That fucking honey badger shifter better not come back to the party,” she yelled, angry as hell now. “If he does, I’ll tear him limb from limb!” I knew she meant it. Tiger shifters were powerful beasts, and an enraged tigress was a force to be reckoned with.

Then she turned to me. “Thanks, babe, for saving our friend. We all owe you one.”

I shook my head. “I did what any other fe…I mean, decent male, would have done.” Fuck, I mentally slapped myself around the head before praying the females hadn’t caught my slip of the tongue.

“What’s your name? I’m Kasia, and those two are Bree and Raquel. You’ve already met Haley.”

Bree and Raquel sidled up and cooed over me, which made me very uncomfortable, but I gritted my teeth and forced a smile.

“Riley.”

“He’s so pretty,” Bree simpered. “Can we keep him, Kasia?”

“Um, I’m into dudes, so…” I coughed out before this got any more awkward.

Bree pouted. “Damn. Just my luck. The first decent shifter we meet and he’s not interested.” Raquel sighed.

“I’m beginning to think all the shifters at Moonfall are either players…” I caught the glare she shot at Tobias, who stood on the far side of the fire watching us. “…or misogynistic douches.”