Page 40 of The Enforcers: NOAH

“Come on, Brock,” Mina called out. “Come to Mommy.”

Brock just growled, his eyes full gold now.

“Get her,” the stranger said to Briscoe.

And then all hell broke loose.

With a snapping of tiny bones, Brock dropped to the ground and turned into a wolf cub. He dashed at Briscoe, biting him in the leg. Briscoe yelled out and started shaking his leg. “Get him off! Get him off!”

Blood began to stain the leg of his jeans.

“Brock! Let him go!” Noah bellowed.

The stranger aimed his gun at Brock. Mina fired and grazed his shoulder. He jerked, and the gun flew out of his hand.

At the sound of the gunfire, Brock let go of Briscoe and stood frozen, all four legs splayed. Everything was panic and shouting. The men converged on Brock, and he came to life, wriggling through the crowd. He took off into the woods, running at the speed of terror.

Noah took off after him. It was physically painful, leaving Mina in danger, but he knew beyond a doubt she’d never forgive him if he stayed behind with her and something happened to Brock.

No kid should panic shift for his first Changes. Aside from it being a terrifying experience, it sometimes meant they couldn’t shift back. They had to be caged, sedated…

Not on his watch.

Noah followed Brock’s trail easily, using his nose and his ears. The poor kid was blundering through the forest, scared out of his mind, weaving this way and that, trying to get away from something he didn’t understand.

Like Noah had been the other night.

The thought of Brock getting caught in one of those traps made Noah’s blood run cold. It would cut him in two.

He heard a whimper up ahead, and then a loud whine and frantic barking. Noah increased his pace. The last thing they needed was for those assholes to converge on them when he was trying to calm Brock down.

The cub was caught in a tangle of thorny vines, unable to get himself out. The closer Noah got, the more he thrashed around, the more he hurt himself, and the more noise he made.

He couldn’t even hear Noah talking to him.

With a sigh, Noah stripped off his clothes and dropped them on top of his gun. With a snapping of bones, he shifted and plunged into the thorny mess.

Brock shrank away, yipping in terror, but Noah closed his big jaws gently around the back of the little wolf’s neck, bearing him down to the ground. It was a dominance move, and Noah asserted his dominant energy along with it.

He knew Brock’s instincts would kick in, that he would be calmed by feeling the dominance of a strong adult wolf who could protect him. Gradually, Brock’s thrashing slowed and his frantic yips turned to frightened whimpers, and then stilled.

Noah eased up the pressure on his hold, letting the pup scramble to his feet, but not letting go of him altogether in case he panicked again.

He rumbled low in his throat—not a growl; more a sign of reassurance and comfort. Gradually, Brock stopped trembling. Noah prayed the panic change hadn’t locked him into wolf form.

The small furry body undulated in his hold, bones cracking, and then suddenly he had his jaws around a small boy.

Behind him, he heard a gun cock. He looked up to see Mina standing there, staring down the barrel at him.