Page 51 of Brock’s Mate

Big mistake for the enemy.

Because Brock’s wolf went insane.

It was impossible to even see what happened next. Brock attacked in a blur and the two wolves rolled over, locked together.

Then Brock was struggling to his feet while Jered lay on the ground in front of him, not moving.

The rest of the wolves attacked. DiSantos melted to wolf and launched himself at Desi. She raised her gun and shot him twice. He hit the ground face first, struggling to get up again.

More wolves bounded out of the trees. Desi was still shooting, and Brock left Jered and backed up, trying to get between her and them.

She dropped her own empty handgun and picked up Brock’s, but she knew there were too many. It took multiple bullets to even slow them down, and Brock was already tired and bleeding.

Two wolves jumped on Brock in a flurry of fur and fangs. Desi’s wolf gave a howl, through her mouth. Kill them! Kill them all!

Then Desi heard a sound behind her, in the house, and saw a man in black coming through the door from the kitchen. She fired three bullets into his chest, and he staggered back. She was preparing to fire again when the Latino guy from the bar appeared behind him, dragging him back.

Well, hell. The cavalry had arrived.

More gunfire rattled out of the woods, and the dark broody bouncer ran out carrying a semi-automatic, firing at the black wolves. From the other side came a tree-shaking roar, and a minivan-sized polar bear thundered out of the forest.

Another gunman—gun-person, a woman—joined the battle, and then there was a screaming snarl from overhead and a freaking snow leopard with giant wings swooped down on the rolling mass of fur and fangs that was Brock and the two wolves.

The pain Desi and Brock had been fighting off from whoever was in the woods slacked off. She didn’t even have time to feel relief.

A ball of red pulsing energy streaked out of the forest. Tentacles sprang out of it, heading for all the defenders. “Watch out!” she yelled, knowing she’d be too late.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning forked down from the sky and hit the red ball, blasting it and its tentacles apart.

Desi looked up, and a piece of the night hurtled down at them.

A dragon. Dark as midnight, the edges of his scales glimmering faintly. One of the black wolves melted into human form and shouted something in a language Desi didn’t recognize.

The wolves ran, some of them Changing to human form and picking up the dead and wounded. A strange red glow outlined all the bodies, and then they began to disappear with soft pops.

In less than a minute, the clearing was empty of enemies.

Chapter 20

There was a moment of stillness, broken only by the labored panting of Brock’s wolf. The winged leopard changed to human—one of the twins from the bar. Naked, of course. It seemed like only the bad guys kept their clothes when they Changed.

The gunman—who must be Brandon, the alpha—started rapping out orders.

“DB! Titan! Do a perimeter sweep and make sure we’re clear. DB, keep an eye out for that sorcerer, whoever the hell they were. Bring back any dead or wounded.”

The dragon turned into the boy Desi had met earlier. For some reason, he was wearing clothes. He and the polar bear went off into the woods together.

Brandon raised his voice. “Damien! Clear the house.”

From inside came a man’s voice. “Already doing it. Kitty’s with me.”

“Roger that.” Brandon fixed his eyes on Desi. “Are you okay? Were you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” she said. But she was shaking—the aftermath of the fight adrenalin. She couldn’t seem to move. Brandon said, “Remy, go help her.”

Great. Send the naked guy.

Apparently Brock’s wolf felt the same way, because Remy wasn’t even all the way up on the porch before he raised his head and snarled.