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“Something’s wrong,” I said the moment I stepped out of the car. “Dad…it was here.”
I could smell that foul, evil scent I’d tracked through the woods the week before everywhere around me. Looking around I noticed the shredded remnants of Celia’s clothes on the sidewalk.
“Oh my God,” I moaned as I turned wide eyes to Carol and my Dad. “It took her.”
I shifted immediately and took off into the woods, Celia’s scent coming to me faintly through the stench of the creature that had taken her. Behind me I could hear my dad shouting for me, but I couldn’t stop. The need to get to her, to protect her, overwhelmed all of me and I just ran as quickly as I could.
Celia shouldn’t have been able to shift. Her control over her beast wasn’t strong enough to change outside of the full moon yet. None of it made any sense, and even though I knew in the back of my mind that I was running straight toward something dangerous, there was no stopping me from forging ahead.
I was in love with her.
And I wouldn’t leave her again.
The sounds of fighting reached me before I actually saw anything, and I pushed myself to run faster, cresting a hill and skidding to a stop as I stared at two panthers engaged in a massive cat fight.
Blood and fur were flying as they clawed and snapped at each other. The larger panther tore away from the smaller one before pouncing forward again, its claws digging into flesh and Celia’s screams echoed through the woods as blood dripped down her side.
I ran forward, throwing myself into the fray and slamming my full weight into the panther attacking Celia, knocking him to the ground and biting at his already bloodied throat.
The panther threw me off, sending me skidding across the dirt as rocks tore open my skin through my fur. It turned once more to Celia, but I scrambled to my paws and together she and I circled the beast, both of us snarling and growling as it sat on its haunches and watched us wearily.
I could tell it was exhausted, clearly Celia had done one hell of a job in the fight, and I doubted it could continue to try to take us both on.
“This isn’t your fight, wolf,” the panther spat. “She belongs to me.”
“She belongs to me!” I argued, baring my teeth at him. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“She is mine!” he roared as he lunged at me, but before he could connect Colton sprang out of nowhere in full wolf-man form and knocked the panther to the ground, pinning him with clawed hands.
Men poured in from the tree line, Dad and Booker and Lincoln at the front, but half a dozen others from town behind them. They worked together to chain up the panther, who stopped fighting when he realized the calvary had arrived to take him down.
“This isn’t over,” the panther hissed as he allowed himself to be led past us, his gaze locked on Celia.
“It is for you,” she answered coldly, turning her back on him and limping over to sit next to me.
“Are you okay?” I asked, bumping my nose against her cheek.
“I am,” she said. “I really am.”
“We’re going to take that thing to the police station,” Dad said. “You two should go see Josephine and get checked out, then head home. We’ll be there soon.”
I nodded and smiled as Dad crouched down to scratch the fur behind Celia’s ear.
“You did good, kid,” he whispered to her. “I’m so proud of you.” He turned to me and smiled. “I’m proud of you, too. But next time, wait for your backup.”
“There won’t be a next time,” I assured him.
He nodded then stood again and traipsed out to follow the band of panther wranglers to the police station. I had no idea what was going to happen to that guy, but I honestly didn’t care. I just wanted to get Celia home and make sure she really was okay.
“I’m proud of you, too, you know,” I told her as we slowly walked back toward the clinic. “You fought back.”
“Well, someone taught me that some things are worth fighting for,” she said. “Thank you for coming for me.”
“I will always be here for you,” I promised her. “Do you want to see the healer?”
“No, I just want to go home,” she admitted.
We reached the parking lot of the clinic and stood next to our torn-up pile of clothes. Carol must have gone with Dad, but they’d left me the car with the keys still in the ignition. Unfortunately, there were no clothes in there.
