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Without warning, Violet galloped in the opposite direction, darting into the woods and smacking into the earth with incredible force. He ran behind her, feeling a sense of elation that he had previously only equated with racing.
She moved swiftly and smoothly, dodging trees and branches, leaping over creeks that flowed through the small oasis of the Eden forest. Franco felt like he was moving through a dream sequence, going deeper into the woods, and feeling himself falling deeper into her.
They had run and played with each other for a fair amount of time before Franco began to sense something looming. It had arrived in his mind like a splinter, something willing to spoil their fun, when a streak of chrome-like silver flashed in front of his eyes.
VIOLET!
He had warned her with his mind just in time as they had been sprinting full-tilt forward across the expanse of the forest. She dodged whatever it was that had been coming for them, leaping out of the way like a skilled ballet dancer.
Franco came to her aid out of instinct despite the fact that he knew she could take care of herself. They both dug their paws into the soil and slid into stillness, bumping into one another as they moved into a defensive stance.
What was that?
I don’t know.
Much of the communication that happened within shifters was highly nonverbal. Especially since Violet and Franco were already so closely linked, they moved as one, sending a message out into their surroundings the way a submarine sends out echolocation. The forest had gone eerily quiet, and they stood back to back, scanning the area with their keen animal senses.
Suddenly, the silver streak had returned. And it wasn’t alone.
Two wolves charged them, coming in from opposite directions. It took Franco a millisecond to compute what was happening because he was thinking about someone before himself for the first time in his entire shifter life.
But Violet was as formidable in her shifter form as she was in her human one. She rose onto her hind legs and smacked the perpetrator across the chops with her thick paws, sending him flying and thudding to the ground.
The second wolf had come for him, but it wasn’t quite head-on. It had aimed for his jugular on the side of his body, and Franco caught him just in time before he could sink into the vein.
Franco felt the slow scraping of teeth against his fur, thankful that it would only be a flesh wound once the ensuing battle was over. He maintained that sense of hope throughout the duration of the fight, feeling sick with concern while Violet was once again throttled.
The wolf had leapt directly back at her, and although, as a tiger, she was bigger than him, wolves could be slippery and conniving. She had tried to catch him between her paws, but he chomped at her, and she bent backward, sending her flat to her back.
At the same time, Franco was defending himself against his own perpetrator, who had nearly taken his life in an instant. He foamed at the mouth with rage, hoping the expression of brutal savagery would be enough to scare off the strange enemies.
The wolf had fallen from his defensive move to the ground right in front of him but had gathered itself quickly, returning to swipe at his lion’s face and mane. It gritted its teeth with fury, trying desperately to scratch at him as Franco measured his response carefully.
Franco backed away as the wolf snapped and haphazardly flung its body at him. Franco bucked his head against the creature’s skull, a hollow sound that was nearly comically echoing through the empty forest. He wanted to let them off easy because dealing with a dead shifter was something else that would only get in the way of the approaching race.
But he was getting annoyed as well as ill with worry, seeing Violet struggle to her feet only to be knocked down again. She rolled around with the wolf before managing to sink her claws into its tangled fur.
The wolf cried out in agony, howling at the unseen moon. She flung the wolf away with her superb strength, sending it rolling until it splashed into a nearby creek.
Her astounding defensive ability stirred confidence in Franco, who was finally able to grasp the wolf’s neck, taking the scruff into his paws like a momma cat does to her offspring.
Except, his intentions were far from affectionate.
He roared into the wolf’s face, a booming sound that vibrated the forest floor. He then whipped the animal in the same direction Violet had tossed the other wolf with a violent thud.
WHO ARE YOU?Franco screamed in his mind.
The wolves, however, were silent. They whimpered, trickles of blood blooming across one’s skull and on the nape of the other, and they retreated in the direction they had come from.
Violet leapt forward, ready to jet herself after them.
Don’t.
She looked at him, feverish and panting with post-battle elation.
Why?
Franco couldn’t explain to her why just yet. It was a feeling, an inclination. He hoped she wasn’t trying to read his mind, then butted his head against hers in a feline gesture of affection.
