A burst of light shot from the woman’s right hand. It glowed as bright blue as her eyes. The stream of energy split through the air directly at the scarred man.
He tried to run but it was useless. The bolt of light slammed into his head, ripping it clear from his body. Kat gagged as his lifeless body fell to the floor with a thud. Blood and gore spilled out of him as his entire body began splitting apart as if he were a rag doll. It was like his skin just fell apart, losing all its elasticity.
The woman turned to face Kat and fixed that eerie, unearthly blue gaze on her. Her eyes were haunted, full of regret. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he’d done this to you. I thought they were just holding you hostage or I’d have come sooner.” Now her voice was ragged and tired and no longer deeply unnatural. She held out her hand toward Kat and this time a soft, green burst of light flowed from her hand.
Kat flinched but a warmth spread through her chest, and the pulsing, ripping pain she’d felt moments before began to fade. As energy seeped back into her, two giant, snarling wolves and a redheaded woman carrying two blades burst through the door.
The blonde turned at the noise and, when she did, broke contact with Kat. Immediately the blonde slumped to the hay-covered dirt ground.
The abrupt removal of the blonde’s energy made Kat cry out against her taped mouth. Fresh pain shot through Kat’s limbs. Whatever the woman had been doing wasn’t working now. The muted sounds of her cries pushed the man who’d been frozen into action.
He reached for his gun, but the fight was over before it started. The gray and white wolf lunged at him and tore his throat out in one clean swipe.
Kat closed her eyes to block out the pain, their presence, and the new violence. She knew what she looked like and couldn’t bear the shame of anyone seeing her like this. If these two wolves were here, she knew Jayce wasn’t far behind. The thought of him seeing what had been done to her made bile rise in her throat.
When she felt soft hands touch her bound, outstretched arms, her eyes flew open and she instinctively started to struggle until she realized the redheaded woman was cutting her down.
Gently, she laid her on the ground and removed the tape from her mouth. Kat tried to cover her exposed breasts, but her arms wouldn’t work. The other woman slid off her coat and laid it over her.
“I’m dying,” she gurgled out, blood dripping down her chin. She didn’t know why she’d said it. The words just escaped.
The redhead glanced over her shoulder at something. There was a breaking, ripping sound, but Kat couldn’t move to see what it was. “Where’s Ryan?”
“He went after that other human,” a male voice said. When the man appeared in Kat’s line of sight, she flinched at the sight of him. He was naked and big and scary looking.
He held up his hands in a defensive motion as he knelt down. “I’m not going to hurt you. We’re here to save you.”
“She’s not going to make it to a hospital,” the redhead murmured.
One look at the other shifter’s face and Kat knew she’d been right. She was dead. “Where’s Jayce?” Maybe she could at least say good-bye to him.
“Out looking for you,” the woman said soothingly.
So he wasn’t there. And she wouldn’t get to say anything to him. Hot, burning tears sprang up and rolled down her cheeks, mixing with blood and dirt. A sob wanted to break free, but even that small action hurt. But she was powerless to stop them.
The sound of pounding footsteps, then a gasp, greeted her ears. Through her hazy vision she saw December bending toward her. Kat couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like her friend was crying too.
December slid a hand under her head and gripped one of her hands. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered as she tightened her grip on Kat.
It wasn’t, but Kat appreciated the lie.
The man said something to the redhead, but Kat couldn’t understand him. Her vision was getting darker as the seconds ticked by. Too many memories rushed through her mind and she really wished she’d gotten to say good-bye to her father. They might live by different moral compasses, but he was still her dad and he’d always loved her. And she really wanted to say good-bye to Jayce. The image of him wouldn’t leave her alone, even as she was dying. She used to love running her fingers over his shaved head and even his scarred cheek. He never let anyone touch her the way he’d let her. She’d been free to do whatever she wanted because he’d been hers. Just for a little while. Everyone had always been so afraid of him, but with her he’d always been gentle. Even if he hadn’t wanted to bond with her, he’d shown her a softer side she knew no one else had seen. She’d take that small knowledge to her grave and savor it.
“Just do it!” December shouted at the man. The other redhead began yelling at him too with the same intensity as her friend.
Kat tried to block them all out. She didn’t understand what was going on and she didn’t care. Whatever they were fighting about wouldn’t matter soon. She just wanted the pain to stop.
Suddenly her world rocked on its axis and she stared in confusion as the male shifter leaned toward her. “I’m sorry. If I don’t at least try this, Jayce will kill me.” Before she could even think about what he meant, his canines protracted and he sank his teeth into her neck. The pain was sharp and acute and it extended from his bite to all her nerve endings.
It was as if her bones were shattering, then slowly being pieced back together. A sudden, hot burning sensation surged through her and a harsh screaming filled the air. It took a moment for her to realize she was the one screaming.
Her back arched and she shoved off the ground as the pain dulled and a new sense of life and energy flowed through her. Trying to catch her breath, she sat up, still clutching the jacket to cover her body. Blinking rapidly, she looked at the three of them.
“What did you do?” Her voice sounded normal, not hoarse and scratchy. And…she moved both her legs against the dirt. They both worked. Gingerly, she pressed a hand to her ribs. No pain. No trouble breathing.
“You were going to die. I know I had no right, but…I bit you.” The huge male looked stricken as he stared at her.
“He saved your life,” December said softly.
She frowned as reality began to set in. A lupine shifter had bitten her. Since she wasn’t dead and she wasn’t a feral wolf, that meant only one thing. She was now a shifter. “I thought there was only a one percent chance the change would work if we aren’t bondmates. And I thought I could turn feral or something if it didn’t work.”
The man nodded. “We had nothing to lose. You were dead either way. If you’d turned feral…I’d have had to kill you.”
Kat looked down at herself and stared blindly. She couldn’t believe she’d survived his bite. She had more knowledge of shifters than most, so she understood the chance of her successfully changing after a shifter bite was very small. That was why they didn’t go around turning humans. The chance of death or turning mad was too great to risk. She briefly wondered if the fact that she was a seer with naturally higher psychic abilities had made a difference.
As another man walked back into the barn carrying clothes, the male shifter in front of her stood and strode toward him. When he started getting dressed, a new rush of emotions surged through Kat.
A dam burst as tears and pain exploded from her. Not physical pain. Emotional pain. It was like a free-falling wave that wouldn’t crest. It went on and on. The tears streaming down her cheeks just wouldn’t stop.
December helped her slip on the coat and zip it up. When Kat stood on shaky legs, it fell to midthigh, covering her, but it didn’t matter. She still felt exposed.
Naked.
Violated.
She couldn’t stop crying or shaking. When the male who’d bitten her lifted her into his arms, she didn’t protest. It wasn’t an attraction, but she felt linked somehow to him. She needed his touch and as she wrapped her arms around his neck, an odd soothing pulse flowed through her. It didn’t last long, but his touch helped ease her pain and fear. “Where’s the man who got away?” she managed to gasp out through her tears. As she thought about what he’d done to her, fresh tears escaped.
“Dead,” the man who’d brought the clothes said in a guttural growl. She realized he must be the other wolf from earlier.
She also wished she could feel some relief to know that Greg, her tormentor, was dead. Instead, she felt nothing.
“We need to get out of here,” the redhead with the blades murmured.
“What about her?” December pointed to the blond woman still lying lifeless on the ground.
The question jerked Kat back to her senses and dried up her tears. “I don’t know what she is, but she’s not human. She tried to save me. We need to bring her with us.”
The other male nodded and scooped her off the ground as if she weighed nothing.
As they started to leave, the shifters stopped suddenly. December glanced around nervously. “What is it?” she whispered.
Kat had no fear left inside her. Only pain.
“Connor, Liam, and Jayce. They’re here,” the redhead said quietly.
Kat buried her face against the male’s chest. “Don’t tell them how you found me,” she whispered.
He didn’t respond. Just stroked his hand down her hair and murmured soft soothing sounds. He was going to tell them. She knew it. Fresh pain and tears—she didn’t know how she could have any left—welled up inside her. The thought of Jayce knowing what had happened to her made her sick. Bile rose in her throat, but she managed to control it.
She heard when they entered the room and the collective murmur of curses and demands for an explanation. Liam was angry December was there and Connor was ranting about something else.
But she refused to look at any of them. Like a coward she just kept her head buried against the chest of the shifter holding her. She didn’t even know his name, but letting him hold her was better than having to look at Jayce.