Chapter 54

DOE

More panic surged through me, sharp and ice-cold, seeming to clear more of the drug from my system. I flinched, the movement barely perceptible, but it was something.

Without any warning, Mr. Callahan marched forward and kicked Josh hard in the arm. Josh grunted and fell to the side, taking his creepy hand with him.

“What the fuck, man?” Josh shouted.

“This is your last warning,” Mr. Callahan said. “Don’t touch the girl.”

Josh laughed, shaking his head. He stood and brushed off his pants. “You’re taking this shit far too seriously.”

While they distracted each other, I fought against the leaden weight of my limbs and dragged my hand an inch toward my pocket.

~Yes!~

The effort was excruciatingly slow, but it gave me hope.

~Just a little further…~

“Your eyes are changing color,” Mr. Callahan said to Josh. “Your wolf is too affected by her scent. You’ve done your job. Go home before you do something stupid. I can handle things from here.”

Josh sneered and showed Mr. Callahan his teeth. “Fuck that. Will needs to see that I’m here or he might not let me into the pack. I have too much at stake—”

“I’ll tell him that you did everything he asked of you. It’s time for you to go now.”

Josh looked at me and then back at Mr. Callahan. A shadow passed over his face. “She’s going to die anyway. I don’t see the harm in having a little bit of fun with her first.”

Panic rose in my throat. I needed to get away. I needed to fucking ~move~.

~Move, Doe! Press the button!~

Why wouldn’t my body just listen? I couldn’t make my hand do more than buck forward the tiniest bit. There was no way I’d be able to move it up my hip and into my pocket in time.

Mr. Callahan pulled a gun out of the waistband of his pants and pointed it at Josh’s face. “This is your last warning. Leave now, or I’ll shoot.”

Josh froze. The haze that my scent had caused lifted from his eyes the slightest bit. Slowly, he raised his hands. “Hey, I was just joking around. Do you really think I would do something like that—”

“I know what you did to be exiled from Zaweth. You beat your mate and your daughter.”

Mr. Callahan took a step forward. “I don’t know why Will agreed to let someone like you into our pack, but we don’t do that sort of thing around here. We don’t hurt little girls.”

Josh looked down at the ground and shook his head, and when he looked back up, he’d gone from wounded animal to determined predator. “Says the man who helped plot the little girl’s murder.”

Then Josh pounced.

Josh’s transformation was seamless, his clothes shredding as his form contorted and grew. A massive wolf with fur the color of burnt umber lunged at Mr. Callahan, snarling with teeth bared.

Mr. Callahan reacted quickly, firing the gun once. The sound cracked through the air, sending birds scattering from the treetops.

I flinched, my eyes squeezing shut on instinct, but when I opened them again, I saw that the bullet had only grazed Josh’s shoulder.

The wolf hadn’t faltered, however, and had slammed into Mr. Callahan with enough force to send the older man sprawling.

Mr. Callahan scrambled to his feet, his gun nowhere to be seen, but Josh was already on him. Claws raked across his arm, leaving deep, bloody gashes.

I tried to focus on getting to the tracker, my forehead perspiring with the effort it took to move even just my hand. I managed to drag my fingers to the waist of my jeans, but it left me breathless.

“Get off me, you bastard!” Mr. Callahan roared, clutching his bleeding arm.

Josh growled, his massive body circling Mr. Callahan, who was fumbling for something—anything—to use as a weapon.

All he found was a tree branch. He swung it hard, connecting with Josh’s ribs. The wolf yelped but retaliated instantly, sinking his teeth into Mr. Callahan’s leg and pulling him to the ground.

The two beasts—werewolf and human—rolled and struggled on the forest floor.

Josh’s wolf was faster and stronger, but Mr. Callahan’s raw determination gave him an edge. His hands closed around a sharp rock, and he swung it into Josh’s side, eliciting a howl of pain.

I propelled myself into action once more, fueled by my fear of getting caught in the middle of this fight, and managed to jerk my hand down far enough that it fell on top of the bulge of my pocket.

I fumbled with the device as I listened to the two men grunt and heave, my vision blurring.

Finally, ~finally~, my thumb found the divot on the front of the tracker through my jeans.

The button!

I pressed it as hard as I could, the quiet click confirming I’d done it, and then I did it twice more for good measure.

I could only hope that it was doing what it was meant to do.

~Please work. Please work. Please work.~

Meanwhile, several feet away, Mr. Callahan staggered to his feet, his face twisted in a grimace. He stumbled toward something on the ground—the gun—but Josh recovered too quickly.

The wolf launched himself again, this time going straight for Mr. Callahan’s shoulder. Blood sprayed across the forest as Josh closed his jaws, and Mr. Callahan let out a strangled cry as he fell.

But it wasn’t over. Mr. Callahan reached into his jacket, pulling out a small pocket knife. His hand shook as he fumbled to open it before Josh could notice.

“Damn wolf,” he spat, slashing wildly.

Josh reared, avoiding the first swipe, but the second found purchase. Mr. Callahan drove the blade into his side, the edge tearing through flesh.

~All that damage from such a small knife,~ I thought. ~It must be made of silver.~

The wolf yelped, staggering back, blood matting his fur. Mr. Callahan didn’t stop. He lunged forward again, driving the knife deeper.

Josh roared, snapping at Mr. Callahan with his dagger-like teeth. His powerful jaws clamped down on the man’s arm this time, the force so powerful that I heard it when his bone snapped.

Mr. Callahan screamed, the sound echoing eerily throughout the trees.

In a final burst of savage strength, Josh unclamped his jaw from Mr. Callahan’s arm and darted forward, his jaws closing around his throat next.

My old teacher let out a wet gurgle as his windpipe collapsed. His body went limp.

Josh shook Mr. Callahan violently once, twice, ensuring that he was dead. Then he released him onto the muddy ground and staggered back.

But I could see the damage had been done. The knife, still embedded in Josh’s side, had pierced deep, and his movements were slow and groggy.

With a trembling paw, he clawed at the hilt, managing to dislodge it. Blood poured from the wound.

Whimpering softly, Josh shifted back into his human form, collapsing to the ground a few feet away from Mr. Callahan, naked and trembling. His breaths turned shallow and ragged.

His eyes, hazy with pain and regret, flickered toward me. For a moment, I thought I saw something human in them—a hint of remorse. Then his head dropped to the ground, and he went still.

“Well, that was entertaining.”

The voice sent ice through my veins.

William Stoll stepped out of the shadows, his dark eyes glittering with amusement as he surveyed the scene. His lips curled into a chilling smile.