The Wolf Marshal's Pack (U.S. Marshal Shifters 3)

If Colby hadn’t already been in love with her before, he would have fallen for her right then and there. She was the bravest person he’d ever met.

And, luckily for him, her bullets could still deter the Hebberts a little. They were more vulnerable now that Colby had worn them down.

But it might not be enough. They had both shrugged off gunfire before. It wasn’t impossible for them to do it again, no matter how exhausted they were now. They were waiting

and watching, but they weren’t running. Not yet.

They knew Aria would have to make two perfect head shots to take them out for sure. They were trying to decide whether or not to risk it.

If they wanted to surrender themselves, it was Colby’s sworn duty to let them. He could arrest Eli and Weston Hebbert right now—even if arresting a shifter could sometimes be tricky.

But he had trouble believing it could be over this easily.

Aria chambered a round.

“I mean it,” she said. “Shift back and get your hands up in the air.”

She sounded firmer this time, more sure of herself. She’d probably spent so much time in the wilderness that she was almost as good at reading wolf body language as Colby was. She could tell they were really hesitating, not just tensing up so they could get ready to spring.

Careful, Colby thought. Careful. Don’t take your eyes off them.

He didn’t know whether he was talking to Aria or to himself.

Then he saw one of the wolves put its tail between its legs.

That was a submissive gesture, one a wolf usually only made when it was afraid or ashamed. There were plenty of good reasons to be afraid of having a gun in your face, but Colby still didn’t get it. They’d just been having a knockdown, drag-out fight. The Hebberts weren’t afraid of violence.

Were they planning to surrender? Was it the idea of prison that made that wolf uneasy?

Aria saw the tail too, and she knew what it meant. Her hands relaxed just slightly, and her finger hovered up off the trigger.

“That’s right,” she said. “Nobody has to get hurt.”

The wolf that wasn’t cowering gave a low, rumbling growl. His brother answered with a keening sound.

Colby had the weird feeling he was overhearing some kind of private argument.

And then the keening changed into a growl of its own, and that was something he understood all too well.

That growl said the wolf was ready to fight no matter what happened.

It all happened in about a millisecond. The other wolf readied itself to spring, but Colby launched himself forward first.

He had more distance to cover. Hebbert was only jumping up.

Up towards Aria’s throat.

Aria fired.

Colby collided with the other wolf in midair. The bullet tore between them, ripping across his ribs.

He had Hebbert pinned. Any animal instincts he hadn’t already unlocked had free rein over him now.

This time, he’d actually seen Hebbert try to kill his mate.

But, he slowly realized, he didn’t have to fight any longer. He didn’t know if he or Aria had dealt the killing blow, but the wolf beneath him was already dead.

And the other wolf had vanished.