Before she could move, Donovan dove in front of me. He leaped at the beast, biting onto its arm.
Bhrunyz stumbled back a step, knocking into the table where Donovan’s mother had been. Now she was a beautiful gray wolf, ready to run, but Bhrunyz was standing between her and the door.
Bhrunyz flung Donovan off and swiped at me. I threw my body to the ground.
Donovan leaped over my head, and his jaws clamped down on the beast’s leathery hand. Shit. We had to get out of here before all three of us got killed.
Soft whimpering sounded from the corner. I twisted just enough to see a mother huddled with her two small children. She squatted in front of her kids, pressing them in the small space between the corner of the room and a cupboard. The mother’s back was to the fight as she protected her kids from the beast.
Shit. Just because Bhrunyz wasn’t after them, didn’t mean they wouldn’t get hurt in the crossfire. They had to get out of here.
The beast roared, and a chair slammed into my side. Donovan snarled. I fought the urge to look back at him. Instead, I raced to the woman.
“You’re going to be fine. Wait here.” They’d have to run past Bhrunyz to get the door. That wasn’t going to work. I grabbed a table and threw it at the front window. Glass shattered into the street. “Run.”
The mom glanced to the beast, eyes wide with fear. She shook her head.
I looked behind me. Donovan’s mother had joined the fight. She bit into the beast’s ankle, and he screamed. She let go just as he slammed his razor-sharp nails into the ground where she’d been.
My heart raced. “Trust me.” I squatted next to her. “When I say go. Jump through the window. I’ll hand you the kids.”
“I can’t—”
“Yes. You can. The beast doesn’t want you. He wants her.”
Something smashed into the wall next to us, hitting the cupboard. I dove over her as shards of glass and porcelain rained down.
The humans’ sickly sweet fear scent grew thicker. I snuck a peek behind me. Donovan was distracting the beast. He’d jumped onto Bhrunyz’s back and was trying to claw his neck but having no luck. Bhrunyz’s skin was even thicker than it looked.
“Time to go.” I pulled the mom up and shoved her toward the window. “Go!”
I scooped up the kids—who screamed even as they clung to me like I was their savior—and rushed after her. She took a stumbling step forward. The lady was going to get herself killed. “Go! Go! Go!”
As soon as she was out the window, I passed her the wailing kids. “Run!” She didn’t say a word but took my advice.
Something hit the back of my head, and I saw stars.
I hit the ground. Glass and debris cut through my thin leggings.
This was it. I had to shift. My clothes ripped, tangling a little in my legs as I tried to get out of them.
As soon as I shifted, Bhrunyz stopped moving.
What the hell?
He turned to me, and I shivered. Something in the way he looked at me—with his cold, solid black eyes—made me think he had a new target. But Riona was still alive. How could I get moved up the list?
Panic held me until Donovan broke through my freeze. Run. He pushed the order at me, and I followed it, hoping that he and his mother were following behind.
Bhrunyz materialized in front of me, and I skidded to a stop.
> Donovan’s howl tore through me. Fur flashed as he leaped on the beast. Bhrunyz shook him off and he crashed through another shop’s window. I didn’t have time to think. Donovan would be fine. Bhrunyz didn’t care about him. But I was as good as dead if I didn’t move.
I took off running, dodging cars as I tore through the roundabout. The sound of metal crunching followed me and hoped that everyone was okay. But I didn’t dare look back. I couldn’t slow down.
I wasn’t sure why Bhrunyz’s target had changed, and it didn’t matter. I put everything I had into running as fast as I could, but no matter how I pushed myself, Bhrunyz’s scent grew stronger and stronger, until I was nearly gagging. I kicked up my pace and felt the ground rumble under my paws.
He was right behind me. I didn’t know where Riona or Donovan were. They were probably somewhere behind me, but I was focused ahead. I had to keep moving. I leaped over a stone wall and into a field. Getting away from the town was key. This thing was after me, and I didn’t want any innocent people hurt.