Feral Seduction (Feral Protectors 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

The cries sounded so close, but the forest could play tricks with sound. She could be a few yards ahead, or a mile. He prayed it was the latter.
    He rounded a corner and spotted a man dressed in camouflage dashing through an open meadow. An olive-green ski mask disguised his identity. Big black boots left a trail of crushed wildflowers in his wake. He held a gun in one hand, and a backpack bounced against his back as he ran. The stalker radiated malicious intent.
    Stryde raced into the tree line and skirted the edge of the meadow. If he could reach Brandy before the stalker, then he had a chance to save her.
    His bare feet pounded through the dirt. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the stalker. Stryde was gaining ground on him.
    Suddenly, the stalker skidded to a halt. He pointed the gun and fired. Wood splintered off a tree a few feet from Stryde. Damn, he’d been spotted.
    He veered right, then left. As he zigzagged through the forest, he fought the urge to shift. He definitely didn’t have enough time. He cursed himself for not taking the time earlier. Had he shifted, the fight would be over in seconds.
    The forest floor slanted at an angle. The rushing sounds of the river sent a chill down his spine. He needed to find a place to hide. Once he hit that beach, he’d be an easy target. He sprinted toward an outcropping of rocks.
    Someone rose up from behind a large boulder. Breath whooshed from his chest when he realized it was Brandy. Thank God she was still alive.
    “You have to hide, now!” she yelled.
    He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a crevasse between two huge boulders. They barely had enough room to stand upright.
    “That man is coming for me.” Her voice edged toward hysterics.
    “Shh,” he whispered.
    He only had a few seconds to spare before the stalker found them. It might not be enough time to shift, but he had no choice but to try. The only way they’d get away from the man was if they could outrun him. In human form, it would be impossible. But in wolf form, they stood a chance.
    He turned his full attention to Brandy. “I’m about to do something that you won’t understand. But we only have one option right now. Do you trust me?”
    She immediately replied, “Yes.”
    “I swear I won’t hurt you. Climb on when I’m done.”
    He couldn’t wait another second. As he shifted, his bones cracked and reformed. His hands and arms stretched to become paws. His legs bent to become hind legs. His feet morphed into paws. Fur grew over his entire body. His incisor teeth elongated along with his face.
    Brandy backed out of the rock shelter. A look of pure horror darkened her features. With her hand over her mouth, she whispered, “Oh my God.”
     
    ***
     
    Brandy stumbled back as the monstrous creature advanced. Her eyes went wide as she struggled to reconcile what she’d just witnessed. Marge and the other waitresses had spread rumors about werewolves living in the woods. Marge had even claimed that the wild beasts waited high up in the trees, ready to pounce on unsuspecting humans.
    Brandy had laughed at the time. Werewolves—at least Marge had created an original excuse to keep her from entering the woods. She’d never believed her friend, not until now.
    “Stay away,” she yelped.
    The werewolf’s enormous paws clawed at the ground as if to express impatience. Could the thing still think in that state? Was it trying to communicate with her?
    The wolf’s huge jaw moved and his lips stretched to bare his teeth. He glared at something behind her, then growled the most bone-chilling sound she’d ever heard in her life.
    She spun to see the stalker running up the beach toward them. She turned to the wolf, who swung his head toward his back. He’d said to climb on. Caught between two dangerous men, she chose the one who hadn’t shown any intent to harm her.
    Her fingers dug into his thick red-brown coat. She swung her leg over his back and held on for dear life as he bounded across