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Crap

A small voice in the back of my head reminded me to stay very still

The rest of me didn’t listen

I o sprints into a run when a pair of strong hands jerked ed ht, but the dogs were alue plastered itself to the roof of s," Bobby whispered, releasing my arms He stepped beside me and lifted his fists

There was no tis were on us

I kicked wildly Missed The dog’s teeth snapped shut on ht his?

Bobby knocked the dog sideways It yelped, but irowled, and Bobby answered His beast was near the surface, energy pouring off his skin and prickling alongfoot They circled Flanked us In unison they crouched, prepared to lunge

Bobby’s energy rolled over y answered under my skin It burst from my core, spread outward

The Rottweilers fell flat, their nubby tails tucked as they whined The sharp scent of subain The two dogs turned and ran, both their heads and butts dragging the ground

I stared after them "Crap, Bobby That was an alpha pulse How the hell did you do that?"

Bobby turned towardI looked at hi me, a look of awe on his face He shook his head "Not ly feel of ic laced over my skin Gil appeared in the empty space beside ," she said, scribbling down a note, "can you explain exactly what you did?"

I scowled at her "You could’ve helped"

"I’ve read several books about the strength of vas Noer this…"

I ignored Gil’s incessant questions about hoe’d inti the path of dead cars I also rin that lit Bobby’s eyes every tie it I was too busy trying to ignore my own spark of hope

I stumbled over my leaden feet and pretended I’d tripped over a rearviewout of the snoeaker than before More so than could be explained by the approaching dawn But my cat… I pushed my attention deep inside and touched the frozen core where htly less knotted?

The coil was quiet Cold Dead

But…?

I stared at my half shifted hands Did we really create that doe? In Firth, Torins and Dyres could borrow energy from their clan y from another shifter to create one small alpha pulse--he could dominate shifter or beast by his will alone But his cat’s not a dead coil like mine

"We did it You’re ave me hope, but that hope was deceptive

Snow crunched ahead of er now It saturated the air around us He’s close

Bobby stilled behind me, obviously equally aware of the newcoer overto quiet her She didn’t notice She hadn’t su instead ofin the shadows and squealed as she fell, her butt landing in the snoith a thuoes any element of surprise--which we’d probably already lost, but still

Bobby turned to help Gil, and I crept into the shadow of the nearby junk-pile Thesound A soft curse drifted to me from the other side Then snow crunched under heavy boots

I pressed deeper in the shadows as the shifter rounded the corner Hespot, a metal pipe clutched behind his back Gil barely had her feet under her, and Bobby moved to barricade her body with his as the cityshifter stopped a few yards in front of them

"Get outta here," the city-shifter yelled, the pipe still hidden behind his back

Bobby frowned His gaze drifted past the city-shifter to the spot I’d been standing earlier, and then across the shadows

The astringent scent of fear reached me Not froaze, stepping sideways so he could keep Bobby in his peripheral vision as his eyes darted nervously instatue still the way only a vaive away ht--which I knew he couldn’t have--Bobby’s gaze snapped back to the city-shifter, but the daht be in the wreck-yard Shifters have superb night vision, but unlike vampires, they can’t see into dark shadows like the one where I was crouched As he searched the darkness, I caught nition slammed into me