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Rane howled as pain exploded through his back, as hot as the fires of hell His vision blurred Shaking his head, he focused on the Werewolf If he was going to die, he was taking Clive with hied at the otherin midair The force of his round The Werewolf landed hard, and Rane landed on top of hi the Werewolf’s neck Clive bucked and kicked, shrieking and howling in fury as his nails raked Rane’s back It took every ounce of Rane’s re on He didn’t knohat kind of poison had been in the needle, but it burned through his whole body, leeching his strength, blurring his vision, as he slowly squeezed the life and breath out of the Werewolf

And then, unable to fight it any longer, Rane tumbled into the blackness that beckoned hi his nalance for the dead Werewolf as she sank to her knees beside Rane

For a moment, she could only stare at hiht He was already dead, or Undead He was just unconscious or so His body was covered with bites and scratches, but none of theently “Rane, wake up” She shook his shoulder again, harder this time “Rane, wake up! Dammit, this isn’t funny! Wake up! Please!”

He didn’t stir, didn’t seelanced at the sky, a silent prayer rising in her heart Please, please, please, don’t let hiht settled around her, deep and dark and quiet She needed help, but there was no one here, no one for miles No one who could help her She rested her forehead on his chest as that painful reality hit holanced back at the house So But how? She couldn’t lift hihter bubbled up in her throat, only to ee in a flood of tears

She didn’t kno long she’d been sitting there, sobbing, when she felt a change in the wind It raised the hair at her nape and along her ar to her feet, with a stake in one hand and her gun in the other, Savanah turned in a slow circle, her gaze seeking to penetrate the darkness in the distant corners of the backyard

So in the shadows

Savanah froze, narrowing her eyes as what looked like a shih the trees Certain she was is, she rubbed her eyes and when she opened the toward her, a tall un hand, she aimed the weapon in his direction “Don’t come any closer”

He didn’t stop, or even slon “I mean you no harm I’ve come to help”

“Are you a doctor?” She knew the question was ludicrous even as it passed her lips Why would a doctor be lurking outside in the shadows just when she needed one?

Before she could decide whether or not to pull the trigger, the stranger was upon her Plucking the gun from her hand, he slipped it into his coat pocket

Savanah stared at the stranger, glanced down at Rane, and then looked at the stranger again She frowned as realization dawned Thein front of her could be no one but…“Rafe?”

He nodded “At your service”

“What are you doing here? How did you know…?”