page34 (1/2)

Chapter 34

"First I sent Bob and his pals, but you ran them off"

At ray wolf and several others?"

Ah, the ones that had attacked my car

"Then I sent Teddy"

Which I assumed to be the caramel-shaded drooler Damien had dispatched

"Bob and Teddy were fuckups in life They weren't any better as wolves If you want so done, you just have to do it yourself"

The last word descended into a growl Hector unbuttoned his shirt, shrugged the garment off, and shucked his pants I tried to avert listened black in the la my attention

His chest was smooth, unmarred, except for that I wondered for an instant why the tattoo didn't heal every tied, and I didn't care about anything else

I'd seen a hundred, a thousand, o wolf, but never one as quickly as Hector

Only the very old or the very powerful could change like that, or so I'd heard Take a guess which one Hector was

He changed so fastup with my eyes One instant his nose and mouth were there; the next they were a snout White fur sprouted from his pores; hands and feet became paws; a tail sprouted from his butt I blinked and he was on all fours The next instant he let out a howl that echoed off the enclosed space,

His head swung in ie pant Too bad his teeth were all olf

I pulled on the ropes, but I'd been pulling since Hector had tied et away

The amy scent of wild aniht not to retch I certainly didn't want to lie in ain, once he bitmake?

The white wolf straddled ht He seemed to be uncertain where to bite s, my arms, my crotch

"Hey!"

He lifted his head His tongue lolled and drool dripped onto my chest

"Get on with it," I muttered

He tossed his head, yipped, and nuzzled ed

A growl reverberated around the rooether our heads turned

Damien stood in the entranceway Or rather, a broolf did

Hector snarled I expected him to jump off the bed, off et free Soainst an extre to do that?

I was so preoccupied with the proble When Hector's teeth sank into the fleshy part of my upper arm, I shrieked

Hell, I'd have shrieked even if I'd seen it co bit hurt!

Without so lance, Hector leaped off the bed Damien braced himself for the attack I wanted to shout, No, save yourself! I'm already dead!But my mouth was too dry to form the words, my throat too thick to make a sound

But instead of s himself with claws and teeth, Hector shifted into a crow and flew out the door

For an instant I thought I was delirious I closed ain Damien sat on his haunches, nose tilted up as he searched the ceiling for Hector

No such luck The bird, the wolf, the one

I'd never seen anything like it - except in a vampire movie Bam,he's a bat In this case, wham,he's a crow,

I'd only seen one crow in this town On Jessie's win-dowsill No wonder Hector had known everything we'd done No wonder we'd been unable to find him or the white wolf

This was going to be a helluva lot ht it would be damn near impossible

I glanced atfree, and blood dampened the sheets It burned like a son of a bitch

How long did I have before I got furry? Less than twenty-four hours I needed to find Jessie and Will, preferably before whoever or whatever Hector had sent to kill them succeeded Then I would tell them all that I knew and bite the bullet So to speak

I turned my head, whistled to Damien He trotted over

"Can you get me out of this?" I asked

He licked me from chin to forehead

"You love me I know Thanks"

If I'd wanted a dog, I'd have bought one Having thetheolf slobber all over me was another

I heard his bones crackle before I saw him shift He was faster at it than a lot of shifters I'd known, though not as fast as Hector Of course, Daet easier with practice

A few aze ih, I - "

"Save it," I snapped "Cut me loose We have to find Jessie and Will"

I'll say this for Darabbed souys can't be choosers, and helped me off the bed

He tried to treat et it"

I yanked a pillowcase off a pillow and tied the thing around my arm It wasn't easy with only one arm

This time when Damien helped, I let him

"You should have that cleaned and stitched," he said as he tightened the bandage

"Won't matter"

Our eyes met "No," he murmured "It won't matter Not to me"

I ignored the i else

"We have to get to a phone"

I stood and swayed Another scene played before my eyes - earth, trees, blue sky I smelled the dirt, heard the leaves rustle, felt the sun hot on my fur

Fur? Ugh!

Suddenly I was back in the abandoned mine I touched my arms, my face Skin Whew!

"Whoa, as that?" I muttered

"Flashback?"

"I've never been able to s fur"