This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,17

toward the fight.

“Dad!”

In the distance, Cody’s wolf makes another lunge at my father, but he’s rapidly shifting back into his human form at the same time. His fist collides with my father’s head, knocking his wolf down.

My father shifts back to his human form, lying naked in the leaves, the scent of his bleeding wounds filling my heart with dread as I try to reach him. He’s concussed, but Cody grabs his shoulders, lifting him.

“What is she?” Cody roars at my father. “Tell me what Tessa is!”

My father’s eyes are glazed. He gives Cody a bloody grin. “You’ll never fucking know.”

I’m still twenty paces away. My legs burn on the upward slope, but I’m trained to run up this mountain. Cody’s question should confuse me, but it doesn’t.

What am I? Who fucking knows?

I’ve nearly reached them, but movement behind Cody makes fear surge inside me. Baxter Griffin appears in his human form, bleeding across his temple and chest and down his naked thighs as he runs.

His fingernails extend into claws as he veers for my father and Cody.

He’s closer to them than I am.

Just as Cody lifts my father farther upward, shouting at him again, Baxter rams into them, knocking my father out of Cody’s arms.

Dad hits the ground on his back, his fists flying upward, thumping Baxter’s head, knocking into the older man’s cheekbone hard enough to shatter an ordinary man’s face.

Baxter doesn’t slow down.

He drives his claws right through my father’s neck, cutting through his throat and impaling him against the ground.

Dad jolts, his shout cut short.

My scream rises, wailing through the trees. My vision turns electric blue, my wolf’s energy coursing through me, but the glow around my father’s body fades, turning cold before my eyes, and my legs aren’t fast enough.

I wasn’t fast enough.

My wolf appears at my side, running with my speed, side-by-side while I prepare to fully shift.

All I see is Baxter Griffin’s neck.

All I need… is to taste Baxter’s blood in my mouth when I rip out his throat and steal the life from his body.

Chapter Four

I’m only a few paces away from Baxter, but I’m aware of three running human forms around me.

Tristan races toward me from behind.

Cody races toward me from the side.

Jace has appeared from the trees and runs at Cody.

Baxter Griffin simply rises to his feet, his claws dripping with my father’s dying blood, waiting for me to reach him.

My body shivers as I start to shift, welcoming the change, needing my wolf’s claws and teeth. I taste the change in Baxter’s confidence, the smallest fear entering his eyes as I take my final human step—

Oomph! Tristan knocks into me from behind, scooping me into his arms. At the same time, Jace leaps at Cody, putting the force of his momentum into his fist, punching the back of Cody’s head and dropping him to the ground. Cody lands hard and slides through the leaves into the nearest tree with a thud.

Neither Tristan nor Jace stop.

Tristan swings me around, dragging me up against his body, lifting me off my feet.

“Run!” Jace roars, sprinting past us.

I struggle against Tristan’s hold as he hauls me around, unrelenting despite my kicks and thumps. I have to get back to Baxter.

Off to the side, Cody stirs, grabs the tree trunk, and hauls himself back to his feet.

When I scream, Cody’s head shoots up, his focus on me across the distance as Tristan hauls me away.

“I will kill you!” I scream back at Baxter. “I will fucking kill you, Baxter Griffin! You and everyone you love. I will rip your sons apart. I will shred your life into pieces.”

Tristan wrenches me around and shoves me between him and Jace. He doesn’t try to fling me over his shoulder again. Gripping my hand, he barks an order at me. “Run, Tessa!”

There’s nothing left for me here. Only the promise of revenge.

I launch into a sprint, my feet flying through the debris covering the forest floor. Tristan remains on my right, while Jace covers my left, the two men staying close. I have no illusions that they’re protecting me—they’re ready in case I try to get away.

I sense Cody following us, but he’s slower this time. He must finally be succumbing to all the hits to his head that he’s taken tonight.

A hundred paces away, the trees become more dense, and I consider my chance to escape. I don’t need a pack like my father did. Now that he’s gone, I have no reason to want to