With pain. Leif had done something awful to Sam. He’d fed him on blood and lies and turned him into a monster of legend. He wasn’t shrinking into wolf form. He was growing into a motherfuckin’ monster.
“Sam, please,” he growled. “Try to remember. Fishing trips with Dad to Crystal Lake when we were kids. Summers at Grandma’s ranch. Hunter. Blond hair like dad’s, always tagging along. Even when you got annoyed with us, we always tagged along because you were everything to us. You are our big brother—”
“Shut up!” Sam roared. His other hand clawed up, dark fur sprouting from both arms now, his clothes ripping with his growing size, his face lengthening with a muzzle full of sharp teeth.
“Give me one day! Come with me. See our ranch. Kaid Brother’s Ranch. Come see Hunter—”
“I’ve given you too much time to spew your lies,” he gritted out. “I don’t know why. Leif said you would do this, and I still listened to you anyways.” He took a step forward. Fuck, he had to be six foot five, three inches taller than Wes now, at least. “I was curious, but curiosity is dangerous for weapons.” He bared his teeth and took another step toward Wes. A dark cloud of rage and dominance was seeping from him, thickening the air, choking Wes on the fury. “I don’t understand you. You survived Leif’s reach and came back for seconds. Stupid.”
“I came back for you!”
“You came back for death. And when I’m done with you, I’m going to rip your bitch limb from limb. I’ll let you live long enough to watch.” Sam closed the gap between them in a blur, and Wes was blasted backward before he could react. The world went black as he skidded across the road on his hands and knees, scrabbling for purchase.
Let me punish him, his inner wolf demanded.
Wes shook his head and opened his eyes, leveled his gaze on Sam. “You won’t get close enough to touch her,” he assured Sam. And then he let the wolf have his body. No chains, no restrictions. Wes knew exactly what he was. Sam had been turned into a weapon, but Wes’s wolf had been born into existence that way—an unwanted gift from Leif.
Please, God, let this back road stay empty. The last thing he needed was a minivan full of humans to drive past this fight.
The Change was instant, and thank Leif for that little talent because Sam was fast. He charged and reached Wes just as the Wolf shredded out of him. Wes was ready and pushed off the asphalt using his powerful back legs to launch himself off the pile of ripped clothes and at Sam’s throat. Sam was still up on two legs, looking half-Changed, like the terrifying werewolves of old that had terrorized villages.
He wrapped his arms around Wes and sank his teeth into his shoulder just as Wes latched onto his throat. They both shook their heads savagely, ripping skin, grinding bone with canines, snarling. But this was Sam. He couldn’t rip his own brother’s throat out. Wes let go first, pushed his claws against Sam’s chest, landed on the ground and created space between them for only a moment before they engaged again. Wes latched onto his thigh this time. He was hurt but couldn’t feel the pain yet. Just the throbbing sensation that said he was bleeding bad. While the adrenaline was still protecting him, he had to go for every artery he could. Sam would heal fast, but Wes needed him to weaken faster.
He went on autopilot as the wolf took over completely. Bite, claw, his ears pulsing with the constant growling that rattled his body. Dodge Sam’s massive claw. Fuck, he was fast. His hip took the brunt of that slash, but Wes was hitting his stride. Finally, a good fight. Duck, leap, teeth on Sam’s shoulder. Sam roared in pain as he scrambled to rip Wes off him. Sam knew how to fight now, but hadn’t fought anything like Wes before. Time didn’t mean anything in this death dance. Spin, blur, engage, avoid those claws. His body was tiring, though. Too fast. Release. His mouth was full of blood. The air smelled like pennies. Sam’s growl sounded like the voice of a demon. No…not Sam. This wasn’t Sam.
This was Bones. Wes had to accept that fast to live through this war. Leif had taken his brother away and replaced him with this monster.
And then something awful happened.
Bones wised up