in any kind of fight with a supernatural canid. Her conscience tugged at her to go get the shotgun and protect Shilah, but her legs stopped working at her first sight of Rafe locked in epic battle.
His dark form was unmistakable in the moonlight, a lone figure encircled by five wolves. Surrounded by his enemies, he betrayed no fear or hesitation. Every time a wolf launched itself at him, he engaged it with fierce, murderous intent that left her shaking. He was so very powerful, but at the same time, he had never seemed more vulnerable. Though he was clearly capable of self-defense, the night was young and there were at least four other werewolves who could potentially lose interest in breaking into the cabin and seek out Rafe instead. And who knew how many more lurked out of her line of sight? No one—not even a bad-ass werewolf—could withstand an hours-long onslaught, hopelessly outnumbered, without sustaining serious injury. Or worse.
Ten yards away from where Rafe faced off against his attackers, four more wolves were tussling with a fifth. Katie wasn’t sure what to make of that battle. So far it seemed as though the other pack ran together. It was possible that one of Rafe’s own pack-mates had come to his aid and engaged them in a fight.
She hoped so. They needed all the help they could get.
Just as she had that thought, a loud crack sounded from below and Shilah snarled with a ferocity she’d never heard before. Another snarl filled the air, deeper and more menacing, before the worst dog fight she’d ever heard in her life broke out downstairs.
Shilah was in trouble.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Katie got up and promptly slipped off the joist she’d been balanced on, putting her foot through the ceiling of what she suspected might be the guest room. “Shit,” she muttered under her breath. She was going to hear about that one later. At least she hoped she would.
Wrenching her foot from the hole she’d made, she rushed to the hatch as quickly as she could manage in the dark. The horrific sound of Shilah in full-out combat with a giant wolf scared her more than almost anything else that had happened so far. She was suddenly, keenly aware of just how badly she’d failed Rafe’s dog. If she’d stayed downstairs, she could have blasted the intruder with her shotgun and saved him from the injuries she was certain he was sustaining. And if she’d listened to Rafe, the wolf might not have broken in at all.
Katie made sure the safety was engaged on the revolver and tucked it into the back of her jeans, then grabbed up the shotgun with one hand while she wrenched open the attic hatch with the other. It sounded like Shilah and the wolf were fighting near the kitchen, so she figured she’d peek her head down and try to attract the wolf’s attention. Hopefully he would disengage with Shilah and come for her, and she could put a bullet in his head without putting Shilah in the line of fire.
She was comfortable with that plan until the moment she lowered her head through the opening and came eye-to-eye with a second werewolf who stood with its paws braced high up on the ladder. The wolf was so tall that its hot, sour breath washed over her face and triggered bile to rise in her throat. Jerking backward, Katie brought up the shotgun and clumsily aimed it down the hatch, but the wolf caught the barrel in its powerful jaw and tugged it from her hands with a single violent yank. Her best weapon clattered to the floor below, useless. Somewhere in the house, Shilah yelped and the dog fight fell silent.
Heart rending even as it exploded in terror, Katie grabbed the panel and tried to shove it back over the door. The wolf managed to shoot up the ladder, crashing into the barrier and breaking it into pieces. Adrenaline rushed through her body and took over her reactions. She couldn’t die. If she died after defying Rafe, she would have ruined his life for no reason other than her own stubborn stupidity. Determined not to let both of them down, she grabbed the revolver from her pants and scrabbled backwards a few feet, aiming at the illuminated square in the middle of the dark attic. She had to take them out as they came up to her. There was no other choice.