Thirty Eight

The force of the bullet ripping through her shoulder sent Eva crashing to the ground like a dead weight as more shots rang out. Blood bloomed on her shirt around the wound like the petals of a poppy as the searing pain set the she-wolf's nerves on fire. Groaning, she rolled onto her uninjured side to look behind her to try and see what had happened to Kade and the other wolves.

"Eva!" Kade yelled, pinned behind a tree as more shots flew through the air.

Eva could see the beta was trying to get to her but every time he moved a shot was fired, whipping past him or slamming into the thick trunk of the tree he was trapped behind. The searing pain had the she-wolf growling like a feral creature, eyes flashing yellow as Kalla pushed to take control. She was angry about being shot even if the wound was already healing. Luckily they weren’t silver, not that it would matter if one of the shooters managed to pull off a kill shot. A bullet to the brain was going to put anyone down, silver or not.

"Eva! Don't! Stay there!" Kade shouted as Eva pushed herself up, leaves clinging to her hair and hands that were scraped and bloodied from falling onto the ground and trying to brace herself. "Eva!"

Blood oozed from the wound which now throbbed in time with Eva's racing pulse. She bared her teeth in fury, her head whipping to where the shots appeared to be coming from searching for the culprit. The woodland provided perfect cover for the attacker or attackers (she hadn’t worked out if there was one or more), making it impossible for Eva to see them, yet she was able to pinpoint an area that appeared the shots were coming from. That was good enough.

Without a moment's hesitation, Eva let Kalla take over and shifted, ignoring that her clothes were ruined by the action as bones cracked and popped until she no longer resembled a human but instead, a very angry she-wolf. Straightening, Kalla growled, turning to the forest line, snarling and snapping as bullets continued to fly past her and towards the three males currently pinned down behind the trees and brush. For whatever reason, they weren’t trying to shoot Eva even if the first shot had passed through her. They were after the males and either didn’t see her as a threat or thought she was too wounded to cause them trouble.

Boy, were they wrong.

*Eva, don't you dare go after them!'* Kade snapped through the mind-link.

*We need to stop them!*

*Daniel and reinforcements are on their way!*

*They won't get here in time, Kade!*

Eva ignored Kade's constant arguing, racing through the forest, following the sounds of the gunshots. As she suspected, the shooter or shooters didn’t turn their attention to her, it was as if they were completely blind to her, ignoring the giant red and grey wolf storming through the forest with a lust for blood. It took next to no time to find a figure kneeling with a rifle. It was a male, that much Eva could discern but he was covered from head to toe in black. She couldn’t tell if he was human or wolf either, suggesting he was using something to mask his scent. With him distracted with reloading his weapon, Kalla moved in, growling as she lunged at the man, slamming into him just as he raised the rifle to start shooting again.

Immediately she clamped down on the shooter’s right forearm, flesh giving way to razor sharp teeth and bones snapping as they were crushed between the angry she-wolf’s jaws. The metallic tang of blood flooded Kalla’s mouth just as the man screamed in agony, his body collapsing under the weight of the wolf. She shook her head viciously, almost tempted to rip the bastard’s arm from his body but while a gruesome death was tempting, having the shooter alive was preferable.

Someone running towards her had Kalla whipping around, hovering over her prey as another black clad figure appeared. She snarled, not caring as she pressed a paw into the poor man underneath her, bones cracking under the weight. The man screamed again, thrashing violently but it was in vain. Kalla was angry and she wasn’t done yet.

“Get her off of me!” The man under Kalla howled in pain, whimpering when the she-wolf growled threateningly. “Shoot her damnit!”

The second man seemed to hesitate, rifle raised at the she-wolf as she snapped her bare teeth, pink tongue flicking against them. The giant wolf took one predatory step towards the second man, thrilled when he took a step back to try and keep distance between himself and the wolf.

“Shoot her!”

“The boss said not to harm the she-wolf.” The second man finally spoke, voice shaky. “The Alpha is coming. You’re on your own.”

Eva was torn between letting Kalla chase the man down or to stick with the one she had already crippled. The gun fire had finally stopped and the now the forest was alive with the echoes of shouting and barking. Huffing, Kalla threw her head around to her prey, watching as he tried to reach his rifle. Thick dark blood stained the earth as he dragged himself painfully slow over dirt, dead leaves and broken twigs. Judging by the rasping breath, the man now had a punctured lung to add to his list of wounds. His shaking hand reached for the weapon but Kalla simply stepped forward and nudged it away with her muzzle, watching in intrigue as the man cursed and tried to grab the rifle again. Again, Kalla nudged the weapon out of reach. She carried on with this little game until it fell over the side of a shallow ridge.

Oops.

“You’re a fucking bitch, you know that!” The man spat, blood and spittle coating the black mask around his mouth. “I don’t know why he wants to keep you alive! He should just fucking kill you like the mangy dog you are!”

A growl that wasn’t Kalla’s vibrated through the trees before Daniel stepped into view, eyes dark with anger. They flashed amber for a moment, Hades brewing near the surface like a deadly storm, keen to take over and rip apart the man insulting his mate. Seeing Kalla, blood caked to one side of her, Daniel snarled, teeth elongating as he fought to keep his temper. Warriors had followed, pouring into the small clearing like a SWAT team, checking for other threats. The man was now defenseless and outnumbered.

“Someone get this bastard out of my sight before I kill him.” Daniel growled. “I want him in an interrogation room by the time I get back.”

“You’re wasting your time! I’m not telling you shit!” The man hollered as he was roughly pulled up and dragged away, screaming like a madman.

Kalla sat patiently as her mate surveyed the scene. She was disappointed her catch had been taken away but they needed answers. That's why she hadn’t killed him. Still, she would have preferred a little more fun before the party ended. However, the sight of her mate had Kalla acting like a love-sick puppy, a whine leaving her whenever Daniel looked away. Eva was surprised she didn’t roll onto her back and ask for a belly rub.

“Where’s the gun?” Daniel asked.

The she-wolf looked over her shoulder at the ridge before looking back. *We were playing fetch.* Eva joked.

“Are you going to shift?” Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

*Did you bring me any clothes?* Eva asked through the mind-link.

The soft curse that escaped Daniel’s mouth suggested that he hadn’t. Eva was neither surprised nor disappointed. It wasn’t like there had been much time to think about clothing. Not when someone was shooting at them.

*Are the others okay?*

“Kade took one to the leg when he tried to follow you but he’s already healing.” Daniel explained as he ushered his mate towards the group waiting for them. “He told me you were shot too.”

*It’s practically healed.* Eva mused, ears flicking forward when she saw the beta and the other men who were luckily unharmed. *There were two of them. The other one got away. He said something interesting.*

“Oh?” Daniel turned to face his mate, wishing she could shift but not keen on the idea of so many males (especially the unmated ones) seeing their future luna nude.

*He said that their boss told them not to hurt me.*

“Then who were they shooting at?”

Kalla moved her head to look at Kade as he limped towards them. *Him.*