Lycan's Prey by Jessica Hall

Chapter 95

No wolf likes the idea of hunting she–wolves and mating them. It’s just something she–wolves have learned to accept since there is no stopping it; the men are slaves to their instincts, just as the she–wolves are. Staring at the man, I tried to tell myself it was self–defense, a necessary evil to protect Max, but the hollow justification offered little to remove my guilt.

But now I worry about when the moon is uncovered by the clouds because this body could be Max.

“Run,” I plead again, the word a broken whisper. “Please, Max, you need to run!” I clutch at the dirt, trying to cover myself. His face is ghostly pale in the dim light, his eyes wide and unseeing.

But once again he’s frozen, immobilized by fear or shock, or both. The silence is heavy, suffocating, until the moon glides free from the canopy above us. Silver light floods the clearing, and agony lances through me as another shift begins.

“Max!” I cry out, my bones contorting. “Your dad-”

“He’s on the way,” he stammers, fear battling with concern. “I mindlinked him,” he tells me.

“Go!” I manage before the beast surges forth, drowning the last vestiges of humanity. As my vision tunnels into predatory focus, I see him, still a statue of dread.

Muscles tense, fighting the inevitable, I dig my feet into the

0.00%

III

O

<

Chapter 95

1288 iVouchers

every ounce of my will to hold back the

yet,” I mutter through gritted teeth at the damn moon. It’s a losing battle; my skin ripples with suppression as my eyes look for anything to help me from shifting before my gaze goes to the racing

waterfall at the end of it. The chances of me surviving a fall like that are slim and if I do, I won’t survive the rocks at the bottom once the waterfall pins me

what choice do I have? I won’t

blurring as my eyes start to betray me, shifting from human to wolfish sight. He needs to be safe–I

I begin, but it’s useless. Swallowing a howl, I pivot on my heel

of the water syncs with my racing heart as I near the cliff’s edge. The air is heavy with mist, the scent of pine and river mud thick

a bit further,” I beg myself, the

no stopping it now. A painful jolt surges through my spine, and I stumble, almost sprawling onto the dirt. My body betrays me, the shift erupting from within as if my flesh were merely a cocoon being shed.

29.06%

}}

O

<

Chapter 95

1 288 Wouchers

to the precipice of the abyss, I leap at the same time Max’s scream pierces the air, loud and blood–curdling. The rush of air past my ears is a fleeting freedom. The water below surges up to meet me, a cold, unforgiving embrace.

dragging me deeper. Water buffets me from all sides, disorienting, smothering. In the tumultuous depths, the transformation completes, and the beast takes over, thrashing wildly against the

force, I am pulled away, away from Max, away from the threat I pose to him. The water’s roar drowns out everything else, and darkness swallows me whole.