Tangled

Unshift 277

Unshift 277

277 Lisa: Kellan

After the third time I stumble while walking, the naked shifter stares at me with a curled lip.

"Why are humans so weak?" he asks, his tone grating on my already frayed nerves.

1 bristle at his words. Who does he think he is? "None of your business," I snap, surprising myself

voice. I

with the venom in my ericho said I do pretty well for a human, thank you very much. I'm

just weakened.

I'll get back into shape and then wipe that cocky stare off his face on the mat.

Though, I have yet to have a legitimate win without any handicaps during our training spars...

But a girl can dream, damn it.

The shifter's eyebrows shoot up, clearly taken aback by my sass. He peers at me more closely, his brow furrowing. "Do I know you?"

Before I can answer, he leans in, his nostrils flaring as he sniffs at me. I recoil, but he's already pulling back, a puzzled expression on his face.

"You don't have much of a scent," he says, sounding perplexed.

with my scent, too. It bolsters my courage for some reason.

don't

just say that? The audacity! I'm about to unleash a tirade

reddish-brown wolf emerges from nowhere, its teeth bared and hackles raised. Without thinking, I stumble backward, instinctively seeking

behind the naked shifter.

Bad move.

wolf's growl intensifies, the sound reverberating through my chest. I can feel

nearly losing my balance in the process. The naked shifter holds up his hands once I've been sacrificed, a look of fear flashing across his face. The enormous wolf bounds forward, placing itself between me and the other shifter. Its massive jaws snap at the naked man, a growl so loud it drowns out everything else. Around us, the other wolves drop to the ground, bellies pressed to

back away or stand still. Which is less likely to

277 Lisa Kollan

+27

looking for all the world as fascinated as a woman

into Grey's Anatomy.

get between me and the Grand Sage,

no Lion for you, woll" Unaffected by the fierce visage of a growling apex predator, he gestures in my direction.

Excuse me?

to rub hard against my thighs, almost knocking me off balance. When I grab

the fuck is going on?" I hiss at the naked shifter, who looks

he snaps, before shifting into his wolf form again and cowering

lost their

fur, unsure of how to handle this situation. To my surprise, the beast seems to melt under my touch, its eyes half-closing in

I turn to the Grand Sage, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice. Bitterness, to be clear, that he was willing to sacrifice me off to a rabid wolf. "What the hell is going on?" The gnome's eyes twinkle with amusement, and I fight the urge to shake him. "If you can't figure it out now, my dear, you will soon enough." He turns to address the wolf. "We need

For a moment, I think it might snap at the

fur recedes, revealing smooth, tanned skin. Muscles ripple and bones realign, the wolf's body stretching and morphing into a human form.

familiar human form.

Kellan.

barely registered, I find