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.

the Grand Sage's eye, noticing a mischievous twinkle there. The bracelet must mess with my scent, too. It bolsters my courage for some

don't smell like

he really just say that? The audacity! I'm about to unleash a tirade on this insensitive jerk when a bone-chilling growl cuts

wolf emerges from nowhere, its teeth bared and hackles raised. Without thinking,

behind the naked shifter.

Bad move.

chest. I can feel the naked shifter stiffen in front of me, his muscles

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 the earth in submission. The air crackles with tension, and I find myself frozen in place, caught between terror and awe. "Mating instincts are quite strong, the

stand still. Which is less likely to get the wolf's attention? It seems angry. I don't want to be within bite range

277 Lisa Kollan

+27

sense soon, he assures me, looking for all the world as fascinated as

into Grey's Anatomy.

growls again, this time turning in a swift motion to get between me and the Grand Sage,

woll" Unaffected by the fierce visage of

Excuse me?

lets out a remarkably satisfied-sounding huff and turns to rub hard against my thighs, almost knocking me off balance. When I grab at its fur to

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

into his wolf form again and

lost their

under 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."

at the Grand Sage, but then it heaves a heavy sigh. Before my eyes, the wolf's form begins to

recedes, revealing smooth, tanned skin. Muscles ripple and bones realign, the wolf's body

familiar human form.

Kellan.

eyes widen as I take him in, unable to stop myself from drinking in every inch of his naked body. Unlike the other shifter, whose nudity had barely registered, I find myself appreciating Kellan's form with a reverence that surprises me. My