Taming the Night (Creatures of the Night Book 1) by Tisha Wilson Page B

But it wasn’t her gun hand. She put the gun right in his face and pulled the trigger. Fiery saliva exploded all over her arm, but she would not be stopped. She dropped the gun and began to pound on the female that had touched Jerry. How dare she even think to touch him? How could God even allow something like this to go on? Where was the justice in the world?
    “He’s mine. You hear me, mine,” Al spat in the creatures face as she continued to pummel it. This seemed to enrage the female.
    She fought back with a surge of energy. Al wasn’t sure if it was from her wolf’s strength or from a need for self preservation, but the bitch lashed out at her and managed to toss her away. The world went dark for a moment as she hit a tree and slid down it. Get up. I have to save him. Save Jerry. Save MY Jerry.
    *
    Jerry came to as he saw the creature throw Al hard against a tree. He heard bones snap as Al hit and he winced. This thing was going to kill him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had no defense. No weapon. It was hovering over him before he was ready and he felt groggy from the combination of pain pills and being knocked unconscious. He was pretty sure one or more of his stitches had popped open and he was bleeding again, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment.
    He didn’t know why he put a hand out to ward it off, as if his hand could stop it from ripping through him like tissue paper. If it could do that to Al, he didn’t stand a chance. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. But the searing pain of his arm being ripped off never came. He opened his eyes one at a time and saw it looking at him.
    It sniffed him and looked him over as if it were making sure that he was… okay. Like it was making sure that he wasn’t hurt. That sure was a change from being thrown up against a wall. Jerry thought about what Al said. She said that sometimes they kept strong people to change them. Then the most shocking thing happened.
    It reached out its hand as if it expected Jerry to reach out to it and place his hand in its paw. He blinked a few times as he looked from the slimy paw, to the blood red eyes and back down again. He shook his head. “No thanks. I don’t think I want to go where the wild things are, but thanks for the offer.”
    It looked like it was a little upset and became more insistent that he take its hand. “I said no,” he replied.
    “You heard him bitch. No means no.” The creature turned just in time to catch Al full in her face.
    Jerry drew in a slightly frightened breath when he saw Al. Her hair was flying out wildly around her head, and her nails had grown so long, that when she wrapped her hands around the animal’s neck, they dug into the flesh and made the creature paw wildly at her arms. Al’s eyes were violet and feline and her face… he backed away quickly when he saw her face.
    It was as feline as a tigress. And her teeth. They were long and sharp. Fear twisted his gut as he looked at her. She was not herself like this. As he tried to scoot away from the scene his hand met with cold steel. He instantly took up the weapon Al had apparently dropped and stood up on shaky feet. Al continued to squeeze the animal’s neck long after it quit fighting. She had a glow in her eyes as if she were actually considering eating it.
    “I think its dead,” he finally ventured to say. Al turned toward him, her feral gaze landing on him. For just a moment he thought she might eat him next. “But if you need to finish up there, you go on ahead. I’ll just wait over near the hospital… and lights… and people.”
    She stood up and he saw her take a calming breath. “That’s right. Take a good look at me , cherie. I told you I wasn’t nothin pretty.” She spread out her arms as if she were a freak show on display.
    “I didn’t say all of that. I just said if there’s something else you needed to do to,” he nodded towards the corpse, “then I’ll just wait