My hands were free by this time.Ifelt the ropes part and turned quickly to try and work on the much thicker ones tyingKor’swrists.Buthe twisted away from me.
“No!”he snapped.“Leavethem—at least they might slow him down a little.”
I realized he was talking about hisBeast—the massive half man/half wolf creature that lived inside him instead of a regular wolf.Iwondered numbly if it would look like the creatureI’dseen in my dreams.
“I don’t want to leave you here,”Isaid again and this time my eyes were stinging with tears.
“Forget about me and get your feet untied!”Korordered me.“Please, baby—hurry!”he added urgently.
“Hey, lookit—they’re untying each other!”Iheard someone shout from the shadow of the trees.
“Never mind about that,”Harrissaid and there was a dark, gloating expression on his ugly face.“Look—the moon’s rising.”
I looked up and saw that he was right.Themoon was climbing in the sky and already the trees and branches were silver with her light.
I bent to my task of untying the ropes around my ankles.Theyhad been tied hastily whenHarrisordered me to be bound, so it didn’t take much to get them off—only a minute or two.
But it turned out to be a minute too long.
WhenIlooked atKoragain, he was already changing.Hisback was arching and there was a pained expression on his face—the look of a man who is fighting a losing battle with all his might.
“Vivienne…run!”he grated out.“Get…away…before it’s too…late.”
And then his face elongated—his mouth turning into a muzzle as his body began to twist and change.
I’d seen plenty of malesShiftin my lifetime, butI’dnever seen anything like this.Korwasn’t turning into the familiar lupine shapeIwas used to—he mostly retained his human form but he was growing—growing to immense proportions.
I stared, unable to move as his already big, strong body became bigger and stronger.Hischest—always broad—got twice as big and his body was suddenly covered in black fur.Hiseyes turned from chocolate brown to wolf-gold and his ears became pointed and moved to the top of his head.
His arms and legs grew huge and muscular and then the thick ropes around his wrists and ankles snapped like twine.
“He’s free!”Iheard someone from the trees shout.“Look—the cursed wolf is free!”
And that’s whenIrealizedIwas just sitting there in the grass like an idiot, staring at the transformation happening right in front of me.
The tranceI’dbeen in broke, andIrememberedKor’swords to me.
“Walk—don’t run,”he’d told me.“Youneed to move slowly to get away from him.”
Slowly, slowly,Igot to my feet and began to walk away.Ifelt more than ever likeIwas in a nightmare—moving in slow motion while the thing that was chasing me was gaining on me.
But theBeastwasn’t chasing me—was he?Ididn’t dare look back to find out.Ijust kept moving towards the edge of the tree line, where theGladeended and the forest began.IfIcould just get there,Icould hide myself away until it was safe to go home.Iknew the way toWolvertonManorfrom here—it was only half a mile—a mile at most.SurelyIcould make it.Surely…
And that was when a huge, hairy hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me back to the center of theGlade.
FIFTY
VIVIENNE
The huge, hairy hand around my waist lifted me off my feet as thoughIweighed nothing.Iwas carried, dangling, back to the exact center of theMoonGlade, the cool night air rushing past my skin.Whenhe set me down, my legs refused to hold me.Myknees turned to water, buckling, andIsank into the cool, damp grass.Icouldn’t run.Icould only stare.
TheBeaststood before me, a silhouette against the rising moon.Hewasn’t a wolf—he was a wolf-man.Overeight feet tall, he stood powerfully on two thick, fur-covered hind legs.
A shaggy pelt of jet-black fur covered him from the neck down, rippling over ridges of muscle that moved with a terrifying, predatory grace.Hisface was a nightmare blend of human and wolf—a long muzzle lined with sharp teeth, but with a brow and a jawline that still held a ghost ofKor’shandsome features.Hiseyes glowed with a fierce, intelligent gold, pinning me in place.
My breath came in short, sharp pants.Thishad to be a dream.Ahorrible, vivid dream.Iwas sure of it—it must be!
ThenIsaw the furry pouch between his powerful thighs.Ittwitched…then it opened.