And so help the man who tries to lay a finger on her.
My legs carry me as fast as I can go, and I feel my body beginning to morph. My claws protrude, and my toes elongate, sinking into the frozen forest floor beneath me. I’m thrusting myself forward as hair pushes through my skin. I sink down onto all fours and gallop through the woods, dodging trees and focusing on the woman in front of me.
She’s running faster than I can keep up.
And she’s still in her human form.
I howl after her to try and get her to slow down, but it only causes her to speed up. It takes all I have to keep her within eyesight, but she’s still so far away. I’m dodging trees and getting smacked with branches as I hear a growl emanate from behind me.
I look over to the side and see Sebastian catch up to me.
Even through the angry look in his eyes, I can see his shock. Even in her human form, Clarissa is faster than us. Which means we have to assume she’s also stronger than us. She might not need our protection, given what that pregnancy is doing to her body. And if she takes after a Wolf with her pregnancy, then she’s in for a wild ride.
Pregnant female Wolves are sexually insatiable, incredibly powerful, and have wombs as strong as iron.
I train my ears toward the horizon and can hear them coming. I hear the Council. The cries of battle and their menacing chants. They’re bonded right now underneath one flag, but I know they will soon split off. Try to take their own agendas into account for the outcome of this war. Their chants of death and destruction and natural paths and transformation make me shiver, but it’s the shrieking wail piercing through them that catches my ear.
Toshi.
They have Toshi.
“Sebastian,” I growl.
“What?”
“They have Toshi.”
He stops in his tracks, skidding across the snow before running straight into a tree. I stop and turn around, knowing we’ve just lost track of Clarissa. I curse myself and run over to Sebastian, helping him to his feet.
And for once, he doesn’t shrug me off.
“Train your ears,” I say. “Listen.”
He closes his eyes as his ears begin to dart around. Like satellite dishes attempting to pick up a feed. I see them perk, and I watch the hair on his back rise. His claws dig into the snow and saliva begins to drip from his lips. He’s bloodthirsty. Angry. Like a Wolf usually is when someone he cares for is being hurt.
Then his eyes open and I see them switch from brown to red.
“Come on. This ends tonight.”
I take off behind Sebastian as we move closer to the edge of the woods. I can feel the ground underneath us shaking every so often, and I know who’s coming up behind us. Theo, with his large feet and his heavy stance. He hasn’t changed yet. That much I know. You can always hear Bears coming, but they’re fast as fuck. But the pounding of the ground I feel is slow, and I wonder why he hasn’t changed yet.
And then it hits me.
Bears have terrible sight at times. Which means Theo’s probably looking out for traps.
Smart.
Air is puffing from my nose, and my legs are catapulting my body forward. I can see the edge of the woods. I can smell Clarissa’s garlicky floral scent. That will change multiple times over the coming months as she grows her child. Yet another trait of a pregnant female Wolf.
My eyes lock onto Sebastian as my thoughts begin to devolve.
What if Clarissa doesn’t take on unique traits of her own pregnancy? What if she takes on traits of the Primal species that has gotten her preg
nant? It makes sense. She possesses strengths and abilities that span all of the races. But her pregnancy has all of the evolving traits of a Wolf.
That would mean Sebastian is the father.
Sebastian’s howl pierces my train of thought. His howl is a battle cry to begin the war. I watch him leap into the air. His mouth comes down around General Tera, and I can see the bat already changing and trying to fly off like the coward he is. I pounce from the woods and aim my sights right at Doryu. The dragon who has morphed and has fire spewing from his lungs. He’s the main threat. He’s the only other Primal bigger and stronger than all of us. He must be taken out, otherwise, he’ll burn the entire forest down and take the village along with it.