Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
The wolf—which was the size of a Clydesdale horse—bared his teeth and gave a low, menacing growl. Then he sprang at the scout, snapping and snarling.
The alien warrior wasn’t going to back down easily, however. The scout whipped his serrated tail with its spear-like point back and forth, slashing the air and trying to stab Saxon’s wolf.
But the wolf was lightning quick. In an instant he had the tail in his jaws and with a sickening crunch of bones being snapped and crushed, he tore the long, curving tip right off.
The scout threw back its head and made a sound so horrible Miri clapped both her hands over her ears. It was a gargling shriek—a sound like someone drowning and being crushed to death at the same time.
I’ll hear that sound in my dreams for the rest of my life—I know I will! she thought, but still she couldn’t stop watching.
The fight went on, despite the fact that the Skulls scout had lost its most deadly weapon. It still had its claws though—it raked them across the wolf’s muzzle drawing a growling yelp from the shaggy throat.
But the next moment, Saxon’s wolf had the odd, elongated skull in his teeth and he was bearing down, the powerful jaws working to crush the scout completely.
The alien warrior made that horrible gargling shriek again. The long stump of its tail whipped the air, spraying the walls with black ichor that must be its version of blood, Miri thought, feeling sick. It struggled, clawing and kicking but Saxon’s wolf refused to let go until—with a final crunch—the long skull shattered and black brains began to ooze all over the floor.
“It’s over,” Lynx breathed in Miri’s ear. “Quickly—before Saxon’s wolf is finished with the scout—get the key to these manacles. That one there has it in his pocket.”
He jerked his chin at the body of the guard sprawled closest to them—the one the scout had speared in the mouth with its tail earlier.
Miri didn’t let herself think. She jumped off Lynx’s lap and dashed over to the dead man to dig through his pockets. Luckily, she didn’t have to dig far—her fingers encountered the shape of the key almost at once and she ran back to Lynx and began unlocking him with trembling fingers.
“Good. That’s good, my Lady.” Lynx rose quickly, rubbing his wrists. Then he drew his blaster and took a step towards Saxon’s wolf.
“Wait…what are you doing?” Miri demanded.
“What I must.” Lynx’s voice was thick with emotion but he moved purposefully. “Committing Shai’ki’rai for both of us, just as Saxon asked me to.”
FORTY-FOUR
MIRI
“Daughter, you must not allow this—stay his hand!”
The powerful, feminine voice invaded Miri’s mind so quickly and completely that for a moment she wondered if she was having some kind of a stroke. Or maybe some kind of break with reality, brought on by extreme stress.
“You need not fear for your sanity—it is I, the Kindred Goddess—Mother of All life. And I say to you now, you must stop this!” the voice insisted.
“Of course I’m going to stop it!” Miri exclaimed, though it seemed hard to believe she was talking to a disembodied voice. “Stop, Lynx! I said, stop!” she gasped, running to grab the big Monstrum’s arm.
“Stay back, my Lady,” Lynx warned her. His golden eyes had gone hard. “I must do this—Saxon would not wish to be trapped in his Fur Form the rest of his life. He would do the same for me.”
“No, he wouldn’t because I wouldn’t let him!” Miri protested. “Please, don’t do this, Lynx! We can bring him back somehow—I know we can!”
“There is no returning from the Fur Form without a Bonded Mate to call you,” Lynx insisted.
“Yes, there is—there has to be!” Miri insisted. She was crying now, tears running freely down her face. “We can’t lose Saxon this way, Lynx—we can’t!”
The enormous wolf had lost interest in the body of the dead Skulls scout and was turning to look at them with burning eyes. When he saw Lynx pointing a blaster at his face, he pulled back his lips in a silent snarl.
“See? He doesn’t know us—though I have been bonded to him almost my entire life, I am nothing but a stranger to him now.” Lynx’s low, purring voice was desolate. “The only thing I can do is shoot him and then shoot myself—after I am certain you are safe of course, my Lady,” he added. “Now step back and don’t look—this won’t be pretty.”
“Do not let him—do what you must to stop this!” the Goddess insisted in Miri’s ear.
Miri looked at the enormous, angry wolf. Every one of his teeth was as long as her hand and his eyes were glowing a malevolent red now. The snarl rumbling up from his shaggy chest was nearly deafening as it grew in menace and intensity.