I didn’t mention that Maddox was a shifter who could heal injuries in the blink of an eye. Just one look at his massive wolf form and anyone would agree. He would absolutely wreck a car.
It dawned on me that I had to convince this stranger that he was my dog. She was already pissed at his potential owners. This was going to be an uphill battle, especially since I could tell that Maddox wanted to follow a scent trail.
If he took off while that woman was holding his leash, she would be in for the ride of her life—and not in a good way.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. I fumbled for a believable lie. “My…uh,boyfriendwas supposed to be watching the dog! He’s a useless idiot. I can’t believe I trusted him with our pup!”
There was no way that I could get the lie to reach my face, so I crouched and grabbed Maddox by the sides of his face to ruffle his fur. Surprised, he shook himself. He gave me an appreciative lick on the cheek before grunting to let me know that he was in control—and he didn’t appreciate me treating him like a dog.
I pinched his cheeks and whispered, “If you have a problem with it, don’t put the collar on.”
Maddox slapped his tail side to side.
The woman that’d chased him down didn’t seem convinced. She glared at me with her hands on her hips. What was with women? Why did they always want to save animals?
Okay, it was the nice thing to do. I understood that. It’s just that her savior complex was kind of a pain right about now. We should have been tracking that man down. Every moment that passed stole more of his face from my memory. He was nothing more than a shape with blond hair.
Would Maddox be able to remember that man’s scent?
Maddox’s head whipped to the side. He issued a warning snarl. Though it wasn’t in her direction, the woman leapt back and threw her arm up to protect herself. Immediately, I watched her savior complex change. Maddox wasn’t a rescue mission anymore. He was a threat that needed to be put down.
I stood and tried to yank the leash from her hand. She doubled down. I didn’t have time for this right now! Frustration bubbled up inside me, and it was about to explode like TNT. Instead of fighting her, I reached down and unhooked Maddox’s leash.
He took off.
My shoulders dropped. The woman looked me in the eye with the most unimpressed expression I’d ever seen. I turned my gaze to the sky and held back the urge to shake my fist at God, like the bastard would even listen.
“I’m never trusting that man with a dog ever again,” I grumbled.
“Him? You should be ashamed of yourself, too!” The woman flung her hands in the air.
Maddox
I slidbetween human and wolf, crashing back and forth at violent speeds. The world flickered black and white before flaring with color and draining all over again. While my mind struggled, my body moved.
The scent trail flickered just like it had before. I chased after it while my wolf snarled. The taste for blood reached the back of my throat. I wanted to tear and rip. The other wolf was hunting Addie.
I’d known that, but seeing it firsthand enraged me. The beast wouldn’t stop until the other wolf was dead and in the ground. I tried to pull back on the beast, but it refused to give me even an inch of control. When I tumbled to the forefront, my paws tangled.
Then, I tumbled back again, and the beast corrected my path.
This wasn’t the beast’s doing. There was more going on than I understood. The beast cared only about Addie. It didn’t give the strange phenomenon another thought. I tried to parse what was happening, but the back-and-forth controls were jarring.
Where had he gone? I paused at an intersection to search for the wolf. He’d been hot on Addie’s heels earlier. I’d caught up to them just in time to scare him off. I shuddered to think what would have happened had I not been there.
Memories of how Bastien had kidnapped Addie right under my nose came rushing back with a wave of guilt. I wouldn’t fail her like that again. I would put this threat down.
No!
I wouldn’t be a killer.
I caught the scent to my left. As I turned, I glimpsed the back of a familiar head. It was the same man that’d run into Addie right before I caught up to her. The scent trail followed in his wake.
Who was he? Why was he hunting Addie?
I wouldn’t find out if I killed him.
The beast surged forward and took claim of my body, though. The back and forth stopped as the beast sank it’s claws into the sidewalk. It cracked beneath my paws. The beast tensed, ready to lunge.