Curran POV, Vol II Read Free Page A

full power, but that was fine. I was too pissed to take a rain check on this fight.
    The shaggy giant beast reared up onto his hind legs and roared at me. That's right show me that big soft belly. I opened my mouth and roared back, drowning him out. Bring it, fat boy.
    My best bet would be to bleed him. Dart in, bite or claw, then out again before those big paws can connect. Don't let him grab or hold me. If he could, Mahon would pull me into a hug and crush my head between his jaws. And if I was really lucky, he'd come at me just like this, on hind legs, gut out.
    I dug the snow, testing the ground. My paw found ice sheathing the stones. Slick.
    Come on, Bear. Come at me.
    He dropped to all fours and shuffled toward me with his head lowered. Damn it.
    If I let him, he would try to muscle me to the ground. I'd killed a bear before, and it was the hardest fight of my life.
    Mahon kept moving, head down, shifting in, rocking from side to side. The bear shamble. It looked clumsy, but it let him use the thick layer of fur and fat that sheathed his forward quarters like a shield. And a flank attack wouldn't go unpunished. Shambling or not, he was fast.
    We never fought, not like this, but I had been watching him kill for the last fifteen years, and I knew that he would use that big head like a sledgehammer. Getting head-butted by a bear was like being kicked by a horse. He'd knock me down and then put all of that weight on me.
    It was time to dance. I let him get within five feet of me. Mahon lunged. I dodged to the side and buried my claws in his head and neck. Mostly what I got was fur and fat, but it hurt him. The Bear shook, trying to fling me off. I hung on and took a big bite out of his ear. The familiar taste of blood flooded my mouth.
    Mahon bellowed in pain.
    Yeah, that's gonna leave a mark.
    Suddenly my paws left the ground, and then we were moving. He drove me back, like hammer drives a nail. God, he was fucking strong.
    There was nothing I could do about it, except to let go. I released my hold. Too late. The wall slammed my back and the full bulk of the Bear smashed into me.
    Ouch.
    "
    The wall shook. On the other side of that wall Curran was getting a beat-down and he'd locked me out and left the boy wonder in position by the door to make sure it stayed shut.
    The room was full of shapeshifters. The alphas, the betas, anyone with any sort of rank had shouldered their way in.
    Jim loomed over Derek. The boy wonder had grown, but Jim still had about three inches of height on him and he squeezed everything he could out of them. "Move."
    Derek didn't answer.
    "It's an Order."
    Derek stared straight ahead. The message was clear. Jim would have to kill him before he let that door open.
    This was pointless. I pushed my way out of the room into the hallway. Barabas emerged from the room behind me. I dragged myself down the hallway, away from the crowd. My leg was on fire. For once I wished that I had brought the stupid cane, so I could move faster. We turned the corner.
    "Is there another point from where I can get to the balcony?" I whispered.
    "Get, no. See, yes."
    "Take me there."
    "There are stairs," Barabas warned.
    "Take me there or I will throw you out of the window."
    "Right this way, Alpha."

    *** *** ***
     
    I bit the bridge of Mahon's nose. Welcome to the lion's jaws.
    He snarled in pain and dropped back.
    I fell into the snow, rolled back up, and ran, putting some distance between us. My ribs ached. Heat flowed, knitting the fractured bones together. No major damage, but one more like this and I was done.
    I had to bleed him. In and out. If I sliced his skull enough, the Lyc-V would repair the damage, but not before Mahon would bleed. Enough blood in his eyes, and he'd be a lot easier to handle.
    The bear shambled over. I dashed in, claws ready.

    *** *** ***
     
    Fifty million fucking stairs, each step shooting a burst of pain into my hip, until I wanted to claw my leg bloody just to get at the source of