The Shepard's Agony Read Free Page B

another area. She felt John’s eyes on her and tried to ignore her embarrassment . He quickly moved in the other direction. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She could have gotten the three of them killed, freezing up like that. But , it was one thing for Dianna to tell them there were hunters in their Moon Night spot, and another to actually see it. The idea of anyone attacking their sacred space was ludicrous. She froze in a stupor.
    I t wouldn’t happen again. Gwen found a space no one was watching and inched her nose through the brush and leaves to have a look.
    She could see four men still in their human forms, lying still on the ground. Their wives were either crying beside them or trying to move their bodies to safety in case they were alive, just as they’d been drilled to do in case of emergency. Gwen shivered and suppressed a whine. How could this have happened?
    She perked her ears and sniffed the air, scanning the area . She was searching for her father or Bill, wanting to be by their side for the fight ; partially to protect them and partially for the comfort of knowing they were alright.
    She found Elaine first . The werefox had knocked down a human who was advancing on a crying pup and tearing at his leg, giving the boy a chance to escape to his mother.
    Gwen had to force herself to forget her father and Bill. The pups were the main concern. All of them were under the age of eleven and none had the ability to transform into wolves yet. They couldn’t protect themselves, leaving them in the most danger.
    Elaine yelped and cried as she was thrown from the back of the bloody human by a man dressed in muddy clothes holding a club. He wore a ski mask, gloves , and dark sunglasses.
    The vampire.
    Gwen was torn between helping Elaine and going after the boy . The vampire couldn’t bring out his fangs as long as the sun was still up, but he still made for a strong opponent. She then saw Larry leap in to join the fight with a snarling, protective fury. Bill was behind the vampire, slinking up in a sneak attack while he was being distracted. The missing left leg no hindrance to his stealth.
    Finally decided , Gwen dashed out of her hiding place to join boy and his mother. The woman stopped dead at the sight of her but then breathed deeply, relieved for the bodyguard before taking her son’s hand and running. Gwen stayed close until they made it to their car, her gaze steadily seeking for anyone who might be watching them. Anyone with a gun.
    Her entire body was tense and alert, her hair standing on end . Another faceless man appeared and pulled a handgun on them. The mother shrieked and threw her body over her son. Gwen finally realized why she hadn’t changed to better protect him. She was human.
    Gwen launched herself at the attacker and clamped down hard on the wrist connected to his gun hand, puncturing flesh, bone , and even an artery, spilling blood everywhere. The smell almost made her lose her self-control.
    She dangled in the air while their attacker screamed and flailed about. The boy took that as his cue and pulled his sobbing mother to her feet . She unlocked the car with shaking fingers and got in while Gwen was being thrown around. The big human was too busy screaming and thrashing to notice.
    Gwen didn’t loosen her jaw until she could see that the car had driven down the dirt road, away from the cabin and toward the highway. The mother and boy would be safe.
    When she let go of the man’s wrist, she crouched, preparing for an attack. She was surprised when he dropped to his knees , pulled a machete from his belt , and began hacking just above where she’d bitten him.
    She couldn’t believe her eyes ; so shocked that she stopped to stare despite the chaos around her. He raised the blade once and brought it down . She couldn’t help but cringe away when blood droplets hit her muzzle. He roared and continued, ignoring the pain and damage like a man insane with terror and determination.
    The only cure to