Burning to Ashes by Evi Asher

problem of needing to mark his She . The urge was mild right now, but it would continue to grow, and he’d be as touchy as hell about anyone even breathing in Scarlet’s direction until he had marked her. Why the hell did the oracle have to do him a favor ? She’d made things worse. When he’d been ignoring its insistence, the marking urge had been nearly nonexistent. Now that he had accepted that his wolf-half was right, the urge was stronger.
    He’d been away from other Lycans too long. He was losing his hold on the traditions and instincts his people valued.
    It was pointless to berate himself. Without Scarlet, Archer faced a long, lonely, desolate, and celibate life. His lycan would never choose another woman.
    So, when Scarlet died, so would Archer. He couldn’t live a life like that—his heart a burned out husk in the shell of an Eternal.
    Lycan.
    Archer’s beast snarled at him in his mind, and Archer snapped back to the present.
    Listen, smell, see.
    The creature was trying to tell him something.
    Archer focused on the area around him, expecting some form of danger.
    Heath and Erik were at each other’s throats again with the occasional smart assed comment from Tate. Sophia was trying to keep them from coming to blows, but was also wondering where was Scarlet?
    Archer felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck and arms rise. There was a Lycan in the area, a Lycan about to burst from its human skin.
    He scented the air—behind the car, then turned and sprinted towards the SUV.
    A howl burst into the quiet night, scaring the birds up out of the trees in flocks of frightened squawking.
    Archer rounded the back end of the SUV ,slid to a stop and couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing.
    Scarlet was curled up into a ball. She had pulled her hands over her head as if she were defending herself from a blow. A low mewing sound was coming from her.
    Archer dropped to his knees next to her, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder.
    “Scarlet?” He lost the ability to speak. He didn’t know how to explain this.
    Erik had made it around the other side of the SUV with others close on his heels. “Fuck!”
    “She’s turning. Why didn’t you tell us she was a Lycan, Archer!” he yelled out, the veins in his neck standing protruding. Erik clearly, did not like surprises.
    “She isn’t a fucking Lycan.”
    “She’s turning into a wolf.” Heath had stepped around Erik to confirm his statement. “That means she’s a Lycan.”
    “She isn’t—she can’t be.” Archer had a bemused expression on his face as he stared down at his She . Things were coming at him too fast and furious for him to think clearly.
    Scarlet shot forward on to her hands, her spine arching as she threw her head back and howled again.
    Everyone stepped back as her elongated jaw and pointed tufted ears became visible and fangs bristled from her mouth.
    She snarled and released another defiant howl. She was on the verge of bolting for the trees.
    “It’s too early.” Archer’s cryptic statement had everyone frowning. “I’ve got to stop the change.” He shifted forward and started to make a rumbling sound low in his chest.
    His hand found Scarlet’s spine, and he started to stroke it. He was using intricate hand movements and patterns as he touched her back. The rumble was melodic, a cadence that rose and fell in a soothing way.
    Scarlet’s body relaxed a little, the vibrating tension in every muscle subsiding as Archer worked his magic.
    “What the hell is he doing?” Erik blurted.
    “Shut up, you moron,” Sophia demanded. “Obviously he’s trying to prevent the transformation.
    “Why?” Erik was still loud, and it earned him a slap on the back of the head from Heath.
    “Shut the fuck up, dude. Let Archer do his mojo and talk later,” he commanded in a barely audible whisper.
    Archer knew that he had to reverse the change, and he had to do it now, or Scarlet would be lost and become a maddened monster with no