Corrupt Cravings by Jennifer Salaiz Page B

room, and he let her go. “All right, everyone outside. The moon will probably bring the shift on faster, anyway. You better not make it habit to disobey me, Marcella.”
    Looking at Donavon, she realized she’d never seen him stand. The rage behind his eyes made her heart pound harder. Yes, that’s right, my knight. Protect me. You feel it. Follow your instincts.
    They all walked to the front, and Marcella sat on the hood of her car. Donavon lowered himself to the porch and stared at her. Trying not to pay attention to him, she gave herself over to the moon. The brightness put heat behind her eyes, and she could feel her adrenaline start to rush through her veins.
    “Arizona, do you see that?” the alpha whispered.
    “Impossible. Her eyes shouldn’t illuminate.”
    Their conversation carried on, but Marcella couldn’t focus on what they were saying. The moon felt as if it were sucking her in. Breaking her eyes from the glowing orb was impossible. It wasn’t five minutes later when pain crippled her. A scream broke through her throat, and she did the only thing she could think of. Her fist slammed into the car as she fell over to her side. With the sweat covering her body, she could feel herself sliding off the slick metal. Donavon and the alpha both caught her before she touched the ground. Everything was happening so quickly, and she knew it was because she wasn’t a true shifter.
    “I knew she was alpha material. It was the tang in her scent. Goddamn it! She’s perfect, Arizona. Do you know how long I’ve waited for this? The glowing eyes, the strength, she’s going to make one hell of a mate. The signs she shows are already on a mature level. She’ll be no newborn. Look at the size of that dent she left behind.”
    Another scream came from her as she clutched her stomach tighter. Marcella needed to move, to get away from everyone. The wolf inside of her wanted space. Pushing herself to her hands and knees, she began to crawl.
    “Whoa. Where you going? You need to stay here.”
    Marcella looked at the alpha. “What is your name?” Her voice was hoarse and deeper than normal.
    “Luis.”
    “Well, Luis, my wolf wants room. Do not make me stay by you all. Not unless you want blood to flow. And right now, you don’t know just how good that sounds.”
    He laughed and gestured for her to continue crawling. Marcella didn’t wait, she continued toward the trees in the distance. Colors began to intensify, popping out at her as she neared objects. Blood. Meat. They were the only things driving her forward. The intensity with which she wanted to rip something apart made her fingers grip into the earth.
    Cracking filled her ears while she felt herself lock into place. Not one single part of her was able to move. Every bone inside of Marcella seemed to twist. The agony was so extreme that she felt all four of her limbs almost collapse. Heat raced up her arms and legs while she felt them push out at odd angles. As quick as the change took place, she felt it melt away.
    Looking down, she saw that black fur covered her legs and paws. The proximity she stood from the ground was a good four feet, which was surprising. She thought she’d be smaller. Marcella shook her head while her eyes focused in on every single twig and branch in the area Then, it happened. An internal radar shot off through her mind, and she knew only one thing. It was time to hunt.
    Turning back toward the men, she glanced at Donavon and then took off at a dead sprint for the trees. She almost tripped over her feet as she tried to get them to coordinate, but it didn’t take long for her to catch on. All Marcella wanted was to sate her craving.
    Yelling erupted in the distance, but she pushed herself faster. Trees blurred while her night vision made every single object projected. A smell, so strong, so delicious, brought her sliding to a stop. Sniffing the air, Marcella broke to the left. What was that? Some type of animal, but what? Slowing down