Keeper of the Wolves by Cheree Alsop Page A

catch
up.”
    Rasmus led the way out the back door and
across the short-trimmed grass. The sun had almost set; only a
faint sliver of blushing red and steel gray touched the horizon. A
shudder ran through me and I felt the call to change. I paused and
closed my eyes, pushing past the need until I was in a place where
it wouldn’t compromise everyone. I gritted my teeth against the
exhaustion that echoed the self-control. My body had not yet
recovered, and the change demanded by moonlight took every bit of
strength I had.
    A tiny gasp of surprise brought my head up.
Koya was jerked roughly around the corner of the castle into one of
the many arched alcoves. Rasmus shouted something in his rough
voice. I loped the few feet to the corner, then stopped. My
heartbeat thundered in my ears. A stranger held a knife to Koya’s
throat. They faced Rasmus so the intruder’s back was to me, but the
scent of fear from Koya and hatred from the stranger left no doubt
as to his intentions.
    I stalked slowly forward and weighed my
options. If I startled him, he could cut her. A horse stomped; I
located the midnight black animal waiting near a stand of trees. He
intended to get her to the horse and ride away, that much was
clear. Rasmus didn’t have a horse and his fear for Koya’s life
would keep him from acting. They drew closer to the waiting animal.
I had no choice.
    I stalked on silent paws behind the pair,
then let out a snarl that held the fury of a dozen demons. The
intruder’s muscles tightened and he spun, letting Koya go in his
shock. She ducked under his arm and ran to Rasmus. The scent of
blood colored the air and I saw a fine line of red across her
throat where the knife had cut her. Another snarl tore from my
throat and the man’s eyes widened. He glanced from me to his horse,
then took off running toward the beast.
    I looked at Rasmus. Every instinct screamed
for me to chase the man as he mounted the horse and kicked it into
a gallop, but Koya had been hurt. Rasmus met my eyes. “Stop him,”
he commanded.
    Fire ran through my limbs. I pressed my ears
back against my skull and leaped after the horse. It turned past a
line of short-cut shrubs and let out a shrill whinny when it saw it
was being chased. The man kicked it, and used the ends of his reins
to whip its flanks. The horse’s hooves clattered against the
cobblestones as it turned another corner of shrubs and fought to
keep its feet.
    My heart pounded with every beat of my paws
against the stone walkway. When caged, I could only remember the
thrill of the chase with an ache that made the iron bars demons
guarding against my freedom. I had forgotten the way blood pulsed
through my veins in demand of the pursuit and the wind flowed
through my fur with the whisper of the prey beckoning me on. My
muscles flexed and contracted in a rhythm my body had never
forgotten. My paws barely grazed the ground. The scent of fear from
my prey drove me faster. I was a wolf again.
    The last corner the man turned was his
mistake. Adrenaline flooded my limbs. I closed the distance between
us, then leaped over the shrubs and barreled into the man on the
horse’s back. The horse fell with the impact. I grabbed the
intruder’s shoulder in my jaws and bit down. He let out a scream.
The horse struggled free and trotted a few feet away, its eyes
rolling and nostrils flaring.
    Red filled my vision. My heart thundered in
my ears so only the rhythmic thud and the sound of the man’s
terror-filled yells were all that I heard. It was the same triumph
I felt when I brought down a deer with the pack. Koya was safe and
the intruder should die. The man struggled. I bit down harder. Bone
crunched beneath my jaws.
    A hand touched the fur on my back. Another
shudder ran down my body at the unaccustomed sensation. “Let him
go,” Joven said. His voice was tight and his breathing was short
and fast.
    “ We’ve got it from here,”
Rasmus echoed in a reassuring tone.
    I didn’t want to let go.