The Wolf Within by Cynthia Eden

deeply. Saul had sent him on wild hunt. Racing in and out of buildings, in alleys, through a tangled maze that had led through the city…
    And back here.
    His nostrils flared as he pulled in the scents around him. The musky scent of Saul and—
    Honey.
    Fuck, no. He ran for the building, his heart pounding frantically in his chest and his claws bursting from his fingertips. He lifted his foot to kick in the door, but saw that someone had already beaten him to that chore—the door’s lock was broken. Shattered. He shoved the door open and rushed inside. The bottom floor was empty, but he could hear sounds coming from upstairs. He flew up those stairs, four at a time. Turned to the left—
    And saw Saul, on the floor, on top of a naked Holly. She was bleeding. Saul’s claws here out. He was trying to swipe at her.
    Duncan roared.
    Saul’s head whipped up. His eyes locked on Duncan, then those eyes widened in horror. Before Saul could leap to his feet, Duncan had him. His hands locked around Saul’s shoulders, and he yanked the shifter away from Holly. Then he slung the bastard against the nearest wall. The whole building seemed to shudder at that impact.
    “Duncan!” Holly’s voice was shocked, scared, and angry as she called his name. He turned back toward her. Pale flesh. Wide eyes. She was trying to cover her breasts with one arm and cover the juncture of her thighs with the other even as she
bled
from the gashes in her side and on her arm.
    He reached for her.
    And felt claws drive into his back.
    “No!” Horror was the only thing he saw in Holly’s eyes then.
    The hands that had been reaching for her balled into fists. “Run.” He could barely manage to get the word out.
    She shook her head, sending her wet hair flying over her shoulders.
    “Run!”
    He spun back around and grabbed Saul’s hand. With one twist, he broke the bastard’s wrist.
Payback, you SOB.
Then he grabbed Saul’s other hand and broke that wrist, too.
    Saul staggered back. Then he hit the floor. Fur burst along his skin as his bones snapped.
    Saul was shifting, and…
so am I.
    The white-hot agony ripped through Duncan. Speech was impossible. He could only snarl and growl as his body reshaped. His muscles tore, his tendons stretched. When his hands hit the floor, they almost instantly became paws. Power beat through him. Power…and bloodlust.
    He attacked what is mine.
    Mine.
    Duncan went for the other wolf’s throat. His paws slammed into Saul’s side, and his teeth snapped at the bastard’s neck.
    But Saul’s claws drove into Duncan’s side. Sliced deep. The pain just made him angrier. Duncan attacked with his own claws. Blood matted Saul’s pale coat of fur.
    “Duncan?” Holly’s quiet voice.
    Mine.
    He sank his teeth into Saul’s neck.
    “Duncan, we need him alive!”
    No, they needed him to die. Because he’d hurt Holly. Not once—
    Holly’s arms wrapped round Duncan. “Please.”
    His whole body vibrated, but he hesitated, barely managing to hold back from taking the other wolf’s life.
    That hesitation was all that Saul needed. He staggered away from Duncan and ran for the big, bedroom window. The glass shattered as he jumped right through it, leaping out and falling to the street below.
    Duncan jerked away from Holly and ran to the window. He stared below, snarling, as he watched the white wolf streak away.
    “I don’t have any close neighbors,” Holly said quietly from behind him, “so I don’t have to explain to anyone why a wolf just jumped out of my second story window.”
    He glanced back at her. The rage still burned within him, and he wanted to follow Saul but—
    Can’t leave her.
    It wasn’t just the wolf’s instinct to protect. It was the man’s, too.
    Only she wouldn’t be seeing him as a man then. Just as a beast. He turned toward the window once more.
    “Don’t leave me,” she whispered.
    His muscles trembled. Didn’t she understand? If he stayed—
    “Please.”
    She broke him.
    He