Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

her boots touched the asphalt, a new burst of energy detonated through her. As fast as she could, she ran along the icy edge of the road. Her coat and jeans were dark, so she prayed any drivers had their lights on.
    She’d gone only a few feet when two bright headlights shone in the distance. Waving her arms around like a madwoman, she continued running. She slipped again and tumbled backward. The ground was icy and hard, but she barely felt the impact on her hip.
    Her survival instinct told her to haul ass if she didn’t want to be killed. Or worse. As she started to push up, strong hands gripped her arms and pulled her to her feet.
    A scream tore from her throat. Twisting around, she tried to break free until she suddenly recognized Liam towering over her in the darkness. She stared at him in confusion.
Why is he here?
“What are you—”
    “What happened? Are you all right?”
    Her heart thumped a staccato beat against her chest as she stared into Liam’s dark eyes. “Where did youcome from?” She started to involuntarily shake and his grip tightened. He was warm and safe.
    “I saw you running down the side of the road. What the hell happened, December?”
    She frantically glanced behind her, expecting to see Mike running at them, but no one was there. Turning to Liam, she opened her mouth but no words came out. Instead, the shaking intensified. She didn’t know
what
had happened exactly. It had all been so fast. Suddenly she needed more air. It was as if her lungs had shrunk. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
    Liam took one of her wrists, concern in his expression. “Your pulse is erratic,” he murmured.
    Of course it was. Her date had just tried to kill her. Or maybe he hadn’t wanted her dead. He might have wanted to…“My date,” she gasped out. “I told him I wanted to leave the restaurant. He had a syringe. He tried to stab me while he was driving and I kicked him and the wheel. I didn’t even think about it. We flew off the road and I escaped….” She shook her head and turned around again. It was too dark to see how far she’d run. “I don’t think it was far from here. I just started running.”
    Still holding on to her wrist, he looked past her into the darkness. “I want you to stay here with Ryan, okay?”
    No! She grabbed his arm. “Who’s Ryan?” She felt disoriented and a little confused. And she couldn’t stop the chills skittering over her skin.
    “I won’t let her out of my sight.” The male voice from behind her made her jump, but when she turned to face the other shifter, all she saw was compassion in his dark eyes.
    Liam hated leaving December, but he hurried down the embankment to find the piece of shit that had attackedher. Other than the fresh smells of the forest, he scented slightly burned rubber and December’s date. His canines throbbed just from thinking about her out with someone else, but knowing she’d been attacked made his inner wolf almost blind with rage. He’d tried to warn her that members of the Antiparanormal League might target her because of her association with him. Not that he had the kind of “association” he wanted with her. He’d recently discovered that the APL somehow
knew
he cared for her, so they wanted to use that against him or his pack. Or both. It didn’t matter that they weren’t physically involved—or involved at all really. Which was why he’d been watching her. Even thinking about what might have happened if he hadn’t been nearby tonight…his inner wolf rattled dangerously, so he shut down those thoughts.
    As he neared the car, he saw the passenger’s and driver’s doors open. December’s footprints led back the way he’d just come, but there was another set leading away into the woods. He stared toward the tree line, fighting back the primal growl trying to claw its way out of his throat. The key was still in the ignition, the car still running. Leaning over and careful to take it by the edges, he slipped the key out and dropped it into his jacket pocket. The contents of her purse had been dumped onto her seat. A small makeup bag, a book, and a planner. No wallet. His frown deepened.
    His most primal side wanted to hunt this guy down and tear him apart limb from limb. Slowly. But he couldn’t leave December. Liam still wasn’t sure what had happened, but she’d been close to going into shock. If she hadn’t already.
    Pushing down the need to hunt and protect what was his, he