HuntressUnleashed by Clare Murray Read Free Book Online Page A

scrambled up a steep rise, pausing to sniff the air.
Yes— there she was. Her Guardians were with her as well.
    Leaping onto the rutted road, Eagan put on a burst of speed.
Delaney was coming closer. So was Caitrin. Moments later they appeared over the
rise, running toward him.
    Unable to take the time to shift, Delaney was chasing the
lass in human form. With Alpha eyes, Eagan saw him as he truly was—an
abomination that should be long perished. He was only too happy to help him
along.
    Silent as death, Eagan slammed into Delaney’s chest. Even in
his weaker form, the other werewolf had the presence of mind to twist away from
Eagan’s teeth, slashing at his fur with a bone-handled knife.
    “There you are, MacCulloch. I tasted your lass, had her
tongue on mine,” Delaney boasted, dancing away. “She’s sweet—so tender and full
of life.”
    Eagan snarled, the sound rippling through his chest. In one
fluid movement, he darted in and slashed at Delaney’s abdomen. Blood spurted,
crimson against heather.
    “A fine try, Eagan,” Delaney sneered. “But these runes renew
me quicker than my werewolf blood ever did.”
    Indeed, Delaney’s flesh was already mending, knitting tooth
marks into unbroken, if wrinkled, skin. Eagan eyed his opponent, measuring the
marks near his throat. If he ripped them apart…
    “While you admire what I have become, the lass runs toward
my wizard,” Delaney jeered. “I shall enjoy her writhing under me, begging for
more as she calls my name.”
    Eagan was gone before he’d heard the rest of the sentence,
streaking down the hill in a blur of black. If it had been anyone else but
Caitrin, he might have stayed, testing the dark runes’ extent of protection. He
was certain Delaney’s immortality could be breached somehow. The werewolf was
unnatural, hideous in his survival, and Eagan knew the tattoos had something to
do with that.
    Yet Caitrin’s safety was his priority. He would rip the
wizard limb to limb if the man had done so much as threaten her. Already Eagan
could feel the wizard’s spellcasting lending a malevolent charge to the air.
He’d cast a temporary ward which Eagan could see gleaming across the road
ahead. Designed to entrap, the ward would hold unwary crossers immobile until
either the wizard or Delaney released them.
    Caitrin was running straight toward it.
    Eagan roared a warning but she only fled faster. Still too
far away to stop the lass, he put on a desperate burst of speed—and half
strangled on his next roar.
    She had seen the wards! The lass was going around them, calling sharply to her collies to stay at her side. She dodged the next one
too, scrambling across a hillock, falling to her hands and knees as she
continued her desperate flight.
    By Brighid, how was she seeing the wards? It had taken
decades for Eagan to learn how to open his third eye. Even then, a werewolf’s
Sight did not hold the clarity of a witch or wizard’s. He shook his head,
grimly continuing to close the gap between himself and his lass.
    Eagan caught her just inside her property, blocking her way
to the cottage. She skidded to a halt in front of him, eyes wild.
    What had Delaney done to her?
    His scent was all over her body—on her lips, down her damned trousers . Eagan snarled helplessly. Immediately, he wished he had not
done so. Caitrin flinched back, staring at him in terror. The Guardians
growled, swishing their black-and-white tails.
    Heedless of the risk, Eagan threw his head back, shifting
into human form. Although he had several centuries of experience, he was still
vulnerable during the Change. He forced the process as fast as he dared,
gritting his teeth through the pain. Even so, she was halfway to the door
before he recovered.
    Naked, he pursued her. She faced him in her sitting room,
clutching the sword and panting.
    “Caitrin.” He shut the door behind him, approaching slowly.
    She shook her head even as he spoke, obviously too rattled
to reply. For a long while he