Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy: The Templar Chronicles: Book 2 by Jeff Gunhus Read Free Book Online Page B

I could and the bolt popped out.
    I went reeling backward and landed flat on the ground.
    Almost immediately, the wolf was on his feet. In the blink of an eye, he was on top of me, a paw on either side of my shoulders, his massive head directly over my own.
    Hot blasts of air blew on my face as the wolf moved closer, inch by inch. His lips pulled back into a snarl, showing a row of sharp teeth that looked like they could chew off my head with one bite. That’s when I considered that taking pity on the wolf might have been the dumbest thing I’d ever done.
    Then, as suddenly as he had pinned me to the ground, the wolf jumped off me and ran toward the tree line, still favoring his injured leg but now at least able to put some pressure on it.
    I scampered to my feet and grabbed my sword. When I turned back toward him, the wolf was looking over his shoulder at me, almost as if he were amused. He bowed low to the ground, his nose almost in the snow. Awkwardly, I returned his bow and added a little slicing salute with my sword as I had seen Eva do when we sparred.
    A burst of howls exploded from the path that the wagon had disappeared down. I looked down the road and saw a faint silhouette of a rider atop a horse galloping down the road. When I turned back, the wolf was gone.
    I looked back to the rider and recognized the unmistakable outlines of Eva and Saladin. As they bore down on me my heart sank. Behind them was a black wave of wolves chasing at their heels.
    Eva leaned to one side, her arm outstretched.
    I slid my sword back into its scabbard and climbed a rock to get a little more height. I knew we would only get one chance at this. If one of us missed, then I was going to be dinner for a pack of hungry wolves.
    I tried to stay calm, but the rock had a thin layer of ice on it and my feet kept sliding from one side to the other. When she was only steps away, I nearly lost my balance entirely and had to swing my arms wildly to regain my foothold.
    As soon as I did, I felt Eva’s strong grip on my forearm as she lifted me up onto the back of the saddle. Not missing a beat, Saladin cut to the right into the forest, circled back through and charged right at the approaching wolves.
    Eva dropped the reins quickly, grabbed the crossbow and immediately shot down the two wolves in the center of the road. The others hesitated just long enough for Saladin to find a weakness in their line. With a giant leap, he was over the two dead bodies, and had given another wolf a sharp kick to the head. Soon we were galloping down the road at a safe distance.
    “Where are the others?” I yelled at Eva.
    “They’re safe!” she shouted back. “We’re near the Academy.”
    I looked back and saw that the wolf pack was back on our trail, howling and snapping at their prey. Further behind them, I saw the wolf I had saved climb up onto a rocky outcropping, the cross of white fur nearly glowing in the night.
    “There!” Eva shouted.
    I looked ahead and saw a massive stone wall with an open gateway rise up ahead of us. It looked ancient and worn down, as if the forest were trying to reclaim it. Men stood in position along the battlements above the gate, swords and bows at the ready. Two other men on horseback charged at us from the gate, swords swirling in the air, a battle cry bursting like a song from their mouths.
    A single howl rose up above all the noise. Strong and clear.
    The pack of wolves slid to a standstill in response to the call.
    Eva quickly closed the distance to the riders coming from the gate, and as they pulled up to us, she turned Saladin and lined up along with them. Now the three of us faced the wolves together.
    “They’re just out of range for the archers,” the rider next to me said. I turned and was surprised to see it was Daniel. “Cheeky devils.”
    The wolves clawed at the ground, teeth bared.
    The howl came again and this time I followed the sound up to the rock outcropping where the wolf I had saved stood like a