Ruby by Ashlynn Monroe Read Free Book Online Page B

sound echoed.
    “Come out of there, you bastards! Come out and give us the woman,” a male shouted loudly. Loud metallic reverberations punctuated the words as someone pounded violently against the craft again. “Come out! Give up!”
    Ruby shrieked and wrapped her arms around her middle. She didn’t want to go back to the temple, and she didn’t want to be used as a sex slave. She only wanted to stay with her men. Her kidnappers had found them. The shouting ended as abruptly as it began. Sol’s eyes glowed. His fangs lengthened. Isser’s change began too, but it was only a surface metamorphosis. They still seemed human “Warning, landing gear compromised, odds of take off without incident three percent,” said the automaton voice of the warning system.
    Sol slammed the panel. “Damn it! The fuckers know something about shuttles. Fuck!” Sol shot Isser a hard glare. “I guess we fight.”
    “I’m with you,” Isser replied, nodding.
    The sound of the lock popping caused them all to turn toward the door, as it swung open dramatically. The bastards had used a powerful tool to break into their ship. A man stood with his weapon drawn. “Give us the girl,” ordered the intruder. Sol fired at the man. He fell and rolled. Sol fired again, but the man had unnatural speed. Isser fired, but he also missed as the man leaped away.
    As the man threatened her mate, something dark twisted inside Ruby. The tiger wanted out, and she wanted out now! The man waved his gun erratically at Sol to motion them to come outside and follow him. His movement enraged her tiger further, and the sight of danger near her mates drove her human mind below the surface. The tiger took over, and Ruby felt pain as the muscles and joints of her body contorted. She closed her eyes and let her mind shut down. She was there, just barely, as the tiger took over. She let go of her fear and freed her inner kitty, but this kitten didn’t meow—she roared.
     
    A SNARLING TIGER cry caused Isser to glance away from the gun pointed at Sol’s chest. The snarl escalated into a vengeful roar. The sound filled the small space. Ruby was gone, but a large cat standing next to the cot glared at the intruder. Ruby sprang toward the men. The bastard let loose a blast of sonic noise. The small emitter he held didn’t look as dangerous as it was, but to the wolf it was potentially deadly. Such a high frequency could kill a wolf shifter as quickly as a laser blast. Isser fell to his knees, unable to focus. The metallic reverberation made his head ache, and he couldn’t hear. It felt as if his head had been plunged underwater. The shot echoed against the fireproof metal and caused a terrible noise that was even more intense for his inner wolf. He was senseless for a few moments.
    “Help me!” Ruby’s very faint and distorted plea hit him hard as the telepathic words reached him. Even in his disoriented state, he was able to hear his mate, and her distress touched him on his most primal level.
    “Ruby! Where are you?” Isser shouted. There was no response. Sol lay on the floor next to him. Isser shook the other man, and his brother managed to open his eyes before he sat up with a long, low groan. The men both stood, on wobbly legs, to look out the door. Ruby had pushed the attacker outside. There was blood on the ground near the shuttle. Fear gripped Isser.
    The scream of a man and more laser fire brought Isser to his senses. His woman needed him. His inner wolf wanted out.
    “I’m okay,” Ruby telepathically replied weakly.
    “I’m coming for you.” Isser sent her the thought. Lasers weren’t what they needed against this enemy. They needed the wolf. He felt the brief but agonizing stabs of pain throughout his joints, and the burning in his muscles as his body morphed into the wolf. His clothing shredded. His skin prickled as his hair sprang out. Every sense he possessed in human form sharpened, and the special senses of the wolf intensified to bring the