Aura felt Shadow’s rough skin against hers. Karis had helped her understand who had been carrying her although her eyes wouldn't open. It had been the smell of charred hair and pine needles that confirmed Aura's fears. She had just escaped Shadow’s hell and insane commands, and now the man was carrying her away from the meadow. The meadow filled with shifters stuck in the same hell she had been in her mind from Shadow’s control. Blood was being spilled for no good reason, and Karis was at the heart of it all, pleading for Aura's help. But could Aura help?

  Jalen had managed to bandage Aura's self-inflicted wound just before she was being carried away. The battle sounds had faded behind when she heard Karis calling out for help. Her communication with Karis ended abruptly when Shadow used some type of transporting magic. Her ears were greeted with Tabusco’s shrill old voice all over again. Aura wanted nothing more than to slaughter Shadow and Tabusco.

  "Master Shadow! You retrieved your pet." Tabusco mused, hoping Shadow was finally in a better mood.

  "Tabusco, have I ever mentioned how annoying you can be?" Shadow grunted.

  Aura heard the men walk through the forest, snapping and crushing the twigs and leaves. She didn't care to listen to the men as they bantered and insulted each other. Aura focused on try to get control of her body. Jalen hadn't given her any herbs or medicine to stop her pain. She still felt the burn of pain in her gut, but she had managed to avoid doing serious damage since she didn't die from her injury. As a shifter, she can heal faster, so she estimated she would recover fully in a week or so. Not that it would help her much now.

  Shadow placed Aura down at the base of a tree. He was ecstatic to have his pet back, and he was overjoyed to learn about her ability to appear human. She was no normal shifter. Was she a hybrid? A werewolf of legend? Or incredibly blessed by a wizard? He sensed a normal amount of magic from her, but that doesn't mean she didn't have some sort of magic item on her. As much as he wanted to focus on his pet, he still had to ensure his revenge. Shadow instructed Tabusco to watch over his pet until he returned. Surely, the old dwarf could manage that, right?

  Tabusco watched the she-wolf shifter sleep against the tree. Guild Master Shadow had disappeared, leaving him to babysit the sleeping shifter. How had she appeared human before she shifted? There was no clear answer because Tabusco could not sense any abnormal magic about her. The girl was naked with only fur covering some of her body. Tabusco could still see the missing patches of fur, scar, and burns on the woman’s body from her time with the guild master. She had only just escaped Shadow’s clutches only to be back in his grasp only a day later. In some ways, Tabusco felt sorry for the woman because, with her power, she would become Shadow’s favorite toy.

  Aura could hear Tabusco grumbling to himself about Shadow. She assumed the guild master had vanished, and she was doing her best to summon her strength to escape. Her chances were better of getting away as long as Shadow was away. She needed to get back to the meadow and rescue Karis and the other shifters. Aura was the only one that knew what those shifters were going through. She tried to move her fingers and toes just enough, so she knew that she was in control of her body. With little twitches in her fingers and toes, Aura is filled with energy to continue fighting back against her pain and exhaustion. Aura listens quietly to Tabusco as he grumbles and mutters about Shadow while shuffling through the leaves. She prays for an opening to move and leave before her burst of energy ends.

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  Tabusco becomes distracted by a rustle in a bush. Aura inhales deeply, moving through the sharp pain in her gut. Although she missed anything important, she could still bleed out if she is not careful. Aura gets to her feet, steadying herself against the tree behind her. Her stomach burns from the sharp pain. She curses under her breath, alerting Tabusco to her situation.

  Tabusco growls at her. “Of course, this couldn’t be easy. Can’t you just sit back down and go to sleep? You are barely able to stand in your condition.” He nags her.

  Aura only growls in response. She is unable to form a sentence as she tries to keep herself steady. Tabusco was right about her condition, but she refused to listen to the shrill, old dwarf that was aiding in her kidnapping for a second time. She huffed trying to catch her breath.

  “Don’t do this, little wolf. The Guild Master wants you alive. He considers you valuable, and I don’t want to push you closer to death.” Tabusco stood in a ready stance to take Aura down if he needed to.

  Aura just smirked at the old dwarf. There was nothing he could say or do to stop her from fighting her way out of here. Injured or not. She took one more deep breath and shifted into her wolf form. Her pain intensified in the process. Aura let go of thought and just acted on her animal instinct, stalking toward Tabusco. She snarled as the last warning to get him to move away from her but he stood still as stone in her path. Tabusco lit his whip ablaze. The same whip he had used on her days earlier. He had used it on many shifters before her, and he was going to whip her into submission this time.

  Aura snapped and growled, closing in on Tabusco and his flaming whip. Tabusco snapped the whip as a warning, but Aura stood firm in front of him. Tabusco let the whip fly as he hit and smacked her silver wolf form repeatedly. Aura took each blow, feeling her patchy fur burn. The was alive on her skin and in her body from each snap of the whip. Aura took it all, waiting for Tabusco to leave an opening.

  “Damn mutt!” He called as he made his flaming whip dance across her body. “Submit!” His arm stopped for only a moment to emphasize his command.

  At that moment, Aura pounced. She bit down into his shoulder, drawing blood and mangling the skin. Her claws dug into the old dwarf’s skin like a knife through cloth, ripping it to pieces. Tabusco refused to groan as he fought back against her power looming over him. Her hind claws tore through his thighs with ease as she pulled apart his shoulder. Tabusco, with one great heave, knocked her off his body.

  “Mangey little mutt,” he huffed, drenched in his blood. His black tunic in shreds and his flaming whip, lighting the brush of the forest on fire. He reached for the whip, but Aura latched onto his wrist first, dragging him away. Tabusco kicked her belly over and over, causing her to whimper before she finally tore his hand clean off his wrist. Tabusco cried out in pain, trying to stop the bleeding.

  Aura dropped the gross flesh into the dirt and darted into the forest as quickly as her body would move. Pain raged through her body, but she couldn’t afford to stop now. Adrenaline had kicked in as her mind went into panic mode. She needed to find the bastard, causing this whole thing, and kill him. Otherwise, her whole race would pay for one man’s deeds. Her mind was in full-blown panic and kill mode, and Shadow was her target.