Page 6 of Silver Claw

I didn’t recognize the feel of her magic, and that wasn’t good. It didn’t feel like magic that came out of her, really. It felt like magic that wanted to pull me in.

“Dammit,” I murmured, thinking of Lennon, the tortured—and now dead—witchwolf, Jared’s former seer. “I’m about sick of fucking magical women.”

She took another step. “How many magical women have you fucked?”

I didn’t find her funny. She was like a demon, cracking jokes while casually twisting her victim’s head off.

I called my magic.

Her dark stare dropped to my hands, one full of swirling power and the other holding a glowing blade, and her smile didn’t falter. If anything, it widened. “That’s right,” she whispered. “Show me what you’ve got, pretty girl.”

“I’ll show you a lot of things before I kill you,” I told her. And finally, my rage woke up and stretched, right along with my interested wolf, and I welcomed them both with open arms.

Because Anika Draper was terrifying.

Despite my outward composure, I was anything but calm. I felt the strangeness of her, the power of her, and it was so awful that it made my entire body hurt. She was a killer, and she was there to kill me.

She confused me, and in a fight, I couldn’t afford to be confused.

And I remembered Lucy’s dream.

I didn’t want to play with her, the way I might have done in a battle that was more familiar to me, like with wolves or vampires or another intriguing but less bizarre supernatural. I wanted to neutralize her as quickly as possible, throw her—dead or alive—to the council, and wash my hands and my mind of the whole thing. Because everything about that moment felt wrong.

And then, she came for me.

I did what I always did in a battle. Full of magic and rage and an eager bloodthirstiness that smothered my fear, I flew into the fight.

Death and death’s magic were staring me in the face, and I knew that if I held back, she would win and I would die.

But I couldn’t die, because my mother would be beyond devastated. My pack and my alpha, as well. And my detective.

No, I couldn’t die. I wouldn’t let some random supernat take me out in my own yard, no matter how deadly she was.

No matter that I knew Lucy’s dreams never lied.

I sent a blast of silver power at her head. It exploded from my discolored fingers with an intensity that nearly ripped off my hands. I meant to end her right then and there.

My magic hit her with enough force to send her reeling back. She staggered as the power sliced through her head, and I watched, restraining my mad need to go to her and see how it felt to shove my demon blade into her heart. I absolutely expected her to drop to the ground and either pass out or die.

Months ago, one of the daywalkers had managed to bite me on the back of my shoulder. The bite had been slow to heal and in times of stress, it continued to cause me pain. It flared now, deep inside the bone. I wondered, as always, how that bite was affecting me before I let the thought slide away.

I had to focus only on the fight the stranger had brought to my door.

I refused to worry about my pack. They were incredible. They were flawless. I would not worry. Not right then. Later…yeah.

Anika pressed her palms to her temples, the dim lights glinting off of her perfect teeth as she snarled and groanedand attempted to fight her way free of my magic before I took advantage of her vulnerability.

She was trying not to die.

I sent a quick rope of power at her feet and jerked, pulling her off balance. She did fall, then, and I was almost disappointed, but yes, there was relief. She wasn’t a challenge, after all.

I walked toward her, sending magic to bind her as she knelt upon the ground. So much magic.

But she looked up at me, and there was a tiny smile on her lips. My power continued to swirl around her, but then, in an instant, it was like a vacuum lived inside her, and with a sucking sound, the magic I’d used to attack and bind was whisked away.

Just…gone. And the stranger was healed.

“Son of a bitch,” I whispered. “What the hell are you?”