Free Rabid by Jami Lynn Saunders

surrounded by tall metal towers spread out among the rocks and dirt. Just ahead was the massive concrete dam.
    Salvatore continued toward the curved road that ran along the top of the enormous structure. The closer they got, the louder the sound of rushing water became, filling their ears until it was nearly deafening. Pippa searched the barren terrain, looking for any sign of Abby. As she scanned the parapets and roadways, she saw dead bodies littering the landscape. None were feral.
    They reached the top of the dam and saw the devastation. Dozens of werecats lay dead, some half eaten, strewn about on the concrete structure. Some of the bodies hung over the ledges of the concrete parapets.
    Hundreds of ferals charged from the other end of the dam. They’d been hidden in the valleys of the scorched earth. Abby and the black-haired abomination led the pack. His screams could have frozen blood. The beast bolted forward, eager to kill.
    â€œGo!” Pippa screamed. Salvatore turned to flee back to their group, and they saw the convoy inching toward them. Pippa and Salvatore morphed and prepared to fight. Aiden leaped through the air above them and attacked the first line of ferals. Seconds later, hundreds of werecats joined in the battle.
    Pippa was a killing machine, bigger, stronger and more fearsome than she had ever been. Aiden matched her in ferocity and seemed almost to lose his mind. He had morphed into something beyond possibility, like a demon god or a monster from the depths of demented imagination. Aiden’s body had accepted what he was, beast and reptile, a chameleon able to change instantaneously at need, yet always retaining the massive right claw that ripped through feral flesh like a meat cleaver.
    But the ferals kept coming. It was only a matter of time before their numbers would tell, and even as the large group of werecats fought back, they knew it was a lost cause.
    Then the airplanes appeared. They flew low and dropped explosives onto clusters of ferals on the far end of the dam. Dozens of the beasts were ripped apart, and the blasts sent shudders through the concrete structure.
    New hope spread among the werecats, and they howled their defiance. “Kill them,” Rathbone screamed above the noise. His werecats howled back in response and intensified their efforts. Inch by inch, they began to push the ferals back. The tide was turning, the werecats were winning.
    Salvatore and Pippa raced to reach Abby. Pippa screamed her sister’s name as she ran, but Pippa was Abby’s enemy now. The rabid girl turned to face them and crouched, ready to spring.
    Salvatore and Pippa tackled her at the same time and brought her to the ground. Abby shrieked and tried to bite them, tried to kick and punch and tear at them.
    â€œShe’s too strong,” Pippa screamed, before a claw raked her shoulder. She lost her grip, and Abby shoved her away and took another swipe, ripping Pippa’s back open. The savage with long black hair appeared and grabbed Pippa’s head, ready to break her neck. She tensed and then heard the thing howl in rage and pain as Excalibur bit into its arm, slicing it off at the elbow. Pippa rolled and got to her feet to see the beast howling at Jack Tanner. Jack stood his ground.
    Abby and Salvatore were rolling on the ground, neither willing to give up, but neither able to settle the issue. Salvatore was pleading with her even as he fought against her. Unwilling to harm her, he was at a disadvantage, and the outcome would be victory for Abby, death for Salvatore. Pippa raced toward them but was blocked by three ferals defending their new queen. Abby was baring her teeth and screaming, and her body heaved as if she were convulsing. She lurched upward and knocked Salvatore to the ground.
    â€œPlease, Abby,” he said as she pinned him to the ground and prepared to tear out his throat. “I love you.”
    Abby hesitated at his words and cocked her head. Her blazing