Free Savage Surrender: A Dire Wolves Mission (The Devil's Dires Book 1) by Ellis Leigh Page B

revealed her mate for what he truly was. A beast of battle; a weapon in the war on the worst of the things that went bump in the night. Untamed, unbeatable, and uncontrollable.
    Oh hell, what had the fates been thinking?

11
    H er mate ran hard and fast across the swamplands. Sariel followed, struggling to keep pace but refusing to slow him down. Angelita clung to his thick neck with her eyes squeezed shut. Sariel wished she could comfort the girl, could tell her things would be okay, but as the sound of men’s voices reached their ears, even she doubted.
    They yelled and hollered, splashing through the water behind her. Sariel ran harder, desperate to put distance between her and her captors. Her mate growled with every stride, his paws eating up the earth under their feet.
    And then the howling began. Deep and dark, it was not a sound a shifter would make. The call of a werewolf on the hunt. She whimpered on the second howl, stumbled on the third. Once she regained her footing, her mate edged closer, brushing his shoulder against hers with every step. Supporting her with his touch. Sariel took what comfort she could from his presence and ran harder.
    Sariel and her mate raced through the woods along the riverbank, paws flying across the swampy earth. She followed his lead, stretching her body to keep up as best she could over the difficult terrain. The sounds of the animals chasing them were enough to make her want to run faster, though, so she did. She was determined to escape. To live.
    About an hour into their run, deep in a wilderness that made Sariel’s hackles rise, Angelita pulled the man to a stop.
    “I think I’m ready now,” she said.
    Sariel’s mate shifted to his human form, dropping to one knee in front of the girl so he could look her in the eye. “We must hurry, Omega. Shift.”
    Angelita closed her eyes and curled her hands into fists. For several minutes, she struggled, trying to pull her inner wolf forward. Sariel waited and watched, her heart breaking for the girl. Shifting forms, while natural, still took time to learn. It took strength and mental skill to access the magic of their kind. Angelita wasn’t ready yet.
    The Dire glanced at Sariel before placing a hand on Angelita’s arm, stopping her. “Omega, we need to keep moving.”
    “I can do this.”
    “No, I don’t think you can.”
    “Yes.” Angelita’s eyes went dark, her shoulders back and her hands in fists. “I’ll show you. I just need a minute.”
    The man glanced around the woods. “We don’t have a minute.”
    “I can do this on my own.” Angelita’s voice rose, almost yelling at the man.
    He glared at her, eyes streaked with liquid silver and glowing. “Then shift, Omega.”
    “Give me a minute,” Angelita cried, her face red.
    “There is no time for waiting; we must move.” He grabbed her arm at the elbow and placed his other hand on her forehead. “Shift, now.”
    Sariel took a step back, growling at the energy she sensed surging from the earth. Angelita’s eyes went wide as what felt an awful lot like some kind of bastardized Alpha-order exploded into the clearing. She dropped her head back, body tense as the force around her brought her to her toes, pulling her up. Bending her body to someone else’s will. Angelita’s jaw fell open, her throat working as if to scream, but no sound came out. She was silent, stretched and taut and screaming her agony in her own mind.
    Slowly, Angelita began to change, bones and muscles rearranging themselves into a lupine shape. The girl trembled, body tense, fighting every alteration. Sariel whimpered as she watched, horrified. Changing so slowly would be painful—more than just painful, it would be torture. She couldn’t take bearing witness to it any longer.
    Sariel shifted human, yelling to Angelita even before she’d fully made the switch. “Relax, don’t fight it. It won’t hurt so much if you stop fighting.”
    Angelita’s head fell to the side, her eyes