Free Undaunted (Battle Born Book 6) by Cyndi Friberg

right?”
    Again, he shook his head and his hands fisted at his sides. “It’s not a matter of right and wrong. It’s just…not something he’d encountered before.”
    She smiled, pleased by his effort, if not by the conclusion. “I’m a freak.” She shrugged, though she felt anything but indifferent. “I accepted it a long time ago.”
    “You’re not a freak.” He closed the last distance between them and lightly placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’re special, unique.”
    Awareness jolted Berlynn, but not the pleasant sort Garin usually released. She stilled and turned her attention outward. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled and her canine-self growled in the back of her mind. As if responding to Garin’s statement, she let her shoes drop to the ground then rolled to the balls of her feet and placed her hands on either side of his neck. Then she drew his head down as she whispered, “We’re being watched.”

Chapter Four
     
    Garin brushed his lips against Berlynn’s as he reached down and released his flexblade from the bracket on his thigh. Until he understood the threat, he left the weapon in its compact dagger form. He wasn’t sure what she was sensing, but he had no intention of arguing about anything that might endanger her. With his free arm he drew her closer. “How many? Where?” he whispered the words in between light kisses.
    “Two behind you. One to your right.”
    Unwilling to risk Berlynn’s safety any longer, he eased her back then ordered, “Run!” as he shoved her toward the big house barely visible in the distance.
    She continued in the direction he’d sent her, but only long enough to disentangle their bodies. Then she whipped her dress off over her head and shifted into a large, snarling timber wolf. Even having seen the transformation before, he was momentarily stunned by the spectacle. His distraction was all the opening the intruders needed.
    Three dark figures rushed in from the darkness. Two clearly focused on Garin. The other attempted to drive off the wolf with a thick tree branch.
    Garin adjusted his hold on the hilt of his flexblade and the weapon rotated, allowing him to sight down the flat of the blade. Though most often used as some sort of knife, flexblades could also fire energy pulses. He launched a pulse at the nearest assailant, but the man twisted, narrowly avoiding the blast.
    Rotating sharply to the right, Garin shot the second assailant. The man wasn’t as fortunate as his companion. The pulse hit him in the gut and his entire body convulsed before he slumped to the ground.
    A yelp drew Garin’s attention toward Berlynn, but years of discipline prevented him from looking. He couldn’t protect her if he was unconscious or dead. He kept his gaze fixed on the first assailant, who now studied him with insolent interest, a pulse pistol still clasped in his hand.
    “Is the shifter your mate?”
    The question shocked Garin. They were in the middle of a battle. Why was he pausing to chat? There had been no real conviction behind the attack. It was as if they’d felt obligated to go through the motions. “What do you want?”
    Without putting his weapon down, the fool continued the conversation. “Quinton offered me a small fortune to capture you, but I’m not sure I want to now.”
    Utterly confused, Garin risked a glance at Berlynn. She watched her attacker closely, hackles raised, but her attacker was staring at the chatty intruder as if he’d lost his mind.
    “Then leave now, so I won’t have to kill you,” Garin advised, his flexblade still aimed at the intruder’s chest.
    The talker slowly reached back and tucked his pulse pistol into the waistband of his pants. “Is it true?” He ordered his companion to back off. The man tossed aside the branch he’d been swinging like a club, and slipped his pulse pistol back into the holster at his waist. Then he went to check on their unconscious friend.
    “Is what true?” They hadn’t