Free Sassy Ever After: A Hot Piece Of Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Melanie James Page B

he stumbled about like a newborn deer.
    Tanner blinked to clear his eyes as a strange glimmer passed over him. The forest around him flashed in and out of view. Maybe the blow to his head earlier had been harder than he’d thought. He looked down at his paws to see if he was imagining things. One second they were there; the next, they were gone.
    One glance back to Tristian and Barbara, with their mouths agape and the look of pure astonishment on their faces told Tanner that something was very wrong. Whatever was happening was real and he was in deep shit.
    “Tristian, what’s happening?” Barbara cried as she reached out to Tanner.
    “I—I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
    Maybe if I shift back to human form, it will help. Desperation seeped through his pores. Whatever the fuck was going on had to stop. He had to save his mate. That had to be his priority, above all else.
    His ears started to buzz and he felt like he was being sucked into a vacuum. Freezing cold air suddenly filled his lungs, only to escape back into the air as a rolling fog. Thick, fluffy snowflakes landed on his muzzle and covered the changing landscape around him.
    The scene was oddly familiar—it was one that appeared to him every night in his dreams. Tanner looked to the Heavens and, sure enough, he spotted two gray shadows circling high above.
    Crows.
    A booming voice filled his ears.
    “Now is the time.”
    “The time for what?” Tanner listened for a response, but none was forthcoming. The landscape before him shifted once again. In the blink of an eye the barren snow-covered land melted away, and he found himself standing in a tiny dilapidated shack. The sweet smell of fresh strawberries filled his nose.
    “Hannah!”
    “Tanner! Watch out!” Hannah screamed, but it was too late. The rogue wolf holding her captive had changed back to human form, attacking Tanner at first sight.
    Tanner flew backwards into a wooden support post, knocking the air from his lungs. A blow that hard would have been enough to force any other wolf back to human form, but not Tanner. The cheap shot only fueled his fury. Jumping to his feet, he snarled at the man, causing him to retreat cautiously.
    “If you come any closer, I’ll slice her fucking throat,” the man threatened, pulling a long silver dagger from his hip as he inched closer to Hannah.
    One single, stupid threat was all it took for Tanner’s berserker to break through the thin veil that kept him contained. He surged forward, high into the air, latching on to the man’s arm and tearing the limb from his body in one swift motion.
    Shrieks filled the cabin as the man tried to run, but he slipped in a puddle of his own blood. He fumbled around, attempting to scoop up the silver dagger with his remaining hand. Finding the handle, he lunged at Tanner, but stumbled again, losing his footing. Falling to his knees, he looked up to see Tanner directly above him.
    Without hesitation, Tanner ripped the man’s head from his body and tossed it to the ground. The savage death should have been enough to appease the berserker, but it wasn’t. It didn’t matter that every inch of Tanner’s body was covered in blood. The berserker demanded more.
    “Tanner, come back to me,” Hannah pleaded.
    He wanted to respond, by Odin, he did, but the berserker wasn’t quite ready to let go. Once unleashed, the beast demanded to be fed. Death and destruction went hand-in-hand with his berserker rage.
    The cabin door flew open, crashing against the wall. Tanner turned to the intruders, snarling a vicious warning.
    Barbara and Tristian skidded to a halt. Eyeing the bloody scene, Barbara gasped, “Jesus Christ. What happened in here? Where’s Hannah? Is she okay?”
    A deep rumble was the only response Tanner offered.
    “It’s all right, Tanner. They won’t hurt us. I need your help.” Hannah strained to free herself from the silver, only to cry out as a fresh wave of pain swept over her.