Free The Shepard's Agony by Mandy Rosko Page B

looked at him again , he was leaning against the far window , his attention turned elsewhere after being ignored for so long.
    ***
    Ignoring her wasn’t his intention . In fact, even with his eyes staring at anything but the scene in front of him, he was completely aware of her.
    Shepard clenched a fist. He could even feel the smug aura coming from the man. Was this what it was like being a werewolf? Being so aware of everything?
    He tilted his head to get a look at what was happening. John put Gwen back on her feet . She looked awkward as she rubbed her arm, avoiding eye contact with him . Shepard felt a prick of hope.
    Without thinking, he went to her and stood between the two.
    John bristled like a cat. “What are you— ?”
    “ Excuse me,” he said without looking at him . Before Gwen could react beyond the confusion on her face, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a kiss.
    He felt her knees almost give out from under her when she bobbed and clutched his shoulders to keep from falling. He had to fight the proud smirk from ruining his kiss. He wanted to possess her, right there in front of the man she’d kissed earlier that day.
    Shepard touched her lips with his tongue and felt her open her mouth, but was tackled to the floor by John. A cloud of dust rising around them before fist s started to pummel his face.
    He heard Gwen scream in shock , and Di in fear, but concentrated on knocking the werewolf above him in the head while keeping him from getting a good one in before the three girls could pull them away.
    Evey and Gwen each grabbed one of John’s arms and tried to yank him off . Even with their combined strength, it was a fight to remove him. They only succeeded because John got up himself and walked away.
    Gwen offered Shepard her hand, but he stood on his own. She looked at the scratch on his arm curiously before turning to John.
    “ Are you out of your mind ?!”
    “ Me! You were letting him kiss you!”
    Shepard had something between a smirk and a grin on his face. He couldn’t help it, he liked hearing Gwen give the cocky wolf hell . It being over a kiss he’d given and she’d enjoyed, made it that much better.
    “ What I do is none of your business ! Stop smirking!” She’d turned and yelled at him . Shepard sputtered. He’d forgotten she could sense emotions.
    Di went to stand beside John for support . When he ignored her , Shepard felt enough pity for her to forget the situation.
    John was scowling something fierce at Gwen, his arms shaking and fists clenched.
    “You know what? Fine. If you want the hunter you can have him.”
    “John,”
    “ Don’t talk to me .” He turned away from her and stood at the other end of the room. Di followed him and , again , he ignored her.
    Gwen sighed . Shepard could see her chin trembling but , before he could say anything , she took a deep breath and faced him.
    He thought she would chew him out for kissing her ; instead , she eyed the scratch on his arm again and asked, “When did he turn you?”
    He should’ve known she would figure it out so quickly . He was about to answer, but his ears perked. It was the sound of a gun being loaded outside, a bright little red dot appearing between Gwen’s eyes.
    He dove for her and pushed her out of the way before the shot was fired . When the bullet missed, more rained in on the cabin. Everyone else ducked and covered their heads as wood chips, pieces of old wallpaper, and dust rained down on them.
    Shepard threw a protective arm around Gwen, praying she wasn’t hit. No one moved until the shooting stopped. Shepard was the first to his feet.
    “ They’re reloading their guns . We need to go, now!”
    “ I hear one of them sneaking through the bushes to the back, the other is still in the front ,” Di said, shaking slightly but trying to act as though almost getting killed hadn’t affected her.
    Evey answered her. “Then we should hurry.”
    Shepard took Gwen’s arm and helped her to her